The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-01-01
QUAIL PROPAGATION
Account of the Experiment By the State Ornitho-
 logist

Believing that an account of the quail propagation experiment, which was conducted at The Connecticut Agricultural College last summer, from the standpoint of those who actually did the work and of the resident col lege oa4eia s will be of interest, the following statement is issued for the public and the sportsmen of Connec- ticut.
 The measure of success or failure of the experiment. depends upon the point of view It did not succeed, this first | season, in raising a stock of young hand, despite various handicaps, ev- cry stage of the process of propaga- tion worked out successfully, until a disease broke out among the numer- ous young birds when they were al most matured. Through the results of careful scientific work done, and still being done upon the problem, those who are in the best position to judge feel that foundation has been laid which makes the prospect of final success far greater than ever before. Following is a brief summary of the facts in the case.
 The experiment was conducted with an average of 30 pairs of our bob white quail. The first result was the perfecting of the details of a success full breeding system, by which even the widest stock will breed abundant " in confinement Most of our birds were thoroughly wild. Though we AOSI the DCSC part OI lIl6 DI0CQllB S6d- son through late start, these 30 pairs produced 693 eggs. Our banner quail laid 73 eggs, the next 50- Only one hen quail failed to lay. The aver age was g eggs per pair. The fer tility was 90 per cent The system is simple and practicable.
 The second result of the experiment. is a successful matching system. Af- ter preliminary tests, the matches were usually over 80 per cent, and ran as high as 95 per cent which poultry men will agree is not bad.
 A third result is that an immense amount of detail as to the care and handling of the quai,s has been quite thoroughly mastered. We wish to con- tinue an elaborate series of scientific feeding tests, with a view to fore stallfng disease. We have worked out promising system for game pre- serves which we are anxious to test quail chicks are beautiful and docile, and seem amenable to artificial condf- tions and management.
 A fourth series of results, of most of experimental work on quail dis eases Prof. L. R. Rettger, the bac- terfologiSt, of Sheffield Scientific School of Yale University, has been carrying on cooperative Investigation in con nection with poultry diseases during his vacation seasons at the Storrs Az ricultural Station. He was allowed to give part of his time to the quail dis
 
 ornlthologist who Is a member of the Faculty of The Conn. Agricultural College. Dr. Rettger has discovered the causative organism of at least one deadly epidemic disease of quail. He first found it in a specimen from a Connecticut gun-c1ub, from a batch newly shipped in, which had nearly all died. An EnocuIation test with healthy quail proved it the cause of the dis ease. Dr. Rettger is now keeping it in cultures, and if further specimens from various quarters prove it to be a widespread scourge of quail ship ping, he proposes to attempt a vac cine or serum to render quails fn cap tivity immune. He has also recently isolated another organism, first found in the young quaiIs. Though there has not yet been time to demonstrate that sEis is surrey the main cause of their death, this view received re- markable confirmation from the re- cent discovery by English scientists of a very similar organism in grouse, which they believe to be the cause of the grouse disease in England If the above organism proves, through further investigation, to be the cause of the quail disease, from its nature 1t is believed that 1t can probably be eradicated or prevented by simple me dicinaI treatment. Moreover it may give light upon the matter of the dis eases of the ruffed grouse and other game-birds.
 The work. being conducted on the grounds of The Conn Agricultural Col