Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1890-10-02
TANNING A FLOCK OF aUAILs.
Ruckvheat and Gradual Advances
Conquer the Wild Birds.

Conquer the Wild Birds.
Several weeks ago Mrs. d. n. Snyder,
If Jefferson township, Penn, saw lot
az ouails busting themselves under some
c,,rrant bushes in the back end OF her
Garden. The birds looked so happy and
oontented that she thought 1t would De
too bad to disturb them, so she returned
home without pulling the weeds out OF
match of onions that she had gone there
for the purpose Of doing. In an hour or
% the ouaiis had disappeared in the tall
timothy of the adjoining meadow, ana
Mrs. SNYDER scattered some buckwneat
around where they had been wallowlng.
ON the following day the birds came
there again, gobbled up the buckwheat
and had a good time. Every day Tor a
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 inthe garden as regularly
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
ouails reminded her Of her negligence by
appearing at the usual hour and making
a great fuss and noise because there
wasn't any grain in the garden for them
TO pick up. Mrs Snyder let the birds
hunt for other kind Of food that day, and
for several mornings after that she didn't
I fail to give them good feed OF buck
wheat. Then she missed a morning on
4 purpose to see how the quails would act
i when they didn't find any grain near the
/ currant bushes, watching from a second
story window for them to make their app
/ pearance.
Promptly on time the whole flock
I crept under the garden fence from the
meadow, ran among the bushes, and be-
gan TO dodge and flutter about where
they had been in the habit of finding
the buckwheat. When they searched
long enough TO learn that no grain
had been put there for them. the birds
pinned in low tones, fiuttered uneasily.
scattered into the vegetable beds, and
appeared to be very much disappointed.
In little while the quails gave up the
search. assembled under the currant
bushes. and went to busting themselves
in the soil. Mrs. Snyder counted four
teen in the flock, and then she went down
stairs. got handful of buckwheat, and
tiptoed her way into the garden.
When she had got as near to the quails
as she could get without soaring
them, Mrs. Snyder flung hand
full OF buckwheat toward the quiet
little flock. 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 thev had been, and secreted her
self behind a row Of pea vines. 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 took courage,
filed from their biding 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 a handful of buckwheat
into the air, so that it fell into the midst
of the flock. 1t scared the birds little,
but they quickly resumed their feeding,
! and Mrs. Snyder began to whistle to them
finging more grain into the air as she
whistled. That excited their curiosit,
, Just enough to make them look up for {
moment, and Mrs. Snyder emptied th'
basin and stole away, without letting thu
birds see her. She fed the quails in thii
!, way for few days, gradually got then
used to her whistle and voice, and lie
them get sight of her by degrees. In
side of month from the time she frs
saw the birds in the garden she haC
them so well tanned that they futteret
I out of the meadow whenever she calleC
them, ate in her presence, and did no
seem to fear her at all. Since then Mrs
= Snyder has taken a good deal of comfor
with her strange little flock, and sh
: said the other day that the confidenc
; the birds have in her pays her man.
times over for all the trouble she ha
|, made herself in getting the wild littl
creatures to be as tame as they are.