PARTRIDGE. 63 



lastly, that the men employed in sowing the poisonous seed not unfrequently present the 

 earlier symptoms which occur in the milder cases of poisoning by arsenic' 



The question was then suggested, 'might not the flesh of birds so poisoned prove 

 injurious when eaten?' Dr. Fuller cut off the breast of a bird, and gave it to a fine 

 healthy cat; 'she eat it with avidity; but in about half-an-hour she began to vomit, 

 and vomited almost incessantly for nearly twelve hours, during the whole of which time 

 she evidently suffered excessive pain. After this, nothing would induce her to eat any 

 more Partridge. I kept her without food for twenty-four hours, but in vain : she resolutely 

 refused to touch an atom more of the bird. This being the case, I gave her some beef 

 and milk, which she eagerly swallowed, proving, beyond doubt, that her instinct, and 

 not her want of appetite, induced her to forego the dainty meal which had just been 

 offered to her.' Dr. Fuller also found, in every part of the flesh of the other bird, 

 strong traces of arsenic ; the bird could not have been eaten by a man without very 

 serious consequences. 'It is notorious,' says Dr. Fuller, 'that many of the dealers in 

 game are supplied through the agency of poachers and others, who have a direct pecuniary 

 interest in supplying them with the largest possible number of birds. It is certain, 

 moreover, that if men of this sort were to find a covey of Partridges in a field, dead, 

 but fresh and in good condition, they would not hesitate to send them, with the remainder 

 of their booty, to the poulterer, who would, as certainly, without suspicion, sell them to 

 his customers.' The conclusions are, that the practice of steeping seed in arsenical 

 solutions may become matter for restrictive legislative interference, both on sanitary and 

 medico-legal grounds." Copied from the "Northern Whig," December 19th., 1848. 



The facts here detailed are of great importance, not alone to the sportsman, but also 

 to all who eat bought Partridges at the season when wheat is sown. We do not, however, 

 remember to have heard of any such destruction of birds since that time, and possibly 

 arsenic may be now less used by farmers than it was at that time. 



In this country Partridges are stationary, or at least are generally considered to be 

 so, but in some countries they migrate regularly : in Egypt this is said to be the case. 

 In Russia, they are said by Mr. Daniel to become white in the winter, like the Ptarmigan. 

 This he attributes to their inability to migrate to the south, owing to the mountains in 

 that direction being covered with snow earlier than the warm and sheltered valleys 

 more to the north. In several northern countries they are said to burrow in the snow 

 during the winter, for warmth, like the Black Grouse and the Capercaillie. 



Mr. J. W. Hulke, of Deal, makes the following statement, which would seem confirmatory 

 of the idea of migration even in this country: — He says, "On the 29th. of November, 

 1848, some men in a fishing-boat off this place saw a covey of Partridges coming toward 

 them, as if from France: one, more exhausted than the rest, fell in the boat; the rest 

 reached the shore in safetv." 



