ARTIFICIAL REARING OF WILD DUCKS 57 



with them,* but his partially tame brother has no such re- 

 luctance, and if the two kinds are near each other it is 

 difficult to keep them apart. Game farmers are also guilty 

 of infusing domestic blood, for they have found that a 

 stock of duck having such an infusion were easier to pen 

 and manage, and the larger size of the birds they thought 

 would appeal to their patrons. However, what is the use 

 of a bigger duck if it refuses to fly, for the primary motive 

 with which they are reared is to provide sport, and size 

 and quality is quite a secondary consideration. The true 

 wild duck is a delicious bird on the table, and the slight- 

 est introduction of domestic blood appears to destroy its 

 peculiar piquant flavor. 



"At the present time there is a great desire in shooting 

 circles, where the hand-reared duck as a sporting bird is 

 appreciated, to revert to the true stock, and thoroughly 

 stamp out the halfbreeds. This is why we declare that 

 he who has a true stock holds a valuable possession, for 

 the eggs are likely in the near future to command a big 

 price. There is no mistaking the egg of the real wild 

 duck, its shape being perfect and its delicate coloring of 

 pale sea green unapproachable. The slightest infusion 

 of domestic blood appears to rob it of these character- 

 istics, and the egg laid by a bird possessing such blood in 

 ever so small a degree becomes larger in size, and the 

 green gives place to a dirty white. The first, and even 

 second, nest of eggs laid by a wild duck may be picked up 

 for sale, and she will lay again, possibly only half a dozen 

 on the third occasion, but they will be as fertile as those 

 produced earlier, and the ducklings will be hatched at a 



*This statement seems to be erroneous. In America the wild mallard 

 often interbreeds with tame ducks. 



