LEAD POISONING IN WATERFOWL.                     9 
TABLE I.-Relation between number of shot in stonahs of waterfowl and quantity
of lead 
it  caca. 
Num-b°rI Qatityl                   Number Quantity 
ofsb ",  of lead                   Numbr  of lead 
Species.     of shot in  det..ted  Species,     of shot in  detecte 
stomach, in eeca.                 stoma   in ca ca. 
Mgm.                               Ml sn. 
Mallard,..               4    0.20 Mfallard......... .........34  0 55 
Do .  ...       ...   11    .20    Do........................ 48  .5 
Do  ................. ...  17  .27  Pintail. ............ ........ 5  .15

After experiments had fully established that shot were capable 
of poisoning waterfowl, the question as to whether the diseased con- 
dition was caused by lead or by some other substance present in the 
shot remained to be settled. Arsenic is a common impurity in com- 
mercial lead, and in the manufacture of shot a certain quantity is 
usually added. This is said to be necessary to make the lead pellets 
spherical when dropped and also to harden them. As arsenic and 
lead in combination are used to form poisonous compounds for kill- 
ing insects and for other purposes, it might be supposed that these 
compounds were active in cases of poisoning from shot eaten and held 
in gizzards of waterfowl. In several experiments, therefore, ducks 
were given quantities of granulated lead equal in weight to the number 
of shot that in other cases were found to be fatal. The granulated 
lead had the same effect as the shot in each instance, proving that 
lead was the active agent in the poisoning. Birds seemed to (lie 
more quickly from the effects of the granulated lead, as the particles 
were numerous and so small that they were readily ground up and 
passed into the intestine to be absorbed. 
PREVALENCE OF SHOT IN MARSH AREAS. 
Many marshes, lakes, and bays in the United States are noted as 
resorts for waterfowl, and are visited each year during the hunting 
season by sportsmen in pursuit of game. Owing to the configura- 
tion of the land and water areas and the habits of the birds pursued, 
there are points or islands in these places that afford good shooting 
each season, and in many cases blinds to conceal the hunters are lo- 
cated on or near the same spot year after year. In time a great mass 
of waste shot pellets gathers about these points. The action of the 
water, especially where it is more or less saline or alkaline, tends to 
corrode these shot somewhat, but this process is in most cases very 
slow, so slow, indeed, as to be hardly appreciable. As corrosion takes 
place, there forms over the surface of the shot a scale, which, as it 
thickens, protects the lead more and more from further chemical 
action. There can be no question that shot pellets may last for miany 
years.