THE AMERICAN SCOTER 395 
and sea-food, until shot will flatten on their 
flesh if it strikes them. 
They are unusually tough customers either in 
life or at the table. Most of our cooks believe 
it impossible to so prepare this bird as to make 
it decent food for any but a starving man. 
The best recipe that I have seen is something 
as follows: First, skin your fowl and let it par- 
boil in saleratus water at least one day, or until 
it can be dented with a fairly sharp axe. If 
your courage holds out the game is now ready 
to stuff and bake as you would any other duck, 
except that you must put enough onions into 
its inside to take away all Coot flavor. Arriv- 
ing at this stage of proceedings there are two 
lines of retreat yet open to you: either throw 
your delicate morsel away or give it to someone 
against whom you hold an ancient grudge,—on 
no account should you try to eat it. Some of 
my island friends claim to be able to cook a 
Coot so that I could not tell it from a black duck. 
Well, perhaps,—but thus far I have always been 
careful to decline to referee any such match, 
for I much doubt if I could distinguish in a dark 
room between the flavor of a Coot and the pal- 
