196 



THE GAME BREEDER 



Artificial Quail Breeding. 



Mr. William B. Coleman, who wrote 

 about his experiences in quail breeding 

 in Virginia for The Game Breeder, was 

 employed last year to rear quail for the 

 Oketee Club, one of the South Carolina 

 shooting clubs which has a large, pre- 

 serve at Switzerland, South Carolina. 

 Mr. Coleman has made the following re- 

 port to the club, which was published in 

 the Game Protective Association Bulle- 

 tin with some interesting comment about 

 snakes, which are one of the worst quail 

 enemies in the.South. The report of 

 eggs produced and hatched and of the 

 casualties and their causes is as fol- 

 lows : 



EGGS PRODUCED AND HATCHED 



Eggs from 23 pens of breeders 468 



Eggs from nests of wild birds 148 



Total : 616 



Eggs broken while incubating 22 



594 



Eggs eaten by snake in breeding-pen 6 



588 

 Eggs hatched „ 467 



Unhatched eggs _ 121 



CASUALTIES OF BREEDING 

 SEASON 



Birds crushed 3 1 



Birds died 45 



Birds killed by snakes 23 



Birds killed by spiteful hen 17 



Birds died with bowel disease 7 



123 

 Birds disappeared _ 102 



Total of birds lost from all causes 225 



Total of birds reared and planted in 

 covers „ 242 



Mr. Coleman makes a creditable show- 

 ing. His 23 quail have averaged a little 

 more than 20 eggs apiece for the season ; 

 none failed to lay, the minimum was 12, 

 and three laid 29 each. ^ 



There were hatched approximately 75 

 per cent, of the eggs incubated, and 

 slightly more than 50 per cent, of the 

 birds hatched were brought to maturity. 



It will be observed that snakes ac- 

 counted for a considerable loss. In view 

 of this fact, a letter was addressed to 

 Mr. Raymond L. Dittmars, curator of 

 snakes of the New York Zoological 

 Park, asking if he could suggest some. 

 protective measures. His reply reads as 

 follows : 



"This is a difficult problem. A half- 

 inch mesh should keep out snakes large 

 enough to eat the .quail, but as snakes 

 prowl close to the ground and find the 

 smallest crevice-^ — and appear; to remem- 

 ber its location — the mesh would actu- 

 ally have to be imbedded. 'Moreover, 1 

 think a black snake would climb a three- 

 . foot strip by rearing and pressing against 

 it. , Four or five feet should be the. mini- 

 mum width. 



"As for traps, there is nothing I know 

 of. Snakes may sometimes be caught 

 by placing wooden platforms on the 

 ground, which have, beneath them about 

 two inches for hiding. These platforms 

 may be 3 x 6 ft. in size, and built of 

 old, weathered lumber. Straw and dead 

 grass should be scattered about the edge 

 to exclude the light. 



"It is well to scour thoroughly the 

 neighborhood in the spring, when vege- 

 tation is sparse. At that time snakes 

 are abroad in numbers, seeking the sun, 

 and definite steps may be taken to locate 

 their lurking places and to exterminate 

 the reptiles." 



Snakes. 



The control of snakes on a game pre- 

 serve is highly important. The rattle- 

 snake and the black snake are two of 

 the worst enemies of ground nesting 

 birds and the black snake has been ob- 

 served to take birds in shrubs and trees. 



On some of the big quail shoots in the 

 South the keepers persistently kill the 

 snakes, going over the ground with dog 

 and gun or club. A terrier will locate 

 many snakes which might escape the 

 keeper's notice and often in brush it 

 takes a quick shot to be sure of the 

 mark. The black snake travels with 

 great speed and is soon out of sight in 

 brush or grass. Where a gun is used it 

 should scatter the load well at short 

 range. I once saw a keeper shoot at a 



