THE SCARCITY OF RUFFED GROUSE IN 1907. 377 



" F. J. D.." Owego, Tioga county, N. Y., writes in Forest and Stream, 

 November 30, 1907: ''Two or three parties have told me that during 

 the spring they found nests of the partridge with the eggs rotten and the 

 nests abandoned." 



A report from Essex county, N. Y., says: " Broods were three or four 

 birds short on the hatch." 



Dr. L. B. Bishop, of New Haven, Conn., writes: "A boy living in 

 eastern Connecticut found several nests in which the eggs did not hatch, 

 and after being sat on for a long time were deserted." 



In western Connecticut (Litchfield county) the writer learned of the 

 finding of several abandoned nests containing rotten eggs. 



The exceptions to the many reports stating that few or no broods 

 were hatched are as follows: 



A. C. Hurlburt, Providence, R. I., writes in Forest and Stream, Novem- 

 ber 16, 1907: " The spring hatch was a good one and the chicks were not 

 hampered by severe weather." 



; ' Hackle," Boston, Mass., writes in Forest and Stream, November 23, 

 1907: "Plenty of evidence is at hand that the chickens were hatched 

 successfully. The mystery is what became of them afterward." 



Allegany county, N. Y. : "Partridges seem to be more numerous 

 than last year — fifty birds seen a day." (Report of game protector.) 



These three reports are so widely at variance with the testimony from 

 all other parts of the country that they must be considered as covering 

 purely local conditions. 



Further proof of the failure of the regular spring hatch may be found 

 in the data given below. It will be noted that with only one exception 

 the observers state that all or nearly all the birds shot in 1907 were old 

 birds, and most of them cocks. Scarcely any young birds of the year were 

 seen, and these were very likely from late broods. 



AVhere no authority is cited, the observations were reported by New 

 York State game protectors. 



Broome county, N. Y. — " Very few old and no young birds shot." 



Cattaraugus county, N. Y. — "Almost all old cocks — only one or 

 two young." 



Chemung county, N. Y. — (a) 'Very few old and no young." (b) 



