FIVE IMPORTANT WILD-DUCK FOODS. 
11 
PROPAGATION. 
Although the chufa seems not to grow naturally in a large area in 
the western United States, there is no doubt that it can be cultivated 
everywhere except in the higher parts of the Rocky Mountain region. 
It is said to do fairly well at the altitude of Denver. 
Chuf as can be obtained from most seedsmen and are so cheap that it 
will pay sportsmen to buy new stock every few years, if earlier 
plantings show degeneration in size of the tubers and hence reduction 
in value as duck food. Chufas do best on light or somewhat sandy 
but rich soils. They are only available for duck food when planted 
Fig. 10.— Range of the chufa. 
on land dry in summer and overflowed in winter. In the open they 
should be planted thickly so as to give the plants a better chance in 
competition with weeds. In timbered land they need not be planted 
so thickly, but they will do well only in rather sparse growths, where 
considerable light penetrates to the ground. When possible the 
land where planting is intended should be broken up and freed from 
weeds. Plant the tubers just beneath the surface in spring. 
WILD MILLET. 
VALUE AS DUCK FOOD. 
Wild millet (Echuiochloa crus-galli) is an important food for ducks 
in widely separated regions of the United States. At Mud Lake, 
