342 BAY, SEA OR DIVING DUCKS 



supply of mussels, scallops and clams, which form the principal items of 

 their diet. 



The sport of "coot" shooting on the New England coast as described 

 by Bent (1925) is quoted fully in the "Life Story" of the White-winged 

 Scoter; the same writer, with regard to the culinary value of the flesh 

 of the scoter says: "From the sportsman's standpoint the American 

 Scoter is a more desirable game bird than the other two scoters. The 

 young birds particularly, when they first arrive from their northern feed- 

 ing grounds in the interior, are fatter, more tender, and less strongly 

 flavored than are the others. The value of 'coots' as food has been much 

 maligned and in my opinion unjustly; if young and tender birds are 

 selected and if they are properly cooked their flesh is much more palat- 

 able than is generally supposed; the popular prejudice against them is 

 largely due to an erroneous impression that they must be parboiled, 

 which is a pernicious practice and will render any oily sea duck unfit for 

 food by saturating the flesh with the oily flavor. There are only two 

 proper ways to cook a sea duck; one is to skin it and broil it; and the 

 other is to scrape as much oil out of the skin as possible and then roast 

 it quickly in a hot oven, letting the oil run off." 



In an article in "Field and Stream" for December, 1924, R. W. 

 Hatch, while making some highly derogatory remarks on the value of the 

 flesh of "coots" as food for man or dog, admits in the following words, 

 that, properly cooked, a most savoury dish can be produced. He says: 

 "But I do know two good ways of preparing coot that are guaranteed 

 to make it delicious for the most epicurean hunter, and I pass this in- 

 formation along right now. The easiest way is to place the coot in a pot 

 to boil with a good flat-iron or an anvil. Let it boil long and merrily, and 

 when you can stick a fork in the flat-iron or the anvil, as the case may be, 

 then that coot will be ready to eat. If that takes too much patience, take 

 the goodly coot and nail it firmly to a hardwood board. Put the board 

 in the sun for about a week. At the end of that time, carefully remove 

 the coot from the board, throw away the coot, and cook the board." 



