A Firm Seat 173 



of spawning that goes on there. What is the period of in- 

 cubation of the eggs? How old are the young fish before 

 they leave for more open water? A friend of mine in the 

 fisheries department has told me that a year-old carp will 

 weigh a pound. He also said that the carp eats certain para- 

 sitic worms and helps to control the disease in fish called 

 distomiasis which is due to that worm. And to think that I 

 have spoken badly of the carp! 



A coot, completely black, except for its white bill, leads its 

 one chick along the edge of the cattails. The young bird is 

 reddish in color and looks nothing like the parent. I rarely 

 see them when so young, for the old birds are wary and do 

 not allow the chicks to stray far from cover. The birds may 

 have discovered the fat grubs. They pick rapidly at the float- 

 ing vegetation and pay no attention to me and the canoe. A 

 mallard hen makes a great noise as it lands nearby and 

 sends them into the cattails. 



I hear the call of birds above me and look up to see night- 

 hawks flying. Their high lisping note sounds continually, and 

 the white patches of the underside of their long wings can 

 be seen plainly as their bodies, blackish-gray and brown, 

 swing back and forth in their search for food. Apparently 

 some marsh insect has hatched in quantities large enough 

 to attract these adept hunters. They are members of the 

 goatsucker family, and are like the nightjars so much referred 

 to in English literature. They come close, wheeling and twist- 

 ing in their flight. 



I look at my watch. It is nearly five, and although I hear 

 the call of the pied-billed grebe again and see abittern flying 

 low, it is time for me to go. In half an hour I am at the 

 canoehouse float. 



I typed my notes in much more detail than usual and 

 mailed a copy to my friend. He met me about a week later. 

 "Those canoe pillows/' he said. "Are they soft?" 



