266 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xiii. 



plumage are perfect. When quite young, 

 sportsmen call them " flappers ;" and a brood, 

 when flying, is termed " a team." 



When fledged, and grouped together for 

 migration, they fly very high, and may he 

 known by the inclined triangular lines in 

 which their flight is conducted ; and when 

 they alight, they cautiously make several 

 circuits over the spot which they have chosen, 

 as if to ascertain its security from an enemy. 

 They repose on the water, but are always 

 guarded by some of the flock to watch for 

 their safety, and give an alarm when danger 

 is approaching. They are, indeed, at all 

 times so shy, that a shot is very difficult to 

 be got at them ; wild-duck shooting, there- 

 fore, demands as much patience as any other 

 sport, and, as they are much sought after 

 for the table, means have been adopted on 

 many parts of our coasts — more with a view 

 to pecuniary profit than amusement — for tak- 

 ing them in large snares, or " decoys," where 

 great numbers are annually killed for our 

 markets. 



The domestic duck, though evidently a 

 descendant of the wild stock from which it 



