November, 1&17 
556 
FOREST AND STREAM 
RESTOCKING WITH QUAIL 
HOW MEXICAN QUAIL ARE BEING TRAPPED BY THOU¬ 
SANDS AND SUCCESSFULLY SHIPPED LONG DISTANCES 
By DR. FRANK KENT 
HERE’S THE BOOK 
YOU WANT! 
This is the one book you need if you are 
going camping or like to read of camp life. 
Written by experts, “The Camper’s Own 
Book” treats the camping subject in a 
thorough and practical manner. 
NOTE THIS LIST OF CONTENTS: 
The Benefits of Recreation. The Camp-Fire. 
“Horse Sense” In The Woods. Comfort in 
Camp. Outfits (Suggestions for Hunting 
Outfits). Grub-Lists. Canoes and Canoe¬ 
ing. Animal Packing. What to Do If 
Lost. The Black Bass and Its Ways. 
About Fly Fishing for Brook Trout. 
Pointers for Anglers. The Rifle in the 
Woods. 
PRICE DELIVERED 
PAPER COVER 50 CENTS 
CLOTH COVER $1.00 
FOREST and STREAM (Book Dept.) 
9 East 40th Street, New York City 
I N former years, the trapping and sale 
of quail for restocking purposes was 
permitted in several states where they 
were plentiful, but as the supply diminished 
laws were enacted all over the United 
States which now make it impossible to so 
do. As a result no American bred quail 
have been available for restocking for sev¬ 
eral years, consequently sportsmen and 
game conservationists in less favored sec¬ 
tions who desired to restock their grounds 
have been forced to go abroad for birds. 
The success of the introduction of ex¬ 
otics hung in the balance for several years, 
but it is now being done satisfactorily and 
last year 35,000 quail were imported from 
Mexico with good results. The conditions 
there are ideal; there is no hunting by the 
natives and the only trapping is for expor¬ 
tation. The climate is favorable and there 
is plenty of food and water. 1 have heard 
the Bob White whistle from Tampico, on 
the Gulf of Mexico, to Manzanillo and 
Guaymas on the Pacific coast and I do not 
believe it is possible to approximate their 
numbers. On one large farm, or hacienda, 
I personally know that over 25,000 quail 
have been trapped during the past two 
years, and it has not affected their num¬ 
bers to a visible extent. 
The method of trapping, which is done 
entirely by natives, is simply the old-fash¬ 
ioned 2x4 trap, made of sticks or corn¬ 
stalks, tied together, and set with the figure 
4. Each trapper has six or eight traps that 
he inspects morning and afternoon. The 
trappers use onion crates, which are easily 
disinfected, to hold the birds until they can 
deliver them to my agents, who are supplied 
with the regulation crates. The agents are 
also furnished with sand, gravel and feed, 
and through practical experience know just 
the care and attention that is necessary. 
Trips in an auto truck are made daily 
to gather up the birds fresh and get 
them out of the hands of the ignor¬ 
ant natives. Attention to little details 
like these spell SUCCESS or FAIL¬ 
URE in quail transporting. 
epidemics of a like nature when conditions 
are unsanitary. 
Thanks to the efficiency of the Biological 
Survey, who issues the permits, and the 
Bureau of Animal Industry, who conducts 
the daily inspection and ten-day quarantine, 
the importers are now able to go thru 
the season with perfectly healthy birds. 
Briefly, the rules require importers to build 
holding quarters for the birds adequate for 
their care during quarantine, and specify 
the grounds must be a certain distance 
from chickens, and where chickens have not 
been kept the preceding year, as they are 
a source of danger. The crates, or holding 
pens, are of specified size, to prevent over¬ 
crowding, and after quarantine is over, the 
birds must be moved, placed in new crates, 
and the old ones disinfected. 
While the quail are held pending ship¬ 
ment, they are given the very best of care 
and attention. The crates are made of 
Zane Grey has written many fine books, 
but here is the best of them all. He has 
written of wonderful horses before, but 
Wildfire outruns them all. He has written 
often of men and women who loved ad¬ 
venture and had their fill of it, but here in 
this story of a Centaur community the ad¬ 
ventures and passions of his characters are 
as natural in the wild country in which they 
lived as the adventures and passions told 
of primitive peoples in fabled Greece. 
Published by 
HARPER& BROTHERS 
Price SI.35—Postage Extra 
FORESTAND STREAM 
Book Dept. Price 1.35 Postpaid 
New York 
D URING the height of the trapping 
season, December and January, it 
is possible to obtain a thousand birds 
per day, if the weather remains perfect; 
and it is no uncommon sight to see the 
“jitney” rolling in looking like an express 
wagon, groaning under its load of crates. 
The importation of quail is under the su¬ 
pervision of the Department of Agriculture, 
their rules and regulations covering every 
step from the opening to the close of the 
season. The occasional appearance of 
“quail disease” among trapped birds, when 
held in detention under unsanitary condi¬ 
tions, makes this control imperative. 
Quail disease is understood to be a con¬ 
tagious, infectious disease of the alimen¬ 
tary tract, affecting the small intestine, caus¬ 
ing a diarrhoea with other symptoms, which 
is fatal. The disease is caused by filthy 
surroundings, which infect their food and 
water. Poultry and turkeys are subject to 
inch material, well ventilated with i inch 
holes in ends, and i inch space at bottom to 
facilitate cleaning. Sand to the depth of 
an inch or more is placed in the crates 
daily, and as they often flush badly at 
night, a bumper of burlap is added at the 
top to prevent scalping. 
B OB WHITE is an early riser, and a 
glutton; when he gets enough, he 
sits down, and it never occurs to 
him that “women and children come first.” 
He is also a game little scrapper which can 
bill, hold on, and shuffle like a game cock, 
and during the mating season it is a sur¬ 
vival of the fittest. 
The first thing in the morning and about 
four in the afternoon they are fed a mix¬ 
ture of small grains of cane seed, milo 
maize, kaffir corn, feterita, wheat, and chops 
from corn. Gravel is mixed freely with the 
grain, as it is a very important aid to di- 
9 East 40th Street 
