The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-09
THE QUAIL
May Be Killed
Saturday,.
SUPERB SPORT.
A Word AboutHunting This
Beautiful Little Game Bird.

uapply over NH anu Nale, through
grain fields and along grass-grown
country roads during the long summer
months, filling the air with their
CHEEKY Bob White" will be rudely
disturbed by hunters and dogs Ere
the sun has set, the broods viii be
scattered far and wide, and the patri-
arch of the dock will call in vain to
bring his family together.
The quail more than any other game
bird, has q warm place in the hearts
of the people, and many. even the
sportsmen, feel a tinge of sadness be-
cause his lot during the next few
months is to be such a hard one. The
little chap has such merry DISPOSE
tion that one with half heart cannot
resist his efforts to be friends. He
loves the quiet hustle of the farm
house and busies himself during Au
gust and September in the garden or
the wheatfeld close by. He often
comes close up to the door a morning
or evening. or perches himself in an
apple tree not far distant and tells his
little story Of joy over and over. He
plainly saws: BE friends!" but fate
has ruled otherwise, and in a few days
now the friendly little bird which has
seemed to welcome the approach of
man, will be as wild. as wary and as
crafty as the partridge. woodcock, plo-
Yer and duck which the hunter pursues
to kill.
If quail hunting was not such a mag
nilicent sport one might almost ma
lign the sportsmen for killing the bird;
but no one who has followed the birds
with dog and gun can blame the hunt
err for loving quail hunting. 1t ranks
well up at the front with any wing
shooting to be found anywhere, and
is only surpassed if equalled, in New
England by woodcock shooting. The
woodcock is gamey, crafty; the quail
sly and swift. The former is handsome;
the latter beautiful, and men call quail
or woodcock shooting the best sport
the field offers, according to their re-
spective tastes.
The flocks Of cartridges are broken
soon after the season opens, and they
are not found together in large num-
bers after that with any frequency; the
woodcock is always flushed singly; but
quail from the beginning of the season
until the end, are found in bevys. They
stick together like the good friends that
they are, and the sharp whirr covey
makes as it rises is music to the sports
mans ears.
Their flight is as swift as the wind,
but graceful and either straightaway
or quartering. They do not have the
unsteady swing or the wicked drop so
characteristic of the woodcock, or the
zig-zag or cannon ball dash of the
partridge. They are frequently found in
the open or in covers easily marked and
a beVy once scented means that good
sport is assured for at least an hour tC
come. The birds do not fly a great dis
lance and may be marked down and
hunted UP leisurely. The quail is par
ticularly strong" in scent, thus making
him the finest bird for the dog to Worn.
upon. A bird dog is necessary to find
quail in any numbers. They do not flush
easily and when once a covey Is scat
tered the sportsman without a dog
would have to hunt a long while before
many of the birds are start
ed again. The little chaps seem to
realize that it is safer to be on the
ground snugly hidden under a bit OF
grass, dead fern or between a cleft of
rocks, than to be moving through the
air when a man with a gun is around,
and their strict adherence to this know
ledge prolongs their lives in many cases.
Where quail are plentiful, good bags
are the rule for the sportsman who puts
up a flock of IA in a good locality, and
he who knows how to handle the gun he
carries. will be pretty sure to kill a
third or half Of the number before the
sport grows uninteresting.
Local sportsmen have for many
years past been obliged to go outside
the state to secure good quail shooting.
Within the past few years the quail
about Worcester (Which We're never
very numerous) have been shot down
so close that, during last season, they
were very rare and in danger of exter-
mination. The country Is not just suit
ed to the bird, and naturally they will
not thrive in Worcester county. The
winters are too severe, and their nat
ural enemies too numerous. When the
hunter took hand n the chase, the
little birds were killed off rapidly. Con-
necticut has some excellent covers;
but the best quail shooting is still and
must always be found in the south
and west. There the birds abound in
great numbers, and seem to hold their
own in spite of the fact that they are
not only hunted by native sportsmen,
but by men who come from all parts
Of the country
Realizing the scarcity If quail here.
abouts and admiring che bird, the mem
bers of the Worcester Game Protect
i've Association took steps, last spring,
to restock the depleted covers. Six
hundred and fifty pairs of sturdy, west
ern quail were turned loose in various
localities about the county which were
favorable for their propagation. They
have been carefully watched and it is
reported that they have bred well and
reared their broods in good numbers.
All summer long happy f1ocks have
been seen and heard in various local
tiles. During August and the early
part of September the Game Associa-
ton watched the covers carefully to
protect the birds from the inroads Of
people who have no respect for law or
decency, and it is thought that few
have been killed illegally If the sports
men after cartridges have scrupulous-
ly observed the law, and not disturbed
the focks, and there is every reason
to believe that they have, the rarest
KIND Of sport is promised sportsmen
next Saturday.
The successful hunters will be the
men who know where the birds are.
There are lots of men who have their
eyes on some particular flock and they
keep pretty close tally from day to day
on its whereabouts. A word to the wise
is sufficient. If you desire to take part
in the fun next Saturday and don't
know just where to go. 1t is time to be
finding out. Do q little prospecting. ="
Take ride on your wheel, in a team or
on the electrics, or start off on long
tramp this afternoon, thrashing covers
with your dog, or walk along the road
sides and listen for the merry Bob
White" When you have found the quail
remember well the place and be there
as early as Providence will let you Sat
urday morning Then, ten chances to
one, you Will find that some one has
slept at the farmhouse HARDLY. and
stolen the march on you. The first days
quail shooting is too good to keep and
everybody who owns a dog and gun and
can get away win be out The lucky
man will be the one who has a cover
all to himself, which he and no one else
knows about.
The quail naturally haunts the scant