BOB WHITE ON THE FARM. 15 



bobwhites from September 1 to April- 30 in Virginia an-d North Caro- 

 lina amounts to 1,341 tons. It is to be remembered also that if it 

 were not for foxes, haAvks, and trespassing pot hunters the birds 

 would be more abundant and their services correspondingly greater. 

 Insects form about one-third of the bobwhite's diet from June 1 to 

 August 31; and a calculation similar to the one employed above 

 shows that 340 tons of insects are destroyed during this period. 



Among the insects consumed by the bird are such very harmful 

 pests as the Rocky Mountain locust, the chinch bug, the Colorado 

 potato beetle, the Mexican cotton boll weevil, cutworms, the two cot- 

 ton worms, and the army worm. The highly insectivorous chicks 

 cause a proportionally greater destruction of insects than the adult 

 birds. Further, while many other useful birds confine themselves to 

 the woodland or swamp, or merely scout along waterways, hedges, 

 and fence rows, the bobwhite feeds directly among field crops. In 

 the South it is found in cotton fields ; in the North it delights in the 

 ragweed-grown wheat stubble; in the West its favorite feeding 

 ground is corn fields, and it often spends the night there instead of 

 flying to cover as do most birds. The facility with which it passes 

 from field to field, either on foot or on the wing, distributes its serv- 

 ices to an unusual degree. 



BOBWHITE AS AN ASSET OF THE FARM. 



Every landowner should realize the value of the bobwhite, and 

 should demand from sportsmen a fair price for the birds killed on 

 his property. With proper management some farms of from 500 

 to 1,000 acres would jDrobably yield a better revenue from bobwhites 

 than from jioultry. Many farms in North Carolina derive a regular 

 income from this source. This is obtained by leasing the shooting 

 right to wealthy sportsmen, who, in localities where birds are abun- 

 dant, willingly pay considerable sums for the privilege. This is 

 probably the most profitable use to which certain poor lands in the 

 South can be put. In some places in Maryland, Virginia, and North 

 Carolina the sportsman often pays the landowner from 5 to 25 cents 

 for every bird shot. In other places the farmer or his boy is hired 

 as guide to locate the quail. In addition the sportsman pays liber- 

 ally for his board and otherwise adds to the farmer's income. Wide- 

 awake farmers appreciate the fact that the genuine sportsman pays 

 well for his sport and should discriminate between him and the 

 marlfet hunter. Millions of dollars can be realized by the proper 

 management of the quail crop of the United States. The time is per- 

 haps not far disjtant when landowners will protect their game birds 

 from foxes, injurious hawks, and human poachers as diligently as 

 they now do their poultry. The sooner the farmer realizes the value 

 5112— No. 21—05 M 3 



