268 lewis's AMERICAN SPORTSMAN. 



fowl, served up piping hot, all redolent with the captivating fumes' 

 of its savory flesh; and, in the words of Wilson, "canvas-backs 

 not only grace, but dignify, the table ; and their very name conveys 

 to the imagination of the eager epicure the most comfortable and 

 exhilarating ideas." 



The beautiful appearance, large size, immense numbers, and 

 juicy tenderness of these ducks, during their stay on the Chesa- 

 peake and its tributaries, cause them to be persecuted with an un- 

 relenting ardor by shooters collected from all parts of the neighbor- 

 ing States, urged on not only by a healthful desire for sport, but 

 doubly stimulated by the more selfish motive of gain. Although 

 thousands of these ducks are annually sent to the markets of 

 Philadelphia, Baltimore, New York, and even as far south as 

 Charleston, the demand for them at these places is ever the same ; 

 and the exorbitant price that they readily bring — two or three 

 dollars per pair — is of itself a sufficient proof of the high estima- 

 tion in which our citizens hold them. 



KNOWN ONLY IN AMERICA. 



This duck we are proud to claim as solely American, there being 

 no fowl as yet described in any portion of the world, except per- 

 haps the pochard of England, that at all resembles the canvas- 

 back. This duck, however, is much smaller, and weighs at least 

 one-third less; and the delicacy of its flesh, though good, is far 

 inferior to that of our species. 



Before going further, we will make the reader familiar with this 

 beautiful duck by the introduction of Wilson's description : — 



"The canvas-back is two feet long and three feet in extent, 

 and, when in good order, weighs three pounds ; the bill is large, 

 rising high in the head, three inches in length, and one inch and 

 three-eighths thick at the base, of a glossy black ; eye very small ; 

 irides dark red ; cheeks and foreparts of the head blackish-brown ; 

 rest of the head and greater part of the neck bright, glossy, reddish- 

 chestnut, ending in a broad space of black that covers the upper part 

 of the breast and spreads round to the back ; back, scapulars, and 



I 



