522 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[November, 
Prairie Chicken Shooting. 
DAVID W. JUDD. 
The whir-r, the gun crack, and the fall! Most 
breezy, bracing sport, as the birds go up with the 
wind and down with your number eight shot, 
affording all the exhilaration and pleasure, with¬ 
out the attendant exertion and weariness of moun¬ 
tain Pheasant shooting in the East! Very many of 
our readers recognize a familiar scene on the oppo¬ 
site page. The great mass of them, however, know 
the Pinnated Grouse only as suspended lifeless in 
the shambles, or served up by the restaurateur. 
Thirty years ago, a few remained in New Jersey 
and on Long Island, but now you must not expect 
to flush these Prairie Chickens east of Illinois. 
On a bright September morning last, Robert, 
Karl, Karl’s setter (most important factor of the 
outfit), and the writer swept cheerily over the 
prairie south of Columbus, Nebraska, crossing the 
Loup and heading our horses for the Platte. 
Meadow hens, plover and killdeer—good shooting 
for older States—rose from marsh and morass, but 
were unheeded as we pushed on for gamier game. 
The spirited animals plunged boldly through the 
tall brakes and bushes skirting the river, then over 
adjoining wheat stubble, past waving fields of 
corn, and along the edges of cotton-wood forests 
—all to no purpose, however, so far as chickens 
were concerned. We had started too late in the 
morning to flush the birds, and with all hie beating 
to and fro, “Tiglie” could not raise them. Wc 
gave him abundance of water from the cask, 
sponged his sides and limbs with as much care as 
if in preparation for a dog show, and then made 
for the Sand Hills. Here, too, the chickens refused 
to be found. So at high noon, under the friendly 
shade of an abandoned tree claim, we unhitched 
ana unharnessed the weary horses, turned them 
into the blue grass, spread the ample repast which 
host Clothier had provided, gave “ Tighc ” a fresh 
bath from the water cask, and then lay down for 
two hours’ sleep, until later in the day the birds 
should be more accommodating. 
Three o’clock found us on the move, and like¬ 
wise the birds; a whole covey rose thirty yards 
from where we had rested. And then on until sun¬ 
set, what, with whirring of chickens right and 
left, double shots from wagon and on foot, magni¬ 
ficent working of the dog, marking down single 
birds, “pulling” a deserted ranche for water—it 
was an afternoon of varied excitement, worth com¬ 
ing far to enjoy ! 
By seven o’clock we had swept well over the Sand 
Hill district, again down to the river bottom, where 
the picturesque scenery of the Loup and a beauti¬ 
ful prairie sunset fittingly closed a delightful day’s 
prairie shooting in Nebraska. From her thatched 
sod home a Scandinavian mother passed us pitcher 
and pail, for man and beast. “Tighe”took his 
place under the back seat; guns were sheathed ; 
Robert gathered the lines, flourished his whip, 
and away we flew over the tortuous settlers’ road, 
through twilight and darkness, for Columbus, ten 
miles away. We had not bagged fifty-five brace of 
birds, as had been done a day or two before, but 
we had enough, and to spare. 
Eifty-two hours later, and with another party the 
writer scurried the fields of Western Minnesota 
(Lyon and adjoining counties), though with less 
success. Jehu Hunter for two days drove care¬ 
fully and well from wheat stubble flat to blue 
grass plateau. The dogs did all that could be ex¬ 
pected of them, but Scribe Case, T. J. T., from 
New York—all four of us found but few birds, and 
missed most of them. Miniature lakes, with 
countless canvas-back, teal, and mud duck ap¬ 
peared in rapid succession. Flocks of geese 
clouded the sky. Cranes, sand and blue, hawks and 
meadow hens flew from every slough, as if to in¬ 
vite a shot, but the Pinnated Grouse took sur¬ 
prisingly good care of themselves. Swinging 
round back to Tracy, we proceeded 140 miles into 
Dakota, to be told that wc were too far out for 
Prairie chickens. They move westerly only with 
wheat stubble and corn fields. So back to the 
Minnesota line we went, where, in the Sioux 
Valley, eastern reader, you may find these noble 
birds in sufficient numbers to gratify your most 
sportive zest. If you have the time and means 
for a western trip, and relish for bird shoot¬ 
ing, endeavor to reach the chicken country—Wes¬ 
tern Iowa, Western Minnesota, Eastern Dakota, 
Central Kansas, and Central Nebraska—after the 
middle of August and before the middle of Sep¬ 
tember. The season continues from August to De¬ 
cember, but during the period specified the birds 
(hatched in June) lie better, fly with much less 
speed, and are much better eating than later on. 
A young pinnated grouse, properly broiled soon 
after killed, is as toothsome and delicious as a 
young domestic chicken, or woodcock, whereas an 
old bird is a tough customer for a novice to get, and 
a tough customer to eat after you have gotten him. 
Do not bring dogs with you, unless well 
broken to pheasant and woodcock, and then only 
pointers, which require less water on the prairies 
than do setters. The railroad charges for transport¬ 
ing dogs are considerable, and you can generally 
find dogs which will answer your purpose in the 
prairie region. Equip yourself, before starting, in 
a cheap corduroy suit. Take a number twelve 
Remington Breech Loader, new pattern, top action. 
Have a few brass shells for an emergency, and do 
not load yourself down with loaded paper shells or 
cartridges, inasmuch as they can generally be pui - - 
chased at reasonable figures at almost every West¬ 
ern prairie village or collection of houses where 
other articles are sold. It is well to include among 
your traps those necessary for loading shells, for 
any emergency that may occur. Nothing can be 
more vexatious than to be caught without loaded 
shells on good shooting ground, and to be unable 
to purchase any without driving miles away. 
If accustomed to pheasant and quail shoot¬ 
ing, you will experience no difficulty in bringing 
down pinnated grouse. Like quail, they are gre¬ 
garious, fond of cultivated farms, and particularly 
of wheat stubble, after the first of September. 
Like pheasant, pinnated grouse lie still until you 
are close upon them; thej' will rise as a covey, or 
one by one, in which latter case you can bring 
them down in detail. As they rise they flap their 
wings and, like the pheasant or partridge, sail 
away, generally in a straight line from you. Dur¬ 
ing August, and until the middle of September, the 
grouse flies a comparatively short distance, drop¬ 
ping down in the long grass. Later in the season 
the single bird will sometimes fly for some miles, 
when flushed, before alighting. If making a cross 
shot, aim from two to four feet ahead of your 
bird, according to the distance. If he is an old 
grouse, and does not drop, watch him closely; he 
may be carrying off a handful of number eight 
shot (use number six shot after October first) to 
alight, stone dead on the prairie. 
The bird rises with a cluck ! and a whir-r ! and 
after September flies with almost as much rapidity 
as the pheasant. He is a swift runner, and when 
your dog has come to a dead point, you may often 
find him twenty or thirty yards away from the spot 
where the dog has made his first stand. Be al¬ 
ways on the alert, therefore, for your bird, close at 
hand or at a distance, that is, after your dog has 
made game. Prairie chickens generally roost close 
to each other on the ground, rarely on shrubs 
or trees. They begin to feed at daylight, frequent¬ 
ing the stubble fields after the middle of Au¬ 
gust. By the middle of the forenoon, say ten 
o’clock, they have satiated themselves, and re¬ 
pair to corn fields and the long grass, where 
they remain very still and quiet from this 
time on until three o’clock. It is difficult 
for both man and dog to find them then ; indeed, 
during this time they appear to be as successful 
as the quail in holding their scent. From about 
the middle of the afternoon on, they again begin 
to move about for food, and towards evening, 
after the twentieth of August, you are very 
liable to find them in the wheat stubble, 
where they can bo readily shot from a wagon. Of 
course you have to make snap shots at the birds in 
corn-fields, whereas, on the prairie and in stubble. 
you have open sights before you. When a covey is 
flushed, and alight in the prairie grass, the birds are 
apt to make off, each one for himself. Then, with 
good dogs, there is fine sport, as bird after bird is 
found. When single birds are flushed, flying,as they 
generally do over one rise of ground, and stopping 
half way up the next, or swinging entirely around 
one point, to some plateau beyond—be sure to 
mark them down by means of some bush or brake. 
Then do not take your eye from the spot, but 
walk or drive directly to the place, as the case 
may be. If the bird is not lying still, he is prob¬ 
ably running as fast as his legs will carry him. 
Follow up the trail with your dog, keeping your 
eye along your gun barrel, and your efforts will be 
rewarded, that is, if experience has made you a 
wing shot. 
Pinnated grouse or prairie chickens, unlike 
ruffed grouse or pheasant, can be domesticated and 
both pair and breed in confinement. The young 
birds are as tender and delicious as the old birds 
are tough and unpalatable, so do not shoot the lat¬ 
ter when you can help it. Seen on the ground 
before they fly, the young birds can readily be dis¬ 
tinguished from the old, and after a little experi¬ 
ence you will be able to take time to distinguish 
between the two, when on the flight. Western 
sportsmen generally hunt the birds from a two- 
seated wagon drawn by two horses, that can readi¬ 
ly handle the vehicle. A keg of water is usually 
carried along, as water is not always to be had on 
the prairies. On long trips, three kegs are some¬ 
times taken, two being suspended from the back 
axle-tree and one from the front. Select a region 
where you can camp at night by some river 
or running stream. Supply yourself with proven¬ 
der before starting, if a week or more is to be 
spent in this prairie pastime. Our artist conveys 
an idea of picturesque scenes we have witnessed, 
and the exhilarating pastime afforded us during 
the present autumn. May the same recreation and 
pleasure be yours another autumn, gentle reader. 
Science in Farming-. 
JOSEPH HARRIS. 
We have much poor land in the United States, 
and an immense area of good land. The poor land 
will be used to grow timber, or be improved by 
converting more or less of it, gradually, into pas¬ 
ture, and stocking it with sheep and cattle. The 
main point is, to feed the sheep or cattle with 
some rich nitrogenous food, such as cotton-seed 
cake, malt-sprouts, bran, shorts, mill-feed, refuse 
beans, or bean-meal made from beans injured by 
the weevil, or bug. In short, the owner of such land 
must buy such food as will furnish the most nutri¬ 
ment and make the richest manure at the least cost 
—taking both of these objects into consideration. 
He will also buy more or less artificial manures, to 
be used for the production of fodder crops, such 
as corn, millet, Hungarian grass, etc. And, as 
soon as a portion of the land can be made rich 
enough, he will grow more or less mangel wurzels, 
sugar beets, turnips, and other root crops. Super¬ 
phosphate will be found admirably adapted for 
this purpose, and two, three, or four hundred 
pounds of cheap potash salts, per acre, can fre¬ 
quently be used on fodder crops, in connection 
with two or three hundred pounds of superphos¬ 
phate, with considerable profit. The whole sub¬ 
ject is well worthy of careful study. Never in the 
history of the world has there, been a grander 
opportunity for the application of science to the 
improvement of agriculture than now. 
On the richer lands, the aim of the farmer will be 
to convert the plant food lying dormant in the soil 
into profitable crops. The main point is good tillage. 
In many cases weeds now run away with half our 
crops and all our profits. The weeds which spring 
up after the grain crops are harvested, are not an 
unmixed evil. They retain the nitrogen and other 
plant food, and when turned under make manure 
for the succeeding crops. But weeds among the 
growing crops are evil, and only evil. Thorough 
plowing is the remedy, with drainage where needed. 
