THE GAME BREEDER 145 



THE PRAIRIE GROUSE. 



Eighth Paper. 

 By D. W. Huntington. 



The red grouse of Europe, a grouse of machinery and. wires '(both the telegraph 

 the open country which is somewhat and telephone wires and the wire fences) 

 similar to our prairie grouse, sharp-tailed are additional causes of destruction and 

 .grouse and heath hens, is bred abundant- many birds and eggs are destroyed an- 

 ly in a wild state and thousands of birds nually by fires and floods, 

 -are sent to the markets every season. It has been proved conclusively every- 

 Since the discovery was made that the where in America that the prairie grouse 

 red grouse quickly responds to the con- cannot withstand the additional checks 

 trol of its natural enemies,' which are due to civilization and any shooting un- 

 termed vermin by sportsmen and game- less the birds be properly looked after 

 keepers, and that hundreds of thousands and protected from their natural ene- 

 of birds can be shot every season without mies. Grouse shooting has been pro- 

 danger of extinction, lands which were hibited, properly, in most of the States 

 almost worthless have been utilized for where the birds still occur and it is quite 

 grouse breeding and made valuable. On evident that when the shooting is again 

 the moors of Scotland, where sheep are opened even for a very short season with 

 reared, the grouse have been made an very small bag limits the disasters of 

 additional and most valuable food. On the past will be repeated and if the shoot- 

 farms where wheat and other grains are ing be not quickly stopped the grouse 

 raised the grouse also have been found will be exterminated. It must be evident 

 Well worth preserving. Since the birds to all intelligent sportsmen that the 

 procure practically all of their food in grouse never will be restored to Ohio, 

 their rambles over moors and stubbles Kentucky, and other States where form- 

 they are reared inexpensively, far more erly they were plentiful until the laws 

 so than pheasants can be reared, the encourage the profitable introduction and 

 gamekeepers wages being the chief item propagation of these splendid food birds 

 of expense. by private industry. 



Our prairie grouse thrived on the vast Besides the numerous foods mentioned 



prairies where it occurred in countless in the preceding papers the prairie 



numbers a few years ago, eating the grouse eats many flowers, leaves and 



many foods listed in Dr. Judd's excel- shoots. Like the other grouse, Dr. Judd 



lent bulletin from which I have quoted says, the prairie hen is an habitual brows- 



freely in this series of articles. Twenty er, to the extent of 25.09 per cent, of its 



tons of grouse have been sent to the food. This is divided as follows : Twigs 



New York markets at a single consign- or shoots, 0.55 per cent. ; flowers, 9.34 



ment. I have shot these birds when they per cent., and leaves, 15.20 per cent. This 



were sufficiently abundant to make it an is only half the amount of similar food 



easy matter for a few guns to shoot a taken by the ruffed grouse. Naturally 



wagon load in a day. the prairie hen is much less given to 



The birds were always most plenti- budding than ruffed grouse, but it has 



ful in places where the more important been known to pluck buds of poplar, 



foods were abundant, but they remained elm, pine, apple, dwarf birch (Betula 



in great numbers on farms where grain glandulosa), and black birch (B. lenta) . 



was planted so long as any suitable "I have counted more than 50 on a single 



nesting places remained, and the birds apple tree," writes Audubon, "the buds 



were not too much persecuted by gun- of which they entirely destroyed in a 



ners, dogs, cats and rats, in addition to few hours. * * * * They were, in 



their numerous natural enemies. Farm fact, looked upon with more abhorence 



