Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-07-04
Bob White.

/
| Bob White.
Every boy or girl raised on the
| farm, we feel sure, admires and loves
Bob White, our common quail, or
| partridge" as he Is usually called.
He is such fine-looking fellow,
| when he flies up on post or stump
and looks at the landscape, so spruce,
so graceful, so gallant; there is so
much music in his voice as he calls
| out, Bob White" across the fields
in the sunset cool Of a summer day;
he Is such good sport and such good
eating that 1t Is easy to understand
why he is a general favorite. There
Is not one Of us who would not miss
| him If he came into the orchards and
| meadows no more.
1t is not only because he Is a thing
Of beauty, and a cheerful and inter-
esting nelghbor however, that he
should be regarded with particular
friendliness. Every quail Is worth
good hard money to the farmer on
whose land he takes up his abode. AS
destroyer of weeds and insects he
has few equals. A recent writer In
the Youths Companion tells of some
actual meals made by these active
and hearty little birds, and the figures
are surprising. In a single day one
quail has eaten 1850 plantain seeds.
Other records are: $4,000 pigweed
seeds or $1,000 of lambs quarter in
a day and 1000 of crabgrass at a
meal. When it comes to insects his
appetite is equally good. One quail
ate 5000 plant lice in a day. At an
other time the same bird devoured
56S mosquitoes in three hours and
then quite only because the supply
gave out. They eat all sorts Of inju-
rious insects, too, potato beetles, cut
worms, Hessian flies, boil weevils,
chinch bugs. codling moths, grass
hoppers-just anything that comes
conceive Of the vast number of inju-
rious insects a covey of quail will
consume in the course of a year. The
destruction of every one of these in
sects, too, is a positive benefit to the
farmer, and for this reason alone,
one should always hesitate before
killing a quail or indeed a bird Of
any kind unless positively known to
be injurious. Scientists tell us, and
they are doubtless right about 1t,
that II it were not for the birds it
would be matter Of only few years
until the insect and creeping things
would have the upper hand Of us.
The crops would disappear from our
fields, and men everywhere would be
in danger Of starvation simply be-
cause they would be unable to COM
bat the countless multitudes of in
sects which would devour and de-
stroy the plants upon which men de-
pend for food.
Every boy, therefore, who wanton-
ly kills bird, or Injuries a nest, not
only does a cruel and unmanly thing,
but also makes it harder for the far
mer to raise his crops to maturity.
The protection Of a quail's nest or Of
brood Of young ones should be
considered a matter Of course. There
Is some excuse for shooting Bob
White after he grows up and Is able
to large extent to take care Of him
self, but there can be absolutely none
for the killing Of any song bird not
good for food, or for the breaking up
of any birds nest.
Let us protect the quail, then. If
we find a nest, leave it sacredly alone;
discourage as far as possible the
roaming of worthless dogs over the
fields regulate hunting and insist
that never shall covey Of quail be
completely killed out. The man who
will do this Is no sportsman, anyway,
but is a mere butcher. The true
sportsman, is going to be satisfied
with a reasonable kill" Proper pro-
lection Of our game birds will be of
benefit to both hunter and farmer;
but If it becomes a question as to
whether the farmer or hunter is to
prevail, the farmers rights must al
ways prevail over the hunters
wishes. No man should be allowed
to shoot on another's land without
permission, and always the hunter
should be under strict supervisor.
And while protecting our good
friend Bob, let us remember that the
other birds deserve the same friend
ship and care. The crow is a nui-
sance often: sometimes II Is we'll to
use a shot gun on a flock Of black
birds; the English sparrow does harm
may occasionally be necessary to
make an orchard or garden unpleas-
ant for the robins or catbirds; in
some sections the rice birds become
too numerous; two or three hawks
and one or two species Of owl are
injurious. But aside from these it is
safe to protect by any means in our
power all the birds with which we
meet IL 10 Oiiiy bcSouoC VIC ih'S NV
appreciated their value that we have
done all in our power to insure their
safety and happiness; and certainly
the man or boy who would needless
ly injure one of these little creatures
is lacking in some Of the finer quail
ties of real manhood.-The Progress
sive Farmer.
Champ Clark's Chances.-Champ