The Virginia enterprise. [volume] (Virginia, St. Louis County, Minn.) 1893-19??, 1903-12-11


Quails are deseryedly among the most
valued of the annual visitors Of Francs
Natives off the south rn shores q tho:
Z; Msedlterranean they leave their hot
sandy deserts to breed into o temperate:
cttma e, and reach this. country III large
locks 1 about the middle 81 April orsthes
. beginning of May, says . Paris report
AL through the spring tho woods -
sound With their quaint little cry,in.
which the French peasant hears tho.
words,, Payee ties dettes (s..Pay your
deDts and the English Wv ct my feet,
LAYING from nine to is eggs, they rear
their families as. far mort Britain.
and pdl then 81 the middle 81 August pro-
pare TO return once more reaching.
France the second time It the opening OF.
the q '.s slhlpootine season They travel noMin:
immense flocks, the sky being darkened
by clouds composed OF tens Of thou
sands OF these little birds. ss.
And these two regular yearly move
ments Of the quail have given rise to
an important industry II Europe,
Every year, In the Grecian archipelago.
IN Egypt and Morocco, fabulous num-
pers OF the unfortunate little creatures
are either knocked down with stick
and killed. or are taken alive and scnt
to the European markets, where their
mesh is considered great delicacy. The
oead birds are plucked, cleaned and
sailed, and then packed in cases for. ex-
port. The living birds are closely hacked
In curious fiat cages made to exclude the
light in order to prevent the birds from
nght1ng, and are then shipped in car
goes of from 10000 upward to7the cap
1tals OF the continent. The smell from
these cages is incredible, and it is not:
surprising that the mortality among the
birds on the journey is enormously high.
It is in the land of the Pharaohs that
these massacres assume the largest pro-
portions. AS the season OF the first mi
grafton Of & the quail approaches
that u.s. in the end Of March
the Egyptian government puts
up at auction and sells to the high
est bidder different positions on the
route to be traversed by the birds. Here,
before the return of the quail, little
hutches are erected of about one foot
In height; which are covered with the
leaves of the date palms and contain
each two entrances. On reaching the
hot, burning sands Of the Soudan, the
quail, now plump little balls OF fat after
their summer in the north, alight, weary
with their long flight, and see the shade
OF the little green houses standing ready
Tor their occupation. In q single day a
dealer will thus take as many as co. 900
birds, and, as the traffic is carried on
| all along the shores of the Mediterranean
for the whole period Of migration, mil
lions OF quail are yearly captured alive.
In spite, however, of their astonishing
fecundity, this wholesale slaughter OF
the birds began reproduce an apprecia-
Bile effect, and IN France, az, indeed, ii
other countries Of central Europe, it was
noticed that the focks were rapidly de-
cfexsing In numbers. Unfortunately,
too the demand-in London more par
tfcularly-for the delicacy is as great in
the spring as In the autumn, although
the bird is then thin and out Of condi-
4 - =
ton. In order to meet this demand, the
minister of the interior in 1878 author
lied the import and sale of quail through-
out the breeding season. This decision
called forth an earnest protest from the
farmers, who valued the birds highly
on account of the quantity of weed seeds
and noxious insects consumed by them,
and from sportsmen, who foresaw still
greater diminution, il not, indeed, the
utter determination of the game. Their
efforts were, however, fruitless, and the
immediate result was merely devel-
opment of the trade.zszTo prepare the
spring birds for the table a number Of
merchants In the neighborhood Of Paris
undertook to fatten them artificially,
and, though the flesh after the process
lacked the delicate flavor Of the autumn
birds, they at once began to- figure large
~ in the menus Of the fashionable ho-
tells and restaurants of the capitals.
| -. New Sacchar1ne Plant. r - 4$.5sz
Consul General Guenther at Frank
fort, Germany, writes: 1.-THE Technical
Review of Berlin states that plant has
recently been found IN South America