ii8 PROPAGATION OF WILD BIRDS 



let. Not only is the water thus kept pure, but the flow- 

 brings in small water-insect life, upon which waterfowl 

 especially thrive. For a few fowl a section of a brook may 

 be wired ofi, together with some surrounding land. In this 

 case care must be taken to sink the wire mesh in the stream 

 to the bottom, to prevent the birds from diving under the 

 wire. Another arrangement may be to dam a stream, and 

 excavate, if necessary, a small pond. If there is no natural 

 water supply, this can be supplied by artificial means. 



A Small Pond. For an undertaking to breed or keep wild- 

 fowl, a small pond is much better than a large one. A large 

 pond is apt to harbour large turtles, which are death to 

 ducklings, and even attack ducks of good size. Large fish, 

 especially black bass and pickerel, and blacksnakes are also 

 dangerous. A small body of water may be drained off if 

 necessary, dynamited, or otherwise freed from enemies, 

 though in such a place enemies are less likely to be found. 

 With a large area of water it is harder to keep track of the 

 birds or to find their nests in breeding time. A pond cover- 

 ing an acre is a good size, and three acres is amply large. 

 About fifty breeding ducks to each acre of pond is enough. 



It is a great advantage if the pond is partly surrounded 

 by marsh, or at least has some marsh on part of its border. 

 There should also be growth of long grass and weeds ad- 

 joining, and also some shrubbery. About two acres of such 

 to an acre of water is about right. A pond with a moderate 

 area of reeds or flags growing from the water is a treasure. 

 The deep-water or diving ducks, such as redhead and canvas- 

 back, habitually build their nests in such areas, out in the 

 water, on floating bogs or amid aquatic vegetation, and in 

 such surroundings they are much more likely to breed. If 

 there is no aquatic vegetation in the ponds, it is an excellent 

 plan to transplant it from some other marsh. If natural 



