26 SAFE AND ATTRACTIVE PRESERVES 



as far South as Florida would be made better than it 

 ever was, and it would remain so for all time to come. 

 As it is, the breeding grounds are being drained rapidly, 

 since it does not pay to keep them for ducks. 



Ponds which are shallow and which contain much 

 food in the water and about the shores are more suitable 

 for rearing places for ducks than ponds with rocky or 

 gravelly shores. But even the last named ponds can be 

 made to support a good head of ducks, provided the 

 birds be well fed with grain. 



I have had inquiries recently from people in New 

 England who contemplated rearing ducks as to the at- 

 titude of the wild ducks towards trout and other desir- 

 able game fishes. Since the ponds where it was pro- 

 posed to introduce the ducks are fully stocked with 

 trout, their owners did not wish to add the ducks if 

 these would put an end to their trout fishing. They were 

 anglers, and the duck shooting was only a secondary 

 pleasure. 



My knowledge of the food habits of the more desir- 

 able river ducks, which are best suited to the preserve, 

 led me to believe that the ducks would not interfere 

 with or destroy the fishes, especially if the birds could 

 secure the food they liked best, or if they were fed, as 

 they should be, sufficiently to keep them at home. Not 

 having any positive information on the subject, how- 

 ever, I referred this important matter to the United 

 States Commissioner of Fisheries, who wrote as fol- 

 lows in reply to my communication : 



"Replying to your letter of April 26, addressed to the As- 

 sistant in Charge; Division of Fish Culture, it is not believed 

 that the number of trout and other game fish consumed by 



