THE AMERICAN SCOTER 395 



and sea-food, until shot will flatten on their 

 flesh if it strikes them. 



They are unusually tough customers either in 

 life or at the table. Most of our cooks believe 

 it impossible to so prepare this bird as to make 

 it decent food for any but a starving man. 

 The best recipe that I have seen is something 

 as follows : First, skin your fowl and let it par- 

 boil in saleratus water at least one day, or until 

 it can be dented with a fairly sharp axe. If 

 your courage holds out the game is now ready 

 to stuff and bake as you would any other duck, 

 except that you must put enough onions into 

 its inside to take away all Coot flavor. Arriv- 

 ing at this stage of proceedings there are two 

 lines of retreat yet open to you: either throw 

 your delicate morsel away or give it to someone 

 against whom you hold an ancient grudge, — on 

 no account should you try to eat it. Some of 

 my island friends claim to be able to cook a 

 Coot so that I could not tell it from a black duck. 

 Well, perhaps, — but thus far I have always been 

 careful to decline to referee any such match, 

 for I much doubt if I could distinguish in a dark 

 room between the flavor of a Coot and the pal- 



