groves, and ravines, where insect enemies gather and lurk during the
greater part of the year, this bird not only seizes large numbers of
these enemies daily during the summer months when they are "abroad in
the land," but all winter through it scratches among the fallen leaves
and other rubbish that accumulates about its haunts seeking for
hibernating insects of various kinds. Being a timid little creature,
the Quail seldom leaves cover to feed openly in the fields, and
therefore does but little actual harm in the way of destroying grain.
In fact it only takes stray kernels that otherwise might be lost. This
bird is one of the few that feeds upon that unsavory insect, the
chinch-bug; and the number of this pest that occasionally are
destroyed by it is really astonishing. No farmer or fruit-grower
should ever kill a quail himself nor allow anyone else to hunt it on
his premises.

Our domestic fowls, save ducks and geese, from which so much direct
income is derived throughout the year, belong here. It would be folly
on my part to assert that they are useless to the farmer. Besides
furnishing eggs and meat for the table, they are great aids in keeping
down a variety of noxious insects during spring, summer, and fall.

The various species of Doves or Pigeons are not, as a rule, thought of
as being especially harmful, yet repeated examinations of their
stomach contents would indicate that their food seldom, if ever,
consists of anything but grains and various kinds of seeds along with
other particles of vegetation. The good done by these birds as
destroyers of weed seeds more than pays for the harm done by them as
grain-eaters.

Recent careful study with reference to the food habits of Hawks and