The Water-fowl of the Pacific Coast 509 



stream at the bottom which widens into ponds of 

 every kind. Before the rapid settlement of the 

 land these little ponds were beaded with ducks, 

 even the lordly canvas-back and dainty sprigtail 

 being content within their small compass. Along 

 the edge of the cut one could still drive for miles 

 on hard, smooth ground and sometimes keep a 

 steady stream of ducks rising, shooting only from 

 the wagon and stopping only when something 

 fell. Such days are gone. The best of the 

 larger ponds are now rented by clubs, while most 

 of the long sloughs are on ranches of thousands 

 of acres fenced and forbidden. By feeding and 

 judgment in shooting, the clubs are really increas- 

 ing the number of ducks, while the stopping of 

 indiscriminate shooting on the ranches has the 

 same effect. But one who knows how to en- 

 joy the field and cares nothing for slaughter can 

 easily find the way to shoot on almost any of 

 the preserved ground. 



On some of the lakes and sloughs methods of 

 feeding have changed the flight of the birds, while 

 on others they have preserved their natural flight 

 so that it is quite reliable, subject of course to the 

 eccentricities of the duck tribe which make it 

 impossible to predict " a good duck day." In most 

 cases decoys are relied on to bring the flying 

 game within reach of a blind, and not necessarily 

 to induce the bird to alight, so that decoy shoot^ 



