396 
PINNATED GROUSE. 
and who have acted as guides to gentlemen who go there for 
sport. 
64 Bulk . — An adult Grouse, when fat, weighs as much as 
a barn-door fowl of moderate size, or about three pounds 
avoirdupois. But the eagerness of the sportsman is so great, 
that a large proportion of those they kill are but a few months 
old, and have not attained their complete growth. Notwith- 
standing the protection of the law, it is very common to 
disregard it. The retired nature of the situation favours this. 
It is well understood that an arrangement can be made which 
will blind and silence informers, and that the gun is fired with 
impunity for weeks before the time prescribed in the act. 
To prevent this unfair and unlawful practice, an association 
was formed a few years ago, under the title of the Brush Club , 
with the express and avowed intention of enforcing the game 
law. Little benefit, however, has resulted from its laudable 
exertions ; and under a conviction that it was impossible to 
keep the poachers away, the society declined. At present 
the statute may be considered as operating very little towards 
their preservation. Grouse, especially full grown ones, are 
becoming less frequent. Their numbers are gradually dimi- 
nishing ; and, assailed as they are on all sides, almost without 
cessation, their scarcity may be viewed as foreboding their 
eventual extermination. 
“ Price . — Twenty years ago, a brace of Grouse could be 
bought for a dollar. They now cost from three to five dollars. 
A handsome pair seldom sells in the New York market now- 
a-days for less than thirty shillings, [three dollars, seventy-five 
cents,] nor for more than forty, [five dollars.] These prices 
indicate, indeed, the depreciation of money and the luxury of 
eating. They prove, at the same time, that Grouse are 
become rare; and this fact is admitted by every man who 
seeks them, whether for pleasure or for profit. 
Amours . — The season for pairing is in March, and the 
breeding time is continued through April and May. Then 
the male Grouse distinguishes himself by a peculiar sound. 
