INTRODUCTION 



Since the dawn of history wild-fowl have occupied the attention of man. The Egyp- 

 tians well knew their value as an article of diet, and one can still see many different 

 kinds faithfully reproduced on the bas-reliefs of the earlier dynasties, together with 

 the nets and boats used in catching them. At least one species they held sacred ; but 

 domestication of ducks does not appear to have been perfected until the Roman times. 



Long before the Egyptians, we can imagine that the great hosts of water-fowl 

 which peopled the earth must have been not only a source of nourishment, but an 

 inspiration to primitive man. Indeed, in southern Spain neolithic cave drawings of 

 swans, geese, and ducks have been discovered which must be six thousand or eight 

 thousand years old. We can picture the Eskimos on ice-bound coasts casting longing 

 glances to the south as the sun rose higher and open water began to form in the snow- 

 covered bays. And we know how our own Amerinds hunted ducks and geese with 

 bow and arrow and with primitive traps. Eggs, especially of the sea ducks, were 

 highly valued then, just as they are now, while the skins and down supplied warm 

 clothing, and numerous ornaments as well. Even in Central Asia Prjewalsky found 

 the degraded inhabitants of the Lob-Nor depending largely on ducks for their food- 

 supply. So important were wild ducks to these people that they appeared as a regu- 

 lar part of the purchase money supplied to the parents of a bride. 



It is not difficult to understand that creatures which come and go almost with the 

 regularity of the sun and moon must have impressed themselves strongly upon the 

 mind of primitive man, especially in Northern regions. Even as the migrating quail 

 are supposed to have saved the Israelites from starvation in the wilderness, so wild- 

 fowl must have tided over periods of distress in the life of our ancestors. 



In our own times civilized peoples have learned more and more to appreciate the 

 ducks, geese, and swans. Many beautiful poems have been inspired by pictures of 

 sharp-winged squadrons seen against crisp autumn skies, and few and slothful indeed 

 are those individuals whose pulses do not quicken and whose eyes do not brighten as 

 our great gray geese plough through the depths of space, seeming to make the dome 

 of the sky ever higher and more mysterious. 



Lovers of the smaller water-fowl are found in increasing numbers, and when the 

 means are at hand, this love is expressed in ornamental pools stocked with scores of 

 the most beautiful varieties, or zoological gardens containing rare species, from 

 dainty Teal to huge and vicious Spur-wings. There are no more beautiful birds in 

 the world than Mandarins and Carolina Ducks, especially if they can be maintained 

 in a free-flying state, and no others are so well suited to the requirements of the 

 amateur enthusiast. 



