BY THE WAYSIDE 
27 
i -t 
his vicinity had their crops filled with 
the weevils. Another farmer reports his 
cotton fields full of quail and the entire 
absence of weevils. 
Bob-White also destroys the stripe cu¬ 
cumber beetle which makes such havoc 
with cucumbers, squashes, etc. In fact 
he has to his credit a list of fifty-seven 
different beetles, twenty-seven varieties 
of bugs, nine species of grasshoppers, 
locusts, and their kindred, and thirteen 
sorts of caterpillars, besides ants, flies, 
wasps, spiders, etc. The crops and giz¬ 
zards examined in the Government lab- 
,1 
oratories to ascertain the character and 
proportions of the quail’s food, were col¬ 
lected from twenty-one states, besides Can¬ 
ada, Districts of Columbia and Mexico. 
These birds are especially valuable 
during the nesting season, as the young 
feed almost entirely upon insects, twelve 
or more different species having been 
identified as the food of the downy chicks. 
It is freely admitted that when abun¬ 
dant, the quail is a legitimate game bird, 
but he is worth so much more in the 
farmer’s field than in the stomach that, 
until they become superfluous, it be¬ 
hooves him to protect them in every pos¬ 
sible way, especially in the cotton states, 
where the killing of a quail should be 
absolutely forbidden for a term of years, 
or until the Mexican cotton boll weevil 
becomes a thing of the past. 
What with lawless slaughter in many 
cases severe winters in the North and 
the numerous enemies with which they 
have to contend, is a lamentable fact 
that the number of quail is decreasing 
almost everywhere. But it is both 
hardy and prolific, and with proper pro¬ 
tection will not only hold its own but 
gain in numbers. 
Man is Bob-White’s worst enemy, but 
by shorter open seasons, with rigid game 
laws carefully enforced , it may be possible 
to enable the bird to gain ground even 
in localities where he is threatened with 
extinction. Some wise farmers, espe¬ 
cially in Maryland and Virginia, are feed¬ 
ing their quail in cold weather. Wheat, 
buckwheat, corn millet and other grains 
may be used for this purpose and should 
be scattered, if possible, under briars 
where they mav have some protection 
from hawks. Bob-Whites have been 
known to feed with the chickens on Sar- 
sota Key, off the western coast of Florida, 
as well as at other points farther north. 
In cold climates a sheaf or two of grain 
might be placed upon a platform slightly 
raised above the snow, and thus afford 
them both food and shelter. Sumac 
trees and berries should be left for their 
benefit, and also the edges of grain in the 
wheat fields, for the farmer will find that 
some time and care spent in the pro¬ 
tection of this valuable ally is money well 
invested. 
[The above article is taken very largely 
from a leaflet published by the Audubon 
Society and written by Miss Elizabeth 
Reed, j 
Louisiana Bird Islands. 
The annual visit of inspection to the 
bird islands of the coast of Louisiana res¬ 
ervation, which are in charge of the Lou¬ 
isiana Audubon Society, of which Frank 
M. Miller is president,shows avast num¬ 
ber of birds breeding on these islands— 
a number which is continually increasing. 
Of these hordes very few are snipe-like 
birds, such as ovster catchers, willets and 
small plover, but by far the greater num¬ 
ber are gulls and terns with a few, and 
only a very few, black-crowned night 
(Continued on page 32.) 
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