WILD-FOWL SHOOTING. 145 



singular bird, and, although very cunning under ordi- 

 nary circumstances, seem perfectly bewildered upon 

 this subject. We were one of a party several years 

 since who actually succeeded in decoying the same 

 batch of ducks three successive times in the course of 

 an hour, and slaying at each fire a large number. We 

 counted out over forty at the conclusion of the sport. 



"Although the toling of ducks is so simple in its 

 process, there are few dogs who have sufficient indus- 

 try and perseverance to arrive at any degree of perfec- 

 tion in the art. The dog, if not possessed of some 

 sagacity and considerable training, is very apt to tire 

 and stop running when the ducks have got near the 

 shore but too far off to be reached by the guns, which 

 spoils all, as the birds are very apt to swim or fly off 

 if the motion of the animal is arrested for a few mo- 

 ments." * 



" Since writing the above, we have been assured by 

 an experienced and somewhat veteran sportsman that 

 both the black-heads and the red-heads tole with the 

 same facility, and the former duck, if anything, even 

 more easily than the canvas-backs. From further 



* " On some particular days, even in the midst of the toling 

 season, without any apparent reason, the toler is obliged to relin- 

 quish his sport, as no artifice on the part of the dog will induce 

 the ducks to come in, although on the preceding day they may 

 have exhibited the greatest eagerness to satisfy their curiosity on 

 this point. The immediate cause of this fickleness on the part 

 of these fowl it is difficult to explain, as it cannot be attributed 

 to any sudden change in the weather or other concomitant cir- 

 cumstances which most generally influence the actions of the 

 feathered race." 



7* J 



