Evening star., 1950-11-22
Partridge Census Taken
To Frame Hunting Lows
Count Will Also Aid Study
Of Phenomena of Nature
By Thomos R. Henry

A new kind of census taker is at work.
He is trying to count the partridges.
He starts out about am. each morn
ing through April and drives a. jeep
along back county roads. Every mile he
stops and listens for two minutes. Dur
ing this time he counts the characteris-
, tic crows of partridge cocks. He must
have sharp ears, for he is depended on to
count each crow within radius Of a
half mile. He covers about 20 miles
each morning.
From his report the total number Of
partridges in the area can be estimated
with fair accuracy. April Is the breeding
season. Each cock crows once and only
once each morning. This, of course, is
only working rule and there may be
exceptionS-but not enough, 1t is be-
lieved. to invalidate the census.
Training Needed for Job.
Considerable training is required to
qualify for the work. For the most part.
the corps consists of State conservation
department employees and university stu
dents. The system now is followed in
South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri.
Michigan and Iowa and it is expected
that it soon will be extended to other
States.
The immediate purpose is to determine
the abundance of partridges,, probably
the country's favorite game birds, in
order to frame wise hunting regulations
each year. Wild life specialists of the
Agriculture Department, however, are
following the returns with much more
fundamental interest for it now appears
that the partridge fits into one of the
most mysterious phenomena of nature
the so-called small game cycle"
This has been recognized for years,
but chiefly among the small mammals
of the north. Every nine and three
fourths years these rise to a peak Of
population and then die off to q mini
mum. A notable example is that of the
Jennings, the tiny Arctic mice. which
end their periods of maximum popula-
ton by great migrations.
Occurs With Mammals.
With the mammals this has been .
more or less general observation. With
the partridges, it is hoped, it may prove
possible to check 1t rather accurately.
From the number of cock crows on April
mornings experts, knowing the ratio Of
cocks to hens, hope to be able to deter
mine the abundance of the birds each
year.
Present indications are that partridges
started on the down grade in 1943,
reached bottom about three years ago,
and now rapidly are increasing again.
This fits in well with the cycle of abun-
dance observed among other creatures.
There is a possibility that it may be
common to nearly all animals in the
north. Evidence of the cycle becomes
very dubious south of New York. 1t does
not fit into the well-known sun-spot
cycle of eleven and half years. A re-
Gently advanced theory is that it is due
to periodical increases and declines of
ozone in the earth's atmosphere, The in
creases would be notable at the North
Pole but would become less and less evi-
dent as one went southwark. Ozone is a
highly stimulating form of oxygen, abun-
dant only in the extreme upper atmos-
phere. It may have an effect on repro
duction.
There now is some evidence that hu-
man deaths from heart diseases follow
the same cycle. .. 4.-.-.
~1+s Hope to Fix Cause. -
II the census evidence over several
years reveals that the abundance of
partridgeS follows the same rule it may
be possible, experts at the Agriculture
department Wild Life Research Station
at Laurel, Md, believe, to fix the cause
with greater accuracy. They are making
close study of the food habits of the
game birds and the relative abundance
OF food from year to year.
Other census methods now are being
employed by various States, they ex-
plain. Valuable data has been obtained
by enlisting rural mail carriers to report
all partridge covies which they observe
on their routes. Hunters also are fur
nished blanks with their licenses on
which they report how many birds they
have killed. This, at best, furnishes only
a very rough index of population. Much
depends on the skill of the hunter, but
it is possible to strike general average.
Less than half the holders of licenses,
however, make any returns.