234 DUCK SHOOTING. 
“They are rather earlier in making their ap- 
pearance abundantly. The variation is never great, 
however, and the birds appear in the following 
order: the wood-ducks first, being plentiful early in 
September; the blue-winged teal begin to surpass 
them about the 20th of that month, and soon after- 
ward the mallards arrive; widgeons are abundant 
by the middle of October, and canvas-backs and 
red-heads are the latest.” 
“ Ah,” burst forth the unlucky man, enthusiasti- 
cally, ‘“‘the wood-duck shooting is my favorite ; 
when they rise from the lilies they are easier to 
kill than when flying past at full speed; and you 
have a punter to pole the boat and help mark the 
wounded birds.” 
“October has my preference,” responded the 
President, with glowing eye; “the large ducks— 
the mallards, canvas-backs, and red-heads— have 
then arrived; the blue-bills and teal are numerous ; 
and, when a single teal flies past, a man has to 
know how to handle his gun to keel him over 
handsomely.” ; 
“But mallards dodge, when you rise to shoot, at 
the report of the first barrel; and red-heads and 
canvas-backs, if not killed stone dead, dive and 
swim off under water, or, catching the weeds in 
their bills, hold on after death and never reappear. 
Have you noticed the large teeth, or nicks, in the 
bills, especially of red-heads ?” 
“Yes. Those long, recurved teeth aid them in 
tearing up the wild celery, on which they feed. I 
