104 FALL MIGRATORY FLIGHT OF DUCKS, ETC. 
by hunters who have studied the habits of the ducks 
closely. 
When the autumnal frosts with relentless fingers 
touch the green foliage of the forests, woods and 
groves, beautiful tints of yellow, brown, crimson and 
gold appear, which collectively form a kaleidoscope 
Nature alone can produce. Leaves deprived of vital 
sap flutter to the ground, and wafted by the breeze 
whirl, eddy and rustle across our path. When the 
grass turns whiter, the golden-rod fades upon our 
prairies and all vegetation trembles at the first impact 
of winter’s chilling touch, then the first issue arrives 
upon our Canadian borders. Some drop into lakes, 
sloughs, musquaids and rivers; others scatter out and 
alight in wheat, barley and down rice, which abounds 
in shallow places; while others, high in the air, dis- 
appear in the southern horizon. 
The best grounds are quickly discovered, and an 
organized flight is formed to feeding, roosting and 
play grounds. This continues from ten to fourteen 
days, when they again flock and depart southward. 
After an interval of about four or five days, the second 
issue arrives, which although acting in a similar way 
does not stay so long. 
The clear, frosty nights of October have arrived, 
some snow has fallen, but has quickly melted; ice is 
formed every night and the foliage has disappeared 
from the trees, which, shorn of their beauty, stand like 
spectered skeletons, while the leaves, brown, yellow 
and wet, form a carpet over the once green grass; 
water in the still lakes and sloughs has been kept open 
by the warm sun during the day and by the ducks at 
night, Suddenly the second issue flocks together and 
