6 
The Mourning Dove 
not sent to fetch it at once, for fear that my presence might frighten 
away the other birds that were coming in. While we waited and watched, 
a large bullfrog came out of the pond and grasped the dead bird in its 
mouth. Few things in nature have ever surprised me more. Evidently 
the frog was attempting to swallow it, and only desisted when I rushed 
forward with shouts of disapproval. 
Most of the hunting for Doves was done in the early fall, when 
they would come in great numbers to the peanut-fields. It was an easy 
matter to creep along under cover of an old rail-fence, get two or three 
birds in line, and blaze away. This was a common 
Dove-slfoots practice in those days, indulged in by thousands of 
persons in the South, without a thought of wrong- 
doing, until it was forbidden by recent wise laws. 
In parts of Georgia and South Carolina large “Dove-shoots” used 
to take place every autumn. With this sport in view some grain was 
left standing, or else certain fields were baited by scattering grain over 
the ground. After a few days the birds were to be seen gathering to 
the deceptive feast by thousands. Then the hunt was organized, and, 
rm an Qnnninfprl mnrm no* mantr m Pti anrl hmrc ci i t~rru in rl t=*r\ flip* anrl 
on an appointed morning, many men and boys surrounded the field and 
began shooting. All day long the birds were flying in or out of the 
slaughter-pen, and frequently several thousands were killed before the 
sun went down. The number killed often far exceeded the local con- 
sumption, which meant that the surplus bodies were thrown away, or 
were left for the hogs to eat. 
There was some excuse for regarding these doves as game, and 
shooting them in moderation, as their flesh, although dark, is palatable, 
and a young dove, taken a few weeks after it begins to fly, and nicely 
cooked, is a delicious morsel. But such slaughter as the “shoots” caused 
was a criminal waste, and no one can regret their stoppage when he con- 
siders the very great value these birds are to the farming interests of the 
country, and particularly to those of the Southern States. 
Mr. William Dutcher, President of the National Association of Audu- 
bon Societies, in writing of the feeding-habits of the Mourning Dove, 
has made the statements that follow: 
“Is there a farmer in the country who, after a 
hard day’s work has not wished that some other 
means could be devised to prevent the rapid growth of noxious weeds, 
and, at the same time, emancipate him from the sweating brow, the 
blistered hands, and the aching back? 
“There is one means of weed-destroying that has been entirely over- 1 
looked by the agriculturist, probably because they never seriously con- 
sidered the food-habits of the Dove. 
“Recent investigations made by the Biological Survey (United States 
Department of Agriculture) of the food of the Dove, prove this bird 
to be of incalculable value. The examination of the contents of 237 
stomachs of the Dove shows that more than 99 per cent of its food con- 
sists wholly of vegetable matter in the shape of seeds ; less than 1 per cent 
The Farmer’s 
Helper 
