The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1902-08-23
QUAIL IN NORTHERN WINTERS


Reports from Michigan, Wisconsin
and Minnesota show that the quai
in the southern parts of those states
wintered we'll; in the northern part,
there are no quail winter or summer
says the New York Sun.
The hardness of the birds hal
| proved surprise, as in western Wis
consin and eastern Minnesota thu
snowfall was the heaviest in years. II
January it was the belief that the
| quail would be almost exterminated
In that month came the kind OF
snow that is the most deadly to
ground-bird lifc-soft and continuous
until depth of nearly foot on the
level was reached, then slight rise In
temperature followed by drizzling
rain, which wet the snow thoroughly,
then fall and a hard freeze, convert
ing the snow surface into solid ice.
roofing over the particles beneath.
When storm of this kind comes the
birds take shelter under bushes, but
the snow finds them and covers them.
When the freeze follows their only re-
course is to tunnel their way to the
upper air and the quail is often not
strong enough to make way through
the frozen crust with its beak.
An imprisoned flock takes turns in
hammering at the crust, but even IL
they gain their liberty, coming out one
by one through a hole. just large
enough to permit of egress, they find
their feeding places almost impene-
trably covered and have . strong
chance of starvation.
Now and then kind-hearted farmer
throws out wheat or chicken feed
near his barn, but generally the
bevies are left to look out for them.
selves and whether they live or die de-
ponds entirely upon the length of time
the frozen crust lasts. Quail are ex-
ceedingly daring and ingenious in find-
ing food under such circumstances.
Some bevies come up to the farm
yards and associate amicably with the
chickens, sometimes even going into
the henhouse to roost. The huge
Brahmas and Cochins regard the in
vasion with dislike, but cannot catch
the nimble little marauders who get
much more than their share of the
food until their small crops are filed.
Other bevies stay along the edges
of streams. Here the snow upon one
Or the other bank is apt to be lighter
and to drift and leave the ground bare.
and it must be singularly barren
ground from which snow-hsrassed
quail cannot manage to extract some
nutriment.
Others feed upon the still-clin9ine
seeds of weeds which project above
the crust and others try their already
sore bills along the crevices of old logs
and trees, looking for worms which
have gone as far in from the cold q
they can get.
The state of Wisconsin has been Ct
much trouble and expense as to it's
quail. Some years ago there were not
4 dozen quail to county; they had
been shot, Melted and trapped almost
10 extinction.
Some thousands of pairs were i'm
ported from Oklahoma, q territory |
which does not now permit the .ex- |
portation of quail, and they were |
turned loose in cold and strange
country to die or multiply as they saw
1t. 4
No effort was made to take care of |
hem, but law was passed forbiddingj
he shooting of quail under heavy j
penalty for five years.
At the expiration of that period
hey had increased marvelousIy.
Then the farmer element in the legis-
allure extended the period by three
ears more, which has two years to
-un.
If the quail are not exterminated by
ONE savage winter there will be rare
port in Wisconsin in 1904, unless the
again intervene. The farmer
wants the quail let alone, because in /
us opinion it is slaughterer Of pota-
o bugs. 1t does eat potato bugs, but