THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 



where, extermination or control of vermin. Here, then, is the 

 crucial point at which we should attack the problem of increas- 

 ing Oregon bobwhite quail. 



In the older states the house cat is the arch enemy of this 

 species, and its unceasing depredations, by night and by day, in 

 season and out, go further than any other one agency to account 

 for its extermination over the wide areas of its former range. 

 Rats, skunks and weasels, and certain hawks and owls are 

 enemies that must be reckoned with, and, quite possibly, coyotes 

 and bobcats. The Fish and Game Commission is especially de- 

 sirous of securing evidence and complete data as to enemies of 

 the bobwhite in different parts of the State. Will anyone who 

 has made any observations along this line please send in the re- 

 ports to the Oregon Sportsman? 



The Commission also wishes to know all the points in Ore- 

 gon where the bobwhite is abundant, and also any localities, 

 adapted to it, where the bird does not exist. It is easy to trap 

 the birds, when they can be shipped to stock covers where they 

 are likely to thrive, and where local sportsmen can be depended 

 to exterminate vermin and look after them most effectively. 

 An active, united campaign for the protection, increase and dis- 

 tribution of the bobwhite in Oregon is certain to be of great 

 benefit to the agricultural interests of the people, and as soon 

 as they are sufficiently numerous they will add greatly to our 

 permanent game resources. 



TRAPPING AND DISTRIBUTING QUAIL. 



There are many requests for bobwhite quail in different parts of the 

 state. A number of efforts have been made to purchase these birds from 

 other parts of the country, but they have been unsuccessful in some cases 

 on account of disease, and in other places on account of strict laws against 

 exportation. 



Three varieties of quail are found in Oregon: the plumed or mountain 

 quail, the California or valley quail, sometimes called the little blue quail, 

 and the bobwhite quail, which was formerly imported from the East. The 

 mountain quail is fairly abundant in the mountainous sections throughout 

 the state. The California quail is found through southern and eastern 

 Oregon, but is not a native of the Willamette Valley. The bobwhite quail 



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