A MORNING WITH NATURE, ETC. Zoo 
let your eyes follow a flying flock until they pass en- 
tirely out of sight, and you will be surprised how often 
you will see them pitching into some spot.not far from 
you. Should you see several flocks dart down to the 
same place, take your decoys and go there; you will 
find it their feeding place, or some quiet mid-day retreat 
where they will be found in large numbers. 
We were now at the head of an island. Said I, 
“ We will get three ducks along the overhanging wil- 
lows of this island.” 
He looked at me in astonishment, and said, “ How 
do you know we will? If you are so certain, guess you 
had better shoot them yourself.” Saying this, he opened 
the lunch basket, half reclined on the hay, and pro- 
ceeded to punish his already over-burdened stomach 
with more lunch. I sculled gently and quietly along 
the bushy shore; first jumped and killed a blue-bill, 
then a mallard drake. We had now reached the foot 
of the island, and I was about to despair in getting the 
third duck, when a mallard sprung out of the grass not 
over 30 yards from me, and fell dead at the report of 
my gun. My companion was utterly dumbfounded and 
exclaimed, “ That beats me! How do you—how could 
you tell just how many ducks you would kill coming 
down this island? It is beyond my understanding. You 
seem to know all about these ducks, read them in the 
air, tell how many there are on an island, and just how 
many you will kill in passing; you are too deep for 
me. See here! I am going to test your knowledge of 
ducks.” And, grabbing one from the pile, handed it to 
me, saying, “ Look at it! Tell me how old it is, and 
what’s its name ?” 
Without cracking a smile, I opened its mouth, looked 
at it intently, and handing it back to him said : 
