248 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[March 24, 1894. 



TRANSPLANTING QUAIL. 



Much activity has been shown this year by clubs and 

 individuals in stocking the covers with quail. The birds 

 are procured in the West and the South, most of those of 

 the West being shipped from Kansas, whose peculiar law 

 is commented on in our editorial columns. 



Pennsylvania. 



In reply to an inquiry from this office, Alderman David 

 L. Deen, of Lancaster, Pa., wrote us under date of Feb. 

 26: "About the 12th of January, 1894, we received from 

 Chas. Payne, of Wichita, Kan., 115 dozen quail. They 

 came to us in first-class condition, healthy and strong, 

 only nine having died in shipping. They were immedi- 

 ately distributed among the members, every member 

 taking care of his own birds. They are doing very well, 

 the most of the birds being kept in coops. We feed wheat, 

 screenings, buckwheat and millet, giving plenty of water, 

 gravel and greens, such as cabbage, lettuce and water 

 cress. We will liberate our birds in pairs about the mid- 

 dle of March if the weather is good. We expect to have 

 good shooting in this county next fall. It is an experi- 

 ment with us. We had plenty of quail here until last 

 winter, when the snow destroyed nearly all. We have 

 placed another order with Mr. Payne for quail, which we 

 expect in a few days. David L. Deen, 



"Sec'y Lancaster County Game Protective Association." 



The Game and Fish Protective Association of Potts- 

 ville was less successful in its importation of birds from 

 Tennessee. The Pottsville Journal of Feb. 5 reported 

 that of the 180 quail received from Tennessee some were 

 very lively, but about 46 of them must have bien handled 

 very lively by the railroad crews. One agent at Cincin- 

 nati wrote the word "dead" on several crates, and when 

 the birds got here they were so dead that even a benevo- 

 lent looking pointer owned by Frank Seltzer turned 

 away with disgust. One crate contained only one live 

 bird. The other birds were dead. It is believed that a 

 number of the birds were dead when shipped. 



The Roxborough Gun Club adopted a novel scheme for 

 raising funds for quail. They held an all-day shoot at 

 clay targets for valuable prizes on Christmas Day on the 

 grounds at Snawmont, the proceeds of the tournament 

 being applied to purchasing quail to stock the woods along 

 the Wissahickon Creek. A considerable sum was also 

 donated by the members and their friends for the pur- 

 pose. 



Connecticut. 



Mr. A. C. Collins, President of the Colt Hammerless 

 Gun Club, of Hartford, writes that the club "subscribed 

 $50, and its members $50 more for the purchase of live 

 quail for ^stocking grounds not posted in towns adjacent 

 to Hartford. Some of the sportsmen (not all of them) in 

 this city 'chipped in' some funds, and we have ordered 

 thirty-five dozen live quail. We have received already 

 twenty-five dozen. These birds are to be kept by persons 

 interested until spring, when we propose to liberate the 

 quail in pairs." 



Rhode Island. 

 Several lots of birds have been put out in Rhode Island 

 by the State Association, though with doubtful success. 

 A writer in the Providence Evening Bulletin wrote the 

 other day: 



It is stated that the 150 Southern quail which were liberated on Pru- 

 dence Island in December last, none have been seen since the heavy 

 fall of snow which occurred two weeks ago, and it is feared that they 

 have all perished. It is also stated that a bevy of twenty Southern 

 quail, which were liberated recently in another section of the State, 

 were found dead in the snow. So it seems that we cannot depend on 

 Southern birds for restocking, unless they can be kept in captivity 

 during the winter and liberated in the spring. Our native quail are 

 much more hardy than those from the South, and can endure any de- 

 gree of cold if their supply of nourishment is sufficient. 



In placing food for them, which may consist of rye, corn, buck- 

 wheat, oats or hayseed, it should be put in or near their known haunts 

 on a southern exposure, where the snow soon melts, or a place cleared 

 of snow and covered with evergreens, raised about a foot from the 

 ground, which will prevent the food from being covered by subse- 

 quent falls of snow and furnish a shelter from storms aud birds of 

 prey. Another excellent place is around spring holes, where the snow 

 always melts as rapidly as it falls. It is to be hoped our farmers will 

 do all they can to help the quail survive the winter, and there is no 

 doubt their sportsmen friends will remunerate them for any food 

 which they may supply, and the pleasant note of Bob White will cheer 

 them in their labors next summer. 



Our correspondent "Tode" wrote us of a lot of quail 

 put out in the Blackstone Valley that the farmers on 

 whose land they were put have offered to feed them if the 

 association would pay for the grain. 



Not all Ehode Island farmers, however, appear to 

 believe in fostering the game supply. Something of the 

 animus of one class, at least, may be inferred from what 

 "Warwick Farmer" writes in the Providence Journal: 



I have noticed several articles In the Journal upon stocking the 

 State with quail, and their poor success, which is not altogether 

 owing to our severe winters, for, while the farmers like to have the 

 quail around and to hear them whistle, they do not like to have their 

 farms overrun in the fall by a mess of apparently lawless hunters 

 with their dogs, which generally do more or less damage before they 

 leave, and no farmer dare leave his farm to go to church of a Sunday 

 or any other day for fear of a visit from this class of marauders. 

 Nine-tenths of the damage done to sheep by dogs has been from the 

 red setters, as they do not bark to give warning of their presence. 

 The farmers in general in this section will do all they can to prevent 

 the multiplication of game of all sorts for this reason, for extermina- 

 tion is our only resort, for the aggressors are generally worthless, 

 irresponsible parties, their sole capital being invested in a gun and 

 dog, and don't own ground enough to be buried upon. I would sug- 

 gest that parties who wish to raise quail or other game purchase 

 some of our abandoned farms and stock them with game; then they 

 can do all the hunting they please upon their own ground and nobody 

 can object. Much more could be written upon this subject, showing 

 how young quail are shot and sold in the markets that would not 

 weigh 4oz., and how flocks that have been brought up in our own 

 barnyards have been exterminated by gunners that had no more right 

 to them than to our hens and turkeys. Suffice it to say that you can- 

 not raise quail on somebody else's land. . 



A correspondent who sends us this well remarks: "I 

 enjoy an occasional day in the woods and endeavor to 

 injure no man's property upon whose land I go. There 

 are, of course, two sides to this question, but it seems to 

 me that destroying the game, of which there is now little 

 enough, is not a very manly way to settle it. The same 

 parties would probably take fruit or anything else they 

 wanted if the game was all killed off, and no sportsman 

 worthy of the name would willfully injure any man's 

 property." 



Tennessee. 



Some time ago a few of our interested citizens, includ- 

 ing Tate L. Earnest, J. M. Fink, J. B. Simpson and others, 

 says the Jone3boro Herald, raised a sum to be used in the 

 purchase of quail to stock some of the farms in this 

 0 wnty, $q far about five or six dozen have been received 



and turned out on some of the farms selected as suitable 

 localities. It is hoped that the people in the neighbor- 

 hoods in which the birds have been liberated will take 

 sufficient interest in the matter to see that they are 

 afforded legal protection, and if needed given some food, 

 although the latter will not likely be necessary. The move 

 is one that is creditable to the gentlemen concerned, and 

 should meet with appreciation from all. 



West Virginia. 

 The Parkersburg (W.Va.) Gun Club have received 

 twenty-three dozen quail from Memphis, Tenn., which 

 will be distributed throughout the county to replace the 

 birds which had become almost extinct in that neighbor- 

 hood. W. Edward Wick. 



Nebraska. 



Chadron, Neb., March Q. —Editor Forest and Stream: 

 Noticing in your issue of Oct. 28, 1893, an inquiry as to 

 the practical results of quail-stocking enterprises, I am 

 pleased to report gratifying success in this (Dawes) county. 

 In the spring of 1885 Mr. T. J. Wilson, locally known as 

 "Happy" Wilson, brought from Missouri two pairs of quail 

 and turned them loose at his homestead east of this city. 

 These quail seemed to do well from the start. On July 4. 

 1890, while attending a picnic in the vicinity I was sur- 

 prised to hear the familiar note of Bob White in this 

 strange land. Suffice it to say that Bowery dancing, red 

 lemonade and frontier oratory lost their charm, while I 

 made a still-hunt for Bob, and watched him a long time, 

 totally unknown to him, until my admiration drew me 

 too close and frightened him away. In the winter of 1892 

 I found coveys on Beaver and Chadron creeks about 

 twenty miles apart, and this winter on White River. 

 Local sentiment has been the only protection afforded 

 these birds, and they are now becoming sufficiently plen- 

 tiful to afford fine sport. Our open winters seem to be 

 especially favorable for their increase. L. A. C. 



A GEORGIA BIRD HUNT. 



In the spring of 1893 I wrote you a short letter on "Tur- 

 key Hunting in Middle Georgia." You expressed the de- 

 sire to have me write again. In these hard times (for 

 Georgia has not escaped the general depression) we look 

 about us to see where we may economize, but find it hard 

 to give up the-weekly issue of Forest and Stream. Has 

 it not truly become a necessity? Well, it seems so, at least 

 to me, as I find myself looking forward to each Monday 

 for several days prior to its coming. I have been getting 

 the paper of late from a local book dealer. For years I 

 was a constant subscriber, and after a lapse of several 

 years I find I enjoy it as well as ever. It was a standing 

 joke with the "Madame" when I told any game story, fish 

 yarn or big snake item, to remark, "That came from the 

 Forest and Stream, didn't it?" I never enjoyed the in- 

 sinuation, as it reflected on Forest and Stream, for why 

 should not the majority of the interesting articles be true? 

 I believe most of the articles, but some I read cum grano 

 salts, and suppose most readers do. Itis with delight that I 

 follow a true sportsman in his roamings, as I find myself 

 praising one for his good shots and blaming him for his 

 bad ones. I am free to confess I love the paper, as it always 

 brings brightness and is refreshing to my mind when I 

 read it. It was my purpose to write you of a Christmas 

 hunt, but I am wandering from my subject, though I 

 trust my slight praise of your worthy self will excuse my 

 digression. 



As to the hunt. It was Christmas of 1893. I felt a dis- 

 position to ride over my old familiar hunting ground, 

 more for the sake of old associations, as I did not expect 

 to kill many birds. My mind took me back several years 

 when I could find eight or ten bevies of birds there in a 

 day's shoot, and when I generally killed from fifteen to 

 twenty-five birds; where I shot over my handsome black 

 pointer Pete, sired by Pete, Jr., and he by Strong's Pete, 

 of Dedham, Mass. Many a time has he pointed when I 

 had to stop and admire his style and beauty, longing for 

 an artist to give me his picture. But he has passed away 

 and his like I fear I will not own soon. There too I 

 killed many birds over a setter — cross from Elcho Irish 

 and Laverack, and who, when in his prime, would find 

 as many birds as any dog I ever shot over. Over these 

 two dogs I made a score one winter of twenty-five birds 

 out of thirty-seven shots, and the next season over the 

 same ground the same score — quite a coincidence. 



I find myself living over the past and this calls to mind 

 a hunt I took there with two ministerial friends and 

 brethren. Both were fair shots and we bagged thirty- 

 five birds. We had found a covey of birds, and after 

 flushing them mounted our horses to follow, when I 

 observed that one of my dogs had pointed a single. I 

 rode forward, followed by the others, and had gone but a 

 short distance when I heard a noise, and turning back 

 discovered the Professor turning a somersault over his 

 horse's head, which had stepped into a rotten stump 

 hole. He was soon up and unhurt, while I had to laugh 

 at the amusing figure he cut. I could but remark that I 

 had often heard of ministerial acrobats, but had never 

 before seen one in the performance of the very act. I 

 have laughed over it many a time since then. 



Well, after breakfast I took my gun and dog, made my 

 way, saddled my old horse, crossed the Ocmulgee close by 

 and at nine o'clock departed for the old grounds four 

 miles away. I soon reached the fields and found at once 

 a small bevy in few yards of where I had so often found 

 them before. My pointer was wild and going with the 

 wind, ran amuck the covey and flushed them. I soon 

 dismounted and followed them, walking along some small 

 pines, flushed a bird, took snap shot and scored a miss. 

 Soon I get up two more, get one shot, bag it, locate the 

 fourth bird that flushed, follow it, flush unexpectedly but 

 grass him easily. I go back and soon three more get up; 

 with my right I make a beautiful shot, hit the left hard 

 but to my surprise he does not fall, I follow close on and 

 Max soon pins him down, and as I approach he moves on 

 and gathers in the dead bird. One more flush, another 

 bird is bagged and I leave the remnant for future breeding. 

 I mount my horse, move forward and a quarter mile on 

 my dog gets scent of small batch of birds, and after faith- 

 ful and long working locates them in an open field, hav- 

 ing passed near them twice. I saw one on the ground, 

 flushed it, "knocked it into pie," quickly wheeling fired 

 at another but scored a miss. I followed, and going into 

 a thick place Max points— the bird flushed and I was 

 delighted to see him fall, as I made one of the seeming 

 impossibles, as it had to be killed by shooting through a 



thick hawe bush. Soon another point and equally satis- 

 factory kill. Surely, I thought, "I am in my shooting 

 jacket to-day." 



I went a half mile further on before I found another 

 bevy, and it, too, had been depleted^ got only one shot on 

 the rise, which I bagged. Two more shots, both hit, but 

 I failed to bag. I covered quite a large, territory before I 

 found the next batch. Spent about fifteen minutes to 

 lunch before locating these, however, and felt much 

 refreshed. Failed to down my first shot but bagged the 

 second. Following on Max soon pointed and there was 

 my first bird stone dead. A snap shot and a miss after 

 much hunting. Four more were found, only one shot 

 and another bird is bagged. I soon found one of these, 

 and seeing it on the edge of a thicket in a small gully, I 

 went between it and the bushes hoping to force it into the 

 open, but it was too smart for me and whipped around the 

 pines. I took a snap shot but scored a miss. I soon 

 flushed another and my little 16 hammerless has sent him 

 to grass as limp as a rag. 



I mount and hasten over old familiar ground. Soon 

 Max gives unmistakable evidence of birds; he hunts hard 

 but fails to locate, I then pass the home of my farmer 

 friend, Mr. Edwards, who has so often invited me to shoot 

 on his place, and there I see a merry party of young 

 people enjoying the Christmas holiday. Soon I pass over 

 ground where I remember having killed nine birds out of 

 a bevy, my companion bagging only one. Soon I find a 

 batch of four birds and on the rise I got nothing. Soon I 

 get a rise and bag a long shot. Looking up a bird which 

 I had badly wounded, Max* finds five or six more. • I 

 killed with my right, having made a very poor shot with 

 my left barrel. I located only one bird, the rest having 

 flown over a hill where I could not find them. I soon had 

 a beautiful left-quartering shot, and at the crack of the 

 little hammerless he "tumbled to the racket." 



I had not gone more than a quarter of a mile before 

 Max showed signs of birds. I dismounted as he worked 

 through hedge, fearing he would flush, and soon found 

 him on a point. The birds got up badly, and I got only 

 one shot, which I failed to bag. I marked one down and 

 thought the covey had pitched in a beautiful place, but 

 found the only bird that lingered was running and feared 

 I would miss him, but put him to grass in good style. 

 The rest had flown. Two hundred yards further on and 

 Max soon had one pointed. I killed this one, scored a 

 miss, bagged one, badly wounded the next, but lost it, as 

 I wheeled quickly to my right to send another to grass. 

 Would have gotten the wounded bird could I have marked 

 it down. I was content with that covey, and left a few 

 "for seed." 



Moving on toward home, I was surprised to see Max 

 show signs of birds, having passed about out of the 

 grounds. Dismounting and tying my horse, I follow the 

 dog, who soon locates them. They rise badly. I score a 

 miss with first barrel, but kill a long shot with second. I 

 mark two nearly down, and follow them with the last 

 shells I have in my gun. Coming suddenly upon one 

 which takes wing, I score a miss. A long shot is made, 

 immediately the bird soars high in the air, and I know he 

 is mine. He soon pitches forward, and I bag my twenty- 

 first bird with thirty-seven shots, only four to five miles 

 from the city, and I am back before sunset, having had a 

 delightful day, with the exception of the lonesomeness of 

 hunting alone. 



Thus ended my Christmas hunt, and greatly to my sur- 

 prise I had found so many birds. I thought they had all 

 been killed in that neighborhood. Old Subscriber. 



Georgia. 



KNOWING ONE'S GUN. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Every practical, experienced and intelligent huntsman 

 knows that to obtain the best service from a dog, and to 

 fully appreciate and enjoy its work, we must, first of all, 

 make ourselves familiar with its individual qualities and 

 disposition. Quite the same rule applies to the shotgun. 

 With the very best barrel material, the most improved 

 machinery and tools, and the highest skilled labor at his 

 command, it is impossible for a gunmaker to produce two 

 guns, yes, even two barrels of the same gun, with precisely 

 similar shooting qualities, and why? Because the condi- 

 tions governing these qualities are only partly known to 

 him and within his control. 



The momentum of elasticity or expansion, for instance, 

 which plays quite an important factor in regard to the 

 shooting quality of a shotgun, is beyond the control of 

 the gunmaker; and yet this very feature of the barrel 

 material accounts, to a great extent, for the well-known 

 phenomenon that some guns will not shoot one particular 

 propelling agent nearly so well as another. The vari- 

 ous powders develop their gases under different conditions, 

 and whenever these conditions are in close harmony with 

 the expansive qualities of the barrel, we may, as a rule, 

 look for good and uniform results and vice versa. 



It is nothing exceptional to find that a gun will shoot a 

 load less satisfactorily at one time than at another and 

 under different climatical conditions. We know that 

 even the bullet of a rifle, owing to the effect of the influ- 

 ence of temperature upon the powder, will describe a 

 different curve in its flight in winter from that during 

 summer, and yet the rifle is much less capricious in its 

 behavior than the shotgun. 



For several reasons a particular gun or barrel will do 

 the best service with a certain size and load of shot, and 

 a slight increase or decrease of the powder charge 

 frequently has a great bearing upon a gun's shooting 

 qualities. Only quite recently I repeatedly experienced 

 and established the fact that even such a slight difference 

 as that existing between shot No. 7 and 7£ has a bearing 

 upon the behavior of a gun. 



Strange as it appears, some guns will actually put a 

 smaller number of pellets No. 7* into the 30in. circle than 

 No. 7, some guns again will shoot No. 6 shot better than 

 No. 3 or 4. The relations between the cartridge chamber 

 and the soul of the barrel are often such as to render a 

 gun particularly susceptible to the wadding material both 

 in point of elasticity and diameter. 



It can hardly be expected from the gunmaker that he 

 should establish for every gun he puts out the best suited 

 load. Even if he did, the gunner would be very little 

 benefited by such work unless he would employ some 

 load as found to suit the gun best. The shooter must de- 

 termine the proper load himself or have this done by 

 others. When the sportsman carries out such a test, he 

 should bear in mind that a good pattern deserves only to 



