THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
DENMARK. — ^There is very little game in Denmark, and no pheasants 
except in the royal preserves. Partridges are not uncommon, and the law 
protects them between February 1 and September 12. Quail are not speci- 
ally mentioned, and unless they fall into the same category as partridges, 
are probably shootable at any time between the date of their casual arrival 
in spring and the departure of the survivors in autumn. 
BELGIUM and HOLLAND. — ^In these countries the same causes are 
in operation which have led to a decrease of quails in the British Islands. 
The spring migration, which should provide a large influx of birds for 
the breeding season, is ruined by the netting which goes on along the 
shores of the Mediterranean, and the majority of the quail which would 
spread over both these countries, never reach their destination. 
GERMANY.— The spring shooting in which German sportsmen are 
wont to indulge, without any regard to the disastrous consequences of 
killing birds v, hich have arrived for the purpose of increasing their species, 
must inevitably lead to a diminution of the stock of both woodcock and 
quail. So that here again an English sportsman in search of quail is likely 
to be disappointed. 
The cost of a game licence in Germany is 3 marks, in Hanover 
6 marks, and in Hesse 9 marks. Unenclosed properties of less than 200 acres 
do not entitle their owners to kill the game thereon. The shooting belongs 
to the commune in which the land is situated, and under certain restric- 
tions is available to the public. 
The close time for partridge and quail is from December 1 to August 31, 
and the penalty for shooting them between those dates is two thalers or 
six shillings. 
SWITZERLAND. — ^As in other countries of Central Europe, quails are 
becoming scarcer in Switzerland every year, owing to the same cause, 
the stoppage of the migrating flocks when crossing the Mediterranean. 
It is satisfactory, however, to know that an association of Swiss sportsmen 
has taken the matter up, and international arrangements are being made 
between Switzerland and neighbouring states to stop the transport of 
quails from Southern Europe. With the exception of quail, which are shot 
in September, the only other game bird is the grey partridge {Perdix 
cinerea), which has been introduced in various parts of the plains.* 
*Dr Eugene Pitard, Sport in Europe, p. 347. 
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