246 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[6ct: 86, I.M 



BEHAVIOR OF RUFFED GROUSE. 



Uttlitor (%JWj arn' s/innu; , 



A few days since while strolling through a swale, at the 

 edge of second growth limber, l stopped 'Beside a soft maple 

 tree with offshoots growing at the base in a bushy manner. 

 At the moment I stopped walking a ruffed grouse arose I'roni 

 the other; side of the bush, distant not over eight feet from 

 me and probably about six, and flew straight away. A 

 second later another arose, and another and another, until 

 eight had so arisen and quickly placed a sate, distance 

 between themselves and an imaginary foe. 



So sudden and noisy and confusing was it all, that, had I 

 been possessed of a gun, I believe I should have neglected 

 to use it. There was even a thumping set up inside me, and 

 1 filt dazed, as though I had suddenly dropped dowu beside 

 a threshing machine. Why did these birds allow so near 

 approach? HI had not stopped walking would tliej have 

 allowed me to pass entirely by them? It seems that a 

 mental calculation must have been made as to the probabil- 

 ities of danger, and a conclusion reached thai the visitor was 

 not bent upon mischief, and that no notice need be taken of 

 him other than to watch closely as a measure of prudence. 

 The other alternative is that the partridge is a fool and does 

 not know when it is in danger, or what its own mind may 

 be. There is perhaps intermediate ground for this explan- 

 ation, that the partridge's instinct leads it to hide always 

 and to take to wing only as a lust and sole resort, believing 

 that the greatest danger lies in taking to wing. 



However. Ihe pretty and tempting sight, as they flew 

 across an open space to shelter beyond, led me to a determi- 

 nation to procure a gun and return as soon as possible anil 

 seek to secure some of them. Some ten days passed before 

 an afternoon placed itse^ at my service, and 1 then Bought 

 the same spot, causing the first bird to arise vcrv near the 

 original locality and at a distance of some fifty 'feet from 

 me. I approached the place whence she had flown, a 

 tangled clump, very cautiously, and got within some five 

 paces of same, I then paused,' doing my best to detect a 

 bird before it should leave on that exceedingly rapid and 

 loudly heating wing that so flustrates the inexperienced 

 marksman. The swale grew high and was intermingled 

 Willi flowering and seed-bearing plants and shrubs, 05 well 

 as bushes, so that my effort wai> fruitless. Summoning 

 great determination to do immediate slaughter. I advanced 

 one or two paces, when whir succeeded whir, the clattering 

 of wings upon the I wigs and leaves being answered by a 

 double roar from the battery, and all excitement, I peered 

 about through the bkie smoke that so calmly floated in the 

 still air, in the vain effort to detect wounded or dead victims. 

 Then: were none. The engagement had ceased, and abso- 

 lute quiet reigned upon the field of action. The partridges 

 —seven of the original eight— had sought all points of the 

 compass, and the question presented itself, What next was 

 to be done? 



Now, 1 had always understood from various hunters of 

 the town, wise or otherwise, and had supposed it to be title, 

 that a bevy of such birds, being Hushed and scattered from 

 a given place,. would return to Ihe same locality and re-as- 

 semble as a family again. As these were Evidently of the 

 same brood and had held to this locality for ten days to my 

 knowledge, it seemed to me very reasonable (bat the rule, ft 

 true, should now (jpetate to my great advantage and the 

 better enable me to keep a rash promise made of wild part 

 ridges for a Sunday dinner. It will be seen righi here thai 

 I was a veritable ''pot hunter," iirtl for which I cannot now 

 stop to apologize. 1 was after partridges "toeat," oi liise. 

 I had the alternative of seeking them among the grass ami 



bushes, thereby securing more "wing shots" arid n r i i j i again 



into a blank 'and garaeless void, or quietly awaiting" the 

 prospective return, and "taking them off" as they came in 

 on tell-tale wing and all unconscious of niv presence. The 

 more thought given this plan the mere it grew in favor. It 

 seemed like a strategic move in military affairs. The 

 enemy wire to lie surprised — the greatest of all desired 

 results. 



1 took my station, located beneath a screening bush, at 

 2:30 P. ML, unikiiig a note of the time that 1 might observe 

 how long each bird was in returning. An hour passed, as 1 

 thought probable would be the case, and no buds. The day 

 w as 9 pleasant' one and 1 felt quite content. Another hour 

 and the momentary expectation of inflying paitriclge caused 

 me to be prepared, hammers at cock and gun in ready 

 position, eats open and eyes peering in every direction. 

 After still further time 1 grew tired of my conveniences for 

 comfort and bethought me of rolling in a piece of log that 

 lay-float fur a more convenient seat. While so doing I 

 might, if 1 would, have heard a whir of wings but a short 

 distance to my left, but I would not listen or pay it attention. 

 1 had covered that particular spot with my eyes and a large 

 iclr ea* more attentively than any other locality about me, 

 as it was more open and exposed," and it could not be that a 

 partridge had flown in there and escaped my knowledge. 1 

 therefore discharged all evidence on the subject and sal me 

 on my newly arranged seal in renewed expectancy. 



It began ere long to grow darkish, and Iheir coming could 

 not be delayed much longer, as, of course, all such fowl go 

 "to roost" early. I knew that fact, and had thought, allow- 

 ing for extremes of timidity and shyness, that darkness at 

 least, or the approach of it, would bring to my net the coveted 

 plunder Without chance of failure. I was" now somewhat 

 discommoded by the arrival of mosquitoes in large numbers, 

 but the interest in the hunt could not now be allowed to flag, 

 and 1 took favorable and observant positions, and dealt with 

 the mosquitoes as quietly and gently as possible. My wrath 

 now at the indulgence of those "blood-thirsty pests, allowing 

 them to get in bites quite frequently before giving them any at- 

 tention, and then quietly shooing them off instead of bring 

 ing a trip hammer blow down upon them, knows no append- 

 ing, and will wreak itself with dire effect .another time. 



The chirk shades continued to settle about me, amino birds 

 flew in or flew up to perches in the low timberarotiud; there 

 Was silence every w hen and silence only, with the exception 

 of the voices of a pair of red squirrels that repeated to each 

 other a peeping call from nearly opposite directions. 



Anxiety came creeping over me; the pot-pie dinner was 

 resting upon a very boastful and unreliable man's promises; 

 tin- plan that was "best laid" wasfast failing, and was likely 

 to lose an advocate and supporter forever. 



Four hours bail I remained as a statue, or a soldier on 

 guard, in cramped positions and amid other discomlorts, 

 and had seen no sign. But in the next half hour preceding 

 absolute darkness, a light, a great light, came to me like a 

 flash, and 1 felt creeping through my veins or tingling through 

 my nervous system, the peculiar sensation that comes to all 

 raw youths when sold, and when realizing that he, particu- 

 larly he himself, is an eg regions- fellow. Another red squirrel 



bad chimed in his peep with the ones mentioned, aud as they 

 thickened and came from all about me, 1 knew they could 

 no longer remain squirrels, and that they were, well, I 

 think it needless to say just what. It w T as an out of the way 

 place for squirrels any way, and almost anyone cist-- than the 

 fellow that was there would have known and appreciated 

 the fact long before. 



There seemed to be peepers fifty, thirty, twenty- feet 

 from me, and selecting the nearest", who seemed also to 

 have a companion I sought in the almost; total darkness 

 to creep up to them and make out their outline in the 

 grass aud weeds and so secure a last chance. But I could 

 not see although I could hear them so distinctly and with a 

 final determination to t-.ke a " wing shot " again, I boldly 

 advanced upon them to cause them to arise and take flight, 

 when lo, no more would they arise. A charge here and 

 therein desperate eagerness "failed to accomplish the de- 

 sired purpose, and quite filled with disgust at the incom- 

 prehensible behavior of some animals, and partly, also, be- 

 cause I could iiu longer see where mv gun mi.gh" be point- 

 ing, provided I wanted to point it, 1 "left the field and hied 

 me home. 



Now, instead of going by the aerial route, for which they 

 are so well adapted aud equipped, will a partridge " go 

 afoot " preferably, and sneak along through the grass like a 

 barnyard fowl? Instead of going to roost in accordance 

 wilh supposed instinct, will they pass the i: hole night hid- 

 den in the weeds and skulking about? It seemeth to me 

 so. Still. 1 do not. assume to sav that 1 know much of 

 anything of the ways of pirtridge. A friend has claimed 

 that they are incalculable and unknowable, and 1 am dis- 

 posed to allow that affirmation to stand, Possibly a per- 

 son may run aired ly aneni them, so as to raise them with 

 his foot, and then again he may not, and the ways other- 

 wise will be too numerous to mention: .1. Quay. 



[They will go afoot, and your friend is right. 1 



WILD RICE IN ENGLAND. 



SO many questions are asked by our correspondents about 

 the culture of the wild rice, and so much interest is ex- 

 pressed in the subject, that we lake great pleasure in laying 

 before our readers a letter from a gentleman, who is 'con- 

 ducting experiments in South Wales with a view to acoli- 

 mal iaing I his valuable plant in Great Britain. The letter is 

 addressed to Mr. Charles Gilchrist, of Port Hope, Ontario, 

 whose interest in the introduction of this plant to waters 

 where it is not, indigenous is very great. A vast number of 

 essays have been made to grow the Zizania aqiiutka in lakes, 

 rivers and ponds all over the country, and while some of 

 these attempts have failed, many have been crowned with 

 success. Theri; is no question as to the value of the plant 

 as a food for fowl, and no doubt about its growing any- 

 where in our Middle and Western Stales where Ihe "soil is 

 right, and the seed is properly sown. 

 The letter from England is as follows: 



BrLCUBYCUAK, LiLASGBTTn EN, S. S. O., SOUTH WALES. 



My Dear Sh -I fancy you must ha- 

 lting silence about the success of the 

 experiments last year, 1SH1, were afi 

 but none seeded excepting in cue ins 

 weak seeds being the result. The se 

 last i'utl, and the bushel 8UbB6quG 

 i . : i -i' .1 s.-nl. by post, beg 



"HUNTERS 5 LUCK." 



Now, westlin winds and slaughtering gur 

 Bring autumn's pleasant weather," 



SANG Burns, but one-half of this, Virginia's— land of 

 _ lovely autumns — most beautiful s 



"westlin wind" nor impatient fi 

 paints the autumn landscape ha 

 rays of the spring's sun in the c 

 of the trees and flowers, and his 

 cent than those traced by huma: 

 never found tho Divine art of 



has past and l_. 



i been felt. He who 

 mixed his colors from the 

 Dlorless water-tilled arteries 

 pictures are more evanes- 

 ihanxl. Yet. the latter has 

 1 picture grow even 



sell of it. I Bowed tbickl, 

 good. That put out of do 

 but there does rot no]. en 

 Either it is tOO eoki, or the w 

 ersoff. lam glad to say, w 

 dingqi 



s have gri 

 r three d u 



trprised at my 



rice, but the fact is, all our 



; I gave it to several friends, 



.'. two or three very small 



en kindly sen I, me by post 



sent, 1 again divided. The. 



February, in tue house, and 



mil tubs which I placed out of doors, and 



eliouse. The later sent, or at least what I kept 



in a pond, out it has not done any 



rs, in tubs, has much of it blossomed, 



to bo nn.v ehance of seed forming. 



nds we havo had have blown the flow- 



lli what T have in the house, in a cool 



beyond m.v expectations. Some of the 



e five feet high, aud, to mv intense delight, 



overed that seeds were forming on sev- 



xpected way. I looked for the seed at 



f BowetS, whereas, 1 And they all form 



gather from fifty to ono hundred seeds. 



d, and I have been obliged to put some- 



In one of the ponds in which 1 sowed a. 



id this, there is no sign of anything, and 



and if by a 



•an get at tin 



oral of them in quite an u 

 the lower part of the irns 

 at the point. I expect, t 

 They fall most quickly, 1 

 thing under to catch then 

 lot of seed, both last year 

 I lunch tear tae ran and I 

 mer are terrible nuisance 

 pans and tubs they will gi 

 of the seeds you sent me in the spring of 1881, in another pond, but 

 none come up, so I did not put any there this year; however, to my 

 astonishment, about six weeks ago 1 noticed five or six plants show- 

 ing above the water and looking well aud healthy, Alas! in one 

 week's time, they were oil nipped off either by rats or water-hens. 1 

 was down at the pond this afternoon, and iliere are now about 

 twenty plants up, but I fear it is much too fete tor them 

 to do any good ; in fact, never were two summers more against the 

 experiments-wet, cold and stormy, and seareely any sun. A friend 

 to whom i gave some in Berkshire succeeded very Utile better with 

 the first i-eed I gave him than n 

 or three weak seeds. I again s 

 when I paid him a visit on the 

 ber of strong and healthy plant 

 pond, and one or two were 11 

 hoard the result, but am in gra 

 in a day or two. I must saj 

 acquainted with the habits of 

 matizing It with your kind assi 

 I think one mistake I have mat 

 water, and so th 



enough, 

 fall alittle 

 of experim 



iyse!i. Ids gnrdener getting only tw 

 ent him some of the last seeds, on 

 ar.h of July his gardener had a nun 

 s growing in n pot in a wcU-Bheltere 

 ien showing for flower. I have nc 

 it hopes to have a satisfactory neeuin 

 1 am now -ias we get a little mor 

 he plant) very sanguine as to accl 

 stance. Am determined to pei-severi 

 e in rile pond is the sow ing it in deep 

 I there Is not sufficient heat, to mako it vegetate early 

 w, if you would kindly send me, as you did before, every 

 ed by post, 1 will not leave a stone unturned in the way 

 liS. The seed comes really cheaper that way, and 1 3Up- 

 eing a shorter time on the road no doubt vegetates 

 ar 1 am rather late for 1his year's seed, but hope not, 

 yard anxiously for some, as perhaps next summer may 

 Of course f will pay all postage. 



I beg to remain, yours faithfully, 



John Pooh Vaohak Fkvse, 



IIasie Seizure.— We learn that Mr. Win. P. Dodge, one 

 of the game protectors or the State of New Yoik, recently 

 seized (wo boxes containing lil ty-four ruffed grouse iN. V, 

 ■'partridge") near Camden, The birds had been snared, and 

 were consigned to two dealers in New York city. Mr. 

 Dodge has been quite nctivein theperfornianccof his duties. 

 A short time ago he. had three men arrested iu Herkimer 

 county, one for shooting woodcock before the season opened, 

 another for killing deer last February, aud a third for kill- 

 ing deer in July. There is need of more such men who will 

 do their duty fearlessly and make the poaching rascals 

 afraid to follow their nefarious business. 



more lovely as it. fades and disappears 



What a grand specimen of these pictures, by nature's 

 artist, a friend and myself beheld .the other evening! Tne 

 foliage, untouched by winds or frost, still clung iu full pro- 

 fusion on the forest trees. We sat upon horseback on the 

 summit of one of our highest mountains, which we had 

 ascended ou our way to the wild valley that lay below 7 for a 

 "deer drive." The "sun was swinging' low Westward, leav- 

 ing the spurs of the surrounding mountains bright golden- 

 tipped, set in sombre background of the gorges' shadows 

 beneath. Way yonder east on the gradually rising, but 

 towering heights, was the untouched, verdant halsam forest, 

 the deer's delightful home, up through which, hen- and 

 there, grew high the oak and maple, with their inimitable 

 habiliments, in front the kingly black pine looking down 

 from its eternal throne of rocks* in majesty over its myriads 

 of fantastically uniformed, diminutive subjects. ' The 

 •'Laurel fork," whose lazy, clear waters, in shrinking 

 modesty, were almost hid by the variegated foliage of the 

 beech, the hemlock and Ihe laurel twining- lovingly over its 

 banks. See yonder in the west that water mirror which 

 has the sun's angle in our faces, and but for which it would 

 he far beyond sight! 



It is not to be wondered at that the Indiau, whose birth 

 and home was amid these places, should be famous lor his 

 wild and thrilling •"whoop." It is the stirring response to 

 wild nature. 



"Graeme," said my comrade, witli a, comical twist in his 



saddle, "wc are growing too romantic to have a real deer 



out of these fancy woods to-morrow, they are too much 



creatures of imagination now to leave scent: big hunts make 



flunk often." 



"Very good, what if we don't. Docs not this pay you 

 >r your ride? or are you after scalps and venison?" 

 "What do you speak to me in this way for?" said be, "I'm 

 o more of a* savage -than you, but it would keep the boys 

 from poking fun at us if we could take some venison and 

 a pair of deer horns back with us." 



"It's the tfflfh, Will," said I, "when we are high up and 

 expect much, we seem oflencsf to be disappointed, but 1 

 imagine this has nothing to do with luck, it is simply be- 

 cause we fall lower from" high hopes than when we are care- 

 less and expert less." 



We spent the night, or part of it, by invitation, with our 

 old farmer friend, who had three sons' dwelling round him 

 in the mountains, and long before the break of day we were 

 aroused by the horn of one of the boys, which brought forth 

 two like lusty responses from the 'doubles" of the mountain 

 high up, accompaniel by the far off voices of the 'pack." 1 

 As the sun crept thro' one of the lowest gaps the stauds 

 were filled. 



This is the least attractive part of the hunt. Perfect quiet 

 must be kept, and a sharp lookout. A. scat must lie made 

 of some old. rough wooden chunk laid at the foot of a tree, 

 aud then your scat has no springy back. Still this has its 

 charms. "Solitude brings reaction: and the undefiuti tie yel 

 pleasant poetic gloom of autumn steals over you. Thoughts, 

 acts, and images shoot with lightning speed through your 

 mind. As the spirits are light, these thoughts are of boy- 

 hood and youth— the tinkling ripplets of the stream suggest 

 the melody of some old song, still e. thoing in Adeen's en- 

 chanting voice — itself, in turn, the prolific source of a thou- 

 sand bright fancies. Again, we think of manly faces, manly 

 forms, friendships of bygone days; then a quick review of 

 some injury; finally, as you weary, you grow in thoughts lo 

 mature manhood. Tho day is then lengthening; you experi- 

 ence a little sense of hunger — time the i leer was conn,,: md 

 every sound is transformed into the imagined baying of the 

 hounds— you half drowse, and at the raven's distant weird 

 cioak you seize the gun, Now, a little disgusted, you feel 

 that you would not dislike to have dinner — the rustic seat J 

 glow's hard ; your horse stamps and grows restless, some 

 herdsman away in the distance is calling his cattle or sheep 

 in the range right on tho run. Finally, you despair, aud just i 

 then (for fwas : not exempt from those fancies) I heard the 

 hounds iu full tilt, and every ridge gave buck the echo of 

 their eager cry. I seized my gun, aud the click of the locks 

 demonstrated' how confident 1 was of a shot; but this was 

 the day of "hunter's luck." The deer ran as none had been 

 known to run, and. BWift as the wind, it Hew across the val- 

 ley, over the mountain, where to follow on horseback was 

 impossible, and all was gone. Footmen follow with aim 

 only to reclaim the hounds, and weary, disappointed, and a 

 trine "blue." 1 mount my horse and start for home witli our 

 equally disappointed host. 



Why does this trifle annoy us? Why reflect that a day 

 has been lost from the stern demands of business life: If 

 has passed and nothing done. Suppose a client has been to 

 Ihe office on important business? What if we are thought 

 to be in a trifling business by the. sturdy farmer we pasat 

 We must have a" decent respect for his solid opinion, I 

 should be at home to morrow. We reach our lodging and | 

 there enjoy a palatable supper. 



A change came over the spirit of my dreams. "Well, 

 Graeme," said my cheerful host, "you lost a shot at that 

 deer, my boy tells me, by that noisy fellow calling his cat- 

 tle. We'll get one to-morrow, my word for it. The day 

 will be splendid." My spirits were perfectly restored, 

 aud the pleasures of hope, the hunter's friend, turned my 

 philosophy into these thoughts: "1 have worked inces- 

 santly for a long year; the days of ibis hunt will never be 

 charged 'Lost;'' 'tis all in a lifetime; I am harming no one, 

 am onlv losing the day s, and the way I'll work when I re- 

 turn will more than compensate for them. Then think of the 

 splendid run to-morrow, how my hot sew ill dash after deer and 

 hounds; think Of how the dee'r will run to point- pf IfliOT 

 and water he has never seen, but which 1 have learned he 

 will make for; unbroken sleep and sport the next day be- 

 yond anticipation, and the prophecy of 'mine host' ful- 

 filled." Graeme. 

 Southwest Virginia, Oct. 16. 



Any person sending their address to H. E. Pooler, Serena, La Salle 

 Co., 111., will receive la ret am free a flno colored lithograph repre- 

 senting pinnated grouse shooting on the prairies, also a catalogue 

 of cartridge holders, belts, vests, &e,— A&V 



