144 ON THE WING. 



of this wary bird, he naturally looked round to dis- 

 cover the cause, and observed a young fox sporting on 

 the river-bank ; and the ducks, all eagerness to gaze 

 upon him, were steering their course directly for the 

 shore. 



" These ducks will not only be decoyed by the dog, 

 but will often come in by waving a fancy-colored hand- 

 kerchief attached to the ramrod. We have seen a 

 dog fail to attract their attention till bound around the 

 loins with a white handkerchief, and then succeed per- 

 fectly well. The toling season continues about three 

 weeks from the first appearance of the ducks, — often 

 a much shorter time, as these birds become more cau- 

 tious, and are no longer deceived in this way. The 

 canvas-back toles better than any other duck j in fact, 

 it is asserted by some sportsmen that this particular 

 variety alone can be decoyed in this mode. There are 

 always numbers of other ducks feeding with the can- 

 vas-back, particularly the red-heads and black-heads, 

 who partake of the top of the grass which the canvas- 

 back discards after eating off the root. These ducks, 

 though they come in with the canvas-backs when toled, 

 do not seem to take any notice whatever of the dog, 

 but continue to swim along, carelessly feeding, as if 

 intrusting themselves entirely to the guidance of the 

 other fowl. 



" As far as we have been able to judge, we are in- 

 clined to this opinion also, and do not recollect ever 

 having succeeded in toling any other species of duck 

 unaccompanied by the canvas-back, although we have 

 made the effort many times. These ducks are a very 



