WILD DUCKS. 215 
sent is very beautiful, but the most interesting part of it 
to the fowler is that which ends in havoc and slaughter. 
Thousands of ducks are killed in this manner annually, 
so that toling is an important branch of the wild-fowler’s 
art. Some persons tie a handkerchief around a dog’s 
body, allowing a part of it to stream out behind like a 
queve, if the animal is not strongly marked enough to 
attract the attention of the ducks. This device is usu- 
ally successful, especially with red-heads. The canvas- 
backs, red-heads, and broad-bills are more inquisitive than 
the other species, and are, of course, more easily toled. 
Some persons are so expert in calling ducks that they can 
imitate the various tones of the principal species with 
their mouth, but these, and they are very few, have to prac- 
tice for a long time before they become perfect in this ac- 
complishment. Others who are not so highly gifted in im- 
itative power use squawkers, but, unless they have some 
experience, they are more likely to scare the birds away 
than to bring them within range. One of the best 
callers is made of a tube of bamboo, about seven or eight 
inches long, which has a short tongue of brass at one 
end and a grooved plug at the other. This is made to 
order by dealers in sportsmen’s goods, if it is not in stock. 
The Swiss bird-call is also spoken well of by some persons, 
but I have never seen it used in wild-fowling. In the Far 
West, however, where ducks are numbered by the mil- 
lion, and are comparatively safe from all foes except an 
occasional red or white sportsman and a wily fox, little 
precaution is needed to make a large bag, for the veriest 
tyro can do it if he will only use about four drachms of 
powder, an ounce of No. 2 or 3 shot, and a solid, well- 
made, ten-gauge gun. The great enemies of the wild- 
fowler, and the number is by no means small, are minks, 
skunks, crows, hogs, and owls, for should these find his 
trophies while he is temporarily absent, they would make 
a feast of them, and injure many more than they could 
