CHAPTER XXX. 



CAVE CORVUM ! 



In concluding these remarks on cluck-shooting 

 I must impress upon the reader's mind one final 

 caution, without heeding which all his painstak- 

 ing and skill in killing his game may prove use- 

 less. It is this : Beware the crow ! 



Crows are objects of inveterate enmity amongst 

 all duck-shooters, and few ever venture within the 

 circumscribed, and to them well-known, limits of 

 shot-gun range without being forcibly reminded of 

 the fact. The truth is, crows have a decided 

 liking to the flavor of raw duck-flesh, and never 

 hesitate to gratify their tastes w^henever a favor- 

 able chance is offered. Being perhaps rather epi- 

 curean in their habits, they are so particularly 

 partial to the heart and other tidbits that when 

 they can get enough of these, all other portions 

 are discarded as not worth eating. As a con- 

 sequence, so many ducks are required to fur- 

 nish even a small party of these fastidious yet 

 thankless gluttons with a satisfactory repast, that 



