by the duoks and it required come search to diaoover a bundle that had 
been protected so that seniplec of uninjured heads night be secured. The 
damage was attributed entirely to Uallards and feathers still soattered 
about in the field belonged to this species* 7he birds in feeding had ^ 
palled out the sheaves or hod clambered over the shocks until they vere 
flattened down so that all of the grain had been exposed. In taany oases 
paths had oeeu worn about tha flattened base^of the shocks as the birds 
had worked about thesn* In some places the ducks seemed to have rested 
for considerable periods after feeding as feathers were soattered about 
"on piles of ordure* Samples of duck dung were collected at different 
X>oints in the fields. Under the miorosooi>e these were found to be mode 
up almost entirely of the rough halls of rice ground up during the pro- 
cess of digestion. As this field was now lend, the yield of rioo had been 
very heavy* A conservative estimate placed the loss in this field as 
6000 bushels of rice valued at a few cents more than vS.OO per bushel. 
On this same day I examined a rioefield belonging to Henry Jensen 
that had also been damaged seriously by Mallards. This field oontalned 
about fifty acres of Blue Bose rioe which was still in the shook. Ton 
acres of this was near a farm house and bordered a well-traveled road. 
The oumage by ducks in this tract had boon slight* but ducks had fed ex- 
tensivoly in the remaining 40 acres, and were still working there as 1 
flushed a few Mallards in crossing the field and several flocks wore seen 
eiroling about waiting for on opportunity to alight. In this field there 
hferi been considerable water which had frozen holding the shooxs of rioe 
firmly in place. Books had fed all about these shooxe and had olambered 
over them eating every grain of rice that was exposed or could be reached. 
