6 CANVASS-BACK DUCK. 
is followed in most cases by their forsaking those haunts, and seeking 
others ; hence, in the rivers leading to the bay near flying points, they — 
are never annoyed by boat-shooting, either by night or day, and al- 
though the discharge of guns from the shore may arouse them for a 
time, they soon return; whereas a boat or sail in chase a few times, 
will make them forsake a favourite spot for days. 
‘“ From the great number of ducks that are seen in all directions, one 
would suppose that there could be no doubt of success at any one 
of the points in the course of flight; but whilst they have such cor- 
rect vision as to distance, and wide range of space, unless attending 
circumstances are favourable, a sportsman may be days without a pro- 
mising shot. From the western side of the bay, and it is there the best 
grounds are found, the southerly winds are the most favourable ; and, 
if a high tide is attended by a smart frost and mild south wind, or even 
calm morning, the number of birds set in motion becomes incon- 
ceivable, and they approach the points so closely, that even a mode- 
rately good shot can procure from fifty to one hundred ducks a-day. 
This has often occurred, and I have seen eight fat Canvass-backs killed 
at one discharge into a flock, from a small gun. 
“ To a stranger visiting these waters, the innumerable ducks, feeding 
in beds of thousands, or filling the air with their careering, with the 
great numbers of beautiful white swans resting near the shores, like 
banks of driven snow, might induce him to suppose that the facilities 
for their destruction were equal to their profusion, and that with so 
large an object in view, a sportsman could scarcely miss his aim, 
But, when he considers the great thickness of their covering, the ve- 
locity of their flight, the rapidity and duration of their diving, and the 
great influence that circumstances of wind and weather have on the 
chances of success, it becomes a matter of wonder how so many are 
destroyed. 
“The usual mode of taking these birds has been, till recently, by shoot- 
ing them from the points during their flight, or from the land or boats, 
on their feeding grounds, or by toling, as it is strangely termed, an 
operation by which the ducks are sometimes induced to approach with- 
in a few feet of the shore, from a distance often of several hundred 
yards. A spot is usually selected where the birds have not been much 
disturbed, and where they feed at three or four hundred yards from, 
and can approach to within forty or fifty yards of the shore, as they 
