262 DUCK SHOOTING. 



without going over the tops of their high rubber boots. 

 If it is deeper than this, the chances are against much 

 shooting, for the wild geese are pretty well informed 

 as to the depth of the water, and if it is too deep for 

 them to feed they are not likely to alight. On the other 

 hand, the water must be deep enough for them to swim 

 easily. 



The number of decoys put out is usually not less than 

 six, nor more than fifteen. Whatever the number, 

 the geese are set out in the form of a V, the angle 

 being toward the box. Each goose is provided with a 

 stool, which consists of a sharp-pointed stake, four feet 

 long, sharpened at the end, and topped with a round or 

 oval piece of board, eight or ten inches across. When 

 the sharp end of the stake is firmly implanted in the 

 mud of the bottom, the board table should be two inches 

 under water. Immediately below the table there is 

 fastened to the stake a slender leather strap, from three 

 to four feet long, terminating in two branches, each of 

 which has at its end a running noose, which is put 

 around the goose's leg and drawn up snug, yet not too 

 tight. As each stool is planted in the mud, the man 

 who tends it goes to the boat, takes a goose from the 

 coop, fastens it by both legs to the strap, and throws it 

 on the water. As soon as the bird has been put out it 

 begins to bathe, and for a time is busily engaged in 

 ducking, shaking itself and swimming about, so far as 

 its strap will permit. After it tires of this, it is likely 

 to swim up to the table, climb on it and stand there 

 preening itself. The best caller among the decoys is 



