Page:GrouseinHealthVol1.djvu/151

not quite so well distributed as in the earlier period. This remark specially applies to May, June, and July 1907, when only one specimen was received for each month as against a monthly average of fifteen in 1906.

TABLE V. — Comparison of Monthly Averages of Crop Contents covering Two Years.

		Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May.	June.	July.	Aug.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
Calluna heather shoots	1906 1907	64 89	751⁄2 72	97 81	93 64	811⁄2 100	82 100	53 95	601⁄2 38	631⁄4 63	42 51	39 701⁄2	54 592⁄3
Calluna heather flower and seed-heads	Av 1906 1907	761⁄2 201⁄4 10	733⁄4 21⁄2 9	89 21⁄3 2	781⁄2 0 0	903⁄4 1⁄2 0	91 0 0	74 0 0	493⁄4 51⁄2 14	631⁄5 161⁄4 21	461⁄2 28 24	543⁄4 33 191⁄2	565⁄6 23 27
Blaeberry stalk, bud, and leaf	Av. 1906 1907	151⁄8 131⁄4 1⁄2	53⁄4 15 19	21⁄6 0 15	0 4 21	1⁄4 6 0	0 6 0	0 20 0	93⁄4 0 12	185⁄8 41⁄2 0	26 9 1	263⁄4 22 10	25 21 10
Various	Av.	11⁄2	31⁄2	11⁄3	9	6	6	16	35	131⁄2	221⁄2	3	22⁄3

The results of this Table have also been given in the form of a chart for purposes of comparison.^[1]

The strain upon the vitality of the Grouse in the winter months is intensified by the fact that a greater bulk of food is required by More food
required
in winter
than in
summer. each bird per day than is required during the summer

But few would have rated it at five times the value, and yet, from a comparison on the afternoon crops of the winter with those of the summer, this appears to be the case. Thus the average weight of food found in a Grouse crop from December to March, between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., is 250 grains, whereas the average weight of food found in a Grouse crop from April to November, between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., is only 50 grains.

The fact that more food is required in winter to maintain the body temperature would, of course, partly account for this increase, even Reasons
for this. if the heather had the same food-value. But as heather certainly has an inferior food-value in winter, the amount taken must be increased

1. Vide p. 80.