220 GAME BIRDS OF NORTH AMERICA. 



sheet of glass, and the decoys loom up to almost twice their usual 

 size, as in a fog, and under these circumstances the ducks will 

 readily discover the deception long before they come near to you, 

 and will either turn out of their way or will pass by beyond gun 

 shot. Under these circumstances we can easily change the pros- 

 pects and have good shooting with but little trouble. To do this, 

 select two or three of your largest and best decoys as follows : — 

 say two on the outside and one in the centre of the decoys. To a 

 loop in the breast of each decoy run a string, to one end attach a 

 piece of lead, iron or stone, weighing say two pounds, then carry 

 your strings to your blind, and as soon as you see a bunch of 

 ducks pull these strings violently, and by doing this the decoys will 

 act as if feeding ; and not only this, but they will create waves that 

 will give motion to all other decoys. By this means one may have 

 good shooting even when it is quite calm. 



The blinds are built in the fall just about the time at which the 

 ducks arrive, so that the birds are accustomed to them from the 

 first. Often too, the vicinity of the blind is " baited." To " bait ' 

 a blind, place from twenty-five to forty yards in front of each blind, 

 two or three bushels of corn or grain, or screenings. Sooner or 

 later a bunch of ducks will find this out, and will communicate it 

 somehow or other to every duck for miles around. As soon as 

 they find it, you can rest assured that the ducks will remain feeding 

 on this grain until it is all gone, which will take a long time ; but 

 by once every two or three weeks putting out another bushel, you 

 will have ducks until they leave for their breeding grounds. It is 

 always best to put out corn at first, as the ducks notice this so 

 much sooner, and after this bait with rye or wheat, which is more 

 difficult for them to get. Now this shooting will be all right as 

 long as the river does not freeze, or the ice is not over an inch or 

 two thick. In this latter case you must break the ice in front of 

 the blind, so as to have a space about forty or sixty yards square, 

 and then by placing the decoys out you will have the best of shoot- 

 ing, as this will be the only water open in the vicinity, and by plac- 

 ing decoys in it you cannot fail to draw every bunch that may pass 

 up or down. But in case the ice is from four to eight inches thick, 

 and freezing all the time, you will have to resort to another method. 

 In all freezes there are air holes open at some place or other 



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