Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1917-01-02
QUAIL THE FARMERS
DEFENSE FROM PESTS
Should Be Protected by Law
From Slaughter by Sport
Lovers.
CCONTRIBUTED)

Now that We have been watching
the slaughter of the quail on our
farms chiefly 10y the city man with
his pumpgun and dog and his auto
mobile takes him to the most remote
corners of the state-let us look back
over the carnage and see what this
means to the farmer. The United
States department of agriculture
found the following in single birds:
20 To 80 grasshoppers; ~ cotton boil
weevils; ~ cutworms; ~ army
worms ~ to 10l potato beetles Judd
also made the following counts of
weed seeds found in the crops and
stomach of single birds: Crabgrass
1000; lambs quarters 10000, pigeon
grass 5000; pigweed 400; ragweed
1000 smartweed 800 and sorrcl $50
Quail if protected would relieve us Of
a large share of this tax The natural
food of the bobwhite Is weed seeds
and insects, and it seems to like the
worst kinds best. by actual cXamina-
ton of the crops and stomachs. of
bobwhites, s. Judd of the United
States department Of agriculture csti'
mates that We have en- annual loss Of
Sl7OOO,000 from weeds and a yearly
tax of S795.100,000 from insects
Bobwhitc Is Noracious.
Mrs. Margaret NJ Nice. formerly Of
Worcester. Mass, but now a citizen
of this state, has made thoro investi-
CATION Of the food of the bobwhite
when reared in captivity BY count
ing the seeds of one kind of weed a
bobwhite ate during whole day, she
obtained the following figures: 1000
seeds of crabgrass, IL. 600 Of pigweed;
l2,50O of plantain; 5000 of rabbits
foot clover and 2,250 of smartweed
Here is the record of the insects a
single bird ate at one meal: Aphids
2,326, eaten by n weck-old bobwhite:
144 mosquitoes eaten by week old
chick, sos mosquitoes in three hours
by a nearly-grown bird In both OF
these cases the supply gave out while
the birds We're still eager for more
\ days feed for one bobwhite was
!, $50 flies: for another 1886 rose
slugs; GO large crickets were eaten
by a seven weeks old bird one day.
and So grasshoppers another; while
a laying hen consumed in one day
l 5S2 insects, of which 1000 were
Both Mr.. Judd and Mrs Nice found
hat the food of these birds is largely
of insects during the spring and
months while in winter they
i've almost entirely on weed seeds and
wasted grain left on the ground.
There is no evidence at hand showing
that bobwhites ever injure newly
sown or standing grain. But it is
known by actual observation that they
eat the seeds of 199 different weeds
Cheaper To Lose Chickens.
one farmcr when asked by some
hunters who wanted to shoot his
quail replied: 81 don't want to be
unpeighborly, boys, but | would
much rather have you 80 into my
barnyard and shoot my chickens"
From the standpoint of actual money
values he was doubtless right The
department of agriculture reports that
quail are getting fewer each year
Isn't it a short-sighted policy for us
to permit these valuable birds to be
eXterminated just to satisfy the kill
ing instincts of IA few me1 and boys?
The quail should he in the list of in
sectiVorous birds to be protected at
all times, for 1t Is to valuable an as
set to our farms to let II be slaugh-
tered. But If this is too much to hope
for at present. let's close the season
on them for from six to ten years
Let's let our legislators know at once
that we expect them to do this.