The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1899-01-20

breeding establishment in water a foo
deep. OH the c' yr OF Il lake or water
course. This Suh-Strn,',ure is laro,
l.iIr OF 1ra>s. nn which the nest prop,
is erected. with sides well huiIt-up an,
4 lining of down antl feathers. the latter
| p!uc.lcd by the mother bird from hen
own breast. For making the tuund:,
ton. the mother bird pulls up all tn,
dry grass within yard or two Of hen
n'>t. thus leaving clearing.
The canvasback is one of the great
est travellers among ducks: it spends
the summer near to the Arctic circle
and passes every winter III the southern
States. pro'Ghly passing over the Dor
der into Mexico. But its favorite cold
weather habitat is in the BAYS and
sounds of Maryland and North Caro-
lima. DncNs. generally speaking. arc
| divided into river ducks AMI sea ducks
| All of the table ducks are fresh-watel
ducks. except The canvasback and the
redhead. which are in sense of the
salt water. inasnuch as they feed in
arms Of the sea. The redhpad is close.
| ~ allied to the canvasback. being dis
tinguished from the latter only by the
t,,.t th,f ~ hoe 81 Il III Ii;
a darker back. and more black on the
breast. Ten to one, if you buy can.
vasback from the most reputable mar,
ketman, you will get redhead.
The wild mallard and wood-ducll
have been successfully domesticated.
| In fact. the common duck of the farm
yard is the wild mallard. persuaded to
adopt civilized conditions. The man
DARN duck is Chinese duck, closely
related to the wood-duck The Pekin
duck. which is market favorite today
is likewise of Chinese origin: it is
raised to twelve pounds weight in a
few weeks 1t seems odd that ducks.
adopted rs farm animals. have not al
| tered nearly 50 much from the wild
types as chickens and geese. The tur-
key is another bird that. in it's domes-
ticated condition, looks pretty much
as it did when in a state of nature In
cidrntally. it is worth mentioning that
nearly all ducks build their nests on
| the ground about the shores of lakes
and streams and in the neighborhood
OF marshes On the other hand. the
wild wood duck lays her eggs in holes
n trees.
1t has been urged that the early
sprilr shooting OF canvasbacks in
Chesapeake and Carolina waters ought
| to he forbidden, because at that season
| the birds are about to take their de.
| parture to the north to breed. Thus
every one destroyed, IN, ans the wipin9
out of potential family. OF course
the murderous pot hunter cares moth
inc for such matters, but there are
ways by which he may he kept in
| check to some extent.
The canvashack is still Il very numer
Gus species of duck, though greatly re-
duced in numbers by the methods OF
wholesale massacre adopted 10y pot
hunters in the Chesapeake and Caro-
| lima waters. where the bird is chiefly
sought for market In these waters
| it is found in immense tiocks, and ruth
less are the means rcSorted to for de
proachng the sleeping fowl under
co:er Of dark mess, in light boat with
swivel Gun that fires at one discharge
,.ounl or more of shot. In this way
great numbers are killed or crippled
As might be supposed. this style oi
hunting is contrary to law. For that
matter, so is the method of sinking Gill
| nets Il hort distance beneath the water
50 that the diving ducks are caught
| But. for some reason, the latter process
soon drives away the birds, and those
captured are hardly fit to eat. Whole
tlochs are vi ipci out with the help O
| boats that are anchored ON the feeding
grounds and sunk to the level of til,
water. surrounded by dccoys-the oc
cupant. armed with n battery of double
barrrllrd guns. reclining so as to b,
unseen. Sometimes poodle-dog i:
employed to run along the shore, of
which the canvasbacks are feeding, ant
''tole" them within range 10y eNcitin.
their curiosity.-Rrne Bmh", IN Bosto,
Transcript.
"Dcrcs no use talkin, said the gray