Jan. 6 , igi2.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
19 
The Connecticut Quail Propagation 
Experiment 
By HERBERT K. JOB 
B elieving that an account of the quail 
propagation experiment, which was con¬ 
ducted at the Connecticut Agricultural 
College last summer from the standpoint of 
those who actually did the work and of the resi¬ 
dent college officials will be of interest, the fol¬ 
lowing statement is issued for the public and 
the sportsmen of Connecticut. 
The measure of success or failure of the ex¬ 
periment depends upon the point of view. It 
did not succeed, this first season, in raising a 
stock of young quail for distribution. On the 
other hand, despite various handicaps, every stage 
of the process of propagation worked out suc¬ 
cessfully, until a disease broke out among the 
numerous young birds when they were almost 
matured. Through the results of careful scien¬ 
tific work done, and still being done upon the 
problem, those who are in the best position to 
judge feel that a foundation has been laid which 
makes the prospect of final success far greater 
than ever before. Following is a brief sum¬ 
mary of the facts in the case. 
The experiment was conducted with an aver¬ 
age of thirty pairs of our bobwhite quail. The 
first result was the perfecting of the details of 
a successful breeding system, by which even the 
wildest stock will breed abundantly in confine¬ 
ment. Most of our birds were thoroughly wild. 
Though we lost the best part of the breeding 
season through a late start, these thirty pairs 
produced 693 eggs. Our banner quail laid 73 
eggs, the next 50. Only one hen quail failed 
to lay. The average was 23 eggs per pair. The 
fertility was go per cent. The system is simple 
and practicable. 
The second result of the experiment is a suc¬ 
cessful hatching system. After preliminary tests 
the hatches were usually over 80 per cent, and 
ran as high as 95 per cent, which poultrymen 
will agree is not bad. 
A third result is that an immense amount of 
detail as to the care and handling of quail has 
been quite thoroughly mastered. We wish to 
continue an elaborate series of scientific feed¬ 
ing tests, with a view to forestalling disease. 
We have worked out a promising system for 
game preserves which we are anxious to test 
out in detail this coming season. The quail 
chicks are beautiful and docile, and seem amen¬ 
able to artificial conditions and management. 
A fourth series of results, of most fundamen¬ 
tal importance, is in the line of experimental 
work on quail diseases. Prof. L. F. Rettger, the 
bacteriologist of Sheffield Scientific School of 
Yale University, has been carrying on co-opera¬ 
tive investigation in connection with poultry dis¬ 
eases during his vacation seasons at the Storrs 
Agricultural Experiment Station. He was al¬ 
lowed to give part of his time to the quail dis¬ 
ease problem in conjunction with the ornitholo¬ 
gist who is a member of the faculty of the Con¬ 
necticut Agricultural College. Dr. Rettger has 
discovered the causative organism of at least 
one deadly epidemic disease of quail. He first 
found it in a specimen from a Connecticut gun 
club from a batch newly shipped in, which had 
nearly all died. An inoculation test with hea.thy 
quail proved it the cause of the disease. Dr. 
Rettger is now keeping it in cultures, and if 
further specimens from various quarters prove 
it to be a widespread scourge of quail shipping, 
he proposes to attempt a vaccine or serum to 
render quail in captivity immune. He has also 
recently isolated another organism, first found 
in the young quail. Though there has not yet 
been time to demonstrate that this is surely the 
main cause of their death, this view received re¬ 
markable confirmation from the recent discovery 
by English scientists of a very similar organism 
in grouse, which they believe to be the cause 
of the grouse disease in England. If the above 
organism proves, through further investigation, 
to be the cause of the quail disease, from its 
nature it is believed that it can probably be 
eradicated or prevented by simple medicinal 
treatment. Moreover, it may give light upon 
the matter of the disease of the ruffed grouse 
and other game birds. 
The work being conducted on the grounds of 
the Connecticut Agricultural College, and the 
bacteriological part being contributed by the 
Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station, received 
the interest and attention of President Beach, 
of Prof. Clinton, the director of the experiment 
station, of Prof. Stoneburn, who is head of the 
poultry department of the college, and others, 
and is fully approved by them. The experiment 
station is under the Federal Government and 
has regular Government inspection. The quail 
experiment, being connected as above with the 
station, received Government inspection and was 
approved. The ■ work was also done in close 
co-operation with the poultry department, owing 
to which no accidents occurred. LTnremitting 
care was given to the work, as those mentioned 
above will testify. The work with the young 
quail lasted each day till late evening, with 
night watches additional, involving sleeping out¬ 
doors by the brooders in a hammock. 
The college and the experiment station officials, 
together with other important interests, believ¬ 
ing that this work is of value and economic im¬ 
portance, and that it gives promise of solving 
a problem which would be worth a large amount 
of money to the State and the public, urge that 
it be continued for at least another year. To 
stop midway in a promising scientific quest al¬ 
ready productive of useful results, on the ground 
that the final goal was not reached in a few 
months, appears to them an amazing proposi¬ 
tion. The station’s investigation of the white 
diarrhoea of chicks has already taken three years, 
and a proposed cattle disease investigation is 
liable to extend over five years. Yet the Gov¬ 
ernment considers money thus used well ex¬ 
pended. 
The ornithologist is now completing a report 
on quail propagation, embodying the results of 
this experiment at Storrs and of another quail 
experiment in Connecticut carried on privately 
in co-operation with him. It is the most thor¬ 
ough treatment of the subject that has ever been 
prepared. The director of the experiment sta¬ 
tion has examined the material, and considering 
it valuable, has asked permission to publish it 
for the experiment station as a Government bul¬ 
letin in co-operation with the commission at the 
expense of the Government. Many persons who 
are experimenting with quail are asking for the 
report, so as to have the benefit of the new in¬ 
formation for the approaching season. 
Until the diseases, feeding and handling of 
quail are thoroughly worked out in a scientific 
manner, the whole problem of the artificial in¬ 
crease of quail will remain at a standstill. The 
depletion of the quail in one State for the bene¬ 
fit of another will never solve the problem. Just 
so long as shipments of quail are tried without 
understanding the disease problem, large num¬ 
bers of them are practically sure to be swept off 
with the dreaded epidemic with grave danger of 
spreading it among the native quail and grouse. 
A small fraction of the game fund would con¬ 
tinue this fundamental work. It may be re¬ 
marked that the expense was not as large as 
stated in some of the papers. This whole mat¬ 
ter naturally rests with the sportsmen of Con¬ 
necticut, and it is for them to decide as they 
believe it most for the public good. 
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