﻿18 
  BOB 
  WHITE 
  AND 
  OTHER 
  QUAILS 
  OF 
  UNITED 
  STATES. 
  

  

  calls 
  from 
  the 
  fence 
  post 
  or 
  runs 
  fearlessly 
  across 
  the 
  road, 
  the 
  

   stroller 
  can 
  but 
  admire 
  its 
  trim, 
  alert 
  figure 
  and 
  tasteful 
  color 
  

   pattern 
  of 
  black, 
  white, 
  and 
  brown, 
  set 
  off 
  with 
  delicate 
  tintings 
  of 
  

   blue-gray. 
  Its 
  mellow 
  Avhistle 
  seems 
  a 
  proffer 
  of 
  good-fellowship, 
  

   investing 
  even 
  a 
  solitude 
  with 
  cheer, 
  while 
  the 
  plaintive 
  covey-call 
  

   heard 
  in 
  the 
  growing 
  darkness 
  to 
  summon 
  a 
  scattered 
  flock 
  to 
  the 
  

   nightly 
  resting 
  place 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  tenderest 
  of 
  evening 
  sounds. 
  Be- 
  

   cause 
  of 
  such 
  traits 
  the 
  bird 
  has 
  made 
  many 
  friends, 
  some 
  of 
  whom 
  

   spend 
  time 
  and 
  mone} 
  r 
  to 
  insure 
  its 
  undisturbed 
  presence 
  in 
  their 
  

   neighborhood. 
  

  

  DECREASE 
  OF 
  BOBWHITE. 
  

  

  Every 
  few 
  years, 
  on 
  the 
  recurrence 
  of 
  unusually 
  severe 
  winters 
  with 
  

   heavy 
  snows 
  which 
  cover 
  the 
  food 
  supply, 
  great 
  numbers 
  of 
  bob- 
  

   whites 
  perish, 
  and 
  sometimes 
  in 
  the 
  northern 
  part 
  of 
  its 
  range 
  the 
  

   bird 
  becomes 
  almost 
  extinct. 
  This 
  unnecessary 
  loss 
  of 
  life 
  could 
  be 
  

   largely 
  prevented 
  if 
  landowners 
  and 
  others 
  interested 
  would 
  scatter 
  

   a 
  little 
  grain 
  in 
  suitable 
  places. 
  This 
  is 
  done 
  in 
  some 
  localities, 
  as 
  at 
  

   Sandy 
  Spring, 
  Md.. 
  Avhere 
  H. 
  H. 
  Miller 
  drives 
  over 
  the 
  snow-covered 
  

   country, 
  scattering 
  grain 
  for 
  the 
  starving 
  quail. 
  The 
  practice 
  is 
  

   worthy 
  of 
  general 
  adoption. 
  It 
  is 
  necessary 
  only 
  while 
  the 
  ground 
  

   is 
  snowbound, 
  and 
  especially 
  after 
  sleet 
  storms. 
  

  

  The 
  bobwhite 
  has 
  taken 
  kindly 
  to 
  civilization 
  and 
  has 
  followed 
  the 
  

   plow 
  of 
  the 
  settler 
  into 
  new 
  sections, 
  so 
  that 
  with 
  the 
  advance 
  of 
  the 
  

   farming 
  area 
  in 
  the 
  West, 
  and 
  especially 
  in 
  the 
  Northwest, 
  its 
  range 
  

   has 
  been 
  much 
  extended. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  little 
  doubt, 
  however, 
  that, 
  while 
  the 
  bobwhite 
  is 
  a 
  fairly 
  

   hardy 
  and 
  prolific 
  species, 
  its 
  numbers 
  are 
  decreasing 
  in 
  much, 
  if 
  not 
  

   all, 
  of 
  its 
  range, 
  where 
  not 
  specially 
  protected. 
  In 
  the 
  early 
  fifties 
  

   Lewis 
  reported 
  61 
  birds 
  killed 
  in 
  a 
  day 
  to 
  a 
  single 
  muzzle 
  loader, 
  and 
  

   mentions 
  900 
  birds 
  trapped 
  on 
  one 
  estate 
  in 
  a 
  season. 
  Within 
  the 
  

   last 
  few 
  years 
  the 
  scarcity 
  of 
  bobwhites 
  has 
  been 
  so 
  notable 
  that 
  sev- 
  

   eral 
  projected 
  field 
  trials 
  have 
  been 
  abandoned 
  for 
  lack 
  of 
  birds 
  on 
  

   which 
  to 
  try 
  the 
  dogs. 
  

  

  Severe 
  winters, 
  as 
  already 
  noted, 
  are 
  an 
  occasional 
  cause 
  for 
  a 
  

   great 
  decrease 
  in 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  birds, 
  though 
  they 
  increase 
  rapidly 
  

   with 
  a 
  few 
  succeeding 
  good 
  seasons. 
  In 
  sections 
  where 
  the 
  birds 
  are 
  

   still 
  common 
  unlimited 
  slaughter 
  is 
  often 
  indulged 
  in 
  by 
  thoughtless 
  

   hunters. 
  Recent 
  instances 
  of 
  such 
  slaughter 
  are 
  on 
  record, 
  and 
  the 
  

   following 
  may 
  be 
  cited 
  : 
  A 
  bag 
  of 
  175 
  birds 
  to 
  three 
  guns 
  in 
  eight 
  

   hours 
  in 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  1902 
  at 
  Tiffin, 
  Ohio, 
  a 
  another 
  of 
  300 
  birds 
  to 
  a 
  

   single 
  gun 
  in 
  a 
  day 
  and 
  a 
  half 
  in 
  the 
  fall 
  of 
  1902, 
  in 
  Marshall 
  County, 
  

   Ky., 
  6 
  and 
  still 
  another 
  of 
  292 
  birds 
  to 
  three 
  guns 
  in 
  a 
  day 
  in 
  South 
  

  

  a 
  Recreation, 
  vol. 
  17, 
  p. 
  120. 
  6 
  Ibid., 
  vol. 
  19, 
  p. 
  41. 
  

  

  