Vol. 10, No. 1 
Page 2 
cent during the years 1951 to 1958 to about 10 percent in 1965; small grains made 
up about 20 percent of the land area in the four counties in the early 1950's but 
only 5 percent in 1985* On the study area, in spite of the influence of estate 
land farming practices, the trend toward less hay, pasture and small grain has been 
only slightly more accelerated than in the four-county area, indicating that land- 
use practices on the study area are generally indicative of those throughout the 
remainder of east-central Illinois. 
3. Factors Influencing Pistribution and Abundance of Pheasants W. L. Anderson 
Statistical analysis of data obtained from 15 adult hens collected in Ford 
and Livingston counties during July through October, 1966, indicates that a direct 
relationship exists between the body weight of pheasants and the progression of 
molt of their primary flight feathers. The increase in body weight with each 
primary molted averaged 16.6 grams among the 15 hens; this increase was statistically 
significant at the 95 percent level of confidence. The bulk of the increase in 
body weight apparently was due to accumulation of fat deposits and to increases in 
the size of sternal muscles. The fat strip and visceral fat, which are useful as 
indices of the abundance of fat, increased an average of 0.05 and 0.15 gram, 
respectively, with each primary molted, both of which were highly significant (99 
percent level of confidence). Sternal muscles increased, on the average, 5.4 grams 
with each primary molted, which was also significant at the 99 percent level of 
confidence. Increases in leg muscles, which averaged 2.2 grams with each primary 
molted, exhibited only a low degree of significance (90 percent level of confidence). 
Thus, it appears that following the nesting season, adult hens steadily replace 
depleted body reserves concurrent with developing new plumage--a phenomenon that 
requires approximately 16 weeks. 
4. Responses of Bobwhites to Habitat Manipulation J. A. Ellis, K. P. Thomas 
The increase in the harvest of quail on the Dale and Forbes areas in 1 966 
marked an end of the declining success of hunters compared to the preceeding 3 
years. During the 1966 season on Dale, 665 gun-hours were expended, and 206 
quail were harvested (3*2 gun-hours per kill which was 37 percent less effort per 
bird killed than in 1965)- The kill per 100 acres in I 966 , 18.7, was 39 percent 
higher than in 1965 ar| d slightly above the 1963“66 average of 18.4. 
On Forbes 228 quail were harvested in 1 966 from the expenditure of 640.5 gun- 
hours. The kill per gun-hour, 2.8, was 32 percent below the value for 1 965 . In 1966 
on the Forbes Area, the kill per 100 acres, 10.3* was 124 percent greater than 
in I 965 and comparable to the I 963 -I 966 average of 9 . 3 . 
Assuming that the vulnerability of quail and the efficiency of hunters were 
relatively constant during the 1963-66 seasons, the hunting season data reflect an 
increase in the population in the fall of 1966. An increase in the prehunt popu¬ 
lations on both the Dale and Forbes areas was indicated by the results of the 1 966 
prehunt census. 
