236 DUCK-SHOOTING. 



before incensing the fierce and powerful canvas-back. 

 Of a calm day it is amusing to watch the flocks 

 of noisy mud-hens, collected in front of the club- 

 house, diving for their food, and being robbed of 

 it by the widgeons. The latter swims rapidly 

 among them, and no sooner does he espy one com- 

 ing to the surface, with his bill full of celery, than 

 he pounces upon and carries it off. He is watchful 

 and voracious, and quickly devours the food ; while 

 the injured mud-hen, with a resigned look, takes a 

 long breath and dives for another morsel." 



" Do they not combine to drive the robber away ?" 



" Occasionally ; but he minds their blows as little 

 as their scoldings, and generally swims off with his 

 prize. The canvas-back, however, would soon teach 

 him better manners.'' 



"Are the western canvas-backs as delicate and 

 high-flavored as those of the Chesapeake ?" 



" Fully so, as my friends in New York, who have 

 been fortunate enough to share my luck, have often 

 testified. Of course, when they first come they are 

 thin and poor, but having the same food as is found 

 in the Chesapeake, and being less disturbed, they 

 soon attain excellent condition, and are entirely free 

 from the slightest sedgy flavor." 

 ' "That sedgy or fishy taste is confined mainly to 

 birds shot on the salt water, and is rarely found in 

 any birds killed upon the inland lakes, so that many 

 for instance the bay-snipe that are barely pass- 

 able when shot along the coast, are excellent in the 

 interior." 



