96 SHOOTING THE DUCK 



Hence it is unsatisfactory to put down eggs of these 

 layings. Nor is any object served by producing very 

 forward birds unless the owner wishes to kill them 

 as soon as the season opens. Any of the reputable 

 game farms will book dates for sending eggs which 

 may be relied upon in the matter of fertility. I 

 consider it inadvisable ever to encourage duck to 

 breed wild ; it is a better plan to kill off every bird 

 before the season ends and start each year with a 

 fresh stock, raised either from bought eggs or from 

 eggs produced by one's own pinioned birds. If 

 duck breed wild, it is not a very uncommon occur- 

 rence for a pair of old birds to take a trip with their 

 family some windy night and never to be seen again. 

 Old birds, too, will often lead the younger populace 

 of the ponds into habits of wandering further afield 

 than is sometimes altogether well as concerns their 

 personal safety. Any strain of domestic blood 

 detracts from the value of the mallard as a sporting 

 bird. 



The main essentials to successful hatching may 

 be briefly summarised : Let the nest, sweet straw 

 and never anything else, rest upon the ground. Let 

 the clutch number no more than seven if the hen is 

 set in cold weather, and in no case more than ten. 

 Let the hen sit on nest-eggs for two or three days 



