On the Rearing of Ducks for Shooting 
145 
numbers of Carolinas and Mandarins, and a very beautiful sight it is at Woburn to see the 
full-winged flocks of these gorgeous ducks flying about from lake to lake. 
The traps used for catching wild duck at Netherby are of the simplest design and 
construction. They are, in fact, nothing but the old rat-traps enlarged, which allow the 
birds to enter, but from which they cannot retreat. The trap is made of ordinary rabbit 
wire, supported in the centre and at the sides by strong stakes. When no catching is being 
done, the whole front is raised and food is placed leading up to and within the cage. On 
the night when it is desired to trap ducks, the front is fixed down, and the only means of 
ingress is the wire-netting " pipe," about 6 feet long. Food is scattered outside and along 
the pipe itself, and more placed inside where the duck can see it. Having devoured all 
the grain, chopped swedes, and whatever is used for bait, the birds follow the supply up the 
pipe, and, once inside, never move backwards to find the exit, but try only to get out at 
the sides of the pen. Curiously enough, numbers of Black-headed Gulls, Crows, and Rooks 
are caught in the enclosure, but Water-hens invariably find the way out. 
Both for the collecting and the shooting of ducks there is no doubt that the success of 
the Netherby system depends largely on traps. 
"Without a considerable supply of these traps," says Maximilian [Field, July i, 1911), arranged in 
different parts of the grounds, the ducks must either be kept so tame that they do not afford proper sport, 
or else they are so wild that they cannot be brought under control on shooting days. Each area which 
they frequent should be fitted with a proportionate number of these traps, and the spots on which they 
are erected should be chosen with discrimination and care. They should be placed at the water's edge, 
and their interior area should consist of, roughly, one-third water and two-thirds land. The bank on 
which they are situated should thus have a gentle slope, and they should have a frontage on an open 
sheet of water of a moderate extent. If the main sheet of water is extensive the traps should for 
preference be located in sheltered bays and alcoves ; whilst if the water is reed-grown and shallow, 
the traps should abut on a favoured place, and the water immediately in front of it should be clear from 
reeds. If it is not naturally open, the reeds may be cleared by cutting with a scythe, or the water may 
be permanently freed by cutting away their roots. 
" From the very commencement of the season the traps can be applied to important uses. First and 
foremost, the water inside and surrounding them should be regularly supplied with maize or other suitable 
food, so that the wild ducks in the neighbourhood will be attracted thither, and will accustom themselves 
to regard the traps as safe feeding places. There will be evidence in due course that the food is being 
taken, and the traps should from time to time be set to ascertain what birds frequent the water. All 
Coots so caught should be killed, their presence being undesirable as consuming food that ducks appreciate. 
Tufted Ducks are amongst the most esteemed for the table. It is essential that the feeding in the 
shallow water, especially in the neighbourhood of the traps, should be regularly carried on from the time 
that the young ducks first commence to fly. A single day's neglect will result in their moving elsewhere, 
and the process of education will have to be started afresh. The usual condition of the trap is with 
the whole 21 feet of frontage uplifted, so that the ducks can walk in and out free from interference 
of any sort. It is not until the trap is actually required to capture the birds frequenting it that the front 
is pegged to the ground. Birds soon find the sole remaining opening, via the tunnel, but have not 
the reasoning faculty that would enable them to come out by the same route as that by which they 
entered. This trap is therefore superior to those of other designs where it is necessary for someone to 
hide in ambush and let down a hinged door. It does its best work in the quiet of night-time, and catches 
the wild birds which take the food thrown down by the keeper, as well as the tamer hand-reared ones. 
"On the general question of the morality of catching all the birds that visit the water, it may be 
laid down as an axiom that every man may justly catch as many birds as possible. In so doing he is not 
stealing the birds of a neighbouring preserver, for the simple reason that everyone who rears ducks 
enters keenly into the competition of spreading plentiful food for their delectation. The surplus birds 
VOL. II. T 
