WILD DUCKS. 275 



sent is very beautiful, but tlie most iiiterestiug part of it 

 to the fowler is that which ends in havoc and slaughter. 

 Thousands of ducks are killed in this manner annually, 

 so that toling is an imjiortant branch of the wild-fowler's 

 art. Some persons tie a handkerchief around a dog's 

 body, allowing a part of it to stream out behind like a 

 queve, if the animal is not strongly marked enough to 

 attract the attention of the ducks. This device is usu- 

 ally successful, especially with red-heads. The canvas- 

 backs, red-heads, and broad-bills are more inquisitive than 

 the other species, and are, of course, more easily toled. 

 Some persons are so expert in calling ducks that they can 

 imitate the various tones of the principal species with 

 their mouth, but these, and they are very few, have to prac- 

 tice for a long time before they become perfect in this ac- 

 complishment. Others who are not so highly gifted in im- 

 itative power use squawkers, but, unless they have some 

 experience, they are more likely to scare the birds away 

 than to bring them within range. One of the best 

 callers is made of a tube of bamboo, about seven or eight 

 inches long, Avhicli has a short tongue of brass at one 

 end and a grooved plug at the other. This is made to 

 order by dealers in sjiortsmen's goods, if it is not in stock. 

 The Swiss bird-call is also spoken well of by some persons, 

 but I have never seen it used in wild-fowling. In the Far 

 West,- however, where ducks are numbered by the mil- 

 lion, and are comparatively safe from all foes except an 

 occasional red or white sportsman and a wily fox, little 

 precaution is needed to make a large bag, for the veriest 

 tyro can do it if he will only use about four drachms of 

 powder, an ounce of No. 3 or 3 shot, and a solid, well- 

 made, ten-gauge gun. Tlie great enemies of the wild- 

 fowler, and the number is by no means small, are minks, 

 skunks, crows, hogs, and owls, for should these find his 

 trophies while he is temporarily absent, they would make 

 a feast of them, and injure many more than they could 



