198 
-FOREST AND STREAM 
[Sept. 3, 1904. 
stood in the cornfields; the lower ends of the sheaves 
were six feet or more from the ground, and trimmed off 
squarely. A squirrel had no trouble climbing up to the 
evenly trimmed "butts" of the straw, but could get no 
further. When the dog gave hot chase to a squirrel which 
was in the cornfield, it made a run for the nearest tree, 
and if it was one of the straw-bound trees, that squirrel 
was in hard luck, for the dog kept it there till the boys 
came with clubs, and if there were two or more dogs, the 
squirrel generally was caught. Another boy with genius 
improved on the straw trap by arranging it so a squirrel 
could hide between it and the body of the tree, and then 
a rap with a club did the business for him. Not only were 
squirrels destructive in the ripe corn, but made much 
trouble by digging up the newly planted grains in the 
spring, and it was the usual custom for each neighbor- 
hood to have a side-hunt as soon as the corn planting was 
finished. Two men went with each rifle, one to drive and 
secure the scalps (for only the scalps were brought in), 
and the other to do the shooting. The count of scalps 
often ran into the hundreds. O. H. Hampton. 
Partridge Rearing in France. 
Many owners of partridge manors, and nearly all 
the most progressive gamekeepers on such estates, are 
at present occupied with one great and absorbing ques- 
tion. The problem before them is how; to learn, and 
practice successfully, the system by which our neigh- 
bors across the channel induce partridges to lay, sit, 
and hatch off their broods in captivity. It might be 
supposed from its sudden and simultaneous trial on 
English estates this season that the discovery was re- 
cent in France; but such is not the case. Though it 
has only lately been systematized and set out in a book 
(by M. H. Danin), it has been in use in some form or 
another for the last twenty years, not only on certain 
French preserves, but most probably in parts of the 
Netherlands. 
The French rearer catches up (or buys) old par- 
tridges in December. He places them all together, 
and lets them pair .in the spring. He provides sepa- 
rate quarters for the pairs to nest in, lets the hens sit 
and hatch, and when the brood is a few days old liber- 
ates both' old birds with the chicks, and these at once 
resume their natural life. The advantages are that 
both the old birds, sitting bird, and eggs are safe from 
vermin, and in a large degree from the weather (if the 
pens are well situated and well made). Almost all the 
eggs hatch, and the nests can be made up' to any rea- 
sonable number either by slipping eggs under the hen 
partridges or having eggs ready in incubators, that 
the chicks may be added to the brood. Lastly, there 
is no trouble in rearing (the great difficulty with little 
partridges, which in the first three weeks live almost en- 
tirely on insect food), because the old birds rear them 
naturally. 
The system is simplicity itself. A large central pen 
is made, with small pens at the sides, communicating 
by "drop" doors. The best simile is that of a London 
square, with the houses all round it. The square itself 
is the home of the old partridges, which live there, and 
if frequently interviewed grow very tame, from the 
middle of December till the beginning of March, or 
later, according to the season. It should be mentioned 
that clips made of India-rubber and leather are placed 
on one wing of each bird. They then begin to pair 
naturally, and as each couple makes a match -it naturally 
draws away into one of the side pens. Here the hen 
lays and sits, while the cock keeps guard, and is often 
ridiculously tame, running up to the netting and peck- 
ing at any one who touches it. 
When pairing time comes on the keeper watches the 
courting and engagements of his couples with consid- 
erable anxiety. There are always some half dozen 
couples who are coy and coquettish, and these give 
him acute anxiety. His side pens are like the different 
numbers in a new block of flats, just ready for occu- 
pation. Great is his 'joy when he can slip down the 
doors of a newly occupied one, and metaphorically 
write up "LET" in the windows. But meantime there 
are other eligible flats still vacant, while the prospec- 
tive occupants are merely flirting, chopping and chang- 
ing, or even quarreling in the little park outside. There 
is not the slightest excuse for them, with furnished 
quarters, water laid on, meals provided gratis to lighten 
the cares of housekeeping, and such good examples 
actually in sight. So he sets to work at "matchmak- 
ing" with benevolent watchfulness. If he can only be 
fairly certain of the inclination of the parties he can 
hurry matters on. On the other hand, if he is too 
precipitate he ruins all. 
Identification is the main difficulty, and to effect this 
he borrows a hint from the Chinese. In a Chinese 
village, where the broods of chickens are allowed to 
run at large on the communal rubbish-heap, there is 
always a danger that the hens who are the best 
"callers" will accumulate most chickens. "Calling" 
means "clucking," which again is equivalent to the 
dinner-bell and is so understood by chicks. If three 
hens start equal, as regards families, the chances are 
that the best "caller" will annex a large part of the 
broods of others. This form of accumulating other 
folks' children raises a serious question in the village 
economy of China. The difficulty was solved by dye- 
ing, or dipping the broods of chickens, so that each 
assumed a family color or livery- At the present day, 
the broods hatched on the premises of Mrs. Ho-ti, 
or Ah Sin, are dyed magenta or green, as the case 
may be, while those of other householders are yellow, 
orange or blue. Our French neighbors have adopted 
the system at an earlier stage. They mark with dis- 
tinctive colors, not the offspring, but the prospective 
parents. Red, green, blue, mauve, orange, or other dis- 
tinguishing colors are tied round their legs as garters; 
and if it is noticed that the wearer of a green garter 
is inclined to be epris of a bird with an orange badge, 
or pink is seen to be more than usually attentive to 
green or blue, the keeper catches the couple with a 
fanding net, and sets them up with a home according 
to his discretion. As a rule his selection is justified. 
Bin; if there is any decided incompatibility of temper 
the union is dissolved, and the remaining couples 
"pooled" to come to wiser conclusions in general 
society. 
At Sandricourt, the estate of the Marquis de Beau- 
voir, the furnishing of the married quarters is elaborate. 
They are spacious enough, 12 yards by 8, and from 4^2 
to feet high, as the builders prefer; the latter al- 
lows more room for the keeper to enter comfortably. 
One end is previously dug over, or even ploughed 
across and harrowed, the plan being so arranged that 
the plough and harrow can be drawn from end to end 
before the pens are put up. This is sown with wheat, 
which grows up just as the birds are nesting, and pro- 
vides shelter, and green blades for them to peck, and 
attracts insects. There is always a pan of clean water, 
a heap of dry wood ashes to dust in, another and 
larger heap of old dry farmyard manure for them to 
scratch in, and some fir boughs placed ridgeways for 
them to creep under if it rains hard. When the hen 
seems inclined to make a nest, a few handfuls of hay 
and straw are put in the pen. Her first eggs may be 
scattered about. These are picked up with a small 
green gauze butterfly net. In the main pen other eggs 
will be dropped, which are also picked up and saved 
for use later. Some of these are put under the hen 
partridge when she has been sitting for two days or 
three days if she seems restless, having been previously 
placed in an incubator for as long as she has been sit- 
ting, that the whole batch may hatch out simultaneously. 
Another plan is to keep them in the incubator, and add 
them to the brood when the partridge has hatched her 
own eggs. The number of eggs which a hen partridge 
can cover successfully is twenty-two. The birds begin 
to sit, as a rule, about the beginning of May in France, 
but in England usually at least three weeks later. Three 
days after the chicks are hatched, the "brails" are 
taken off the wings of the old birds, and they and the 
brood, augmented by chicks from the incubators, are 
turned out into the cornfields near. A writer in 
Country Life says: 
The following figures show the wonderful success ob- 
tained on the estate of the Marquis de Beauvoir at 
Sandricourt from thirty-five pens. The result is quite 
extraordinary, even though possibly the season was 
exceptionally good: 
Number of pens • ■ 35 
Pens with no nest : 1 
Nests laid in, but no hatch 3 
Successful pens 32 
Tens with 100 per cent, fertile eggs . 10 
Best pen (22 eggs) hatched 21 
Worst pen (10 eggs) hatched 3 
Young birds hatched in pens 406 
Young birds added 234 
Coveys of 20 turned out in a .week (with old birds) 704 
There is a further advantage in applying the French 
method, that is for those who are fond of natural his- 
tory. For months they possess a remarkably interest- 
ing aviary. Partridges are among the prettiest and 
most interesting of birds, very intelligent, bold, and 
beautifully marked. Many readers will be inclined to 
differ from the idea that the birds must be prevented 
from seeing strangers. When they have paired there 
is no doubt that the quieter they are kept the better 
it is for the sitting hen. But before that it is just as 
well to accustom them to see strangers and people 
about them. Partridges, like grouse, grow amazingly 
tame and "cheeky" in confinement. In India they are 
regularly kept as pets, and there is no reason, except 
for the ubiquitous and cruel cat, why they should not 
be so kept here. At the Hague some partridges were 
kept at the zoo in a pen adjoining the path. The cock 
bird would crow defiance at any one who came near, 
and rush up and try to peck a boot or stick placed 
against the netting. After the experiments made in 
England this summer, it will be possible to speak more 
confidently as to the chances of success in England.— 
C. J. Cornish, in Cornhill. 
Concerning: a Humble Creature. 
It was a long time ago on the banks of the Housa- 
tonic that I witnessed a tragedy still fresh in my 
memory. We were out after quail, a young farmer 
guiding us to likely swales and cosy fence corners, brier- 
shaded and leaf-carpeted. "There goes a woodchuck!" 
exclaimed the farmer, one pointer dog springing after 
the little furry fellow and making such a close second 
that when the burrow was reached the dog was so 
close up to the 'chuck that, instead of exposing him- 
self for a fraction of a second while darting into his 
burrow, he, like a flash, darted to one side and, making 
a pivot on his haunches, settled himself upon the apex 
of his mound home. The dog, instantly recovering, 
came afresh to the attack, the sight of the exposed teeth 
of the woodchuck making him cautious. And then the 
fun commenced. The dog kept prancing in a circle 
looking for an opening, the woodchuck keeping his 
body rotating in its center of gravity, constantly facing 
the enemy. Now and then the dog would lead in only 
to get a nip from the razor-like teeth of his adversary. 
By this time we were close at hand and almost with- 
in reaching distance of the woodchuck, but he paid no 
attention to us whatsoever — move and shift as we might 
he saw and heeded us not. His source of nearest and 
greatest danger was that snarling and encircling canine. 
With his eyes glistening, his incisors bared, every nerve 
in his body quivering and every hair in his body stand- 
ing on end, he made an animated animal picture never 
to be forgotten as he rotated around and around as he 
faced the alert and active canine enemy. 
Miscalculating an opening the dog sprang in only, to 
receive a more than ordinarily vicious nip on his jaw 
that brought forth a whine which seemed to madden the 
dog for a moment or two and tempt him into a rough 
ana tumble with the woodchuck. Fearing for the dog, 
the young farmer without waiting seat a load of No. 6s 
into the little furry champion and it was all over. The 
dog, before the smoke had cleared, had jumped in upon 
his late antagonist and crunched every bone in his 
body, thoroughly venting his feelings of revenge in this 
inglorious fashion upon the dead body of the enemy. 
Charles Cristadoro, 
Definitions of Seasons. 
Special annoyance is likely to be caused when the ques- 
tion involves uncertainty as to whether the open season 
does or does not begin or end on a holiday. Many close 
or open seasons involve a possible inclusion or exclusion 
of the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Christmas Day, or 
New Year's Day, and it is not certain to one unfamiliar 
with the construction placed upon such a season by the 
authorities of the State whether shooting is or is not 
permitted on the holidays in question. In several in- 
stances the uncertainty is doubled by a date at each end 
that possibly covers a holiday. Thus a close season be- 
tween January I and September i (September I is occa- 
sionally Labor Day in nearly all States) is established 
for deer and mountain goats in Montana, deer in Georgia, 
upland game birds in South Dakota, grouse in Washing- 
ton, and squirrels in Iowa. 
Differences often occur in the laws of a single State. 
Thus the Nevada game law of 1903 contains the following 
variations : "After February 15 and before July 15" ; "be- 
tween March 1 and September 15"; "from September 15 
and until November 15 ;" "from and after December 15 
and until September 15"; "during the time intervening 
between September 15 and November 15." A law of 
Allegany county, Md., recently passed, provides as 
follows': 
No person shall kill or destroy any rabbit on and after the 
first day of January until the 15th day of October of each and 
every year, nor any squirrel after the first day of January, until 
the 31st day of August of each and every year. 
These examples might be multiplied almost indefinitely." 
If each of the different terms used in the laws had re- 
ceived a positive and single interpretation by the courts, 
the difficulty would be lessened; but little, if any, certainty 
has been derived from judicial decisions. Although the 
exact meaning to be given to such expressions as "from — ■ 
to," "between — and," "from and after," "on and after," 
"until," etc., has been often passed on, especially in cases 
growing out of business relations, yet much diversity of 
construction has resulted, and there is a growing ten- 
dency to interpret such terms according to the facts of 
each particular case. Formerly attempts were made to 
establish certain distinctions. Thus it was laid clown as a 
settled principle that when the time is computed from an 
act done, the day of its performance is included; but when 
the words are "from the date," if a pwGfeent interest is to 
commence, the day is included; if it is the terminus from 
which to compute time, the day is excluded. 
In a case which arose in Maine in 1841, the fish com- 
mittee for the town of Cape Ehzabeth was authorized to 
keep a brook open and free for the passage of fish from 
the 5th day of May to the 5th day of July in each year, 
and it was held that the act did not authorize the commit- 
tee to enter up«rn lands of others and remove obstructions 
prior to May 6. Adherence to this rule of construction 
has grown less, however, and it was said by the Supreme 
Court of Massachusetts about twenty years ago that — 
Many early cases stated a distinction between computations 
from a day or date and compulations from an act done, or from 
an event. • But this distinction does not rest upon a sound prin- 
ciple, and in most jurisdictions it is no longer recognized. The 
tendency of recent decisions is very strongly toward the adop- 
tion of a general rule which excludes the day as the terminus a 
quo in such cases. But this rule is not inflexible; and in the 
interpretation of a statute or contract, it yields to a manifest 
purpose or intention in conflict with it. 
The same court had previously declared that although 
the prepositions "from," "until," "between," generally ex- 
clude the date to which they relate, the general rule will 
yield to the intent of parties. Bouvier, quoting this de- 
cision, adds: 
But the rule has not been unvarying, and many courts have 
not hesitated to follow the view of Lord Mansfield in Cowp. 714 
(overruling his own decision of three years before, id. 189), that 
it is either exclusive or inclusive according to context and subject 
matter, and the court will construe it to effectuate the intent of 
the parties and not to destroy it. 
Cases supporting the principle that the inclusion or ex- 
clusion of the date named depends upon the intent of the 
maker of the statute or instrument under consideration 
are very numerous. "This intent is to be determined by 
the application of the general rules of construction, such 
as a consideration of the whole instrument, the subject- 
matter of the instrument, the context, etc." 
From — to is the form of expression involved in a large 
proportion of cases decided by the courts, but the am- 
biguity of most of the other terms used in statements of 
game seasons has brought them frequently before the 
courts for interpretation, usually in connection with com- 
mercial disputes. In the expression from and after it has 
been held that the words are exclusive. But in 1815 the 
United States Supreme Court held that the act of July 1, 
1812, which provided that double duties were to be im- 
posed on ail goods imported "from and after the passing 
of this act" applied to goods imported on July 1, 1812. 
In deciding this case, Justice Story said : 
It is a general rule that when the computation is to be made 
from an act done, the day on which the act is done is to be 
included. 
In State vs. Mounts, 36 W. Va., 190, it was said : 
All the best authorities hold that the words "from" and "after" 
may be construed to include or exclude the day of the act, as- 
will best serve to carry out the intention of the Legislature, sub- 
serve public policy, avoid forfeiture, and validate a proceeding 
rather than to annul the same. 
Until is generally regarded as a word of exclusion un- 
less a contrary intention appears from the context. In 
People vs. Walker, 17 N. Y., 502, it was held that the 
charter of a bank which was continued in force "until the 
first 'day of January, 1850," expired December 31, 1849. 
In this case the court said : 
But the consideration which se-ems to be strongest, and indeed 
conclusive, upon its meaning in this act, is the obvious one, that 
to give the word its exclusive meaning ends the corporation at 
the close of the legal and political year. 
On is held.to be a word of inclusion; to is usually inter- 
preted according to manifest intention. A curious dis- 
tinction between on and to appears in People vs. Robert- 
son, 39 Barb. (N. Y.), 9. A lease was made for ten 
years^ to commence May 1, 1852, and end on May 1, 1862, 
and the premises we're sublet from May 1, 1856, to May r, 
1862. It was held by the court that the original lease ex- 
pired at 12 m: May 1, 1862, and the sublease at 12 at night 
April 30, 1862, and that during the intervening twelve 
hours the original lessee had the right of re-entry and 
possession. 
