OUTFITS, BLINDS, DECOYS AND DUCK-CALLS. 351 



branded both. Now, don't buy decoys simply because 

 they are cheap, mallards especially ; others don't make 

 so much difference, for red-heads and blue-bills will at 

 times come to anything chunks of wood, sticks or any 

 object that has the slightest similarity to themselves. 

 My decoys are the best I could buy perfect in shape, 

 faultlessly painted, and artistic and real in every way. 

 They will last me a life-time, because they are cared 

 for. You hunt for recreation ; you do this even if ad- 

 verse winds have blown you into some harbor where 

 necessity demands that it be done for the support of 

 you and yours. Still, you find in it a pleasure, in^pite of 

 your reverses. If this is your lot, my sportsman heart 

 wells out to you, for some of my truest friends are 

 market hunters, whom the fates have dealt unkindly 

 with. Then, trying as you do, to get the greatest pos- 

 sible pleasure out of it, my word for it, natural and life- 

 like decoys will aid you materially, not only in being 

 pleasant to the eye, but in being the means of swelling 

 your total shot during any day. 



The skill and inventive powers of man are constantly 

 brought into action to discover devices to make more 

 successful the pursuit of wild fowl. In this way we 

 hear of rubber decoys, folding decoys, reversible de- 

 coys, decoy frames, profile decoys, etc., almost without 

 limit. Let the young hunter ponder well before he in- 

 vests in decoys, and feel that he is getting just what 

 he requires in localities where he knows he will hunt. 



Tame ducks make splendid decoys, as they are con- 

 stantly on the move, thus attracting attention ; be- 

 sides, are at all times loudly quacking. Especially is 

 this the case when the birds are passing over. Their 

 movements in the water, their similarity to their wild 



