DECOYS. 71 



would discover their mistake before alighting, but 

 would dart near enough to afford quite fair shoot- 

 ing from a blind near by. 



Rather a cruel method, perhaps, but one at- 

 tended with great success in wild-goose shooting, 

 is, on securing a wing-broken one, to flisten it to 

 a stake a short distance from the blind, when it 

 will call most vociferously on seeing others 

 approaching or passing by, who are almost 

 certain to come if within hearing distance. Geese 

 should be set up for decoys as fast as killed. 

 If shooting at an air-hole in the ice, stick their 

 heads under their wings, and set them up near 

 the edge of the hole. 



An excellent decoy for swan-shooting (they de- 

 coy very readily) is an old white shirt drawn 

 over a bunch of brush, the sleeve being supported 

 by a branch or stick in the proper position, form- 

 ing the neck and head. A single one, if thus set 

 out in their feeding or roosting ponds, will answer 

 nearly as well as a dozen, but for travelling birds 

 more are needed. 



As to the position and shape necessary to 

 arrange the decoys in respect to wind, I shall 

 describe that in reference to battery-shooting, under 

 that head. For point-shooting, shooting from a 



