108 SHOOTING THE DUCK 



moorhens found on the pond ; they should be killed 

 in every haunt they may have within a considerable 

 radius, and should be continuously sought for in these 

 haunts, for if they find their way to the pond and 

 have to be killed there, this can often only be done 

 at the cost of unduly disturbing the duck. When 

 they have a stronghold from which it is impossible 

 for dogs to dislodge them for the gun, a satisfactory 

 method of taking them is by means of a large fall- 

 trap netting stretched over a wooden frame. If corn 

 is scattered under the trap at the same hour every day 

 the birds quickly lose all fear of the erection, and the 

 hidden worker of the trap can make a good catch very 

 shortly after throwing down the corn. Few birds, 

 by the by, are better than a moorhen when properly 

 cooked. 



And now as to shooting the wild birds which are 

 drawn nightly to visit the pond and feast upon the 

 corn provided for them. 



The blinds, three or four of them, preferably made 

 of a triangular frame work screened with rushes, should 

 stand at regular intervals round the pond, and distant 

 from it some thirty or forty yards. When November 

 comes we are passing over sport which may be 

 afforded earlier in the season by local birds go late, 

 on a still afternoon, and, having made sure that the 



