38 
THE CABINET OF NATURAL HISTORY, 
cially the sportsman’s dog,) the mother will instantly 
squat herself, and collect her little brood under her wings 
for protection, and at this time she will remain so perfectly 
tranquil as to permit the hand almost to grasp her, before 
she will attempt to escape; she will then throw herself in 
the path, fluttering along, and beating the ground with her 
wings, as if sorely wounded, using every artifice she is 
master of, to entice the passenger in pursuit of herself, ut- 
tering at the same time certain peculiar notes of alarm, 
well understood by the young, who dive separately amongst 
the grass, and secrete themselves till the danger is over; 
and the parent, having decoyed the pursuer to a safe dis- 
tance, returns, by a circuitous route, to collect and lead 
them off. This well known manoeuvre, which nine times 
in ten is successful, is honourable to the feelings and judg- 
ment of the bird, but a severe satire on man. The affec- 
tionate mother, as if sensible of the avaricious cruelty of 
his nature, tempts him with a larger prize, to save her 
more helpless offspring; and pays him, as avarice and 
cruelty ought always to be paid, with mortification and 
disappointment. 
The eggs of the Quail have been frequently placed under 
the domestic hen, and hatched and reared with equal suc- 
'cess as her own ; though, generally jspeaking, the young 
Partridges being more restless and vagrant, often lose them- 
selves, and disappear. The hen ought to be a particularly 
good nurse, not at all disposed to ramble, in which case 
they are very easily raised. Those that survive, acquire all 
the familiarity of common chickens; and there is little 
doubt, that if proper measures were taken, and persevered 
in for a few years, that they might be completely domes- 
ticated. They have been often kept during the first sea- 
son, and through the whole of the winter, but have uni- 
formly deserted in the spring. Two young Partridges 
that were brought up by a hen, when abandoned by her, 
associated with the cows, which they regularly followed to 
the fields, returned with them when they came home in 
the evening, stood by them while they were milked, and 
again accompanied them to the pasture. These remained 
during the winter, lodging in the stable, but as soon as 
spring came, they disappeared. Of this fact I was inform- 
ed by a very respectable lady, by whom they were par- 
ticularly observed; 
It has been frequently asserted to me, that the Quails 
lay occasionally in each other’s nests. Though I have 
never myself seen a case of this kind, I do not think it 
altogether improbable, from the fact, that they have often 
been known to drop their eggs in the nest of the common 
hen, when that happened to be in the fields, or at a small 
distance from the house. The two Partridges above men- 
tioned were raised in this manner; and it was particularly 
remarked by the lady, who gave me the information, that 
the hen sat for several days after her own eggs were hatch- 
ed, until the young Quails made their appearance. 
The Partridge, on her part, has sometimes been em- 
ployed to hatch the eggs of the common domestic hen. A 
friend of mine, who himself made the experiment, informs 
me, that of several hen’s eggs which he substituted in 
place of those of the Partridge, she brought out the whole; 
and that for several weeks he occasionally surprised her in 
various parts of the plantation, with her brood of chickens; 
on which occasions she exhibited all that distressful alarm, 
and practised her usual manoeuvres for their preservation. 
Even after they were considerably grown, and larger than 
the Partridge herself, she continued to lead them about; 
but, though their notes, or call, were those of common 
chickens, their manners had all the shyness, timidity, 
and alarm of young Partridges ; running with great ra- 
pidity, and squatting in the grass, exactly in the manner * 
of the Partridge. Soon after this they disappeared, having 
probably been destroyed by dogs, by the gun, or by birds 
of prey. Whether the domestic fowl might not by this 
method be very soon brought back to its original savage 
state, and thereby supply another additional subject for the 
amusement of the sportsman, will scarcely admit of a 
doubt. But the experiment, in order to secure its success, 
would require to be made in a quarter of the country less 
exposed than ours to the ravages of guns, traps, dogs, and 
the deep snows of winter, that the new tribe might have 
full time to become completely naturalized, and well fixed 
in all their native habits. 
About the beginning of September, the Quails being 
now nearly full grown, and associated in flocks, or coveys, 
of from four or five to thirty, afford considerable sport to 
the gunner. And, perhaps, of all the feathered tribe 
which inhabit this country, none are persecuted with so 
much untiring vigor, as this interesting little bird ; the 
delicacy of its flesh, its domestic qualities, and source of 
profit, seems to mark it for that destruction which continu- 
ally awaits it. 
Ranking high in our scale of game, and being univer- 
sally found in this country, the Partridge, by its familiar 
habits, invites the sportsman, who pursues it as a source 
of pleasurable recreation, superior to all others; and thus, 
between man, hawks, and vermin, is a continual war 
waged against this harmless bird, and every succeeding 
year adds to the number and avidity of its enemies, but so 
great is the fecundity of the Partridge, that instead of de- 
creasing in quantity, they appear to thrive, and multiply, 
in despite of the system of extermination carried on 
against them. The most are killed by man, and he may 
be fairly considered their greatest enemy; but, the Par- 
