NATURAL FOODS OF WILD DUCKS 41 



Northrup, King & Co. can supply both wild rice and 

 wild celery and possibly other natural foods for ducks, 

 and they have issued two booklets about the wild rice 

 and celery and how to plant them, which will be sent 

 free upon request. Mr. Clyde B. Terrell deals in wild 

 celery and issues a circular telling how to plant it, which 

 he will mail to anyone applying for it. R. B. White can 

 supply wild celery, both the seeds and the roots, and 

 also fox-tail grass and other foods. 



The wild rice furnishes both food and cover and is a 

 valuable plant wherever it can be successfully grown. 

 Formerly there were many complaints that the wild 

 rice seed failed to grow when planted, but the cause for 

 many failures has been discovered and recently it has 

 been successfully introduced in many places. 



Although the wild rice is regarded by many gunners 

 as the most important natural food for ducks, other 

 natural foods seem to be quite as valuable, and some of 

 them may be grown in places where the wild rice does 

 not thrive. In The Amateur Sportsman for October, 

 1910, I printed an interesting and instructive letter 

 from Dr. R. V. Pierce, who has been very successful in 

 introducing the fox-tail grass and several other duck 

 foods, but he said he had no success in raising wild rice. 



The sportsmen who own shares in the duck clubs 

 throughout the country where no practical preserving 

 or hand-rearing of wild fowl is attempted long have 

 been interested in wild rice, wild celery, wapato and 

 other natural duck foods as a means of attracting the 

 birds to their shooting grounds, but with the growth of 

 practical preserves, where ducks are encouraged to re- 

 main and nest in a wild state and where also they are 



