18 



THE GAME BREEDER 



enoi:,^'h to alh.w free passage to a duck, 

 lies on the ground, leading from the 

 open side lo the center of the pen. For 

 ten days or so the ducks feed gloriously 

 in the open pen, working all round and 

 through the cylinder ; then the open side 

 is let down, covering all but the open- 

 ing of this tube. With evening comes 

 the flight of ducks; they have been used 

 to passing through the innocent look- 

 ing tube of wire netting with impunity, 

 and soon the pen is full. When, how- 

 ever, they wish to depart, to look for 

 an exit in the center of the pen never 

 seems to occur to them, and they wander 

 disconsolately up and down the walls 

 of their prison until with morning comes 

 Mr. Bell, duck keeper at Netherby and 

 originator of this ingenious device, to 

 count his captives, cut the wings of those 

 which are to be given their lives, and 

 alas! to wring the necks of the rest, 

 whose ignominious end is a prelude to 

 their appearance in the market." 



The wild duck decoy referred to is 

 an elaborate trap often with many tubes, 

 into which ducks are decoyed and taken 

 in large numbers for the markets. The 

 decoy is fully described in the book, 

 "Our Wild Fowl and Waters," pub- 

 lished by The Game Conservation So- 

 ciety and advertised in The Game 

 Breeder. 



Two game keepers, formerly at Neth- 

 erby, are now employed by game breed- 

 ino- c'^i-'h<i I'n America and use the trap 

 not only to catch their ducks, but also 

 to trap pheasants and other game birds. 

 When the trap is used for quail and 

 grouse it would seem desirable to stretch 

 a string netting below the wire roof to 

 prevent the birds injuring themselves by 

 flying against the wire when alarmed. 

 The trap should be visited often, since 

 the birds are much exposed to ground 

 vermin after they are captured. 

 Editor The Game Breeder: 



I am sending you a story about my 

 wild ducks. My birds are the pure wild 

 variety. I have no pictures that would 

 print well, but I will send you some as 

 soon as I can. W. R. Hinde. 



[We are sure our readers will be interested 

 in what you write. Have a professional 

 photographer make a few pictures of the 



ducks — two or three — and send us the bill. 

 Pictures always add to any account of game 

 breeding. — Editor.] 



The Wild Duck Trouble. 



Tn the August number is an article, 

 "A New Duck Trouble." I have had 

 the same thing with both wild and tame 

 ducks, i believe it is caused by keep- 

 ing the ducks without water deep enough 

 to get their heads in. As anyone knows 

 who has kept ducks, they are ravenous 

 feeders and often they get the food in 

 their eyes, especially if it is a mash food ; 

 and if they do not have access to water 

 deep enough to get their whole heads 

 in and wash the food out, . some is 

 liable to stay there and a cheesy lump 

 will form about it. As soon as the swell- 

 ing is noticed the duck should be caught 

 and this substance removed. It will 

 generally come out with a rubbing to- 

 wards the eye; then wash with Boric 

 acid a couple of times a day until well. 

 I believe if taken in hand as soon as 

 noticed there should be no loss of life. 

 If this applies to Mr. Shaw's ducks, I 

 trust it will set him right. 



H. A. Boies. 



Dutchess Co., N. Y. 



Wild Ducks Over-aSundant, 



Editor Game Breeder: 



We raised quite a few Mallard ducks, 

 but have been unable to find a market 

 for them, so I am just about in the 

 notion of discontinuing trying to raise 

 any more Mallards. - I would like to 

 place the ducks that I have on hand, 

 and will give some one a bargain on 

 them. U. R. F. 



Indiana. 



[Mallards are getting to be quite abundant 

 in many places, but an advertisement in The 

 Game Breeder will sell your birds. The New 

 York market is now open to the sale of mal- 

 lards reared in other States, and we are send- 

 ing you instructions how to sell the birds in 

 New York, if you prefer to sell them as food. 

 The birds became plentiful so rapidly that 

 had it not been for the opening of the New 

 York market many would have stopped breed- 

 ing mallards. We heard recently of another 

 breeder who quit breeding mallards, but he 

 will start again on a large scale. These ducks 

 are advertised on another page. — Editor.] 



