Quail have always been trapped. They are a natural source
of food ; and for people who have not climbed the foothills of "the Holy Mountain" the traffic is as legitimate as in other forms of carnivorous marketing. The capture of quails for export by modern wholesale methods is a very different business. The market demands quail of a certain fatness. The birds, it is alleged, will not fatten south of the Mediterranean. They are therefore packed by hundreds in crates, each crate packed tight so that the birds shall not be free to struggle. Before packing their primary wing feathers are torn out, roughly, as must be the case in dealing with great numbers. Tens of thousands are still caught, though the birds dwindle rapidly ; as they dwindle the price rises, the laughter intensifies and the means of capture are perfected.
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