142 



THE GAME BREEDER 



Foods important to it, therefore, are the 

 important duck-foods of the region. One 

 hundred and seventy-one mallards col- 

 lected in the vicinity of Mansura and 

 Marksville, during October, November 

 and December, had fed on the seeds of 

 water elm to the extent of 45.5 per cent, 

 of their total subsistence. The largest 

 jTumber of seeds taken by a single duck 



on the margins of sluggish streams. 

 Normally it grows in water which is 

 permanently 2 to 3 feet deep, but it sur- 

 vives prolonged inundation of much 

 greater depth. The tree seldom exceeds 

 40 feet in height and 20 inches in diam- 

 eter, and usually is much smaller. 



The bark is much like that of the hop 

 hornbeam or ironwood, and the leaves 



FJg. Q— Range 



was upward of 200. These tightly filled 

 the whole gullet and gizzard. 



Other species of ducks seem to be 

 fond of the seeds, judging from smaller 

 numbers examined from this region. 

 These include the black duck and the 

 ringneck. Water-elm seeds are eaten by 

 Arkansas mallards also. 



Description of Plant. 



The water elm thrives in swamps and 



of water elm. 



(Fig. 7), while obviously similar to those 

 of our other elms, are smaller and have 

 blunter marginal serrations. 



The water elm flowers very early, 

 from February to April, and the fruit 

 usually ripens and falls in a month or 

 six weeks, but occasionally is found on 

 the trees as late as August. The ex- 

 treme length of a single specimen of the 

 fruit is about a third of an inch. It con- 



I 



