338 AMERICAN GAME. 



ducks, as established by the authorities, and belonging 

 to the United States, are sixteen in number, all of which 

 are entirely familiar to me. Of these, seven have the 

 bill peculiarly formed, or I might say ^formed, with 

 curious protuberances at its base, and the feathered 

 forehead running far down the dorsal, or upper, outline 

 of the bill, almost to the nostril. 



These seven are the Eider-duck, the Ring-duck, the 

 Harlequin-duck, the Pied-duck, the Yelvet-duck, the 

 Surf-duck, and the American Scoter ; of these, the three 

 last, to all of which this bird bears a very considerable 

 resemblance, are known as " coots" on the sea-shore, 

 and are distinguishable by what maybe called the scoter 

 bill, high, and more or less carunculated at the base, 

 and often variegated with several bright colors. 



It is remarkable, that of this genus of Fuligulce, eight 

 are of the most, two of these the very most, delicious of 

 all water-fowl on the table ; I need not specify the 

 " Canvas-back," and the " Red-head," as their names 

 will occur spontaneously to every sportsman, every gour- 

 met in the land while the other eight, including 

 the Long-tailed duck, Old-wife, or South-southerly, are 

 fishy, rank, oily ; an uneatable abomination. On the 

 strength of the similarity of the Winter-duck of Lake 

 Huron, to the Scoter family of the sea-ducks, I at once 

 prophesied that it would prove, like its congeners, uneat- 

 able. My surprise may be imagined when it turned out 

 not by the camp-fire, where, with the Spartan sauce, 



