140 NYROCA VALISINERIA 



But his early reputation is too firmly established to be so easily shaken, and he will 

 always remain, I think, at the top of the list. The large size places him above the 

 Ruddy and the Widgeon, both of which ducks come very close to him in actual 

 quality of flesh. The broad and deep chest gives him an ideal shape and he is far 

 easier to pluck than the Ruddy. 



Hunt. The pursuit of the Canvas-back usually goes hand in hand with the taking 

 of several other species of diving ducks: Red-heads, Scaup, and Ruddies. At the 

 same time a few Widgeon, Pintails, and in some places Geese, may help to fill the bag. 

 No doubt if one took the trouble to hunt through the files of some of the old peri- 

 odicals of Baltimore or Philadelphia he might find some very early accounts of the 

 shooting in the Chesapeake. From the material which I have before me we can only 

 go back about a hundred years. First it is well to mention the more famous of the 

 Chesapeake waters where seventy-five or a hundred years ago there was probably 

 as fine shooting at Canvas-back, Red-head, Widgeon, Geese and Swan as ever ex- 

 isted anywhere. More than this the birds were especially favored by a great abun- 

 dance of food, notably great beds of Vallisneria, the so-called wild celery or tape- 

 grass, beloved of all the duck, goose and swan tribe. The most famous places were 

 about the mouths and lower reaches of several rivers emptying into the head of 

 Chesapeake Bay. These were the points immediately about Havre de Grace, the 

 narrows of Spesutia, a few miles farther down, Taylor's Island, Abbey Island, Le- 

 goe's Point, Marshy Point, Bengie's Point, Robbin's and Ricket's Point, Maxwell's 

 Point and Carrol's Island. At this last place was the famous Carrol's Island Club 

 where the Baltimore sportsmen obtained some of the finest flight shooting in North 

 America. The ducks there flew over a long neck of land in their morning and eve- 

 ning flights and provided the most sporting shots. I have often heard one of the old 

 members of this Club, the late Mr. Norris of Baltimore, describe the old days there. 



In this same region there were also good points about Elk and Northeast Rivers, 

 and a few on the western shore. The most famous rivers were the Bush and the 

 Gunpowder. 



The most destructive method of shooting Canvas-backs is by the battery-boat, a 

 good description of which will be found in E. J. Lewis (1855), G. B. Grinnell (1901) 

 and other works. At first, small boats called dug-outs were built which could be sunk 

 down with weights until just the edges of the gunwales come above the water. These 

 were anchored over the best feeding grounds, covered with weeds and surrounded by 

 decoys. Later on, perhaps in the late forties, the modern sink-box, with wide folding 

 wings, was invented. This deadly device is now built in uniform style all the way 

 from New Jersey to Pamlico Sound. The wings are covered with canvas and the 

 whole is weighted with iron decoys and surrounded by a fleet of several hundred 

 wooden ones. It takes a long time to put out such a rig and each battery is served by 



