FIVE IMPOKTANT WILD-DUCK FOODS. 



11 



PROPAGATION. 



Although the chufa seems not to grow naturally in a large area in 

 the western United States, there is no doubt that it can be cultivated 

 everywhere except in the higher parts of the Rocky Mountain region. 

 It is said to do fairly well at the altitude of Denver. 



Chufas can be obtained from most seedsmen and are so cheap that it 

 will pay sportsmen to buy new stock every few years, if earher 

 plantings show degeneration in size of the tubers and hence reduction 

 in value as duck food. Chufas do best on hght or somewhat sandy 

 but rich soils. They are only available for duck food when planted 



Fig. 10. — Range of the chufa. 



on land dry in summer and overflowed in winter. In the open they 

 should be planted thickly so as to give the plants a better chance in 

 competition with weeds. In timbered land they need not be planted 

 so thickly, but they will do well only in rather sparse growths, where 

 considerable light penetrates to the ground. When possible the 

 land where planting is intended should be broken up and freed from 

 weeds. Plant the tubers just beneath the surface, in spring. 



WILD MILLET. 



VALUE AS DUCK FOOD. 



Wild millet (EckinocJiloa crus-galli) is an important food for ducks 

 in widely separated regions of the United States. At Mud Lake, 



