210 THE COMMON TEAL, 
year, mulberry cuttings which will forma good hedge round the 
place, and keep the sun and hot winds off the building ; but 
this must be kept neatly trimmed inside, or it would interfere 
with ventilation, and must not be allowed to get higher than 
the eaves. 
Into such a building in February or March you may turn 
200 Teal, some Common some Garganey, as you can get them. 
A few Gadwall and Pin-tail will also do no harm, but they do 
not thrive so certainly asthe Teal; and the Garganey, though 
very good, is not equal for the table to its smallar congener. 
The Marbled Teal (Q. angustirostrzs) is not worth eating, and 
should you chance to obtain the Bronze Cap (Q. falcata) or the 
Clucking Teal (Q. formosa,) never dream of putting them into 
a tealery, but skin them carefully, and send the skins Zo me. 
In small stations Rs, 2-8 per hundred is a fair price for 
netted Teal. 
Before turning the Teal in, have the place thoroughly washed 
out two or three times, and cover parts, or the whole of the 
flat portion, with a thin layer of sand or dry earth. The two 
ends of the tank should slope down gradually, say, for two feet ; 
the sides may be perpendicular. The water will always remain 
about two or three inches below the top, so that there will be 
about seven inches water. Besides the overflow pipe there must 
be a plug by which the tank can be drained to the last drop; 
and to ensure this the bottom of the tank should always be a 
few inches above the surface level of the surrounding ground. 
Each morning the sweeper who feeds the birds must go in and 
thoroughly sluice out and cleanse the whole place. He must 
begin gradually, but in less than a fortnight the ducks will all 
sit chattering on one side, whilst he sluices on the other, appa- 
rently quite unconcerned. Having cleaned the whole place, 
he lets the water again into the tank, and renews the earth or 
sand onthe margin ; and you have only to watch the birds 
after he has withdrawn, often before he has finished, to realize 
how thoroughly ¢hey appreciate the clean water, &c. — 
For food, unhusked rice is best. It is usual to buy it just 
after the rainy season, as you can then purchase several 
maunds for the rupee, and store it. Give them as much as 
they will eat. This you must watch yourself, never trusting the 
key of the door out of your own hands. If, when the man 
goes in to sweep, you find any appreciable quantity lying 
about, reduce the allowance ; if, on the contrary, not a grain 
is to be seen, increase it until there is some little surplus 
daily apparent. Besides this, bunches of lucerne or fine green 
crass should be thrown in daily. Many give onions chopped 
up, others half-boiled dal in small quantities, but I found 
unhusked rice and lucerne all that was required. As the hot 
winds begin to blow, get screens (jshamps) of grass made to 
fit all the interspaces, except those on the northern side, and 
