16 WILD DUCKS FOR SPORT AND PROFIT 



mallard and black duck brought $3 per dozen, and the 

 eggs of other species brought $6 per dozen and possibly 

 more. 



The number of sportsmen who are engaged in propa- 

 gating wild fowl for sport has increased rapidly since the 

 discovery was made that wild ducks can be controlled 

 within reasonable bounds. 



My experiments with wild ducks, which will be re- 

 ferred to later, proved that it is a very easy matter to 

 multiply these beautiful and interesting birds and that 

 they will not desert provided they be properly handled. 



The rapid decrease in the numbers of our American 

 game birds long has attracted the attention of sports- 

 men and naturalists. All now realize that we must create 

 before we can safely destroy game, or at least we must 

 control the natural enemies of game and in this way 

 make a safe place for our shooting. . Long ago I pointed 

 out the necessity for individual action if we would restore 

 our game and make it again plentiful in our markets. 

 The United States Department of Agriculture in a recent 

 bulletin on "Deer Farming" referred to the necessity for 

 individual action, and the people are learning the reason 

 why the game vanishes and what should be done to make 

 it abundant and cheap. 



Herbert K. Job, who has made many remarkable photo- 

 graphs of wild ducks and their nests, writing for The 

 Amateur Sportsman, said : "To one who is fond of water 

 fowl it is a real grievance and aggravation to scan with 

 longing eyes the waters of almost any pond or lake in 

 our Eastern districts, however retired the locality, and, 

 ordinarily, see not a solitary dudk or web-footed bird 

 floating on the surface. If, indeed, even a solitary duck 



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