THE WILD Duckrs' CRIME.
Serious and utterly surprising contamination was one day discovered by the analysts in water taken from one of the bigger reservoirs on the edge of London. It was some while before any explanation was found. The weather at the time was very severe and among other consequences it had altered the habits of large congregations of birds. Great numbers of (luck, whose usual haunt is the East Coast, had come to town and used to roost every night on this reservoir as on many others. The birds do little or no harm in normal conditions, but these ducks, including many species, had the habit of taking their evening meal on a neighbouring sewage farm, flying thence direct to the reservoir and taking with them foul material which contaminated the water seriously enough to risk damage to health. A great number of the duck were shot ; and one sportsman said that he had never seen such good " fighting " in any quarter of the world. It is a curious idea to come to London for the best wild duck shooting, but it is certainly true that the Thames and the London reservoirs had few rivals last winter, however far afield you went.
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