The sun., 1918-09-08
MAN TO BLAME FOR
GROUSE SCARCITY
Vermin Destructive Force, but
Slight in Comparison
With Hunter.
REMEDIES SUGGESTED


nized natural breeding States hab tated
by this family Is only telling part of the
! truth.
The questions arise: What Is the
cause Of the great decrease? Is there
some speciho kind OF vermin infestng
the woods, or rigors Of winter, scarcity
Of food. bad nesting seasons. increase
In the number OF hunters. slaughter by
man or lack OF protection responsible
for the drrlorable small game condi-
lions applying to the PARTRIDGE"
| or the yermin making up the most
important personnel OF woodland pests
we have foxes, redtailed. sparrow and
sharp Skinned hawks, skunks snakes,
bluejays. GROWS. marten. mink. 'coons
| ard ray and red squirrels or these
skunks snakes, red squirrels. marten,
m nk and 'coons are egs eating vermin,
while the others mentioned seek prtnci-
pally the flesh.
To begin with. let us look into the
physical nature OF the partridge and
| start with Its own resources. Nature
has particularly lavished endowment
upon this grand game bird IN the way
| of exceptional hardihood. rrolifcacy.
alertness. sagacity, strengt Of wing
| and swift flight and almost na.na IN
| stinct toward self-preservation, which
form great protective power against
natural enemies.
Resources OF Ruffed Grouse.
Particular care Is given by the par
| ent birds in selecting nesting sites, and
although a ground builder locations Of
| nests will usually be found to be well
protected by overhead cover and in good
| vantage points. where observations are
AZ Tn
ing danger
The nesting season Is undoubtedly
most dangerous SO far as vermn is con-
cerned, as skunks, squirrels, snakes,
crows and Jays are noted nest robbers.
However. the fact remains paramount
that once a clutch Of egss Is disturbed
the nest Is forsaken, another site located
and the process OF laying and incuba-
tion begun again.
This tendency Of the partridge greatly
overcomes the possible danger Of ex-
tinction by any OF the above mentioned
vermin enemies.
sparrow and redta'led hawk in the nest
ing season and during the fiedgling
stage Is relentless, but when one takes
into consideration the size Of the broods,
the alertness on the part Of the mother
hen and the ease with which the chicks
scatter to safe harbors of refuge at the
nrst warning note only a small per
cent. q destruction can be attributed to
this menace
Forest fires may be responsible for
Some loss. but losses from this source
are appreciably small
1t is safe to predict not more than
one-half OF i per cent. of loss Is caused
by owls, and that not one-tenth Of / per
cent is caused by the stray or aban-
doned domesticated cat. which has re-
verted to a semi-wild state and left to
the freedom of the woods for during the
tedgiing states the partridge chick makes
rapid growth and the house cat at this
season Is too husily engaged with field
mice, grasshoppers and smaller offspring
OF weaker parent birds to engage in
prolonged hunts after game so well pro-
tected as the wild chick is by the hen
doubt much IL the fox makes serious
tnroads or greatly reduces numbers dur
Ing the nesting season or after the
chicks have left the nests. At this time
tho fox is a better hunter after mice
t1ads and small rabbits. Of which he IL
particularly more fond than he is OF
partridge.
The natural perception Of the part
ridge as prognosticator Of weather
and weather conditions and approaching
weather changes overcowes IN large
measure bad nesting conditions" held
out by many observers as detrimental
to increase.
While continued cold ranis may impair
the efficiency Of this bird and hamper
productlveness. mother love and instinct
and perseverance start the process
anew Il clutch Is lost. Nothing will
prevent pair of old cartridges from in
creasing unless they come to harm them
selves.
So we come down to the real and
only great danger-man. The tre-
mendous increase in automobile traffic
and the continued upkeep and building
of State and county roads Is a direct
cause for depletion of nearly all furred
and feathered game.
How to Save the Partridge.
We have been successful in having
passed law which prohibits shooting