THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



were delicate. The delicacy of the smaller 

 sized, and gradual crossing of the larger with 

 the Cayuga, has almost exterminated this 

 breed in England ; but specimens still exist, 

 and it could soon be recovered by judicious 

 line-breeding. It can be kept at large, and 

 intense green gloss is the chief exhibition point. 



Mandarin 

 Duck. 



The Mandarin duck {Aix galericulata ; 

 Chinese Teal) is confessedly the most orna- 

 mental of all waterfowl, the drake exhibiting 



almost all the colours of the rain- 

 The bow. These birds are very small, 



but the most diminutive in size are 



never the best breeders, and it is 

 also found that they grow rather larger with 

 age and more thorough domestication. 

 They are found in flocks between May 

 and August in the countries watered by 

 the river Amur, but are exceedingly diffi- 

 cult to approach or to capture. Those 

 kept by Chinese mandarins are caught 

 north of Pekin, so far as wild stock is 

 concerned, but are also bred with great 

 success, under the name of Li-chi-ki. They 

 are highly prized both for their exceed- 

 ing beauty and as striking examples of 

 conjugal fidelity and affection, a pair being 

 often carried in a gilt cage in marriage 

 processions. The first known in England 

 are described by Edwards in 1747 as at 



Richmond; forty years later they were at ..^.„^.^^__- ^-_ -^^^^^^ 



Osterley Park; and in 1833 they bred at -.v^'rVe- J^^^T?^^^^^^^ 

 the London Zoological Gardens. But all Vj"''*" v.' *'A.''-^''j^ ^^ 

 bred in Europe for many years were de- ^^^^— _ - ^-^ 

 scended from a few procured in 1850 by -^^^--- je--^ ^_ - — --^^^ 



Sir John Bowring, and two pairs which " 



reached Rotterdam a year or two earlier. Di 



Since that time others have been imported. 



In shape these birds are very compact, 

 and slightly chubby. The drake's head has 

 a large and long crest carried backward, 

 which is erected or lowered at will, and 



purple bar. His greatest peculiarity lies in 

 the wing-fans, the inner web of the inner 

 feather of each wing being enormously 

 developed into a sort of fan, which is carried 

 up like a sail, and which is a rich brown 

 edged with bright blue on one side and 

 white on the other. The eye is black, the 

 bill crimson, the legs pink, with yellowish 

 feet. The duck also has a crest. Her beak 

 is more of a horn colour, and her general 

 plumage a sober greenish brown and mot- 

 tling, except for eye-marks and a wing-bar. 

 In summer the drake casts his whiskers and 

 fans, and moults into summer plumage. 



The Mandarin is naturally a percher, and 

 will breed very well in a small house raised 



the water, if necessary. The 



two and even more nests of 



a dozen eggs each, white in shell. It is a 



pretty sight to watch them, the drake being 



a little above 

 duck will lay 



green and purple on the top, shading off to obviously vain of his beauty, and the duck 



rich chestnut and green. Along each side 

 of the head, back into the crest, is a broad 

 band of cream colour. The neck has round 

 it a full ruffle of feathers rather like the 

 hackles of fowls, but stiffer and more apart, 

 of reddish glossy chestnut, which are termed 

 " whiskers." The upper breast and shoulders 

 are deep claret, terminated across each 

 shoulder by two bars of black and white, 

 the under parts being white ; and the flanks 

 are greenish yellow very finely pencilled with 

 black lines. The back is light brown, the 

 wing metallic brCwn quills with silver edging 

 to the webs and tipped with blue, and with a 



fondling his handsome whiskers, and the two 

 " kissing " each other like doves. A pair 

 may be kept and will breed in an enclosure 

 eight or ten feet square, if arranged with a 

 little care for appearances ; but it is worthy 

 of note that the produce so bred is not equal 

 in furnishing or brilliance of colour to either 

 imported birds, or those reared in wider and 

 more natural surroundings. These general 

 remarks apply also to the next variety. 



The Carolina Duck {Aix sponsa ; Summer 

 Duck, etc.) is a native of the United States, 

 and also of the West India Islands. It, too, 



