Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1906-01-11

cock left his distant perch. where ne
had been whistling Bob White, and,
still calling, approached the nest on
the banks of little sluggish, briery
run between open fields.
"When within so yards Of his mate
he uttered the rally note, go thrilling
to the sportsmen in the fall, 'ka-loi-
kee,' which the hen often answered
with a single clear whistle. Then
followed series Of queer responsive
'caterwaulings,' more unbirdlike than
those OF the yellow-breasted chat,
suggesting now the call of the cat to
its kittens, now the scolding of a Gagged
gray squirrel, now the alarm notes of
a mother grouse, blended with the
strident cry Of the guinea hen.
GAS a finale sometimes came a
loud, rasping noise, not unlike the eff.
fort of a broken-voiced whippoorwill. y
The call of the hen to her young
sters is invariably "ka-loi.kee, "ka-
loi.kee," while the youngsters re-.
spond who'll .kee.' Alta close range
the whistle of the bird loses all its
melody and becomes a nasal shrek
almost painful to the ear.
As many as AZ eggs have been
found in the nest of Bob White.
The main breeding season for the
Bob White in the Northern States is
May, June and July, although Prof.
Robert Ridgeway, curator of orni-
thol gy in the Smithsonian 1nstitu-
ton, found nest of Bob White eggs
in Southern Illinois in the middle of
October.
Another naturalist discovered
nest filed with eggs in Missouri in
January, on which the mother bird
was found frozen. Two or three
broods have been produced in sea-
son.
There is tendency among Bob
Whites toward local migration. In
Virginia and Maryland particularly
they leave their summer homes on
the approach Of winter and congre-
cate near the large water courses.
The habit Of the bird during the
hunting season is to move about most
actively and feed in the early MON.
ing and late afternoon. The best
shooting is to be had the hour before
sunset in the places where the birds
have decided to spend the night.
They roost on the ground, forming a
solid ring. with tails in and heads
out.
The Bob White as all ally of the
farmers is chiefly valuable as de-
stroyer of weed seeds. Professor
Judd made an estimate of what the
Bob White would accomplish in THE
line for the farmers of the two States
of Virginia and North Carolina from
the beginning of September to the
end of April.
He allowed four Bob Whites to
each square mile of land, which is a
low estimate, ard would give 354,-
$40 in the two States. The crop of
each bird holds half an ounce Of seed
and is filled twice day.
Since at each of the two daily
meals weed seeds constitute at least
half the contents of the crop, half
ounce daily is thus consumed by each
bird, and on this basis the total con-
of seed in the two States
covering the period mentioned would
amount to l,34l tons. A similar
shows that $40 tons Of
destructive insects would be consumed
by the birds in the same period. The
Bob White eats the Rocky Mountain
locust, the cinch bug, the potato bee
tie, the cotton boil weevil and cotton
worms and army worms.
Professor Judd estimated that with
proper management some farms OF
from 500 to 1000 acres would yield
a better revenue from the raising OF
Bob Whites for the market than from
poultry growing. In North Carolina
many farms yield regular income
by this industry.
The shooting rights are leased to
sportsmen who pay considerable sums
for the privilege. In some places in
Virginia and North Caro-
lima sportsmen pay from 5 to 25
cents for every bird shot.
Millions of dollars can be realized
by the proper management of the
quail crop of the United States. No
game is so much sought for in the
market as quail.
THE writer" says Professor Judd,