THE GAME BREEDER 21 

 THE PRAIRIE GROUSE. 



Fifth Paper. 



By Dwight W. Huntington. 



The most important vegetable foods prairie hen and the bobwhite abundant 



of the prairie grouse before the prairies food. 



were converted into farms, were the "The prairie hen eats a much smaller 

 wild rose, wild sunflower, the sumac and proportion of seeds, with the exception 

 the seeds of many weeds and grasses. of grain than the bobwhite. Seeds 

 The wild rose hips yielded 11.01 per make 14.87 per cent, of the annual diet 

 cent, of the food of the birds examined of these grass seeds form 1.03 per cent.; 

 for the purposes of Dr. Judd's bulletin, seeds of various polygonums, 8.49 per 

 to which I have referred. The rose, we cent., and miscellaneous weed seeds, 5.35 

 should always bear in mind, forms a per cent. When the nature of the 

 splendid protection for the birds be- prairie hen's habitat is recalled it seems 

 cause the food can be obtained above the strange that the percentage of grass 

 snow and no winged or ground vermin seed is so small. The bobwhite takes 

 can destroy the grouse when they have 9.46 per cent, of grass seed. "The seeds 

 taken refuge in a briar patch. Since the of different polygonums, or smart weeds, 

 wild roses and wild sunflowers are highly play an important part in the economy 

 ornamental they might be used to ad- of the prairie hen. Thev form 8.49 per 

 vantage as borders to the .roads and as cent, of the food. These plants grow 

 boundaries of the fields on the great profusely when illy drained regions of 

 Western grain farms where the grouse the plains are under water for a few 

 should be made a highly profitable food months in the year." I have often found 

 crop. When the fields are large wide the grouse on lands such as Dr. Judd de- 

 hedges of roses, sunflowers and sumacs scribes and about the margins of sloughs 

 might, profitably be used to divide them, where the rails were abundant in the 

 Strips of grass should be planted beside reeds and wild rice. An ideal preserve 

 the hedges^for nesting sites. for prairie grouse should contain a num- 

 The grouse are fond of grain and will ber of sloughs and these, of course, 

 procure most of their food in the wheat should yield an abundance of mallards, 

 and corn stubbles. When the birds are teal and other wild fowl, including the 

 very abundant they should be fed in the canvas backs, red heads and scaups, in 

 winter, corn, wheat, or other grains. the northern tier of States, and probably 

 Audubon says : "At the approach of as far South as northern Illinois and 

 winter these birds frequent the tops of Iowa. 



the sumach bushes to feed on their seeds The prairie grouse, as all sportsmen 

 often in such numbers that I have seen know, are fond of the stubbles and the 

 the bushes bent by their weight." stomachs of the birds examined in the 

 Wild cherries and numerous berries investigation for Dr. Judd's bulletin 

 are listed by Dr. Judd, but the percent- contained 31.06 per cent, of grain. Corn 

 ages eaten are small, probably because and wheat are the favorite cereals but 

 there were few cherries or berries on oats, barley, buckwheat and millet are 

 the ground when the specimens were relished. Like other gallinaceous birds, 

 taken. "The large percentage of rose the prairie grouse likes mast, but on 

 hips eaten may be a useful hint." Dr. many prairies this food does not occur. 

 Judd says, "to any one who attempts to The oaks were abundant on some of the 

 introduce the bird or improve its environ- good grouse lands in Indiana and Illi- 

 ment. It is important to note that often nois where I used to shoot prairie grouse 

 when deep snow causes scarcity of other and the mallards as well as the "chick- 

 supplies the sumac affords both the ens" had an abundance* of acorns. 



