Oct. 2S, 1905.1 
with No. 10 shot. We used 3% Dupont, 1% No. 6 chilled, 
and found it small enough. Half the time three-fourths 
of the charge goes into trees and slash, the bird getting 
very little of it. Most birds are killed within thirty 
yards, but it takes a terrible lot of killing to kill Cana- 
dian partridge. We both used Winchester pump guns, 
full-choked, and they worked like a charm. No cylinder 
bore for me. Trap shooting is no practice for these 
birds at all. It is a case of snap shooting all the time, 
and repeatedly I have killed a bird with gun at hip; had 
to do it or get no shot. Elliott Johnston, Jr. 
The Quails of the United States.* 
BY SYLVESTER D. JUDD, ASSISTANT, BIOLOGICAL SURVEY. 
(Continued from page 880 ) 
Gineral Habits of the B^bwhite. 
The habits of bobwhite, like those of many other birds, 
vary considerably, and the following, observed by E. W. 
Nelson, is a case in point. In 1875 the Wabash bottoms 
near Mount Carmel, III., were covered with a magnificent 
forest, quite tropical in the size and luxuriant growth of 
trees and other vegetation. Scattered here and there 
through the forest were small clearings planted to corn. 
Bobwhites were found about all of these clearings, and 
the males were commonly heard calling from the tops of 
tall trees in the edge of the bordering forest, and on more 
than one occasion were stalked and shot in the midst of 
the woods from tree tops more than 100 feet from the 
ground. When flushed in the cornfields the coveys 
dashed away into the forest, where they took refuge in 
the tree tops, thence sending forth their rallying call 
notes. 
There appears to be a tendency among bobwhites, at 
least in some regions, to a local migration. In certain 
sections, as in Virginia and Maryland, they commonly 
leave their summer homes on the approach of winter and 
congregate near the larger watercourses. In an old num- 
ber of the American Sportsman Lewis refers to this fall 
movement, and says; “At this period the birds are said 
to be running or traveling, and will not lie to a dog ; and 
to pursue is lost time, as it will be found utterly impos- 
sible to keep up with them, no matter with what speed 
you attempt it.” 
The habits of the bobwhite during the hunting season 
are well known. The birds move about most actively 
and feed in the early morning and late afternoon. The 
best shooting is to be had the hour before sunset, in the 
places where the birds have decided to spend the night 
They roost on the ground, forming a solid ring with 
tails in and heads out. In Virginia and Maryland the 
roosting places are almost never in the woods, though in 
Mecklenburg county, Va., the writer has found them in 
grassy, briery little clearings among pine woods. At 
Marshall Hall the birds were found roosting in the edges 
of woodland, orchards, patches of ragweed in wheat stub- 
ble, cornfields, truck plats, broomsedge, dewberry and 
blackberry tangles, pastures and fence corners. In Massa- 
chusetts Edward A. Preble found no roosts in the open 
fields, but found them among scrub oaks and in tall pine 
forests. Bobwhites habitually use a roosting ground 
again and again. A covey of a dozen, found the middle 
of November, 1899, at Marshall Hall, resorted to a cor- 
ner of a peach orchard for eight consecutive nights, and 
during December, 1902, a covey of fifteen on the Roanoke 
River bottom used a narrow strip of cockleburr, ragweed 
and smartweed for ten consecutive nights. It is interest- 
ing to note that, although quail seek the woods for shelter 
from enemies during the day, they generally regard the 
open as safer at night. 
It is the general opinion that with the oncoming of 
winter the bobwhite is found less often in the open fields, 
where withered herbaceous plants afford but scant pro- 
tection from enemies, than in dense bushy briery coverts 
and wmods. 
In Maryland and Virginia the scattered and depleted 
coveys after the shooting season evidently unite into 
large bevies. Their favorite resort in severe weather is 
a bank with southern exposure and suitable food supply. 
At Marshall Hall during one of the heaviest snowfalls 
of the season, when the Potomac was frozen over and the 
thermometer near zero, a covey was always to be found 
on the southeast side of a steep bank bordering a large 
swamp. Here the birds found food and w-armth, for the 
rays of the sun fell on this slope so directly that even 
w'hen the snow elsewhere lay from three to six inches 
deep it was here melted or remained only in patches. It 
was noticeable that when snow was on the ground the 
birds ventured only a few rods from cover, a fact that 
apparently indicated their appreciation of danger from 
the numerous hawks and foxes. At Kinsale, Va., the 
writer found bobwhites crossing open fields when there 
was an inch or two of snow, tlaough for the most part 
they kept close to cover. In April and May the birds 
again venture out into the open, and they breed when 
vegetation is sufficiaitly grown to conceal the nests. 
At Marshall Hall little oval pits in dry soil, in which 
quail had been dusting, were found in various situations, 
usually under cover of weeds and bushes about the fields. 
Dusting is a part of the toilet of all gallinaceous and 
many other birds, and may also be a protection against 
vermin. 
Bjfawhitc as an Ally of the Farmer. 
In summing up the relations of the bobwhite to agri- 
culture it will be well to emphasize certain facts developed 
by our investigation of its food habits. In the first place, 
careful observations at Marshall Hall, where the acreage 
under cultivation is large and the bobwhite abundant, and 
less extended investigations elsewhere afford no evidence 
that the species does appreciable injury to crops of grain 
or fruit. ' Further, its habit of destroying weed seeds is 
of much economic importance. For instance, it is rea- 
sonable to assume that in the States of Virginia and 
North Carolina, from Sept, i to April 30, the season 
when the. largest proportion of weed seed is consumed 
by birds, there are four bobwhites to each square mile 
of land, or 354,820 in the two States. The crop of each 
bird holds half an ounce of seeds and is filled twice a 
day. - Since at eadi ' of the two daily meals weed seeds 
^Bureau of Biological Survey^ pyUetiif iSig- 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
constitute at least half the contents of the crop, or a 
quarter of an ounce, a half ounce daily is consumed by 
each bird. On this basis the total consumption of weed 
seeds by bobwhites from Sept. I to April 30 in Virginia 
and North Carolina amounts to 1,341 tons. It is to be 
remembered also that if it were not for foxes, hawks and 
trespassing pot hunters the birds would be more abundant 
and their services correspondingly greater. Insects form 
about one-third of the bobwhite’s diet from June i to 
Aug. 31 ; and a calculation similar to the one employed 
above shows that 340 tons of insects are destroyed during 
this period. 
Among the insects consumed by the bird are such very 
harmful pests as the Rocky Mountain locust, the chinch 
bug, the Colorado potato beetle, the Mexican cotton boll 
weevil, cutworms, the two cotton worms, and the army 
worm. The highly insectivorous chicks cause a propor- 
tionally greater destruction of insects than the adult 
birds. Further, while many other useful birds confine 
themselves to the woodland or swamp, or merely scout 
along waterways, hedges and fence rows, the bobwhite 
feeds directly among field crops. In the South it is found 
in cotton fields ; in the North it delights in the ragweed- 
grown wheat stubble; in the West its favorite feeding 
ground is cornfields, and it often spends the night there 
instead of flying to cover, as do most birds. The facility 
with which it passes from field to field, either on foot 
or on the wing, distributes its services to an unusual 
degree. 
Bobwhite as an Asset of the Fcfm. 
Every land owner should realize the '^alue of the bob- 
white, and should demand from sportsmen a fair price 
for the birds killed on his property. With proper man- 
agement some farms of from 500 to 1,000 acres would 
probably yield a better revenue from bobwhites than from 
poultry. Many farms in North Carolina derive, a regular 
income from this source. This is obtained by leasing the 
shooting right to wealthy sportsmen, who, in localities 
where birds are abundant, willingly pay considerable 
sums for the privilege. This is probably the most pro- 
fitable use to which certain poor lands in the South can 
be put. In some places in Maryland, Virginia and North 
Carolina the sportsman often pays the land owner from 
five to twenty-five cents for every bird shot. In other 
places the farmer or his boy is hired as guide to locate 
the quail. In addition the sportsman pays liberally for 
his board and otherwise adds to the farmer’s income. 
Wideawake farmers appreciate the fact that the genuine 
sportsman pays well for his sport and should discrimi- 
nate between him and the market hunter. Millions of 
dollars can be realized by the proper management of the 
quail crop of the United States. The time is perhaps not 
far distant when land owners will protect their game 
birds from foxes, injurious hawks and human poachers 
as diligently as they now do their poultry. The sooner 
the farmer realizes the value of the bobwhite and the fact 
that the market hunter is a bird exterminator, profiting 
at the land owner’s expense, the better will be his chance 
of an income from his crop of quail. 
Bobwhite as Article of Food. 
Perhaps no game is more generally known and liked 
than quail. The flesh of the bobwhite is juicy, tender, 
delicately flavored, easily digested and nutritious. It is 
well adapted to the needs of invalids. To the farmer’s 
table, where fresh meat is often not obtainable, this bird 
furnishes a welcome supply. No game is so much sought 
for in market, and countless numbers are sold every year. 
The writer knows of a single dealer in Washington who 
in 1902 sold 100,000 quail. Yet the supply is far short of 
the demand, and .the price is constantly rising. In con- 
nection with the present price, which is $3 to $5 a dozen, 
it is interesting to recall Audubon’s statement that in 
1810 these birds could be bought for twelve cents a dozen, 
and in 1831 for fifty cents. Then they were on the tables 
of rich and poor alike. 
Bobwhite as an Object of Sport, 
_ Edwyn Sandys says of the bobwhite : “He truly is the 
king of his race ; and not alone that, for, in the opinion 
of hosts of enthusiastic sportsmen, he is the best bird 
that flies.” The well known author, T. S. Van Dyke, 
says : “Dear little bobwhite has brought more rest to the 
business-wearied soul, more new life to tired humanity 
than pearly all other American game combined.” The 
pursuit of many kinds of game is possible only in the 
distant wilderness, where traveling is difficult and the 
exposure incident to the sport may be dangerous to 
health ; but the pursuit of the bobwhite belongs to open, 
accessible country, and is not too severe for men accus- 
tomed to a sedentary life. To thousands of such men 
quail hunting is the yearly means of restoration, and re- 
sults in a direct benefit to the community, though one 
not readily computed in money value. At the conserva- 
tive estimate, between 300,000 and 400,000 sportsmen go 
out from cities every fall to hunt bobwhite, which means 
a large expenditure of money, much of which goes to 
farmers who hold shooting land. Such revenue is time- 
ly, for it comes when farm work yields small returns and 
employment is welcome. Where non-resident licenses are 
required, with fee of from $5 to $25, the State also de- 
rives a direct income from the sport. 
The bobwhite deservedly stands at the head of Ameri- 
can game birds, because it lies so well to the dog, and 
w'hen_ flushed springs from the earth like an arrow, de- 
manding a quick eye and a trained touch on the tri’g<rer 
to bring it to bag. When, at the advance of the hunrer 
the covey explodes like a bomb, his skill is sharply tested 
if he would bring one of the whirring, meteor-like pro- 
jectiles to the ground. Birds of a scattered covey are 
hard to find. Good authorities say that when they alight 
they remain quiet and compress their feathers to the 
body, with the result of withholdiqg the scent. Many 
sportsmen, therefore, before hunting a scattered covey 
give them time to run about and leave scent. ’ 
Paradoxical as it may seem, sportsmen exert a power- 
ful influence for the protection of bobwhite. Many indi- 
viduals and clubs own or lease large tracts, where they 
maintain the birds and shoot only the surplus; These en- 
thusiasts assist in the enforcement of game law^s restock 
depleted covers, and provide food for the birds ’in times 
of scarcity. Certain clubs are organized for the purpose 
of holding field trials, the object of which is to test the 
ability of competing dogs to find and point birds. As 
retrieving is not required, the birds are not shot. One 
of the best known patrons of field trials recently told the 
writer that he had not killed a bobwhite in ten years. 
A number of clubs control each a preserve of from 5,<DOO 
to 20,000 acres, on which no shooting is allowed — or, if 
permitted, is carefully regulated — and suitable measures 
are taken for protecting birds and facilitating their pro- 
pagation. These trials are held in a score or more off 
States, and in some of the larger contests more than ai 
hundred dogs are entered. Some owners of field-triaH 
dogs have preserves of their own, stocked with hundreds; 
of pairs of bobwhites. Thousands of live birds for the' 
above purposes are in demand at high prices. If the bob- 
white could be domesticated and reared in captivity for 
sale, the enterprise would doubtless be very profitable. 
From these facts it is evident that the sport of hunting 
bobwhite contributes to the health and happiness of thou- 
sands of men, and that in various ways it can be made 
to add to the prosperity of farmers and others interested* 
Aesthetic Value of Bobwhite. 
Much money has been spent, and well spent, merely 
for the enjoyment of the beauty and companionship of; 
birds.. _ For the protection of gulls and terns along the 
Atlantic coast thousands of dollars have been expended 
at the instance of bird lovers, in whose eyes these deli- 
cate and graceful creatures are the crowning attractions 
of marine landscape. In like manner the admirers of 
bobwhite derive aesthetic pleasure from his presence. To 
pastoral inland scenes — wccdlots in a green mist of young 
leaves, summer grass fields and bushy pastures, brown 
stubble and skeleton cornfields — the bobwhite adds a dis- 
tinctive charm — homely, but none the less attractive. As 
the bird calls from the fence post or runs fearlessly across 
the road, the stroller can but admire its trim, alert figure 
and tasteful color pattern of black, white and brown, set 
off with delicate tintings of blue-gray. Its mellow whistle 
seems a proffer of good-fellowship, investing even a soli- 
tude with cheer, while the plaintive covey-call heard in 
the growing darkness to summon a scattered flock to the 
nightly resting place is one of the tenderest of evening 
sounds. Because of such traits the bird has made many 
friends, some of whom spend time and money to insure 
its undisturbed presence in their neighborhood. 
Decrease of Bobwhite. 
Every few years, on the recurrence of unsually severe 
winters with heavy snows which cover the food supply, 
great numbers of bobwhites perish, and sometimes in the 
northern part of its range the bird becomes almost ex- 
tinct. This unnecessary loss of life could be largely pre- 
vented if land oumers and others interested would scatter 
a little grain in suitable places. This is done in some 
localities, as at Sandy Spring, Md., where H. H. Miller 
drives over the snow-covered country, scattering grain 
for the starving quail. The practice is worthy of general 
adoption. It is necessary only while the ground is snow- 
bound, and especially after sleet storms. 
The bobwhite has taken kindly to civilization and' has 
followed the plow of the settler into new sections, so that 
with the advance of the farming area in the West, and 
especially in the Northwest, its range has been much ex- 
tended. 
There is little doubt, however, that, while the bobwhite 
is a fairly hardy and prolific species, its numbers are de- 
creasing in much, if not all, of its range, where not spe- 
cially protected. In the early fifties Lewis reported sixty- 
one birds killed in a day to a single muzzle-loader, and 
mentions 900 birds trapped on one estate in a season. 
Within the last few years the scarcity of bobwhites has 
been so notable that several projected field trials have 
been abandoned for lack of birds on which to try the 
dogs. 
Severe winters, as already noted, are an occasional 
cause for a great decrease in the number of the birds, 
though they increase rapidly with a few succeeding good 
seasons. In sec. ions where the birds are still common 
unlimited slaughter is often indulged in by thoughtless 
hunters. Recent instances of such slaughter are on record, 
and the following may be cited: A bag of 175 birds to 
three guns in eight hours in the fall of 1902 at Tiffin, 
O., another of 300 birds to a single gun in a day and a 
half in the fall of 1902, in Marshall county, Ky., and 
still another of 292 birds to three guns in a day in South 
Carolina during the same season. The value of this 
bird, both Jo the farmer and the sportsman, renders the 
question of its maintenance and increase one of much im- 
portance. So assiduously is the bobwhite sought by 
sportsmen and market hunters that intelligent and con- 
certed efforts are needed even to maintain its present 
numbers. 
[to be continued.] 
Bfitfsh Colombia Game. 
Vancouver, B. C., Oct. 14 . — Editor Forest and Stream: 
We have had a good many Americans over for the 
hunting this year, and are pleased to welcome them, as 
they are nearly all good sportsmen, pay our license ’fee 
without grumbling, and are observing of our game laws. 
Big game in the Cassiar . district has been very good 
this year, caribou being unusually plentiful. As far as I 
can learn everybody who has been up there has been suc- 
cessful in getting good specimens of goat, caribou, Stonei 
sheep and bear, while those who have really laid them- 
selves out to hunt them have also got moose. 
The hunting parties in the Bridge River aiid Chilcoten 
countries have not had such good luck as usual. This 
has been owing to. the depredations of a number of Chil- 
coten Indians and also on account of several so-called 
fishing parties starting before the beginning of the sea- 
son, and not only breaking our laws, but also acting in 
an unsportsmanlike manner to the other parties who re- 
spected the close season. Both Indians and whites will 
be welMooked after in future, and anybody violating the 
laws will be prosecuted without mercy. ^ 
A. Bryan Williams, 
Frov. Game and Forest Warden. 
THE MANY-USE OIL 
Six-owfife psn. 35 cents. ^ Safe and Handy for Gunners’ yse, - 4 #, 
