THE GAME BREEDER 



91 



A Good Duck Pond, made by Du Pont Dynamite. 



and at small expense. The best form 

 for the pond is a circular or oblong ditch, 

 with an island in the center. This is 

 attractive to the ducks and affords a 

 safe resting and preening place. The 

 ducks soon will enlarge the ditch, mak- 

 ing it wider in places, and in a year or 

 two the pond will be considerably en- 

 larged. A fence of chicken wire about 

 the yard or field ' surrounding the pond 

 will keep out dogs and ground vermin, 

 and bushes and brush should be placed 

 at intervals to form nesting places. If 

 there are some trees and shrubs within 

 the inclosure these should be left for the 

 all-important shade they afford. If there 

 are no trees some artificial shade should 

 be provided. Bushes and small trees can 

 be cut and introduced, and these will 

 afford sufficient shade; but if the pond 

 is to be a permanent one it is advisable 

 to plant trees and bushes in yards which 

 have no shade. 



A pond which has a little stream flow- 

 ing through it is far more desirable than 

 ponds which have no flowing water. 

 Natural foods of various kinds are 

 brought to the ducks by the stream and 

 the water in the pond is kept fresh. It 

 is remarkable, however, that even a stag- 

 nant pond can be used for several sea- 



sons apparently without fear of diseases. 

 Such a pond, shown in the illustration, 

 was used several years by The Game 

 Breeders' Association, and the last year 

 over 2,500 ducks were successfully 

 reared from eggs gathered about the 

 pond and there were no losses due to 

 disease. I must say, however, that I 

 had some fears about the result, and I 

 would much prefer a pond with flowing 

 water or two ponds to be used alternate 

 years if the water be stagnant. 



A pond in a meadow where some of 

 the natural foods- can be made to grow 

 is most desirable, since ducks are big 

 eaters and the corn bill is a big item 

 when the ducks procure little or no nat- 

 ural foods. One of our readers who 

 planted wapato said the plants saved 

 nearly his entire corn bill. 



The ducks which have natural foods 

 are by far the best for the table. 



"Anyhow, there's one advantage in 

 having a wooden leg," said the veteran. 



"What's that ?" asked his friend. 



"You can hold your socks up with 

 thumbtacks." — Columbia Jester. 



More Game and Fewer Game Laws. 



