68 EQUIPMENT. 



what kind he used. " Well, I've got mallards, 

 canvas-back, redheads, sprigtails, blue-bills, and 

 teal," he answered rather consequentially. " Why, 

 you have got a variety certainly," said I, some- 

 what surprised. " How many have you alto- 

 gether?" " Thirteen" was the reply. I didn't 

 ask him what the odd one was, being entirely 

 satisfied as to why the canvas-backs were so " fear- 

 fully wild," and we afterwards found they decoyed 

 to a nice little flock of about seventy of the 

 proper kinds entirely to our satisfaction. 



In the chapter on "Midday Mallard-shooting,'' I 

 shall give a full description of the- "setting up" 

 of dead ducks in shallow water, and so will omit 

 it here. In canvas-back and other deep-water duck- 

 shooting, however, as it 'is often desirable to in- 

 crease the show of the decoys,, dead ducks may 

 be fastened to them by a short line, allowing 

 them to float some five or ten feet behind the 

 decoy. The line should be fastened to the neck 

 of the dead duck, which should be placed on its 

 breast on the water. The fact of the heads not 

 being in sight makes no material difference, this 

 absence being probably considered by the live 

 ones as due to the position of feeding. A small 

 flock of decoys may be patched up in this way 



