PROFITS IN POtTLTRY. 



nest is a small door through which the eggs may oe 

 taken. It is necessary to keep the ducks shut up in the 

 morning until they have laid their eggs, and a strip of 

 wire netting will be required to inclose a narrow yard 

 in front of the house. Twine netting should not be 

 used, as the ducks put their heads through the meshes 

 and twist the twine about their necks, often so effectively 



Fig. 86. DUCK HOUSE. 



the 



as to strangle themselves. To avoid all danger, 

 wire fence should have a three or four-inch mesh. 



Among the most profitable varieties as layers are the 

 Peking. A fair yearly product for a duck in its second 

 year is a hundred and twenty eggs, and sixty to. eighty 

 for a yearling. Their feathers are of the best quality, 

 white, with a creamy shade; and five ducks weighing 

 five pounds each have yielded, killed in the winter-time 

 when fully feathered, more than one pound in all. It 

 will be right to pick the ducks when moulting is begin- 



