112 
CANVASS-BACK DUCK. 
off by the fresh. The next winter a few of these Ducks were seen, 
but they soon went away again ; and for many years after, they 
continued to be scarce ; and even to the present day, in the opin- 
ion of my informant, have never been so plenty as before. 
The Canvass-back, in the rich juicy tenderness of its flesh, and 
its delicacy of flavor, stands unrivalled by the whole of its tribe in 
this or perhaps any other quarter of the world. Those killed in 
the waters of the Chesapeake are generally esteemed superior to 
all others, doubtless from the great abundance of their favorite 
food which these rivers produce. At our public dinners, hotels, 
and particular entertainments, the Canvass-backs are universal fa- 
vorites. They not only grace but dignify the table, and their very 
name conveys to the imagination of the eager epicure the most 
comfortable and exhilarating ideas. Hence on such occasions it 
has not been uncommon to pay from one to three dollars a pair 
for these Ducks j and, indeed, at such times, if they can they must 
be had, whatever may be the price. 
The Canvass-back will feed readily on corn, especially wheat ; 
and may be decoyed to pai'ticular places by baiting them with that 
grain for several successive days. Some few years since a vessel 
loaded with wheat was wrecked near the entrance of Great Egg- 
Harbor, in the autumn, and went to pieces. The wheat floated 
out in vast quantities ; and the whole surface of the bay was in a 
few days covered with Ducks of a kind altogether unknown to the 
people of that quarter. The gunners of the neighborhood col- 
lected in boats, in every direction, shooting them ; and so success- 
ful were they, that, as Mr. Beasley informed me, two hundred and 
forty were killed in one day, and sold among the neighbors, at 
twelve and a half cents a piece, without the feathers. The wound- 
ed ones were generally abandoned, as being too diflicult to be 
come up with. They continued about for three weeks, and dur- 
ing the greater part of that time a continual cannonading was 
heard from every quarter. The gunners called them Sea Ducks. 
