540 DUCK SHOOTING. 



to the raid on his family; but Mrs. Teal, when cap- 

 tured, looked up at me and remarked : "Quack, quack," 

 and was answered in the same language. This was 

 satisfactory, and when she was put in a special pool 

 with her young, she seemed to realize that man was 

 not only her friend, but the friend of all that she held 

 most dear, and, mother-like, would give her life for. 



As the blue-wing teal is the easiest to approach of 

 all wild ducks, so their young are naturally tame. I 

 would much like a chance to try the effect of keeping 

 the young of both these teal without pinioning, as has 

 been done with mallards. 



I have bred more of the wood duck than any other 

 species. When I began the work they were the only 

 wild ducks that I could get in quantity. They were 

 netted in great numbers in Michigan for market, and 

 as I would pay several times the market price, I bought 

 large numbers, and helped stock zoological gardens in 

 Europe. In the late '6o's and early '70's not one bird in 

 ten would lay eggs for me, but I raised a few. Then, 

 when I left Honeoye Falls, N. Y., in 1876, the flock 

 had to be disposed of. From that time until 1883 I 

 had no country home, where my pet fancy could be re- 

 sumed. Then these birds were scarce, the once prolific 

 Michigan lake where Northern-bred birds stopped to 

 feed on their way South in early fall no longer paid 

 the netters, but I got a few. 



I doubt if this bird can ever be domesticated. I 

 learned how to breed them with certainty, but after 

 being bred for ten generations in confinement, they 



