The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1890-12-19
TANNING a FLOCK OF euAlLs.
Buckwheat and Gradual Advances @
quer the wildness OF the Birds.

Several weeks ago Mrs. ID. N. Sngd6
of Jefferson township saw 4 lot of
quails dusting themselves under some
currant bushes iu the back end of her
garden, says the Scranton, Pa, corre-
spondent Of the N. Y. Sun. The birds
looked so happy and contented that
she thought IL would be too bad to dis
turb them. so she returned to the house
without pulling the weeds out of a
patch Of onions that she had gone
there for the purpose of doing. In an
hour or so the quails had disappeared
IN the tall timothy of the adjoining
meadow, and Mrs. Snyder scattered
some buckwheat around where they
had been wallowing. On the follow
ing day the birds came there again,
gobbled up the buckwheat, and had a
good time. Every day for week or
so Mrs. Snyder scattered grain among
the bushes for the quails to feed on,
and the birds soon got so that they
looked for food in the garden as regu-
larly as they did for resting place at
night out in the woods. back of the
big meadow lot.
One morning the kind-hearted woman
forgot to throw the buckwheat, but the
by appearing at the usual hour and
making n great fuss aud noise because
there wasn't any grain in the garden
for them to pick up. Mrs. Snyder let
the birds hunt for other kinds of food
that day. and for several mornings
after that she didn't fail to give them
good feed of buckwheat. Then she
missed morning on purpose to see
how the quails would act when they
didn't find any grain near the cnrrant
bushes, watching from second-story
window for them to make their APP
pearance.
Promptly on time the whole flock
crept under the garden fence from the
meadow. ran among the bushes. and
began to dodge and iiutter about where
they had been in the habit of finding
the buckwheat. When they had
searched long enough TO learn that no
grain had been put there for them the
birds piped in low tones. fluttered un-
easily, scattered into the vegetable
beds. and appeared to be very much
disappointed. In Il little while the
quails gave up the search. assembled
under the currant bushes, aud went to
dusting themselves in the soil. Mrs.
Snyder counted fourteen in the flock,
and then she went downstairs, got a
basinful of buckwheat. and tiptoed her
way into the garden. When she had
got as near to the quails rs she could
without soaring them Mrs. Snyder
flung a handful of buckwheat toward
the quiet little Hook. 1t fell among
them and they all scampered under
the fence and went out of sight in a
hurry. Then she threw some more
of the grain on the ground where they
had been and secreted herself behind a
row of peavines. Presently one of the
birds ventured to crawl under the
fence into the garden. 1t soon found
the buckwheat and set TO filling its
crop, and at this the other birds tosk
courage. filed from their hiding places,
and went to picking up the grain as
though each was determined TO get its
share.
From her place of concealment Mrs.
SNYDER flung handful of buckwheat
into the air so that il fell into the midst
of the flock. II scared the birds lit
tie. but they quickly resumed their
feeding, and Mrs. SNYDER began to
whistle to them tlinging more grain
into the air as she whistled. That ex-
cited their curiosity just enough TO
thNiAA AOoh AOA - AuA
Mrs Snyder emptied the basin aud
stole away without letting the birds
see her. She fed the quails in this way
for few days. gradually got them
used TO her whistle and voice. aud let
them get sight of her by degrees. In
side of a month from the time she first
saw the birds in Tire garlen she had
them 80 we'll iame.l that they fluttered
out of the meadow whenever she called
them. ate IN her preseuve, and did not
seem to fear her ut all. Since then
Mrs. Snyder has taken a good deal OF
comfort with her strange little flock.
aud she said the other day that the
confidence the birds have in her pays
her many times over for all the trouble
she has made herself IN getting the
wild little creatures TO be rs tame as
they are.