3oo 



RECREATION. 



although food in various shapes was 

 offered. But mine never ate their skins! 



A snake has no regular time for shea- 

 ding. If fed well, and in a good healthy 

 condition, they will shed much oftener 

 than twice a year. 



Richard G. Paine, 

 National Museum, Reptile Department, 



Washington, D. C. 



QUAILS IN DOMESTICATION. 



Buffalo, N. Y. 

 Editor Recreation : 



Several years ago I procured 2 pairs of 

 quails from a friend in Oklahoma. I 

 placed them in an open cage, 5 x 12 feet, in 

 the garden, exposed to all kinds of weather. 

 This was close to the chicken yard, a fact 

 which I afterward regretted, as quails are 

 dainty in their habits, and if given ample 

 opportunity for dust baths, keep free from 

 vermin. They paired off in the spring and 

 began laying, when I lost both males, and 

 it was a year before I was able to obtain 

 another. He soon paired off with one of 

 the hens, but absolutely declined to pay the 

 other the slightest attention. When 15 

 eggs had been laid, they prepared to set, 

 when the male escaped. After calling to 

 him for at least 6 hours, the plucky little 

 hen assumed all responsibility and proceed- 

 ed to hatch the eggs herself, which she did 

 in 25 days, hatching the entire 15 birds. 



Now, while these 'birds, raised in confine- 

 ment, are probably not so wild as their par- 

 ents, they are by no means domesticated to 

 the extent of permitting me to handle 

 them, though they do not fail to ask plain- 

 ly for their food. 



Last year I again had 2 hens and one 

 cock, and they mated as before, declining 

 polygamy most emphatically. Though they 

 are most considerate toward one another, 

 there was nothing but discord in the fam- 

 ily when the unmated hen laid her unfer- 

 tilized eggs with the others. During the 

 season they laid 54 eggs, but did not set at 

 all, and as that was in August I knew 

 it was useless to expect any young chicks 

 from them that season, so I placed a num- 

 ber of fertile eggs in the ordinary Prairie 

 State incubator and hatched several of 

 them, placing them in a brooder. They 

 were wild as hares, and the first day or 2 

 they tried desperately to escape. 



At that particular time I was away from 

 home, and as they were entirely without 

 attendance, it is not surprising that on my 

 return all but one were dead. How that 

 one survived I do not know, as they were 

 almost baked during the day and chilled at 

 night; but live he did, and became at once 

 the pet of the family. He throve splendid- 

 ly from that time. I have never seen a 

 pet chicken appreciate petting as he did. 



He was never so contented as when in ,our 

 hands or nestling up close to our races. 



When only 6 weeks old and before he 

 was fully fledged, I had another small 

 hatching from the incubator, and I placed 

 them with him. At first he seemed to con- 

 sider them grasshoppers, and treated them 

 as such, but in a day or 2 not only toler- 

 ated them but, to our surprise, actually 

 brooded them. To see him try to cover 2 

 or 3 of them with his half grown wings, 

 was a sight. I am aware this sounds 

 somewhat gamy, but many of our neigh- 

 bors will testify to its truth. 



Now, let me call your attention to some 

 facts connected with the habits of these 

 birds, that, if known, are poorly appreci- 

 ated. As stated, these little creatures, 

 hatched late last summer, were handi- 

 capped from the start, but I have had ample 

 opportunity to watch them in the garden, 

 among the plants, as well as in the green- 

 house, and I know them to be the best of 

 all our feathered friends. They are busy 

 every moment looking for grubs, spiders, 

 flies; all insects disappear before them. 

 They do not destroy, in any way, plants of 

 any value, but weeds and weed seeds they 

 eat with great avidity. 



Wild mustard, probably the worst pest 

 with which the farmer has to contend, they 

 eat greedily, leaving grain untouched if 

 they can get at the seeds of this weed. 



On one occasion I witnessed a sight that 

 was very amusing. When they were a lit- 

 tle larger than the first joint of my thumb. 

 one of them spied a large grasshopper and 

 rushed at it, catching it by the head. As 

 they were pretty evenly matched in size, 

 quite a tussle followed. The combat lasted 

 some minutes, until the grasshopper's 

 head came, off and the battle was over. 

 After that a grasshopper was not safe at 

 12 feet distance. 



The fact that these birds are small and 

 confine themselves to the ground, gives 

 them a great advantage, as they are thus 

 enabled to get at the underside of the 

 leaves of plants where most insects are to 

 be found. 



In conclusion, I would say, anyone who 

 will adopt the quail as a protege, as I have 

 done, will find himself well repaid for the 

 trouble. They are not only more affection- 

 ate than our common poultry, but vastly 

 more interesting, and I am certain if our 

 farmers knew their real worth and had 

 them on their premises, they would sooner 

 see the house dog shot than suffer the loss 

 of a single quail. 



I have been an enthusiastic sportsman 

 more than 25 years, but I would gladly 

 put away the gun for 5 years to give the 

 quails a chance. 



Quails are much like turkeys when 

 young, a very little will kill them, espe- 



