WILD DUCK SHOOTING ON PRESERVES 127 



duck was observed, as it fell, and was quickly gathered, 

 the element of cruelty, which some people who are op- 

 posed to field sports object to, was practically elimi- 

 nated. The sportsmen spent an agreeable and exciting 

 day in the open air; the cool breezes gave them the good 

 color which indicates health, and since the game they 

 killed is edible there should be no possible objection to 

 the sport which induced them to spend the day in the 

 country. 



The guns and ammunition were the best that could be 

 purchased, and some very long shots were made which 

 killed the game instantly. Having passed the guns the 

 ducks circled about and dropped into the pond beside 

 which they were reared and I was surprised to observe 

 how few of them left the preserve, which is not a large 

 one. About a half dozen mallards were bagged by out- 

 siders shooting at the border of the preserve, and they, 

 too, fired ten and probably twenty shots for each duck 

 secured. They were shooting heavy loads of No. 4 shot. 



Although the birds were comparatively tame, when I 

 observed them during the breeding season, as all game 

 is when it is not disturbed, everyone who observed their 

 swift and high flight admitted that the shooting was 

 fully as difficult as the shooting at wild bred birds ever 

 is, and far more difficult than it often is. 



