212 WILD-FOWL 



where the punter said they were safe from harm by 

 reason of the deep mud and shallow water. 



Thousands of mallards are killed each year on the 

 marshes about the Illinois River, and in the Southern 

 swamps. They are still extremely abundant at times 

 in the ponds of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the Dakotas, 

 and in the tule marshes of California, but any one 

 who observes these birds at all will notice the rapid 

 diminution year by year. I know of places where I 

 used to have good shooting where the appearance of 

 a single duck to-day would cause surprise. An army 

 of guns would no doubt at once take the field to 

 circumvent it. 



The records at the Lake Erie group of clubs show 

 that the mallards have always been the most common 

 variety, excepting possibly the teal and the canvas- 

 back. The record of the Winous Point Club shows : 



Canvas-backs. Mallards. Blue-Wing Teal. 



1880 665 Ij3I9 2,110 



1885 . .. 237 943 1,019 



1890 697 394 603 



1895 72 218 21 



1900 I 232 o 



The score for 1900 is unimportant, since the Ohio 

 Legislature (influenced it has been said by the irate 

 gunners who object to the exclusive game preserve) 

 passed a law prohibiting the shooting of all ducks 

 until November loth. The marshes were frozen over 

 two days later, when the ducks all left, except the 

 blue-wing teal, and these, of course, had gone a month 

 pr more before, 



