﻿ESTHETIC 
  VALUE. 
  17 
  

  

  touch 
  on 
  the 
  trigger 
  to 
  bring 
  it 
  to 
  bag. 
  When, 
  at 
  the 
  advance 
  of 
  the 
  

   hunter, 
  the 
  covey 
  explodes 
  like 
  a 
  bomb, 
  his 
  skill 
  is 
  sharply 
  tested 
  if 
  

   he 
  would 
  bring 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  whirring, 
  meteorlike 
  projectiles 
  to 
  the 
  

   ground. 
  Birds 
  of 
  a 
  scattered 
  covey 
  are 
  hard 
  to 
  find. 
  Good 
  authori- 
  

   ties 
  say 
  that 
  when 
  they 
  alight 
  they 
  remain 
  quiet 
  and 
  compress 
  their 
  

   feathers 
  to 
  the 
  body, 
  with 
  the 
  result 
  of 
  withholding 
  the 
  scent. 
  Many 
  

   sportsmen, 
  therefore, 
  before 
  hunting 
  a 
  scattered 
  covey, 
  grve 
  them 
  time 
  

   to 
  run 
  about 
  and 
  leave 
  scent. 
  

  

  Paradoxical 
  as 
  it 
  may 
  seem, 
  sportsmen 
  exert 
  a 
  powerful 
  influence 
  

   for 
  the 
  protection 
  of 
  bobwhite. 
  Many 
  individuals 
  and 
  clubs 
  own 
  or 
  

   lease 
  large 
  tracts, 
  where 
  they 
  maintain 
  the 
  birds 
  and 
  shoot 
  only 
  the 
  

   surplus. 
  These 
  enthusiasts 
  assist 
  in 
  the 
  enforcement 
  of 
  game 
  laws, 
  

   restock 
  depleted 
  covers, 
  and 
  provide 
  food 
  for 
  the 
  birds 
  in 
  times 
  of 
  

   scarcity. 
  Certain 
  clubs 
  are 
  organized 
  for 
  the 
  purpose 
  of 
  holding 
  field 
  

   trials, 
  the 
  object 
  of 
  which 
  is 
  to 
  test 
  the 
  ability 
  of 
  competing 
  dogs 
  to 
  

   find 
  and 
  point 
  birds. 
  As 
  retrieving 
  is 
  not 
  required, 
  the 
  birds 
  are 
  not 
  

   shot. 
  One 
  of 
  the 
  best-known 
  patrons 
  of 
  field 
  trials 
  recently 
  told 
  the 
  

   writer 
  that 
  he 
  had 
  not 
  killed 
  a 
  bobwhite 
  in 
  ten 
  years. 
  A 
  number 
  of 
  

   clubs 
  control 
  each 
  a 
  preserve 
  of 
  from 
  5,000 
  to 
  20,000 
  acres, 
  on 
  which 
  

   no 
  shooting 
  is 
  allowed 
  — 
  or, 
  if 
  permitted, 
  is 
  carefully 
  regulated 
  — 
  and 
  

   suitable 
  measures 
  are 
  taken 
  for 
  protecting 
  birds 
  and 
  facilitating 
  their 
  

   propagation. 
  These 
  trials 
  are 
  held 
  in 
  a 
  score 
  or 
  more 
  of 
  States, 
  and 
  

   in 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  larger 
  contests 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  hundred 
  dogs 
  are 
  entered. 
  

   Some 
  owners 
  of 
  field-trial 
  dogs 
  have 
  preserves 
  of 
  their 
  own, 
  stocked 
  

   with 
  hundreds 
  of 
  pairs 
  of 
  bobwhites. 
  Thousands 
  of 
  live 
  birds 
  for 
  

   the 
  above 
  purposes 
  are 
  in 
  -demand, 
  at 
  high 
  prices. 
  If 
  the 
  bobwhite 
  

   could 
  be 
  domesticated 
  and 
  reared 
  in 
  captivity 
  for 
  sale, 
  the 
  enterprise 
  

   would 
  doubtless 
  be 
  very 
  profitable. 
  From 
  these 
  facts 
  it 
  is 
  evident 
  

   that 
  the 
  sport 
  of 
  hunting 
  bobwhite 
  contributes 
  to 
  the 
  health 
  and 
  hap- 
  

   piness 
  of 
  thousands 
  of 
  men, 
  and 
  that 
  in 
  various 
  ways 
  it 
  can 
  be 
  made 
  

   to 
  add 
  to 
  the 
  prosperity 
  of 
  farmers 
  and 
  others 
  interested. 
  

  

  ESTHETIC 
  VALUE 
  OF 
  BOBWHITE. 
  

  

  Much 
  money 
  has 
  been 
  spent, 
  and 
  well 
  spent, 
  merely 
  for 
  the 
  enjoy- 
  

   ment 
  of 
  the 
  beauty 
  and 
  companionship 
  of 
  birds. 
  For 
  the 
  protection 
  

   of 
  gulls 
  and 
  terns 
  along 
  the 
  Atlantic 
  coast 
  thousands 
  of 
  dollars 
  have 
  

   been 
  expended 
  at 
  the 
  instance 
  of 
  bird 
  lovers, 
  in 
  whose 
  eyes 
  these 
  

   •delicate 
  and 
  graceful 
  creatures 
  are 
  the 
  crowning 
  attractions 
  of 
  marine 
  

   landscape. 
  In 
  like 
  manner 
  the 
  admirers 
  of 
  bobwhite 
  derive 
  esthetic 
  

   pleasure 
  from 
  his 
  presence. 
  To 
  pastoral 
  inland 
  scenes 
  — 
  woodlots 
  

   in 
  a 
  green 
  mist 
  of 
  young 
  leaves, 
  summer 
  grass 
  fields 
  and 
  bushy 
  pas- 
  

   tures, 
  brown 
  stubble, 
  and 
  skeleton 
  cornfields 
  — 
  the 
  bobwhite 
  adds 
  a 
  

   distinctive 
  charm 
  — 
  homely, 
  but 
  none 
  the 
  less 
  attractive. 
  As 
  the 
  bird 
  

  

  