CANVASS-BACK DUCK. 
15 
able, a sportsman may be days without a promising shot. From the west 
ern side of the bay, and it is there the best grounds are found, the southerly 
winds ai’e the most favourable ; and if a high tide is attended by a smart 
frost and mild south wind, or even calm morning, the number of birds set 
in motion becomes inconceivable, and they approach the points so closely, 
that even a moderately good shot can procure from fifty to one hundred 
Ducks a day. This has often occurred, and I have seen eight fat Canvass- 
backs killed at one discharge into a flock, from a small gun. 
“ To a stranger visiting these waters, the innumerable Ducks feeding in 
beds of thousands, or filling the air with their careering, with the great num- 
bers of beautiful White Swans resting near the shores, like banks of driven 
snow, might induce him to suppose that the facilities for their destruction 
were equal to their profusion, and that with so large an object in view, a 
sportsman could scarcely miss his aim. But, when he considers the great 
thickness of their covering, the velocity of their flight, the rapidity and 
duration of their diving, and the great influence that circumstances of wind 
and weather have on the chances of success, it becomes a matter of wonder 
how so many are destroyed. 
“The usual mode of taking these birds has been, till recently, by shooting 
them from the points during their flight, or from the land or boats, on their 
feeding grounds, or by toling, as it is strangely termed, an operation by 
which the Ducks are sometimes induced to approach within a few feet of the 
shore, from a distance often of several hundred yards. A spot is usually 
selected where the birds have not been much disturbed, and where they feed 
at three or four hundred yards from, and can approach to within forty or 
fifty yards of the shbre, as they will never come nearer than they can swim 
freely. The higher the tides, and the calmer the day, the better, for they 
feed closer to the shores and see more distinctly. Most persons on these 
waters have a race of small white or liver-coloured dogs, which they 
familiarly call the toler breed, but which appear to be the ordinary poodle. 
These dogs are extremely playful, and are taught to run up and down the 
shore in sight of the Ducks, either by the motion of the hand, or by throwing 
chips from side to side. They soon become perfectly acquainted with their 
business, and as they discover the Ducks approaching them, make their 
jumps less high till they almost crawl on the ground, to prevent the birds 
discovering what the object of their curiosity may be. This disposition to 
examine rarities has been taken advantage of by using a red or black hand- 
kerchief by day, and a white on-e by night in toling, or even by gently 
plashing the water on the shore. The nearest Ducks soon notice the strange 
appearance, raise their heads, gaze intently for a moment, and then pushfoi; 
the shore, followed by the rest. On many occasions, I have seen thousands 
