38 PROCURING STOCK BIRDS AND EGGS 



The wild birds can be held by clipping their wings 

 or pinioning them, and soon they will become quite as 

 tame as those on the ground. I enjoy much seeing the 

 ducks up in the air, and I do not like those which cannot 

 fly well. It is a beautiful sight to see the flock circling 

 about overhead or making long flights over the sur- 

 rounding country when you feel sure they will return, 

 but there is always a danger that strangers may lure 

 your birds to make a longer journey than is desirable, 

 and for this reason it is well to control the breeding 

 ducks during the Spring migration and to trap enough 

 breeders in the Fall before the shooting begins to re- 

 stock the place another year. Where many birds are 

 induced to nest on the preserve they will more than 

 offset any losses that may occur, and, in fact, a few 

 score of breeders will supply a good lot of shooting and 

 also serve as decoys. Some English writers think it is 

 a mistake to allow any birds to breed wild, but this, of 

 course, means shooting of a more or less artificial char- 

 acter, although the hand-reared birds may often fly as 

 high and as fast as the wilder birds do. I prefer both 

 wild and hand-reared birds, but on a small shoot and 

 as ornaments for a country place or city park the last 

 named are the more suitable, since they are easily man- 

 aged and can be kept at home as easily as tame pigeons 

 can be on comparatively small areas. 



There is one good thing about hand-rearing: The 

 birds can be multiplied rapidly, and good shooting can 

 be had within eight months after the start is made. 

 Pheasants and other upland game can be reared in the 

 vicinity of the duck ponds, and I have seen the pheas- 

 ants very abundant, breeding wild, in the marshes^ 



