Norwich bulletin., 1912-12-20
GAMES BIRDS SUITABLE
 FOR LOCAL PROPAGATION.
Quail and Chinese Pheasant Can Be Raised in Numbers in Connecticut.
(By Herbert K. Job. State Ornitholo-
 ci l

(by herpert k. Job. State Ornitholo-
 gist)
 Our important native gallinaceous game birds in Connecticut are the quail or bob white and the partridge oI ruffed grouse. It is conceded that the species produced by nature for a To- cality are the best. Decisive progress has been made of late, as has been shown in previous articles, with the artificial propagation of quail. Quail, when properly handled, will nearly al ways mate in confinement, and usu- ally average from 30 to 50 eggs per pair. Hence they are capable of be- ing multiplied very rapidly.
 This, unfortunately, is not true of the ruffed grouse. Though it is very docile in captivity, it has never yet proved possible to make the hen lay more than one set of eggs each season Various persons. this past season and previously, have raised them in small members. The problem is hence vel worthy of further experiment though 1t Is not very likely that the species can, for some time to come, be propa- gated on a commercial scale.
 The quail, then, is the native species which should be emphasized in Con- necticut for artificial increase. At the same time, for immediate and abund- ant result for spOrtsmen, it would be well to propagate some other species which can at once be reared in large numbers. Is there such?
 Clearly the Hungarian partridge will not ill the bill though personally 1 wish that it could. The cause is ob- vious from various breeding experi- mnnts, some of them of the past sea son, in this cOuntry At the outset it is hard to mate them up, and the French system, the only one thus far fairly successful, is expensive and diff ticult. Even when thus mated, neces- Sary handling or something else seems to break up" from laying about halt of the pairs, and the rest do not lay very freely. The chicks once matched, are easily raised, but the species seems stupid, the coveys frequenting open fields and falling easy prey to vermin or other enemies.
 The prairie chicken or pinnated grouse was abundant in parts of Con- necticut in colonial days, and is thus a natural native bird. But it seems about as hard to raise in numbers as the ruffed grouse, and, being considerably q bird of the open, would probably be easily shot off.
 Some of the various western quails, such as the mountain, California. Gam bePs, and sealed quails. are quite easy to breed and raise, as we have found in our experiments the past season. Un- fortunately they are all grea. runners and many sportsmen dislike them be- cause they run before the deg. How ever, they are liked in the west where by using other methods, they furnish some quite good sport and l am not so sure that it would Ee a bad plan to have some game birds here which are particularly well able to take care of themselves.
 The species which 1 recommend for extensive propagation, along with the quail, is the Oregon pheasant, or China pheasant, the ring -necked, or 'torqua- tus' strain, introduced from China into Oregon in the eighties, which has nov become a thoroughly naturalized Amer ican species in d number of states. It is similar in general appearance to the English ring-necked species, but IS somewhat different in habit. The Eng fish ring-neck frequentS the open coun- try, and is now much crossed with an- other strain which is rather a marsh frequenter. The Oregon bird on the other hand. is considerably a woodland dweller and should do finely in the brush and woodlands of our own state. They will not harm our native game IllOy IS OL tOWdIulS ulSDOSI- tion, very wild, and in confinement lit tie quails have been known to chase them. Hardy almost beyond belief, . they fairly revel in temperature 40 be- low zero and in deep snoWs They are most prolific Layers in confinement, and the youEg are easily raised. In New-YePk stSste the past season the farmers themselves raised 10000 of them from eggs distributed from the game farm. They do little or no harm to crops, but feed mostly on injurious insects I knew of a five acre field of cabbage to which 1000 young pheas- ants of this sort had daily access. All they did was to clear it of cabbage wormS, to the delight of the owner, Any farmer, without expense or trou- le, can hatch out eggs under Q hen and rear them by just letting them run with very little feeding. They have increased enough in 24 states to allow of open seasons for shooting, and they are also increasing in others. We are little slow in Connecticut, but it is not too late for us to join the proces- sion in the game propagation move ment now becoming nation wide, and reap some of the benefits in due time will come to order I VIII proceed tc