258 PINNATED GROUSE. 
Hens, would be perpetual, or, in other words, not circumscribed by 
any calculable time, provided the persecutors of tt latter would be 
uiet. 
a Beneath these trees grow more dwarfish oaks, overspreading the 
surface, sometimes with here and there a shrub, and sometimes a 
thicket. These latter are from about two to ten feet in height. Where 
they are the principal product, they are called, in common conversa- 
tion, brush, as the flats on which they grow are termed brushy plains. 
Among this hardy shrubbery may frequently be seen the creeping 
vegetable named the partridgeberry, covering the sand with its lasting 
verdure. In many spots, the plant which produces hurtleberries 
sprouts up among the other natives of the soil. These are the more 
important; though I ought to inform you, that the hills reaching from 
east to west, and forming the spine of the island, support kalmias, 
hickories, and many other species; that I have seen azalias and 
andromedas, as I passed through the wilderness; and that, where there 
is water, cranberries, alders, beeches, maples, and other lovers of 
moisture, take their stations. 
“This region, situated thus between the more thickly inhabited 
strips, or belts, on the north and south sides of the island, is much 
woe by wagons, and intersected, accordingly, by a great number 
of paths. 
“As to the birds themselves, the information I possess scarcely 
amounts to an entire history. You, who know the difficulty of collecting 
facts, will be the most ready to excuse my deficiencies. The infor- 
mation I give you is such as I rely on. For the purpose of gathering 
the materials, I have repeatedly visited their haunts. I have likewise 
conversed with several men who were brought up at the precincts of 
the Grouse ground, who had been witnesses of their habits and man- 
ners, who were accustomed to shoot them for the market, and who 
have acted as guides to gentlemen who go there for sport. 
“ Bulk. — An adult Grouse, when fat, weighs as much as a barn- 
door fowl of moderate size, or about three pounds avoirdupois. But 
the eagerness of the sportsinan is so great, that a large proportion of 
those they kill are but a few months old, and have not attained their 
complete growth. Notwithstanding the protection of the law, it is 
very common to disregard it. The retired nature of the situation fa- 
vors this. Jt is well understood that an arrangement can be made 
which will blind and silence informers, and that the gun is fired with 
impunity for weeks before the time prescribed in the act. To prevent 
this unfair and unlawful practice, an association was formed a few 
years ago, under the title of the Brush Club, with the express and 
avowed intention of enforcing the game law. Little benefit, however, 
has resulted from its laudable exertions; and under a conviction that 
it was impossible to keep the poachers away, the society declined. 
At present, the statute may be considered as operating very little to- 
wards their preservation. Grouse, especially full-grown ones, are 
becoming less frequent. Their numbers are gradually diminishing, 
and, assailed as they are on all sides, almost without cessation, their 
scarcity may be viewed as foreboding their eventual extermination. 
“ Price. — Twenty years ago, a brace of Grouse could be bought 
for a dollar. They now cost from three to five dollars. A handsome 
. 
