The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-11-01
FARM ERS FRIEND.
The Partridge Testroyes Many Noxi-
Gus Weeds and Insects.

The Partridge Testroyes Many Noxi-
q Weeds and Insects.
They Should BE Protected by the
Farmers, as They Destroy Many
Things Injurious to Crops.
The department Of Agriculture has
Issued an interesting bulletin on the
quails OF the United States that tencs
to correct some popular error regard
ing bob White" and Is a strong plea
for his preservation as an alley Of the
farmer. There are half a dozen Vari.
cites of quail In the United States,
the handsomest being those Of the
Southwest and the Pacific slope, where
they are slate blue in color and hand
somely crested. But the principal in
terest Ia this best known Of all game
birds is that it is a valuable asset Of
the farmer and helpful rather than
destructive to the growing crops.
A thorough study Of the bird has
been made by the department without
finding any evidence that it is harm.
full to crops. 1t eats principally no1.
ious weed seeds and bugs Injurious to
the crops. 1t does not trouble either
the sprouting grain, as do the crows
and black BIRDS, and does not feed on
the standing crops or forage among
the stacks. When it does eat grain it
is only what is CLEANS from the har.
vested fields. It prefers weeds and
does not eat wheat and corn II 1T can
get sumach, ragweed and bay berries.
A close calculation was made by
the department Of the number OF Bob
Whites in Virginia and North Care.
lima, the total approximating 1854, 800.
It is known from a long series Of ex.
periments that the craw OF the bird
holds about half an ounce, Of which
fully so per cent is weed seed. At this
rate from September I to April 30 In
Virginia and North Carolina alone,
the birds eat 8, BAL tons of weed seeds.
Among the insects on which the
birds haiti sually feed are the Rock
Mountain locust, in Colorado potato
hug, the boil weevil, the cut worm,
the army worm and two sorts of cot
ton worms. Toe chicks are even more
highly insectivorous than the old
birds.
The department urges all land own.
ers to realize the value Of the Bob
White. 1t says that with proper man
agement some farms Of 500 to 1000
acres would yield more revenue from
Bob Whites than, from poultry. 1t is
estimated that between 800, 600 and
400, 900 sportsmen 60 out from the cit.
les every fall to hunt the Bob White,
and this, Of course, means q big reVe'
nue., most Of which goes to the farm
ers.
Parsdoxical as 1t may seem, sports
men exercise q powerful influence in
protecting the birds. Many big pre-.
serves are maintained where the quail
are used only for field trials for dogs
and are either not shot at all or shot
under very close restrictions. Some
clubs maintain preserves OF 20, 900 to
so, 900 acres, and many Sportsmen have
their own preserves exclusively for dog
trials. The demand for live quill TOT
this purpose Is steadily increasing, and
there would be a good revenue II the
Bob White could be bred In captivity
on any extensive scale. This has been
tried and has proved diff cult, but the
birds can be protected from their pa'
tural enemies, snakes, skunks, owls,
hawks and cats, and they can be fed.
Every fews years, on the recurrence
of unusually severe winters with heavy
SHOWS which cover the food supply,
great numbers of Bob Whites perish,
and sometimes in the northern part Of
It's range the bird becomes almost e1'
tinct. This unnecessary loss OF life
G ould be largely prevented If land own
ers and others interested would scat.
ter a little grain In suitable places.
This Is done In some localities, as at
Sandy Spring, Md, where b. d. Mill
er drives over the SNOW covered coun'
try scattering grain for the starving
quail. The practice is worthy OF gen
eral adoption. 1t Is necessary only
while the ground is snow-bound and
especially after sleet storm.
The game laws in the several States
very greatly, and In some States vary
from county to county; but the de-
partment advises all States to limit
their open season to one month.
The Department Of Agriculture OBJ
tanned three pairs of Bob Whites from
Kansas, which after five months cap
tivity are almost as wild as when first
Gagged, and show no signs OF mating
Experiments in the domestication OF
Bob Whites are we'll worth trying,
however, because Of the demand from
clubs and individuals for live birds to
restock their grounds. So great has
become the demand In recent years
that it Is estimated that 200, 600 bircs
would be required annually to fill it.
During the spring OF 1908 the demand
far exceeded the supply, even at IS a
dcz,n, and sometimes at twice that
figure.
The bulletin gives an interesting
table Of the birds food made from the
average of many analyses. 1t shows
that the chief part Of the Bob Whites
diet is animal and vegetable matter
~ nb3ob tho arm or ia Glad tn hp rid.