THE GAME BREEDER 



109 



at from 5 to 10 cents per acre, or the 

 amount of the taxes. It is wise to pay 

 a little more and to rent small areas at 

 the sides or corners of some of the fields 

 to be planted, as suggested later, in or- 

 der to provide good covers and abundant 

 food for the quail in fields which other- 

 wise would be uninhabitable, or at least 

 unattractive and unsafe for the quail. 



Pastures for cattle, sheep and horses, 

 hayfields and fields where certain kinds 

 of plants are closely cultivated are not 

 suitable or attractive for quail, but all 

 of these fields can be made sufficiently 

 attractive to hold one or more covies of 

 quail by planting a very small area along 

 one of the fences or in one or more cor- 

 ners of the field with briars and several 

 attractive quail foods. An old stump and 

 a brush heap will make a safe cover and 

 an attractive nesting site, provided grass 

 clover, a little buckwheat or other small 

 grain be planted, and some berry bushes 

 and sunflowers can be added to advan- 

 tage. The quarter or half acre planted 

 for quail should be wired to keep out 

 animals when the plantings are made in 

 pastures. 



All sportsmen know at a glance what 

 fields are attractive to quail. A corn or 

 other grain field is usually a field in 

 which a covey may be found, provided 

 there are briars and weed and other 

 covers at the fences and small woods are 

 adjacent. 



Quail are seldom found in large wood- 

 lands far from their boundaries, but 

 such areas can be made attractive by cut- 

 ting small clearings in the woods and 

 planting grain and garden vegetables and 

 berry briars in and around the clearings. 



If I were asked to state the three most 

 important things to plant in the small 

 areas reserved for the quail I would say, 

 Briars, Briars, Briars. No fox can catch 

 quail in a small briar patch; no hawk 

 can strike them there, and the berries 

 are acceptable food at the season when 

 the fruit ripens and often in the winter, 

 also when some of the blackberries or 

 raspberries have dried on the plants. 

 Sumacs and wild roses also are attrac- 

 tive to quail. 



Two rows of raspberries or tall black- 



berries planted to make a double hedge 

 between two fields or to surround an area 

 reserved for the quail will make a safe 

 and attractive nesting site, provided 

 plenty of grass and small grain, sun- 

 flowers and other foods be planted be- 

 tween the briars. Weeds surely will put 

 in an appearance and many of these 

 bear seeds which are desirable foods 

 for quail, young and old. Various 

 plants will harbor grasshoppers and 

 other insects. 



Where hand rearing is attempted the 

 penned quail can be reared near the 

 house and I believe it is a good plan to 

 let the young birds run (with an old 

 quail) when quite young, into fields 

 especially planted for them. Strips of 

 corn and buckwheat make excellent 

 cover and food and rows of briars and 

 occasional briar and weed patches in such 

 fields will add much to their safety. The 

 kitchen garden can be made an excellent 

 place for one or two covies. 



Some corn and other grain can be har- 

 vested from the home farm, but it is 

 not desirable to cultivate the ground too 

 closely where it is intended to make the 

 quail a profitable crop. Where the fields 

 are enclosed with rail fences it is an 

 easy matter to plant the angles of the 

 fences with briars and to plant a strip 

 of buckwheat on one or both sides of the 

 fence. A section of an old rail fence 

 left standing or erected in any field will 

 make an excellent nesting site, provided 

 it be surrounded with briars and foods. 



It should be an easy matter, having a 

 map of the farm showing each fields 

 how it is utilized and how it is fenced,, 

 to plan the planting of suitable small 1 

 covers on the lines suggested, and it is; 

 advisable, of course, to make the fields 

 near the center of the place the most at- 

 tractive and safe, because it is desirable- 

 to hold as many birds as possible at some- 

 distance from the boundaries. 



A few fields can be treated at a time 

 or the whole work can be planned and 

 carried out the first season. Quail sell 

 readily at from $20 to $25 per dozen, 

 and it should be an easy matter to figure 

 if it is worth while to have one or more 

 covies in each field. 



