Many an old sportsman will understand my difficulties. I had of course no second gun, no ejector, and at times I utterly forgot the motto "Festina lente."
At last it was over, and I went home moderately satisfied with about five-and-twenty ducks, leaving, alas! a large number unpicked, as we had no dog.
When your shoot is over, and the season is drawing to its close, the only work left amongst the ducks is to select the breeding stock for next season.
The best to keep are long and well-furnished birds, as they always fly better, and lay more eggs than the short thick-set variety: they should have rakish-looking heads, with long bills, chrome yellow tinged with green in the case of the drake, and dull brown fringed with bright orange in the case of the duck. The eyes should be set high in the head, and the head itself appear to be slightly angular in appearance, and not too round at the crown. I believe in fairly light coloured birds, as I have always noticed that any strange birds that arrive appear lighter in colour than my own, and I think that the darker and coarser birds do not fly so well. In any case get rid of all short thick-set birds—they will do for the table, but not for sport.
In taking leave of my readers, I hope that I may have been fortunate enough to secure a little of their interest, and that this book may prove of some assistance to those who, like myself, love wild duck, and consider a few hours spent daily in their company an education and a treat.
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