72 
FOREST AND 
STREAM 
February, 1920 
BLACK DUCK DECOYS 
To the Editor of Forest and Stream: 
1 HAVE read with interest the article 
on making duck decoys by D. W. 
O’Neil, Jr. May I have a little space 
to describe a few refinements that may 
be employed to great advantage, particu- 
larly in making black duck decoys? 
As Mr. O’Neil says, cork is by far the 
most satisfactory material for stool. 
Aside from its bouyancy and light 
weight, charred cork is the finish de luxe 
for black duck stool. It is almost 
impossible to paint decoys so that they 
will not shine in the sun — particularly 
when they are wet. If one must paint 
them, mix the paint thus for black ducks : 
to a sufficient quantity of umber pigment 
add turpentine with just a dash of dryer; 
oil should not be used as it will make the 
paint bright. Try to apply the paint in 
the afternoon and leave the decoys out 
over night so that they may be covered 
with dew; this will tend to make the 
paint dull and flat. 
As I hinted above, the most life-like 
finish for black duck decoys is produced 
by charring the cork bodies. They ap- 
pear *oft and feathery even when wet. 
In general the chief mistakes made in 
black duck stool are that they are made 
too small ; they are usually painted black 
instead of very dark brown; and there 
are too many “feathers” and markings 
painted on them. The heads should be a 
light putty color with a brownish-black 
streak through and over the eye, and 
from the bill up over the top of the head 
and on down the back of the neck. The 
bill should be a dull olive color. The body 
Head For BlacK DucK 
Dcz c. 
plain dark brown with no markings what- 
ever. 
Now as to the shape and size: all de- 
coys should be caricatures in the sense 
that certain features should be accen- 
tuated. Instead of the usual six inches 
wide, they should be at least eight inches 
wide. Cork three inches deep with a 
piece of one-inch pine on the bottom will 
give the proper depth, and the fact that 
the decoy is so wide, with a flat bottom, 
makes it unnecessary to use weights or 
keels except in very rare instances. 
Mr. O’Neil suggests using screws to 
hold the heads on ; a far better method is 
to bore a %-in. hole down through the 
center of the head and neck, and well into 
the body of the decoy. Drive an oak pin 
into this hole, cutting it off flush with the 
top of the head. This not only holds the 
head in place, but the white pine has a 
strong “back-bone,” which is most de- 
sirable. You will notice that a broken 
decoy is always broken in the head. 
I have never considered that a set of 
E are de-pending upon the 
friends and admirers of our 
old correspondent Nessmuk to make 
this department worthy of his 
name. No man knew the woods 
better than Nessmuk or wrote of 
them with quainter charm. Many 
of his practical ideas on camping 
and “ going light ” have been 
adopted by the United States Army; 
his canoe has been preserved in the 
Smithsonian Institution; and we 
hope that all good woodsmen vnll 
contribute to this department their 
Hints and Kinks and trail-tested 
contrivances. — [ EDITORS. ] 
broad-bill stool had to be very life-like, 
as these birds are not at all fastidious 
about decoying; on the other hand, I do 
not think that too much care can be given 
to black duck decoys, as they are the 
wariest of all the wildfowl. 
In the illustration of the head for black 
duck decoys, the bill may appear rather 
large; this is done purposely. This head 
is an exact copy, as far as outline is con- 
cerned, of the head used by one of the 
most successful gunners on Great South 
Bay; and I can assure any reader who 
contemplates making a set of stool that 
he will not go wrong to follow this head 
for shape. The cheeks are quite full, and 
there is a hollow where the eyes are set. 
The neck should not appear extended 
but rather as though the head were 
squatted down a bit. When suspicious or 
alarmed a black duck sticks his head up 
in the air, and our stool must not give 
this appearance. 
With a set of about twenty^five decoys 
made as described above in connection 
with a live duck and drake, the gunner 
is fitted out as well as he could be. Put 
the drake at the head of the stool and the 
duck at the tail; if they are put too close 
together they will not call so well. 
Virginius. 
SKINNING AND STRETCHING FURS 
W HILE the professional trapper is 
usually fully informed as to the 
best methods of caring for raw 
furs, the camper, canoeist and casual 
outers generally are frequently at a loss 
how to treat such as may fall into their 
hands. Fur skins are appreciated as 
articles of use and ornament, and even 
the commonest varieties are of consid- 
erable value when properly prepared. 
Never carry about or ship in the flesh 
an animal, the skin of which is wanted 
only as a fur. It is cumbersome to han- 
dle and always liable to spoil in transit. 
A cured fur is, next to money or jewelry, 
about the most portable form of value, 
and, by the use of a pocket knife and a 
little ingenuity, any of our smaller fur 
skins may be so prepared. A camp 
hatchet, a few small nails and some 
string, though not absolutely essential, 
are useful and are part of most outfits. 
even when going light. Though it is not 
feasible to be provided with the proper 
size stretchers for the various animals 
