The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1915-01-14
SHALL THERE Be
Open QUAIL SEASON
Question Will Probably be BrOt
Before the Legislature
Farmers are Opposed

Since the question of an open quail
season was discussed at a recent
Commercial club luncheon, number
Of farmers have called at this Office
20 voice their protest against pro-
lection being taken from the little
farm. One of our readers brought in
his old home paper in Kansas and re-
uuested that the following article be
published:
The scarcity Of quail in the Western
states continues, despite the laws to
protect them. Kansas passed law
two years ago forbidding the killing
Of these little friends of the farmers
for five years; but they have not in
creased greatly.
Some of the farmers contend it is
because in the breaking up of the
prairie the birds have no nesting
places. But Kafir field is an ideal
nesting place for quail-it does bet
ter than it ever did on the bare prai-
RE. Boys are largely responsible
where there is a scarcity of quail.
They take their rifles out when the
quail are plentiful and thin them out
sadly. You cannot help this except
by education-the law cannot trace
the boys, one or two to farm, who
bring in a few quail on the plea that
it saves the chicken yard and supplies
the table with delicacies.
Fifteen years ago, over in Kansas,
. bag Of 800 quail was not considered
bad for good hunter to bring in aft
ter 2-day trip. They shot them and
trapped them and the insects and the
bugs increased and the farmer won
dered why Nature seemed to provide
a new bug for every new crop. He
provided it for himself by destroying,
or permitting to be destroyed, his
best friend, the quail.
When Oklahoma was new, the hazy
autumn days were filled with the
boom Of many guns-all out after
quail. The little, plump, brown
breasted Bob Whites were hunted
fiercely. The hunters shot for blood
lust. All summer long the rowing
broods Of young had swept the prai-
RES in their ceaseless search for in
sects. They may have picked up a
stray grain of corn or Kafir or wheat
here and there, but many cinch bug
went down before their march. They
stuffed themselves on grasshoppers
and for their reward in keeping the
fields free from the marauding in
sects, they became the prey of dog
and gun.
As a matter of fact, every quail on
the place is worth 5-dollar bill to the
farmer because of the amount of in
sects it destroys. It's natural food is
insects. In the stomach of a baby
quail, less than a week old, was found
tightly packed $50 minute insects, be-
sides an assorted collection of ants,
caterpillars, spiders and grasshop-
per. It contained less than dozen
seeds. From the first day of two, the
young quail are busy little insect eat
ers. They trot about all day, cleaning
up their immediate vicinity of the in
sects that would greatly damage the
farmers fields later on.
Heavy rains when the young are
Matched, sometimes drown or wash
them away. A bit of scrutiny at these
times would save many brood to
clean the fields. The quail is about
the only bird that will eat the Colo
rado potato bug. It has healthy ap-
petite Tor the chinch bug, for cotton
worms, cucumber beetles, wire worms
clover leaf weevil, army worms, boil
weevll, rose bug, grasshopper and ev-
en- tobacco worm butterflies. No other
bird eats such quantity of insects.
In the winter, when the insects are
scarce, they live on weed seeds, with
tne tender foliage. They work indus
trlously in stubble; but have seldom
been known to injure growing grain.
"A brood of young quail that had been
oomesticated completely cleaned the
black scale from row of Marguerite
pushes that had been condemned to
De rooted out because Of the scale.
Every quail on your place is worth
20 to you, mister.