WILD DUCKS. 269 
one may then have some good sport with them, if he 
takes a position in a shelter near their line of flight. 
Some farmers in the Atlantic States do not allow shoot- 
ing on their land, for fear their cattle might be injured; 
but such prohibition is unknown in the West, for the 
birds are so numerous and destructive there that they 
are frequently poisoned, as the geese are, by soaking 
grain in strychnine and scattering it near their roosting- 
places. Ducks, being great feeders, remain in the stubble 
fields all day during murky or rainy weather, and chatter 
away to one another in a low, crooning tone, as if they 
were discussing the state of the atmosphere or congratu- 
lating one another on the absence of foes and the abun- 
dance of food. 
They fly quite low on such days, so that a man who is 
behind a blind can bag them in large numbers. They 
prefer fields where the cornstalks are scattered about to 
those in which they stand in stacks, owing to their fear 
of corcealed enemies. The wild-fowler should lie down 
on his back in such places, and remain immovable until 
the flocks come almost directly over him, then rise into 
a sitting posture, and blaze away at the thickest of the 
mass. This system of shooting cannot, however, be suc- 
cessful, unless the clothing of the sportsman is of a 
neutral tint, such as a brownish or sedge color, as the 
ducks notice any unusual hue in the landscape and give 
it a wide berth, even though it be nothing more danger- 
ous than the burned stump of. a tree. When ducks be- 
come familiar with standing corn-stalks, these can 
be used as blinds, for in this, as in other instances in 
life, familiarity breeds contempt; bat care should be 
taken that the blinds are not too solid in appearance, as 
that would immediately arouse the suspicion of the wary 
birds and cause them to avoid their vicinity. When the 
ducks congregate on the ice in winter, some excellent 
shooting can be had near air-holcs, provided a person 1s 
