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OB WHITE {Colinus virginianus), a 

 sturdy, cheerful little bird, is the subject 

 of one of the intaglio-gravure pictures 

 illustrating "Game Birds of America." 



TUESDAY DAILY READING IN THE MENTOR COURSE 

 PREPARED BY THE EDITORIAL STAFF OF THE MENTOR ASSOCIATION 



gOB WHITE is a brisk, enterprising 

 little fellow with a heart full of hope, 

 as his cheery greeting will tell you. He has 

 been subjected to much discussion. "Bob 

 White is quail," say some; others insist 

 that there are no quail in America and 

 that Bob White is partridge. An ac- 

 knowledged authority states that Bob 

 White is called quaU in the North and 

 East, while in the South and West 

 he is partridge. Wherever the ruffed 

 grouse is called pheasant Bob White is 

 called partridge; where the grouse is 

 known as partridge Bob White is called 

 quail. 



And we all know what he calls himself 

 whenever he has his little say — and what 

 he says of himself is gladly accepted 

 everywhere. Bob White is a popular 

 favorite among game birds oa account of 

 his attractive habits and the fact that 

 he is to be found in almost all sections 

 of the country — and wherever found he 

 displays the qualities that make good 

 hunting. He lives more in the open than 

 the ruffed grouse, and by his admirers he 

 is counted a finer game bird. 



Bob White varies in color, in size, and 

 in quality as a game bird in various sec- 

 tions of the United States, West Indies, 



Mexico, and Central America. As the 

 ruffed grouse becomes less common and 

 more difficult to get, on account of the 

 disappearance of our forests, Bdb White 

 is assuming more and more the rank of 

 the leading American game bird. For that 

 reason the game law is strict, and sports- 

 men are much concerned in propagating 

 the species. The effect of this is to 

 change somewhat the qualities that have 

 characterized Bob White in different 

 localities. For example, the robust, 

 hardy, and large-si^ed Bob White that 

 was known in the New England States 

 in past years is now extinct, and it has 

 been replaced by a somewhat less sturdy 

 type of bird introduced from Kansas and 

 the Carolinas. These birds, not accustom- 

 ed to the rigorous winter of the northern 

 states, have a hard time when the weather 

 is bitterly cold. In a severe winter 

 in New England poor little "planted" 

 Bob White is, in the most pathetic sense 

 of the phrase of the day, "up against it." 

 He has to be sheltered and fed largely by 

 his human friends. Some day, no doubt, 

 as the natural law of survival works it 

 out. Bob White will grow hardy and self- 

 sustaining under the severest conditions 

 in the northern states. 



Copyright, 1913, hy The Mrnlnr A txn^ialioti Inc. 



