116 THE RESTORATION OF WILD FOWL 



tance. The ducklings should be placed on the pond at 

 the age of eight or nine weeks. Never allow these decoy 

 birds maize, as the food makes them too fat and hence 

 disinclined to fly far on their own accord. If the pond 

 be situated in a district where mallard breed, efforts 

 should be made, by scattering wheat thinly over the feed- 

 ing ground, to induce wild birds to frequent the pond as 

 soon as the young are able to fly. When one has to rely 

 on migrants alone early October is soon enough to aban- 

 don feeding after the ordinary manner in favof of scat- 

 tering the corn over a wide area. The decoy ducks 

 should be kept very tame." 



Mr. Shaw describes the shooting of the birds which 

 are drawn nightly to visit the pond as follows : 



"A quarter of an hour or so before what you calculate 

 to be the beginning of flight time, on the day arranged 

 for the beginning of operations, give your decoy birds a 

 full feed. Then let a dog put them roughly on the wing, 

 a shot or two being fired as they are leaving the pond. 

 They will not go far, and, having been disturbed in this 

 manner, and having had their hunger quite satisfied, 

 they will seldom return at the flight. The guns are then 

 to -take their, places in the blinds. Repeat these proceed- 

 ings every time of shooting. Not till the flight is quite 

 over must there be made any attempt to gather the duck 

 which fall. Mark them, by sound if not by sight, as 

 carefully as possible, and let the dog retrieve them after- 

 wards. As long as a lead remains unbroken sport may 

 be had throughout the season. It should be made a rule 

 never to shoot more often than once a week. * * * Ducks 

 which have been shot at or have had their companions 

 shot at a few times will often come in high over the pond 



