Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-02-26
Q JAIL IN. MARYLAND
Montgomery County Promises to Have
Plenty o6Birds Again.
Many Bevies Being Reported - A
Shooting Tournament to Be Held
to Import BREEDING Couples.

The threatened extinction of the quail O,
Bob White in Montgomery county. which
| was. not many years ago. famous as q
| hunting ground for the most popular OF
| game birds, promises. happily, to be avert
| ed, and the time may soon come again
when the stubbles and cover will afford ex-
| cellent sport for the lovers of the dog and
gun. This will be gratifying intelligence to
| the sportsmen Of Washington, who have
| been compelled for the past four or five
| seasons to seek their favorite pleasure in
| the Carolinas, West Virginia or more re-
mote sections. Ten years ago there was no
better quail shooting territory in the coun-
try than that of Montgomery county. The
character of the cover was Just suited TO
Inc coveys, and wherever rag weed follow
ed wheat a good dog was sure to find
birds. The undulating farms were equipped
with all varieties of fields, woods and
thfckets. and the luxuriant growth in the
branch bottoms gave the quail protection
from the weather, and made splendid sport
In single birds when a covey became scat
tered along 1t. 1t was not unusual In the
old days for fifty sixty birds to fall to
the cover was so good that seldom more
than half covey was ever killed after 1t
had scattered.
The Causes of Their Defamation,
There were SO many birds, indeed, that
the inevitable carelessness regarding them
sprang up. People began shooting them
out OF season, and covey was scarcely
hedged before 1t was considered fit for the
dog and gun, and the birds began to dIsap-
pear Then came two or three hard winters
that killed hundreds of birds, and quail
shooting became almost legendary in Mont
gomery. The season Of 1888 found the birds
decimated to such an extent that it was
not worth a mans while to go out with his
setter and hammerless This was not only
unfortunate for the men who went out
from Washington. but for the farmers and
villagers in the county themselves for, like
In all southern communities, nearly every
male above sixteen years of age was
sportsman more or less keen. Indeed, IN
the town of Rockville, the county seat, and
vicinity, there are probably as many fine
shots and trained sportsmen as in any
other section of similar population in the
country.
The Sportsmen Are Aroused.
Naturally the disappearance Of the quail
caused general regret and at the same
time it awakened the community to a sense
of the necessities There were many con-
situations on the subject and in the winter
of 1s93-94 it was determined by the men,
bers of the Rockville Gun Club. which COM
prises such well-known sportsmen as
Tuck Rabbit, David H. Warfield DR..
Warfield James p B. Eeirs Henry Hurley
Robert and Edward Peter and other gentle
men, to import birds from Kansas. Accord
ingly several score OF quail were brought
on and released In the spring. They were
not acclimated. ard were not accustomed
to the kind of cover food afforded by
Montgomery. and did not breed. There
were fewer birds still during the season OF
1894, and last summer there was a unit
ed and determined effort made to stop
al ninp he all Earn 1,.y-S
We're requested to allow one with gun
to enter their premises, and to pledge them
selves. the sportsmen in the towns and
villages did, to shoot no birds.
This agreement was willingly entered
into, and very few guns We're fired "a quail.
Consequently the feX coveys which had re-
manned in the county were left unmolested.
and now the cheering intelligence comes
from many directions that bevies of birds
are being seen. tire open winter having
been particularly WDpitious for them. AT
The same time the further gratifying in
teiligcnce comes that the birds are being
watched and guarded by the farmers
whose places they are using, and that they
are being fed when occasion requires. The
prospects of sport next fall, because every
existing bevy or coyay of birds means easily
four or five or more coveys next November.
have inspired the sportsmen of Montgomery
to make eXpectat ton a certainty, and
subscription is now being taken up for the
purpose of importing GOO quail, in couples.
frcm North Carolina. the Bob White of
that locality being identical in habits and
surroundings with his swift-fying brethren
of Maryland.
A Tournament to Be Held.
There have been generous contributions
already made, and, in order to secure as
large sum as possible, 1t Is proposed to
have clay pigeon shooting tournament at
Rockville at an early day for this purpose.
The Rockville Gun Club held a meeting
last night to consider the matter and de-
cided to hold q two-day shooting tournament
April Is and II next. Invitations will
be sent to the Capital City Gun Club
of this city and similar organizations in
Baltimore and throughout Maryland, Della
object of the meeting will doubtless attract
a large gathering Of crack shots. There
will be prize events and a number of
matches. the latter probably being of ten
birds each, with the money divided into
four parts, so that moderately good shots
will nave a chance to secure soma of 1t.
Washington sportsmen are already discuss
ing the affair, and most of them express
their intention of participating, so such
cracks as Wagner. Mattingly, Gulick, Nc
Keden. Hunter, Tom King, Mccormick and
others will doubtless be on hand. Talking
the mat1;r over with a Star reporter this
morning, Mr.. Mccormick said that he
thought every Washington sportsman who
loved quail shooting would be willing to aid
IN making Montgomery the gunners' para
disc it once was, and he was sure the pres
ent course of the farmers and others in pro-
tecting and fostering the birds would lead
to such result.