CHAPTER XVIUY. 
EGGS TO DUCKLINGS. 
When the chill frosty nights of winter have re- 
luctantly loosened their icy grip and soft April show- 
ers have fallen; when shoot by shoot the grass grows 
green, buds swell and burst into blossom and green 
leaves appear as the vivifying sap rushes to the top- 
most branches; the redbud and the crab-apple trees 
fling their dainty blossoms to the breeze, and the pure 
morning air is impregnated with their sweetness. 
Long lines of ducks and geese pass over, wending 
their way to northern homes, seeking a haven free 
from molestation in their efforts to raise their callow 
brood. 
‘Tis May. All through this vast continent, and be- 
yond, over countless islands far from human eye, on 
barren mainlands, swamps and musquaids or bogs, 
ducks abound, having paired during their journey 
northward. The approved nesting site is selected in 
hollow trees, woodpecker or squirrel holes (like the 
woodduck, hooded mergansers and whistlers); upon 
the ground in secluded bunches of grass or sedge, in 
rushes, flags, canes or rice above or touching the 
water’s edge; in wheat, barley or grassy fields near 
or even far from sloughs or water holes, in fact, every 
conceivable place adapted to each particular species 
is now intuitively sought. 
Building commences—sometimes the drake is not 
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