Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-10-21
ALLY OF THE FARMER
Bob Whites Eat Weed Seeds
and Injurious Bugs.
DO NOT HARM CROPS
GREAT REVENUE POSSIBLE FROM
RAISING QUAIL.
Difficult to Breed Them in Captivity
How Loss of Life Gould Be
Averted in Severe Weather.

The Department of Agriculture has issued
an interesting bulletin on the quails of the
United States that tends to correct some
popular errors regarding Bob White" and
Is a strong plea for his preservation as an
ally of the farmer. There are half a dozen
varieties 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 handsomely crested But
the principal interest in this best known
of all game birds Is that 1t 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 harmful to crops.
1t eats principally noxious weed seeds and
bugs Injurious to the crops. 1t does not
trouble either the sprouting grain, do the
crows and blackbirds. and does not feed on
the standing crops or forage among the
stacks. When it does eat grain 1t is only
what it CLEANS from the harvested fields
1t prefers weeds and does not eat wheat
and corn If 1t can get sumach, ragweed
and bay berries.
A close calculation was made by the de-
partment of the number of Bob Whites in
Virginia and North Carolina. the total APP
proXimating 354 500 1t is known from a
ng series of experiments that the craw
of the bird holds about half an ounce, of
which fully 30 per cent is weed seed. At
this rate from September to April 80 in
Virginia and North Carolina alone the
birds eat 3,341 tons of weed seeds.
Among the insects on which the birds
habitually, feed are the Rocky mountain
locust, the Colorado potato bug, the boil
yeevil, the cut worm the army worm and
two sorts of cotton worms. The chicks
are even more highly insectivorous than
the old birds.
Value of the Quail.
The department urges all land owners to
realize the value of the Bob White 1t
says that with proper management some
farms of $50 to 1000 acres would yield
more revenue from Bob Whites than from
poultry. 1t is estimate that between 300,-
600 and 100000 sportsmen go out from the
cities every fall to hunt the Bob White, and
this, of course, means a big revenue, most
of which goes to the farmers.
Paradoxical it may SEEM sportSmen
exercise a powerful influence in protecting
the birds. Many big preserves are main
tanned 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 10000 to
$4,000 acres, and many sportsmen have
their own preserves exclusively for dog
trials. The demand for live quail for this
purpose Is steadily increasing. and there
would be a good revenue If the Bob White
could be bred in captivity on any extensive
scale. This has been tried and has proved
difficult. but the birds can be protected
from their natural enemies, snakes, skunks,
owls. hawks and cats. and they can be fed.
Averting Loss of Life.
Every few years, on the recurrence of un-
usually, severe winters with heavy SHOWS
which cover the food supply. great numbers
of Bob Whites perish. and sometimes in
the northern part of its range the bird be-
comes almost extinct. This unnecessary
loss of life could be largely prevented II
land owners and others interested would
scatter a little grain In suitable places. This
is done in some localities. as at Sandy
Spring, Md, where H II. Miller drives
over the snow-covered country scattering
grain for the starving quail. The practice
is worthy of general adoption 1t is neces-
sary only while the ground is snowbound
and especially after sleet storms.
The game laws in the several states vary
greatly, and in some states vary from
county to county; but there is a tendency
toward uniformity, and the department adj
vises all states to limit their open season
to one month.
Not Tanned by Captivity.
The Department of Agriculture obtained
three pairs of bobwhites from Kansas,
which after five months captivity are al
most wild 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 fer live birds
to restOck their grounds. So great has be-
come the demand in recent years that it is
estimated that 100000 birds would be
quired annually TO fill It, During the spring
of 1903 the demand far exceeded the supply.
even at 50 dozen, and sometimes at twice
that figure
The bulletin gives an interesting table of
the birds food hade from the average of
many analyses. 1t shows that the chief
part of the Bob Whites diet is animal and
vegetable matter of which the farmer is
glad to be rid while the damage that can
be traced to him is absolutely negligible.