March, 1918 
FOREST AND STREAM 
179 
THE BLUE QUAIL 
(continued from page 151) 
man to get his bird exactly on the end of 
the barrel and hold it there while enjoying 
the knowledge that a kill is certain to 
follow. That man kills blue quails most 
often who keeps both eyes opened wide, 
looks only at the whirring target and never 
sees the barrels at all. If the eyes be 
firmly fixed on the bird the gun will come 
into proper position of itself. It must do 
this right away or with a rise of twenty 
yards and cacti thirty feet high to dodge 
behind, the quail is as safe as if it were 
quietly asleep on some untrodden bank of 
the upper Rio Grande. Quick powder, a 
calm gaze at the mark and the habit* of 
pressing the trigger as soon as the gun butt 
is firmly against the shoulder will do much 
to help a man along. A straight stocked 
weapon is the only kind to use, because the 
blue quail when it flushes will spring in¬ 
variably to a height of fifteen feet and will 
often go thirty feet nearly straight up. Its 
spread of wing and its strong muscles take 
its body skyward at a great rate. It is 
often the case, too, that a bevy flushing 
twenty or twenty-five yards away will 
whirl so swiftly into air that they seem to 
be standing on their tails and will darf 
straight backward over the hunter’s head, 
doing it all in less than a second. By the 
time he has turned about the bevy will be 
fifty yards away, a buzzing blue swarm, 
weaving heavily from side to side, not 
greatly unlike a jacksnipe, but travelling 
three feet to the jacksnipe’s two. The first 
time this trick is played upon a hunter he 
is apt to stand stock still with gaping 
mouth. In time, however, he learns to kill 
the quail as soon as it gets into the air. 
The Earl of Whittelsey, who came to 
Texas for a summer’s hunt in 1913, thought 
the blue quail the most elegantly plumed 
of all game birds. Certainly it is one of 
the handsomest of American feathered 
things, in grace of outline and coloring. 
[A description of the blue or scaled 
quail (Callipcpla squamata) with comments 
on its habits, some of them by our old 
correspondent, the late Herbert Brown, is 
found in Grinnell’s American Game Shoot¬ 
ing, pp. 81 and 354. Up to recent years, it 
has been not at all pursued by sportsmen, 
but we do not know what changes may 
have taken place with the increasing settle¬ 
ment of the country it inhabits. Editors.] 
MAKING THE CANVAS 
CANOE 
(continued from page 167) 
large enough to be strapped over the 
canoe, which may be carried onto the bank 
in case of heavy rain or storms and 2 
men can rest under same in comparative 
comfort in emergencies. In cruising roll 
all “grub,” utensils, etc., into a neat pack 
with this cover and they will be doubly 
protected. 
The average total cost should not exceed 
$15.00 to $20.00 complete, and eliminating 
ill “fancy fixings” the canoe can be con¬ 
ducted for $8.00 to $10.00. These canoes 
ast for indefinitely long periods with or- 
linary care and intelligent use. 
A group of sport-loving business men interested in organ¬ 
izing an exclusive Florida Fishing Club have acquired an at¬ 
tractive club house and grounds on Anna Maria Key— 
FLORIDA’S BEST FISHING SECTION. 
Sportsmen wishing to spend all or part of the winter months 
where Tarpon and other game fish are more than plentiful, 
are invited to write for particulars. 
THE FISHING CLUB 
Box 26, FOREST AND STREAM 
9 East 40th Street NEW YORK CITY 
New Red Devil and Blue Devil Hackle Minnows 
Tied on 1/0 English Kirby bend hooks. Flash them through midwater 
or along the surface, equally deadly for bass, big rainbows, browns 
and native trout—For latter, small hooks—Price 50 cents 
LOUIS RHEAD, 217 Ocean Avenue Brooklyn, N. Y. 
LAKE MAHOPAC 
1000 FT. ABOVE SEA LEVEL 
90 MINUTES FROM GRAND CEN¬ 
TRAL STATION 
Good Commutation Service 
All Water Sports and 
Really Good Fishing 
Bungalows, Log Cabin 
Camps and Water 
Front Plots at 
Attractive Prices 
COUNTRY HOME LEAGUE 
LEO BUGG, Director 
40 W. 32nd Street, N. Y. C. 
Phone 9860 Mad. Sq. 
NewBengmam 
Cor. 11th & Market Streets 
European 
Plan 
' Philadelphia 
. *v Pa. • ’’ 
/ A 
‘ Better Than Ever 
Thoroughly Modernized 
Remodeled and Equipped 
NEW MANAGEMENT 
ROOF GARDEN 
In connection 
Special Cldh Breakfasts 
and Luncheons 
Rates—Without Bath, $1.50 
With Bath, $2.00 and up. 
FRANK KIMBLE, Mgr. 
m 
■ nl 1 ■ In 
