146



The Californian Quail.



Quail cock who lives loose in my office, he is really rather a

nuisance as lie will fly up into tlie typewriter while in use, or

on to the back of one’s chair, and stroll about on my letters.

However, as soon as the weather improves, I am going to allow

him full liberty both indoors and out of doors.


I am told by sportsmen who have shot this Quail iu

America that as a game bird he has no equal, one of my

informants, a Scotchman, going so far as to say that he is

superior even to the Red Grouse ! But 011 this subject I am

unable to speak from experience.


This Quail has from time to time been turned out in

England, for example on Lord Malmesbury’s estate at Hum, in

Hampshire, but they were not a success, for I hear that they all

disappeared, probably being freshly imported birds they

migrated, or attempted to migrate, or a few were shot.


This spring, however, I hope to send ten pairs and fifty

eggs up to Yorkshire. The birds are to be turned down and the

eggs placed in Partridges’ nests. Since the birds have been bred

for three generations in confinement it seems reasonable to hope

that they have lost their migratory instincts to a large extent. I

trust that this experiment may be a success, though barring

Game Birds I cannot say that I am personally in favour of

liberating Foreign Birds in the British Isles. But I do not think

I shall be contradicted when I state that Hungarian Partridges

and certain Pheasants, such as the Mongolian (.Phasianas mongo-

licus) have greatly improved our native stock.


It may not be out of place here to make a few remarks

about hens used for hatching Quails’ and other small birds’ eggs.

By crossing the Baukiva Jungle Fowl with the Silkie hen, I have

obtained a fowl which I have used with the very best results.

This cross has all the good sitting powers of the Silkies and is an

excellent mother, having smaller feet than the Silkie and being

very careful where she puts them down. I used this breed

last year for hatching and rearing Grouse, Partridges, and

Pheasants, and found them excellent in every way, so careful

were they that throughout the season they did not break a single

egg. This will appeal to anyone who has gone iu for rearing

large quantities of any kind of game.



