Abstract
IN these two books, Mr. Henry Marion Hall, assisted by Mr. Ralph Ray as illustrator, gives us accounts of the ruffed grouse and the woodcock from the point of view of the American sportsman. However, both species are of considerable ornithological interest, and there is much in the volumes to hold the attention of the reader on the other side of the Atlantic, who will admire the dramatic colour pictures and the excellent black-and-white sketches. The author's remarks on game preservation, in particular his remarks on the protection of the ruffed grouse and on predator control, are most commendable. “The experience of generations of gamekeepers abroad,” he says, “has shown that foxes, hawks, owls, weasels, and other animals must be controlled wherever their abundance proves dangerous to feathered game. To exterminate them, however, is worse than useless. A reasonable number should be left alive to eliminate weakly or diseased game birds. This service leads to the survival of alert, vigorous stock and at the same time tends to check the spread of infectious ailments.”
Woodcock Ways
By Henry Marion Hall. Pp. xii + 84 + 8 plates. (New York and London: Oxford University Press, 1946.) 30s. net.
The Ruffed Grouse
By Henry Marion Hall. Pp. vii + 91 + 8 plates. (New York and London: Oxford University Press, 1946.) 30s. net.
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PITT, F. Woodcock Ways The Ruffed Grouse. Nature 160, 418 (1947). https://doi.org/10.1038/160418a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/160418a0