368 THE COMMON WILD DUCK. 



direction of his master. The fowl roused by this new object, advance 

 X) wards it, while the Dog is playing still nearer the entrance of the 

 pipes] till at last the decoy-man appears from behind the screens, and 

 the wild-fowl not daring to pass by him, and unable to fly off on 

 account of the net covering the hoops, press forward to the end of the 

 funnel-net, which terminates upon the land, where a person is stationed . 

 ready to take them. The trained birds return back past the decoy- 

 men, into the pond, till a repetition of their services is required. 



Wild Ducks are very artful birds. They do not always build their 

 nests close to the water, but often at a considerable distance from it ; 

 in which case the female will take the young-ones in her beak, or 

 between her legs, to the water. They have sometimes been known to 

 lay their eggs in a high tree, in a deserted Magpie or Crow's nest ; and 

 an instance has been recorded of one being found at Etchingham, in 

 Sussex, sitting upon nine eggs, in an oak, at the height of twenty-five 

 feet from the ground : the eggs were supported by some small twigs 

 laid crossways. 



Prodigious numbers of these birds are taken by decoys, near 3*1- 

 cardy in France, particularly on the river Somme. It is customary 

 there, to wait for the flock's passing over certain known places : when 

 the sportsman having ready a wicker cage containing a number of 

 tame birds, lets out one at a time, which enticing the passengers 

 within gua-shot, five or six are often killed at once by an expert 

 marksman. They are now and then also caught by means of hooks 

 baited with raw meat, which the birds swallow while swimming on 

 the water. 



Other methods of catching Ducks and Geese are peculiar to certain 

 nations : one of these, from its singularity, seems worth mentioning. 

 A person wades into the water up to the chin ; and, having his he -id 

 covered with an empty calabash, approaches the place where the Due ks 

 are. These, not regarding an object of this kind, suffer the ixan 

 freely to mix with the flock ; and he has only to pull them by the 

 legs under the water, one after another, and fix them to his belt, till 

 he is satisfied. This curious method is frequently practised on the 

 river Ganges, the earthen vessels of the Gentoos being there used in- 

 stead of calabashes. These vessels are what the Gentoos boil their 

 rice in : after having been once used, they are considered as defiled, 

 and are thrown into the river as useless. The duck-takers find them 

 convenient for their purpose ; as the Ducks, from seeing them constantly 

 float down the stream, consider them as objects not to be regarded. 



The Chinese make great use of Ducks, but prefer as food the tame 

 to the wild ones. It is said that the major part of the Ducks in China 

 are hatched by artificial heat. The eggs, being laid in boxes of sand, 

 are placed on a brick hearth, to which is given a proper heat during 

 the time required for hatching. The Ducklings are fed with craw-fish 

 and crabs, boiled and cut small, and afterwards mixed with boiled 

 rice: and in about a fortnight they are able to shift for themselves. 

 The Chinese then provide them an old stepmother who leads them 

 where to find provender ; being first put on board a sampane, or boat, 

 is destined for their habitation ; a.ud from which the whole 



