RUFFED GROUSE. 85 
Dr. John II. Brintoii, of JcilVrsoii Medical Collefro, has known sev- 
eral cases of <»:lossitis ( inflannnation of the t()n<>:ue) caused hy eatin<r 
grouse that had fed on laurel/' and Dr. N. Shoemaker has also known 
of serious illness from the same source.^ V. K. Chestnut, Department 
specialist on poisonous plants, gave an extract made fi'om laurel 
leaves to a chicken, Avhich he subsequently killed and fed to a cat. 
The cat was seriously affected, but ultimately recovered. In Phila- 
delphia in 1790 the })ublic was alarmed over the possibilities of laurel 
poisoning, and the sale of these birds was for a time forbidden. Dr. 
B. II. Warren shot 10 birds when the ground was deeply covered with 
snow, and found their crops stuff'ed with laurel buds.^ Not more 
than half a dozen stomachs of the 208 examined by the Biological 
Survey contained fragments of this plant, the explanation probably 
being that only a few stomachs were collected in iate winter, when 
birds most resort to it. Four of the birds that contained laurel were 
used for food, with no evident ill effect. One of these had eaten 14 
grams of laurel, nearly all leaves, with only a few buds. The leaves 
had been clipped into bits as if by scissors. Investigation of this 
habit of the grouse, known to be a common one, is much needed. The 
maple is often selected -for budding, and sometimes the spicebush. 
Flowers are sometimes plucked b}^ browsing grouse. Asters and red 
clover have been identified in their food, and the green ovary of 
bloodroot {Sanguinaria) was found in a bird's crop by Amos W. 
Butler. 
The following plants also are in the list of browse of this bird: 
Ileuchera (Heuchcra americana). Meadow rue {Tlialictrum sp.). 
Cbickweed (Alsinc puhcra). Sniilax (Smilaj' glauca). 
Catnip {ycpeta catdria). Horsetail rush (Equisetnm sp.). 
Cinquefoil (Potentilla argentea). Azalea (Azalea sp.). 
Buttercup (Ranunculus hulbosa False goat's beard (AstiWc sp.). 
and R. acris). Aster (.l.s-^cr sp.). 
Speedwell (Veronica o/ficinaUs). Cud weed (Gnaplialiuni purpu- 
Saxifrage (Ha.rifra(/a sp.). reum). 
Live- forever (Sedum sp. ). 
FRUIT. 
The ruffed grouse is preeminently a berry eater. Not only does it 
consume more fruit than the bobwhite, but it is our most frugivorous 
game bird. More than one-fourth of its yearly food — 28.82 percent — 
consists of fruit, distributed as follows: 3.82 percent rose hips, 2.46 
percent poison ivy and sumac, 8.01 percent grapes, and 19.08 percent 
miscellaneous fruits. 
« Warren, Birds of Penn., p. 108, 1890. 
?* North Am. Med. Journ., I, pp. 321-322, 182G. 
c Birds of Pennsylvania, p. 108, 1890. 
