The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-05-06

he viii Be- killed In a little while. II Ia impoe.
sible for him TO withstand that savage and
tSss't shs, Gfs'P bs,l-hoid breaks through eke
featheru coming out. Then the slugged one.
cowed utterly and blinded by irleht. whlrs
sure 10 issue or respond TO no othor challenge
for a week at least. II Il. not gften that a cock
partridge Stays another. though II does happen,
but 70 shoot one in the autumn and find that
an eye has been destroyed is u common ex-
periencs OF the hunter. Sometimes, indeed,
II viii be found that both eyes are gone, smashed
out by savage pecks In n spring duel.
The sc%ne In tine clearing. II an inmates
hen answers the drumming. II wholly dli-
ferent. She shows .coyly IN tle, edge. of the
undergrowth and advances tpidly, Her eyes
are fixed upon the performing male, but she
seems uncertain OF her reception. Often she
will stop and peck ~ostenatiously, at imagi.
nary. seeds, then go a few feet further Oh
she has 80 Tar forgotten herself as 10 yield
TO the temptation OF looking upon the drum
mer. she Is certain 10 be captured, for she, Is
safety Is TO flee into tl,ickest covert when
first the drum sounds. because the hen par,
fridge that h~csitates Is lost. Having reached
lhH clearing, however. the surrender Of her
lIUrrty Is a matter only 81 minutes. The trou-
badOur on the log pays 20 sort OF attention
is incense In his ebony %nostrils He continues
his thunder with a lordly indtNerenc" to her
love. until she has approached within foot
OF him Then he hops down and swclls
about her. beseeching in every f'lrt and fut
ter the favor of her attention to the incom-
parable beauty and grace OF HIM. She Is MlIl,
ing enough TO lock and before a quarter ut
al, hour has elapsed Is utterly ms sylN"
1t must be said for the partrid] that having
committed himself 10 matrlmohy, he does his
duty as q man and a gentleman until the heavy
work ia over. He assists his mate In selecting
a place for a nest and in preparing II. This
amounts TO little. as the partridge lays merely
in u secluded depression and does nothing 10
render II Mt save to strew a little grass or hay
or bark shreds upon lis bottom. Once. the
hen has begun laying, however, she is kept
busy, since She deposits from twelve 70 twenty
eggs. When it is lime for her to sit she leaves
the nest only at wide intervals and never for
long. nor does she go far away. During the
the male brings her food, sometimes from great
distances. though he Will not take her place
In the nest during her short absences Also
he scours the immediate neighborhood and
destroys any insects that he thinks may dis
turb her. lie gives her warning OF the, apIroRch
of danger. If he can, and is utterly faithful to
her in her confinement. never stayilg away
in the company of other hens. The partridge
differs from the quail III that II ralses bur on"
brood in a season. The male will fight for the
female when she il Matching ont her young
and such egg-destroycrs IA rats, mice, Jay
birds and crows are ,ruthloSsly driven away
from her neighborhood.
lie does resemble the Wild turkey, how
ever, In his utter lnck Of the parental instinct.
Once the little yellow and brown chicks. are
from the, shell he not only wants %r'ihirg
10 do with them, but will have nothins TO
wv I 4 WI " - ~ NV ll'Nil'l A'llll
an hour after She has left the neat for the last
time and henceiorward the care Of The urogenv j.
all hers 1t has not been established. thnt
the male partridge will, like the wild cobhler.
destroy the chicks il he gets a chance. though
this has been asserted by more than one anna
teur naturalist. 1t seems probable that he
merely leaves the brood TO its own devices
and goes away for n taste Of freedom. lie
could not find another mate. even If he wished
one, SO he lives a lonely life until the autumn,
when he once again attaches himself TO a Covey.
Ne tho Gold draws on no rTnh1nlG loses
his Individuality. and his courage and by De-
cember is as timid as the Youngest OF them.
The hen passes another sort of existence
The cares Of manifold maternity are hers
She has fifteen little ones TO provide for and
she sets about her task not only with patient
industry but also with rnre Intelligence. Luck,
ilv food l. common and there Is no dar ecl
that any one OF them will starye, but the peril'
threatening their tenderness and inrxpe'
Renee are many. Snake, foAe'. Wildcats
aud it is her province 70 'teer her children
clear of all Of them. Their worst cnemis'
in early childhood are sparrow hawks which
about in the thicke-t woods with great swift.
ness. As the young ,tcrs grow bigger ther hay'
the ordinary great, gray chicken hawk; IN.
roi,bressted rabbit hawk and the nearly blacl
field hawk 70 fear, Because Of these buc
cancers of the upper dceps. ii is the habit o
the mother partridge TO keep her offspring
possible They go into the open, cultivate,
area. only in Quest o. grain and not then I
berries are plentiful, They make an exception
in favor Of a wheat field before it il cut, tn
stalks grow so thickly that they are s~creene,
from all observation and thew are ford ofth'
far grains which tumble TO the ground In pro
When the worst comes 70 the worst the hen vii
hglt for her brood with n beautiful fercenes
and II is not an irfreOlert thing that sho sur
renders her life in the effort to protect, then
from the down-swoop of a falcon or the sll
onslaught Of n fox. She Possesses, In commo
with all females of the csllinaceous tribes
The riti'ni triSk 81 ,imnIniinS = nro ken. % onn
are at hand and labors earnestly 'odiver
pursuit FROM them 10 herself.
Tire Young. pnrtridSes are Matched IN jyll
ard grow with great rapiditv. Rv the niddl,
Of August thew are two-'hirds grown and very
strong OF NIGHT. Thev take 70 the air when no
moro than two weeks old and when they mr.
! able 70 fv distances Of ffiv 70 a hundred Yard
| their mothers responsibility in large measure
ceaeee. BY Sent. / thev are nearly az full size
| The law permits shooting them on that dat'
l.. That has been the statute in Wisconsin
for some wears. since II has been permitted Il
kin rsrtridgss for only three months in thu
year thew have grown steadily more, nurer
Gus until now there Is not q county in the state
without ite fair share of them and In the bordel
c%ourtie4 along the .NIissie-ippi they are won
being composed wholly Of tho foothills which
mn down to the river. and 10 therefore esre
cinllv favorable to tho propagation of this bird
Furthermore, ia inhahita ants, being, FOR th'
md takirc their pien erres sadly. do little hunt.
ING There f. not for instance, In Crawford
as n setter or POINTER dog. In any autumn
in this part Of Wisconsin Il would he no tricl
NJ ali for a fair shot with n decent dog 10 has
ffteen brace of cartridges in A DAYS hunt
and II a man were disposed 70 be n game hog
he might get even more The gorgea arn deer
| and thicklv wooded. tho hills are rreciritous
there would be much labor involved hut n,
birds are here ard that is all any genuine sports
man would ask,