The evening times., 1896-11-06
QUAIL AND THEIR HABITS
N0viceS Not Generally Sue
csSsfdl in HUI ii & The Birds.
NOT HARD TO BRING DOWN
Experts Have Little Difficulty to
Bag the Traditional Bob White.
To Hunt without IA Dog Is Like
the Play of "Hamlet" With Ham,
let Not in the Role.

Tue fleHOW uOte UI tHe guam, no longer tHc
| distinct Bob White of story and Tradition,
| but continuous call as clear as a silver
| bell, is now heard, and after today the
laws decree that the birds may be law
| fully killed. To all lovers of dog and gun
there is no sport in the wide world ike
quail shooting Surely there Is none IN
which the record oI successful quest is
more delicious, and when ali the points OF
the game are considered there Is none III
wnicii the siiouVcr has so inucn Chance 10
show his skill or lack of II, as the case may
be.
Expert quail shots are few and far be-
tween, whiIe the proportion of even good
SOS 10 lHe nuIupv. ,,,iiIn 80 drumming Is
decidedly small. There are many reasons
for this, principal among whicn Is re-
markabiy sImple one. Everybody who ever
siw quail ~ knows the peculiar whining
noise that follows their rapid wing beats
H. Is "A quite natural noise, IOr the bird Is
heavily bodied and has short, round wings,
winch must he utiii1cd with lightning ike
| rapidity to give their owner hcadway. 1t is
this Noise, just the same that So com pletely
ratGles big majority OF shooters that they
score miss after miss ON the easiest kind OF
chances, and then Us the bird sails away
they wonder how ii happened
Really the guam is not Il hard bird 10
hit III any fairly open country. In the
first place, with their small wings and
heavy bodies, they cannot fly at half the
speed usually attributed To them, and
then, again. fully 30 per cent rise at really
close range. From these facts, about
the only thing the shooter has to do is
to take his time and cover the bird " III,
but there is where the rub comes IN
they do not do it.
SHOOTING THE QUAIL.
The majority ina gine that the bird is
leaving their vicinity with the speed of
light, and blaze away as If their lives
depended on seeing how quick they can
shoot. The birds can fly fast, but in a
race with a weil-direCted load OF shOt,
/ they must come out second best, and
very poor second at that. Just now
the quail, having completed all family
cares, are gathered in coveyS or punches
of from ten to twenty, and are feastins
on the fat of the land.
Food is abundant and in endless va
riety, for If fastidiuuS they may select
wheat from the STUDIES, corn from the har-
vest fields, or the seeds from any Of the
dozen or SO ravOrIte wild plants tnat grow
in the stubbles. Thus, with abundant reed
ing ground within reach of good cover, they
enjoy Themselves and wax fat.
once started, the members of the coyey
separate like a gang OF urchns fleeing
from Il policeman, and it seems to he every
one for himself. This fact usually contrib
ulCS W lHt ttSTtdSt Ol lDt ii lew VI llit
covey, if they be started by hunter of
skill and experience. He watches the birds
sail away and as closely as possible marks
them down
Then, if he is so fortunate as to have
killed the old leader of the covey as the
birds arise, the balance OF his task is easy,
unless the birds reach some irnpenetrable
cover.
once the covey is scattered, all depends
on the ability of the hunter to control his
dog III order that he may secure fair shots.
1.-THE dog be good one it win work speedily,
Yet carefully, around the spot where the
birds went down, as 1t locates one will
stand stiff and staunch, showing by atti-
tude far palmer than words could tell that
the bird is close by.
1t is then an easy matter for the shooter
to advance a few PAGES ahead of the dog
and as the bird takes flight TO secure a good
shot.
IMPORTANCE OF a DOG.
On the dog, as much as anything else, dc
pends the success or failure of = quail
hunt. Go without one and the sport is as
tame as Populist convention without
whiskers, and to go with poor one IS nearly
as bad.
\ dog that will constantly rush in on
the game when 1t is found and send it
soaring away probably far out OF gun
shot deserves a tull-siZcd charge OF lead,
and with old hunters usually gets it, too.
Unfortunately. dogs which fiusn a every
chance are all too numerous, but there are
plenty of good ones, too. and Just at this
season the latter kind are jealously guard eti.
The quail shooter who reall understands
his business takes into consideration many
things that would escape the observation
OF the novice entirely. First he makes sure
OF the exact sort of food most in favor
with the birds in the locality where he IS
tRfavt ta.u.r I't.ss
and il il is found that the ragweed seeds
are the preferred article of diet. as they
usually are at this time OF the year, he
hunts the fields where such food abo IndS
closely. he conditions OF weather exert
another powerful influence on the bird
and must be fairly well understood To en-
able the hunter TO work successfully.
Otai the winds that blow uI damn east
erly breeZes, steady but not too strong, ore
most desirable for quail shooting. The
damp breeze seems TO carry The scent bet
Ter To the dogs than any other. while The
generally steady character of such winds
make it easy for them to work directly to
spot where The game lies hidden. With
dry. cold wind or high breeze from the
westward the best dogs are sometimes at
fault in determining the exact location of
the birds.
CLOUDY DAY PREFERABLE
The cloudy day is by all oads prefer
able to one on which the sun shines
brightly. and for this there is the best
reason in the world, which proves ais
that the quail know a thing or two. By
night the covey rests in some stubble or
bush grown field, cl ose by the edge of a
woods. With the first signs of day they
run for cover and usually stay there until
about Z o'clock Then, in all well regu-
lated quail households breakfast time is
at hand, and led by an old male member
the covey run out into the fields to feed.
If the day be one Of sunshine they con-