Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-03
RUFFED GROUSE, 50 sAvoRY,


In Flavor IL This Bird.
From the New York Sun.
Tetrao umbelius. the ruffed grousei q
grand and glorious bird he Is!
Every good sportsman should. and no
doubt does, congratulate himself that he
lives In an era in which. with dog and gun,
he may bring to bag game SO worthy of
his efforts and skill. For the ruffed grouse
inhabits. In greater or less abundance, near
" all the wooded lands from the Atlantic
to the Pacific ocean; as far north as the
Seth parallel; on the Atlantic coast as far
south rs Virginia, while he ID known to
exist. near the center Of the continent, rs
far to the southwark as Texas. In most
Of the southern states he u not to be found
at all.
In the middle and western states he IL
the pheasant" but in northern New
York and New England rejoices In the
name OF partridge" With what confusing
misnomers have he and Tetrao Coturnix,
varietas Virginiana-the quail Of New
England. the partridge Of the middle,
southern and western states, and the dog
gone Bob White Of crackers" and negroes
been dubbed! After all. whats In a
In April the ruffed grouse bethinks him
self Of matters conjugal and. that he may
select sweethearts to his liking. issues invi-
tations for social gatherings by drum
ming"-the sound surely familiar to the
ears Of almost every one who has ever en-
joyed rural privileges-which is made In
this wise. The cock bird, choosing q fallen
log in the woods: stands erect upon it. with
the run about his neck well raised, and
his tail feathers spread to the widest; then.
dropping his outstretched wings. he struts
sideways along the log; presently he folds
his wings and feathers and stands motion
laRa for mn rfra 81 -lxr
beat the air with his wings. gradually In
creasing his efforts till their limit seems
to have been reached, when, by degrees
lessening the pulsaions, he brings the
the year he executes this tambour seul Just
after dawn and before shutdown. At other
periods there seem to be no special times
Of day for the performance, though those
already spoken Of are always favorite ones.
The females never drum. but fly to him
upon hearing the sound. The male is polyg-
amous, and often II occurs that there is a
battle royal between cocks at the drum
ming log. Upon such occasions the females
take no part In the scrimmage, but look
peacefully on till the fight is over to re-
ward the victor with their love and favors
The merry month Of May is the nest
ing season, and one often happens upon
the nest. always on the ground, near the
foot of some tree or under a fallen log. II
is constructed of leaves and herbaceous
plants. and contains from six to twelve
eggs. The Chicks" are active little fol
lows, and can hutter along q bit within ten
days from the date of their leaving the
shell; they can run, too, and when come
upon scatter like so many globules of spilled
quicksilver. and are equally hard to get
hold of. How cleverly, then does their
mamma try to divert attention from them
by f1utterfng slowly along the ground. as
If wounded, that the pursuer NAV he al
lured In her direction. Like our EVERYDAY
hen che looks after her brood and cl,cLs
them together, taking them upon occa sion
meath the shadow Of her wings" So TOO
do they wallow in the dust and pick pra yo,
their digestive pill Poor thinesr from
the cradle to the grave are they beset Nv,
enemies. snares, and pitfalls; their iourney
through life is fraught with danger 60,
crafty reynard. sharp-eyed and cruel ba,.,i1
cunning weasel. and f1reside tabby. Let ~.
latter stop peacefully at home by the q "a
irons, lap milk, and earn her Twins hy ~
terminating the rodents in her n,aS,a-,,
barns and dwelling; for, II she he cawg,,
afield, let 1t always be sportsman's lon, ~
quickly and with certain aim. send .hsr -
the back fence Of the" hereafter Rrothar
OF the gun! tramplss down those lone In
brush FENCES with their 1oopholes snrinv
poles, and fatal horsehair nooses: brenl ,,,,
those direful fgure-4 dead -falls-even thnuo ub
the land be forbidden thee-for thine on,n
for thy fellows, and for the sake Of penar'
atoms to come, else will Tetrao umheiIns
be as the mastodon and the dodo of naIeon.
toiogy! Rainy and cold springs are destrnc.
i've, TOO, and many seasons is there to he
found on necks Of young and old birds o
tick that works sad havoc amone tbeir
numbers. s 'hen