BREEDING WILDFOWL. 539 



fell. A picket fence on one side and poultry netting 

 on the other, held a few ducks, some green-wing teal 

 among them. Every day, and several times a day, I 

 took them watercress, duckweed, lettuce, cabbage, or 

 other delicacies, in addition to their grain and animal 

 food, and always talked to the birds as they fed. 

 Talking is a most important thing in the domestica- 

 tion of wildfowl, as it is in the training of domestic 

 animals. The talk was always the same : "Hello, little 

 birds ; I never did see such pretty little birds ; come up 

 here and get some good things." There was no 

 thought that the words would be understood, but there 

 was finally a distinct connection between them and the 

 feeding, so that when the corduroy working coat was 

 left off, and a morning trip to the city in frock coat 

 and "nail-keg" hat was in order, the flock would fol- 

 low me when I was outside the picket fence, if I saluted 

 them with : "Hello, little birds," etc. 



May came, and the flock was short one female green- 

 wing. With an anathema on all minks and weasels, 

 there was work to be done in the hatchery, and the 

 little teal was forgotten, until one morning she ap- 

 peared on the pond with four fluffy little balls of down, 

 about as big as a piece of soap after a hard day's wash- 

 ing. They could swim well, and had implicit con- 

 fidence in their mother, who evidently thought them 

 young teal, but they could have taken refuge in a 10- 

 bore gun with room to spare. I called the men from 

 the hatchery, and we netted the family out. Mr. Teal 

 was off conviving with friends, and paid no attention 



