WILD DUCKS. 269 



one may then have some good sport with them, if he 

 takes a position in a shelter near their Hne of flight. 

 Some farmers in tlie Atlantic States do not allow shoot- 

 ing on their land, for fear their cattle might be injured; 

 hut such prohibition is unknown in the West, for the 

 birds are so numerous and destructive there that they 

 are frequently poisoned, as the geese are, by soaking 

 grain in strychnine and scattering it near their roosting- 

 places. Ducks, being great feeders, remain in the stubble 

 fields all day during murky or rainy weather, and chatter 

 away to one another in a low, crooning tone, as if they 

 were discussing the state of the atmosphere or congratu- 

 lating one another on the absence of foes and the abun- 

 dance of food. 



They fly quite low on such days, so that a man who is 

 behind a blind can bag them in large numbers. They 

 prefer fields where the cornstalks are scattered about to 

 those in which they stand in stacks, owing to their fear 

 of concealed enemies. The wild-fowler should lie down 

 on his back in such places, and remain immovable until 

 the flocks come almost directly over him, then rise into 

 a sitting posture, and blaze away at the thickest of the 

 mass. This system of shooting cannot, however, be suc- 

 cessful, unless the clothmg of the sportsman is of a 

 neutral tint, such as a brownish or sedge color, as the 

 ducks notice any unusual hue in the landscape and give 

 it a wide berth, even though it be nothing more danger- 

 ous than the burned stump of a tree. When ducks be- 

 come familiar with standing corn-stalks, these can 

 be used as blinds, for in this, as in other instances in 

 life, familiarity breeds contempt; but care should be 

 taken that the blinds are not too solid in appearance, as 

 that would immediately arouse the suspicion of the wary 

 birds and cause them to avoid tlieir vicinity. When the 

 ducks congregate on the ice in winter, some excellent 

 shooting oan be had near air-holes, provided a person is 



