THE CANVAS-BACK 173 



There are records at the clubs of famous bags, but 

 here, as on the Atlantic Coast, they no longer come as 

 formerly. In looking over the game register at one 

 of the Lake Erie clubs, I observed that in former years 

 over one thousand canvas-backs were often killed, but 

 more recently the total for the year has been less than 

 one hundred birds. Farther west, however, at some 

 of the preserves in Wisconsin and Minnesota, and on 

 many lakes and ponds, these splendid birds still come 

 in better numbers, and they were reported not long 

 ago in certain places on the Pacific Coast as abundant 

 as they ever were on the Chesapeake Bay. 



Many States have now good laws for their protec- 

 tion, which limit the bag, prohibit market shooting, the 

 sale of game, the use of big guns and batteries and all 

 blinds on the feeding grounds ; and if the shooting in 

 the spring is prohibited, the sportsmen in the West, at 

 least, will no doubt continue to enjoy good shooting. 



The food of the canvas-backs consists largely of a 

 water plant popularly termed wild celery (yalesneria) 

 This food imparts a peculiarly delicious flavor to their 

 flesh. On the Pacific Coast they feed upon a bulbous 

 plant which the Indians call wapato (sapellaria vari- 

 abilis) which renders their flesh equally delicious. It 

 is only when they can obtain the wild celery or the 

 wapato that the birds are worthy of high praise. 

 The red-head and widgeon, when feeding on the same 

 food have a similar flavor ; but all of these birds, when 

 their food consists of small marine animals, have the 

 same sedgy or fishy taste and are no more desirable as 

 food than many other sea-fowl. As a general proposi- 

 tion, I may here observe that the so called river-ducks 



