WILD DUCKS AND WESTERN DUCK-SHOOTING. 169 



only kind of ducks which, to my knowledge, ever 

 alight in trees. It is very beautiful, having gor- 

 geous plumage, with a topknot on the head. The 

 female hatches from eight to twelve young in a 

 brood, and carries them off one by one to the 

 water. The wood-duck is short, small, and stout, 

 weighing about a pound and a half, and is not 

 much prized for the table. It is very swift in 

 flight, and can go through timber like a wild pigeon 

 or a ruffed grouse. 



Of the ducks to be found with us, the most 

 numerous, and perhaps the best, is the mallard. 

 I consider it quite equal to the canvas-back in 

 juiciness and flavor, and also to the redhead or 

 pochard. Jt is true that so much has been writ- 

 ten and said about the unrivalled excellence of the 

 canvas-back that it may seem heretical to main- 

 tain that the mallard is as good. Such, however, 

 is my own conviction; and though some say that 

 the canvas-backs of the West have not the pecu- 

 liar flavor of those procured on the sea-coast in 

 shallow waters, others, whose experience of them 

 in both localities is large, say this is an error, 

 arising from prejudice and imagination. The edi- 

 tor of this work states some facts which go to 

 fortify me in my opinion. He says that when 



