112 THE GAME BREEDER 



whirring began again and saw the quail ous opinions on the subject were collected 



fly on from the roof of the pen. by Capt. Alex. Maxwell and published 



The only record I have of pheasants in his book on Partridges and Partridge 



annoying quail is a statement made to me Manors. Some of these opinions were 



by a farmer on a preserve in New Jersey published in The Game Breeder, 

 who said he had seen the pheasants re- ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^_ 



peatedly, chasmg quail ma corn field Club told me he had a large 



down one row and up another. Game ^ i r m i • i r j 11 -^i 



keepers seem to think it is not wise to ^^^^ of quail which fed regularly with 



have too many pheasants on partridge his pheasants and that he had never ob- 



rearing grounds and some believe they served any disturbances. He had often 



disturb the nesting partridges. Numer- seen the birds associated. 



MUSK GRASSES AND DUCKWEEDS. 



Second Paper. 



By W. L, McAtee. 



[The Bulletin on "Eleven Important Wild-duck Foods" issued by the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture is especially interesting to the owners of wild duck farms and preserves. Mr. 

 McAtee has performed a public service in recording many of the foods eaten by wild ducks. 

 We hope the bulletin may be followed by one on mast as a food for game and that Mr. McAtee 

 can tell some of our readers wherethey can purchase acorns and other mast. There seems to be 

 a demand for this food. — Editor.] 



Musk Grasses. ganized algae that do so. They are at- 



Parts of musk grasses (algae, Chara- tached to the bottom, and over it often 



ceas) have been found in the stomachs of form a fluffy blanket a foot or more in 



the following 14 species of ducks : Mai- thickness. Small round white tubers oc- 



lard, black duck, pintail, wigeon, gadwell, cur in numbers on the rhizoids (root-like 



green-winged and blue-winged teals, organs) of some species. The slender 



buffle-head, goldeneye, ruddy duck, little stems are jointed and bear at the joints 



and big bluebills, ringneck, and red- whorls of fine tubular leaves, which usu- 



head. The small tubers of these plants ally have a beaded appearance (fig. 1)^ 



are eaten in large numbers; more due to the reproductive organs growing 



than 1,100 were contained in the stomach there. These are of two sorts; the an- 



of one goldeneye and more than 1,500 in theridia, which are spherical and red 



that of a pintail. However, all parts of when mature, and the oogonia, which are 



musk grasses are eaten. Certain ducks ovoid and black, more or less overlaid 



spending the late autumn on Currituck with white. The oogonia correspond to 



Sound, North Carolina, were feeding ex- the seeds of higher plants, and are about 



tensively on these plants. Three-fifths half a millimeter in length, 



of the food of 70 little and 35 big blue- These plants are translucent and fra- 



bills taken in that locality in November, gile, dull green in color, and often 



1909, consisted of musk grasses. The (Chara) incrusted with lime. This has 



stomachs of 3 pintails collected in the given them one of their common names 



same locality in September contained on limeweed. Other names are stonewort, 



the average 52 per cent, of musk grasses, fine moss (Michigan), oyster grass and 



and of 2 in October, 90 per cent. nigger wool (North Carolina), and skunk 



Musk grasses belong to the great group grass (Massachusetts). The latter name 



of plants known as algae, which include and that here adopted for these plants, 



forms commonly known as frog spit, namely, musk grass, refer to a strong 



green slime, and seaweeds. Most of the odor given off by a mass of the plants 



musk grasses (Characeae) live in fresh when freshly taken from the water, 



water and are among the most highly or- Probably no part of the United States 



