Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/769056
high with brush and weeds. He didn't prune his fruit, so his trees did just as well for roosts as the horny palo verdes of the desert. He raised crops to eat instead of to sell, and as a consequence the birds had plenty of food, whereas most Americans in the Southwest now raise either truck or cotton. I wish this story could end on a happy note, but our first season there was our last. A wealthy Easterner with a yen to be a Southwestern country gentleman saw Juan's place and was so charmed by its rustic simplicity that he bought Juan out, and Juan and Mercedes went back to Sonora. It's a model American farm now. The fence corners are clean, so are the ditches, and the fruit trees have been pruned and sprayed. The fences now bear "No Hunting, No Trespassing" signs, but there is no need for them. The quail are no longer there. n THE GREATEST QUAIL HUNTING book EvER "Gambling for Gambel's" is among a big covey of stories in The Greatest Quail Hunting Book Ever by Sporting Classics. This fascinating, 368-page anthology features 38 stories from those halcyon days when sporting gentlemen pursued the noble bobwhite quail with their favorite shotguns and elegant canine companions. The book opens with compelling tales by the literary giants from quail hunting's golden era, including Nash Buckingham, Robert Ruark, Havilah Babcock, Archibald Rutledge, and Horatio Bigelow. The second section presents reminiscences by sporting scribes of the modern era, among them Jack O'Connor, Gene Hill, Joseph Greenfield, Dave Henderson, and Mike Gaddis. The third section is comprised of unforgettable short stories on quail hunting and bird dogs by James Street, Dan O'Brien, Bob Matthews, and Caroline Gordon. The Greatest Quail Hunting Book Ever has been published in two editions: Collector's Edition, hardcover with dust jacket, $35, and Deluxe Edition of 400, leather-bound and signed by co-editors Jim Casada and Bob Matthews, $75. To order, call (800) 849-1004 or visit www.sportingclassicsstore.com. 76 • S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S