154 THE GAME BREEDER 



United States and Canada with an esti-. species of quail are very scarce and the 



mate of the prices is as follows : birds are in danger of extinction. I wish 



Per pair to encourage the profitable production 



Bobwhite ........' $4 to $6 of these in order to save them. 



Florida bobwhite 4 to 6 in order to encourage the profitable 



Texas bobwhite 4 to 5 breeding of all species of quail I have 



Mexican bobwhite 3 to 4 asked the board of directors of the Con- 

 Mountain quail 10 to 15 servation Society to offer some substan- 



California Valley Quail. . 4 to 5 tial prizes for the best results in breeding 

 Gambel s Quail 4 to 5 certain species including the masked bob- 

 Scaled Quail 4 to 5 white, the plumed quail, the Mearns 



Chestnut Bellied Scaled . . 5 to 6 quail and the chestnut bellied scaled quail. 



Mearns quail 4 to 6 i hope it will be possible to offer these 



Masked bobwhite 10 to 15 prizes and, in the meantime, I would 



One way of saving birds from extinc- strongly advise those who can afford to 



tion is for many persons to make them have collections of birds to attempt com- 



profitably plentiful. This is a modern plete collections of the American quails, 



advance from the old method of making Many new quail breeders are starting, 



the game laws, preventing industry, and -it should be comparatively easy to 



profitably plentiful. There is no danger purchase all of the species and their eggs, 



of birds being extirpated when many excepting the masked bobwhite and pos- 



persons are encouraged to engage in their sibly some forms of the California 



practical preservation for food, for profit, plumed or mountain quails. In a series 



for sport and for aviary and exhibition of short papers (to follow) the various 



purposes. . species of American quail or partridges 



There is no danger of the pheasants and their habits and distribution will be 



ever becoming extirpated. Our readers described. I feel sure there will be an 



now own many thousands of bobwhites increasing demand for quail and I would 



and their numbers will be increased advise collectors and sportsmen to buy 



from year to year in the absence of "fool their stock birds early. The sale of a 



laws" prohibiting the industry of quail few eggs at present prices will quickly 



breeding for sport and for profit. Some restore the amount paid for the birds. 



PRAIRIE GROUSE AND SHARPTAILS. 



Second Paper. 



By D. W. Huntington. 



There are hundreds of thousands of and those of the heath-hen, now re- 

 square miles in the United States where stricted to Martha's Vineyard, originally 

 the prairie and sharptailed grouse once were, but probaly somewhere along the 

 were abundant. The birds have vanished boundaries of the Middle States. I do 

 in many states and it has become neces- not imagine, he says, the heath-hen was 

 sary to prohibit shooting in others in more of a woodland species than is the 

 the hope that some grouse may survive, prairie chicken, but both dwelt among the 

 Elliot says the prairie grouse at one open woods if there were any within 

 time was dispersed over a large part of their range. 



the Eastern United States and was by There can be no doubt that the heath- 

 no means especially a prairie dweller, but hen once was abundant on the. scrub oak 

 it is difficult to ascertain where its limits lands of Long Island and New Jersey. 



