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' 4 C'opie 
VOLUilE XXV— No. 3. 
NEW- YORK, FEBRUARY, 1866. 
NEW SERIES— No. 239. 
THE b T R I C K E N .M \ ij L \ K D , 
Fiid.M A Painting by Geokge L.\ncf,. 
The Mallard, called also Green-head, is the pa- 
rent of all our common domestic vai'ieties of duck 
of whatever colors, — of the White Aylesbuiy, as 
■well as of the more gaily colored Rouen. This 
is the Anns boschas of the naturalists, and the 
type of the natural family to ■which it belongs, — 
the duck of ducks. It is familiar to almost 
©■very one, from Ne^w York southward and ■west- 
ward; in New England and northward it is, 
liowevci-, less common, except as seen in the 
markets where it is always easy to distingnisli 
between tlie Mallards and tame ducks by the de- 
licate feet of the wild fowl. They are not easily 
domesticated, as we understand, being apt to 
pine in confinement, and not bearing our sum- 
mers nor winters well. We often find among 
our domestic ducks those whose colors aprox- 
imate very closely to the wild Mallard, and there 
seems to be no probability that a breed of tame 
ducks gained from tliis original stock, would 
possess any advantages over those we now 
have. The beautiful engraving we present will 
be hailed with pleasure as a familiar sight by 
many a sportsman from Ohio to Kansas, and 
from the Great Lakes to the Gulf The disti-ess 
of tlie bird, so well depicted, is of short duration, 
and llie sight of a fine bird shot, and perhaps 
dropping almost into his hands, is a very satis- 
factory one to the gunner. This Ijird has not 
been shot in the breast, as a novice might sup- 
pose; the artist, who knows so well how to de- 
pict these wild summersets in the clouds, could 
not have made that error. The thick plumage . 
which forms a cushion, that in alighting takes 
the weiglit of the heavy body, is a defence 
against any but very large shot at sliort range. 
The pair of frightened and scj'eaming com- 
panions show from their position, and the direc- 
tion of their flight, that Die gunner waited till 
he had a I'ear sight, and could "see the color of 
the legs," b)' which convenient measure, duck 
shooters are Qccnsioined to estimate distances. 
