16 BULLETIN" 672, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
nesium and calcium. In September great numbers of ducks gathered 
in here at the eastern end of North Bay to feed and rest. At inter- 
vals heavy north winds drove in the water over large areas of dry 
flats, and after 10 or 12 hours many sick teal would be found. Fol- 
lowing each storm sick birds would be abundant for two or three 
days. The water in pools left as the wind died down was salt and 
bitter to the taste. The sick birds lay along the mud bars and in 
the shallows, while numbers of them came over into the overflow to 
drink the fresh water coming in from the river. Many hid in growths 
of cockle-burs and rushes on shore, while the open water was dotted 
with dead bodies. On September 17, 1914, 150 birds were secured 
here, all that the boat would hold. On September 9, 1916, a heavy 
storm from the north covered these flats, and the following day 80 
ducks were captured, while more were brought in on the days 
following. 
Rains have the same effect, and as here they are usually accom- 
panied by strong winds, the two are conjoined in this destruction of 
bird life. With light rains small pools form everywhere on the 
alkali barrens, while with heavier downpours these pools become 
shallow lakes, the water of which is strong with salts held in solution. 
Ducks flock in to feed upon floating seeds and insects and upon the 
fleshy, succulent saltweeds (Salicornia, Atriplex, and others) and are 
affected as described before. 
In the fall of 1916 the opening of the hunting season on October 1 
was marked by a storm that lasted three days. Spoonbills and teal 
in great numbers were flying back inland to feed, and a number of 
sick individuals were found, though most of the sickness on the bays 
had ceased several days before. Had the bays not been filled by the 
great supply of fresh fall water, many more would have been seri- 
ously affected, as on returning to rest from their feeding expeditions 
they would have had to drink only the stagnant summer water 
already more or less charged with salts. 
On the Weber River flats the trouble may come from shifting 
water that floods the flats on the lake front or from general stagna- 
tion. The South Channel at present carries more or less running 
water all summer save in exceptional years. No sick ducks have 
been known to occur on it. The North Channel is well drained only 
when the river is high in spring and fall. Here the water lies in 
shallow isolated ponds or in long connected reaches. Late in sum- 
mer, surface evaporation from these water areas is very rapid, and 
the concentration of the salts held in solution is great. At the mouth 
of the Jordan River the sickness occurs in areas where the water 
becomes stagnant. Such areas become more pronounced as the 
lower portion of the marsh near the lake front is approached. 
