DUCKS 289 



look for years for ducks in the daytime upon that 

 particular spot without once having the opportunity to 

 kill a couple, but that if he was inclined to accompany 

 me, I should be happy to prove to him that he was 

 leaving the ground just at the time when the ducks 

 were most likely to come on the scene. He was soon 

 beside me in the dogcart, and, as we were fortunate in 

 the selection of stands that evening, my friend returned 

 home highly elated with two and a half couples of ducks. 

 He was already an enthusiastic and first-rate game-shot, 

 and after that evening he became also an ardent and 

 successful follower of the sport of duck-flighting. 



Many people on the mere mention of duck-shooting 

 conjure up visions of moonlight nights and long, cold 

 vigils. That much waiting and moonlight nights are 

 inseparably connected there can be no doubt, for with 

 the aid of the light the fowl are placed in a position of 

 much independence, as they can move about when and 

 where they please, and so keep dropping in to their 

 feeding-grounds at all times. On dark nights, however, 

 the time of their flight is much more clearly defined, 

 and the twenty minutes or half-hour of twilight will 

 then certainly prove productive of sport provided ducks 

 are abundant and a suitable stand has been chosen by 

 the gunner. The peculiar fascinations of this sport, 

 however, often draw men into lonely spots most diffi- 

 cult of access, and the getting away from such places 

 on dark nights is the least pleasant part about the 

 pastime. 



Some years ago an old friend of mine was returning 

 with me from flight-shooting on a particularly dark night, 

 and whilst crossing a wide drain by means of a single 

 slender plank, having a bundle of ducks in one hand 



