204 WILD-FOWL AND SEA-FOWL OF GREAT BRITAIN 



is taken due advantage of when the time comes 

 round. 



When the season is right down moist ; that is, 

 when it rains day after day, with showers in be- 

 tween for a change, the furrows in those tenacious 

 clay lands are full of water, no matter whether they 

 be left fallow or ploughed. The ducks come and 

 examine these for dropped corn, wheat, barley, oats, 

 beans, and peas, also for worms, grubs, and other 

 small unconsidered trifles. Some of them must 

 come from off the tide, judging from their fly-lines. 

 Sharp-nosed, silver-bellied eels and trout generally 

 go together in these streams ; the eels are better in 

 the opinion of the rustics than the trout, and they 

 are richer in flavour. The consequence of this is, 

 that short night-lines are laid on the shallows where 

 the eels like to rove, baited with a silvery minnow. 

 A fine Mallard that comes down stream under the 

 shelter of the high banks to do a little more cider- 

 making, catches sight of the minnow and pouches it 

 at once, casting his quick eyes round to see if there 

 is another. Not seeing one he turns to go, but 

 something stops him. He flaps, threshes the shal- 

 low water up with his wings, and quarks in a half- 

 choked manner. Some one hears him, slips down 

 the bank, breaks his neck, and pockets him, merely 

 remarking that " it warn't a duck as he warnted, 

 but he reckined he must put up with it jist fur once." 



There are other methods of accidental capture 

 known to us, but we shall not touch on these. 



Before we leave this interesting and beautiful 



