D UCK- FARMING. 



567 



Mallard. It comes not from the north at 

 all, but from South America; is very different 

 in many characteristics ; and the progeny when 

 crossed with other varieties appear 

 Muscovy to be real hybrids, being decidedly 



Ducks. sterile inter st\ though fertile more 



or less with either parent strain. The 

 name is derived from an odour of musk which 

 pervades the skin, but which disappears when 

 cooked. The generic name is Cairina moscliata. 



The wild Muscovy duck is very agile, often 

 perching upon trees, and even making its nest 

 occasionally in such situations. Another pecu- 

 liarity is the disparity in size between the sexes, 

 a fine drake weighing pe.rhaps 11 lbs. or 12 lbs., 

 while the female will be only 6 lbs. or 7 lbs.; 

 and the male has no curled feathers in his tail 

 like other breeds. The feathers on the body are 

 very large and broad, and often appear loose as 

 if ready to drop out. The head of the drake 

 is very large, and in both sexes the cheeks are 

 naked, with scarlet fleshy carunculations, very 

 developed in the male, and giving him a peculiar 

 leery and wicked expression. This is not 

 belied by his temper, which is very bad with 

 other ducks and poultry, and the drakes also 

 fight fiercely among themselves, another point 

 in which they differ from other breeds. The 

 period of incubation also differs, being from 

 thirty-four to thirty-five days. 



The general colour of the Muscovy duck is 

 pied black and white ; whole white, whole black, 

 and blue dun being also found. The legs are 

 pale yellow, and the toes have very sharp claws. 

 The eggs are large and white, but the duck is a 

 poor layer. The flesh is rich, and at one time 

 the bird was popular in America, and con- 

 siderably used for crossing; but this has been 

 nearly abandoned, and the breed cannot be 

 considered a profitable one. 



Duck-raising for market, or duck-farming, is 

 an ancient industry in England, being for some 

 generations almost confined to the Vale of 



Aylesbury, which is still a great 



Duck-Farming centre of supply for the best trade 



in of the London market. That the 



England. business should so long have been a 



local one, is rather surprising, as the 

 voracious appetite, hardihood, and rapid growth 

 of ducklings afford quicker returns from them 

 than in any other branch of poultry-rearing, 

 whilst numbers are handled with so much 

 greater facility in a small space : the local breed 

 had, however, doubtless much to do with this. 

 So long ago as 1870 the receipts of the Vale 

 amounted to over .^^20,000 a year, and in 1900 

 this had increased by about fifty per cent, but 



since that date the trade of this locality has 

 practically not increased. As a rule the birds 

 are sent up to London twice or three times a 

 week, several tons sometimes going up in a 

 single night; and a system has grown up, as in 

 Sussex, by which the railway companies collect 

 the birds in " flats," and return the empty pack- 

 ages to the roadside, for an inclusive charge of 

 one penny per bird. 



VVhile there always have been a few larger 

 raisers, the bulk of the trade in Bucks at this 

 time was in the hands of moderate or small 

 men, who raised probably about a thousand 

 birds each. These " duckers " would begin to 

 collect eggs for sitting from the farmers after 

 Michaelmas, generally contracting to take all 

 any man could supply them with from that time 

 till next June, at one average price, which in 

 1S70 was 2s. or 2s. 6d. per dozen ; if eggs were 

 bought in December and January only, the cost 

 per sitting would be double that price. Hens 

 were hired at about 3s. 6d. each, and were set 

 as fast as they and the eggs for them could be 

 procured. When hatched, four or five broods 

 were put together, so that every hen left in 

 charge had twenty-five to fifty ; and the young 

 birds were, as the hatching progressed, dis- 

 tributed in some cottages over every room in 

 the house, including bedrooms, a single room 

 accommodating in some cases two or three hens 

 with their families, separated by boards placed 

 on edge. The noise at feeding times was 

 deafening. The first food was usually chopped 

 egg and bread-crumbs, then chopped egg and 

 boiled rice mixed with meal, later on mainly 

 meal and rice mixed with boiled greaves, or 

 other cheap meat, with green food as required. 



In 1890, while this trade had considerably 

 extended as stated above, the profits had some- 

 what decreased. The cost of eggs had gone up 

 to about 4s. per dozen through the season, or as 

 much as 12s. a dozen for December only, and 

 the average market price had fallen about 2s. 

 per couple, though a guinea could still be 

 realised for the choicest ducklings in February 

 and March. Against this, the cost of food had 

 somewhat fallen. Sanitary legislation had also 

 placed salutary check upon the extraordinary 

 indoor arrangements above described, once so 

 prevalent in many cottages, and more birds 

 were reared in consequence out of doors than 

 formerly, in pens with some slight shelter, 

 though many ground floors were still occupied 

 in the old way. A few larger raisers were 

 gradually beginning to use incubators, and some 

 of them to keep ducks and breed their own 

 eggs for hatching ; but the main business of the 

 "duckers" was still done by purchasing eggs, 



