304 CANVASS-BACK DUCK. 



able, a sportsman may be days without a promising shot. From the western 

 side of the bay, and it is there the best grounds are found, the southerly 

 winds are the most favourable; and, if a high tide is attended b}^ a smart 

 frost and mild south wind, or even calm morning, the number of birds set in 

 motion becomes inconceivable, and they approach the points so closely, that 

 even a moderately good shot can procure from fifty to one hundred Ducks 

 a-day. This has often occurred, and I have seen eight fat Canvass-backs 

 killed at one discharge into a flock, from a small gun. 



"To a stranger visiting these waters, the innumerable Ducks feeding in 

 beds of thousands, or filling the air with their careering, with the great num- 

 bers of beautiful White Swans resting near the shores, like banks of driven 

 snow, might induce him to suppose that the facilities for their destruction 

 were equal to their profusion, and that with so large an object in view, a 

 sportsman could scarcely miss his aim. But, when he considers the great 

 thickness of their covering, the velocity of their flight, the rapidity and 

 duration of their diving, and the great influence that circumstances of wind 

 and weather have on the chances of success, it becomes a matter of wonder 

 how so many are destroyed. 



"The usual mode of taking these birds has been, till recently, by shooting 

 them from the points during their flight, or from the land or boats, on their 

 feeding grounds, or by toling, as it is strangely termed, an operation by 

 which the Ducks are sometimes induced to approach within a few feet of the 

 shore, from a distance often of several hundred yards. A spot is usually 

 selected where the birds have not been much disturbed, and where they feed 

 at three or four hundred yards from, and can approach to within forty or 

 fifty yards of the shore, as they will never come nearer than they can swim 

 freely. The higher the tides, and the calmer the day, the better, for they 

 feed closer to the shores and see more distinctly. Most persons on these 

 waters have a race of small white or liver-coloured dogs, which they 

 familiarly call the tolcr breed, but which appear to be the ordinary poodle. 

 These dogs are extremely playful, and are taught to run up and down the 

 shore, in sight of the Ducks, either by the motion of the hand, or by throw- 

 ing chips from side to side. They soon become perfectly acquainted with 

 their business, and as they discover the Ducks approaching them, make their 

 jumps less high till they almost crawl on the ground, to prevent the birds 

 discovering what the object of their curiosity may be. This disposition to 

 examine rarities has been taken advantage of by using a red or black hand- 

 kerchief by day, and a white one by night in toling, or even by gently 

 plashing the water on the shore. The nearest Ducks soon notice the strange 

 appearance, raise their heads, gaze intently for a moment, and then push for 

 the shore, followed by the rest. On many occasions, I have seen thousands 



