MALLARD SHOOTING IN ICE HOLES. 119 
days, and his shooting will be excellent each day. It 
is advisable to scatter corn both in the hole and around 
its edges on the ice; put plenty in the hole if the water 
is shallow. ‘The birds will soon discover this and will 
come often ; and if the hunter is a good shot, will tarry 
long. As fast as killed, set up the dead ducks for 
decoys; keep on until you have a good sized flock,—no 
fear of having too many, the more the better. In build- 
ing a blind, advantage must be taken of locality. Ifin 
timber, secrete yourself well witha good open place to 
shoot through. Better have an indifferent blind, and 
an open place to shoot through, than the best of blinds 
when you find you cannot shoot without interference 
of limbs. Should you find the shooting must be had in 
an exposed pond or river, where a shore blind cannot 
be made, your ingenuity will be taxed to hide yourself 
and you must depend as much on quietness and 
patience, as on a blind. Should the ice be strong 
enough to bear you, build a small wall 8 or 10 
inches high of ice or snow to conceal you; a little hay, 
a rubber blanket spread over it; cover yourself with 
a white cloth, wait patiently; it’s a splendid place for 
contemplation, especially if the thermometer registers 
down about zero; and you can drive away the coldness 
by thinking of Turkish baths, strawberries and cream, 
and the church sociables you enjoyed the past summer. 
One writer speaking of ice-hole shooting, says a 
a good way to build a blind is, “take a barrel, chop a 
hole through the ice so the barrel will shp through, 
nail pieces of scantling on the sides of the barrel, fill 
the barrel with water until it sinks down far enough, 
then bail the water out, first cutting narrow edges 
through the ice; push the scantlings down, give them 
