CUIUilTUCK MARSHES. 121 



less of deficicncos in tlie gunner's blind, and very fre- 

 quently pass completely oAcr the stools. On the 

 otlier hand, a black-duck in approaching the stand 

 is a model of caution, he is all eyes and ears, the 

 slightest movement by the sportsman, the least evi- 

 dence of danger will arouse his suspicions, and he will 

 veer suddenly off. Black-ducks and mallards rarely 

 cross the stools to alight at the head of them, but if 

 they reach them at all, drop in at the lower end, or 

 more often stop short and alight at a distance just 

 tantalizingly out of shot, where they remain to lure 

 off every fresh arrival unless they are driven away. 

 Their noses are especially keen, and care must be 

 taken to so arrange the stand that the wind will not 

 carry the scent of the gunner across the water to the 

 lee-ward of the decoys, and the birds get it before 

 they reach them. If they come in contact with such 

 a warning they jump into the air as if they had been 

 shot at, and flee with all the speed that terror can 

 lend to their usually vigorous wings. It is desirable 

 to set the stools under the lee of a bank of reeds or 

 rushes, for none of this class of ducks likes the open 

 water, and the most convenient plan is to place the 

 stools to one side of the stand, quartering as it were 

 across the wind, so that even if the birds alight be- 

 fore actually reaching them, they may be within 

 gun-shot. 



The location of the stand is most important. I 

 remember once when I was shooting from what is 

 known in the club as ^'Kidder's Point," that I was 

 particularly impressed with this fact. The day had 



