192 



NATURAL HISTORY OF BIRDS. 



" Many are the ways used in this province for catching fish of all kinds in the 

 rivers, lakes, and canals ; but none of them are more curious than the cormorant- 

 fishing, which may be seen everywhere about Ningpo. Certain places are noted for 

 the excellence of the birds which are bred and trained there ; amongst these we may 

 name Fenghan and Shaohsing. 



" The most celebrated place, however, is a small town called Tanghsichen, fifty li 

 northwest of Hangchow, the people of which are currently believed to possess a secret 

 in cormorant-rearing which gives them special success. 



"The cormorant's book name is Lu tzu, and the common name is Y~u ying ('fish- 

 hawk'), or Yu ya ('fish-crow'). 

 " The females lay early from 

 three to nine eggs, in the first 

 and eighth moons. The color 

 of the eggs is green, but it is 

 much covered with white 

 chalk; their size is that of 

 ducks' eggs. The white inside 



3^j 



is slightly green, and the eggs 

 are never eaten on account of 

 their strong flavor, 



" The eggs of the first sea- 

 son (first moon) are the only 

 ones retained for hatching. 

 Towards the beginning of the 



O 



second moon they are given 

 to the hens to hatch, as the 

 female cormorant is a careless 

 mother. The young break 

 their shell after a month's 

 incubation. When new-born 

 they cannot stand on their 

 legs, and are -very sensitive to 

 cold. They are therefore taken 

 away from the hen, placed in 

 baskets filled with cotton wool, 

 and kept in a warm place. 

 The eggs of the second season 

 are not used, the weather be- 



FIG. 92. Phalacrocorazperspicillatus, Pallas' cormorant. 



ing too cold ; they are given away to children and beggars. 



" The young birds are at first fed with a mixture, in equal parts, of beancurd and 

 raw eel's flesh cut fine. If eels are not procurable, the flesh of the Hei yii (Ophio- 

 cephalus niyer) is used instead, in the form of small pills. At the end of a month 

 the down begins to be covered by the larger feathers, and the quantity of fish-flesh 

 given to them is increased, while that of beancurd is reduced. A second month 

 elapses, and the young birds, having grown to double their original size, are fit for the 

 market ; a male fetches $1 or $2, and a female half as much. 



"The birds are now fed with young fish thrown to them. When they have 

 attained their full size, a string is tied to one leg, the other end of it being fastened to 



