CHAMBERS'S INFORMATION FOR THE PEOPLE. 



the better. In the fens of Lincolnshire, vast quan- 

 tities of geese have long been kept, partly for their 

 quills and feathers, and partly for their carcases. 

 Geese breed in general only once a year, but if 

 well kept, they sometimes hatch twice in a season. 

 The best method for promoting this is to feed 

 them with corn, barley, malt, fresh grains, and, as 

 a stimulant, they should get a mixture of pollard 

 and ale. During their sitting, each bird has a 

 space allotted to it, in rows of wicker-pens placed 

 one above another, and the goose-herd who has 

 the care of them drives the whole flock to water 

 thrice a day, and bringing them back to their 

 habitation, places every bird in its own nest. 

 One gander is generally put to five geese. The 

 time of incubation varies from twenty-seven to 

 thirty days. The goose begins to lay in March, 

 but the time of the month depends upon the 

 state of the atmosphere. When goslings are first 

 allowed to go at large with their dam, every plant 

 of hemlock which grows within the extent of their 

 range should be pulled up, as they are very apt 

 to eat it, and it generally proves fatal to them. 

 Nightshade is also equally pernicious to them, 

 and they have been known to be poisoned by 

 cropping the sprigs of the yew-tree. 



DUCKS. 



Ducks are easily kept, particularly near ponds 

 or streams of water. In such situations, even the 

 poorest families may have half-a-dozen of them 

 running about without the least inconvenience. 

 In keeping them in a domestic state, one drake is 

 usually put to half-a-dozen ducks. The ducks 

 begin to lay in February ; their time of laying 

 being either at night or early in the morning. 

 They are extremely apt to deposit their eggs in 

 some sequestered spot, and to conceal them with 

 leaves or straw. From eleven to fifteen eggs is 

 the number which a duck can properly cover. 

 The time of incubation is about thirty-one days. 

 The place where they incubate should be as quiet 

 and retired as possible ; and if they have liberty, 

 they will give no trouble whatever in feeding, as 

 the duck, when she feels the call of hunger, covers 

 her eggs carefully up, and seeks food for herself, 

 either by going to the streams or ditches in her 

 neighbourhood, or, if such are not at hand, she 

 will come to the cottage and intimate her wants 

 by quacking. When the young are hatched, they 

 should be left to the care of the duck, which will 

 lead them forth in due time ; and when she does 

 so, prepare a coop for them, which should be 

 placed on short grass, if the weather is mild ; and 

 if cold or stormy, they should be kept under cover. 

 The future strength of the brood will depend much 

 upon the care that is taken of them for the first 

 three or four weeks after they have emerged from 

 the shell. Ducklings will begin to wash them- 

 selves the first day after they are hatched, if they 

 find water at hand ; therefore, a flat dish filled 

 with that element should be always within their 

 reach. They need not be confined in the coop 

 more than a fortnight or three weeks. 



The first thing on which ducklings are fed is a 

 mixture of barley, pease, or oat meal, and water. 

 They may afterwards be fed on a mixture of buck- 

 wheat, and any of the above-named meals. The 

 greatest attention must be paid to keeping their 

 bed warm and dry ; and with young ducks, a 



670 



frequent change of straw is absolutely necessary, 

 as their beds soon get dirty, wet, and fetid. 



Ducks are not such attentive guardians of their 

 young as hens, and therefore it is a common 

 practice to place duck-eggs under a sitting hen, 

 and leave her to hatch them as her own progeny. 

 When the young ducks so hatched make their 

 appearance, the hen does not appear aware of the 

 imposition, but takes at once to her duties with 

 a mother's fondness. The natural desire of the 

 ducklings to plunge into water and swim away 

 from the shore, vexes her, but she watches for 

 their return, and does all in her power to provide 

 the means of subsistence. She scrapes for them, 

 which a duck would not ; she shelters them under 

 her dry and warm bosom and wings, and alto- 

 gether makes a better nurse than their own proper 

 parent, though it is somewhat cruel treatment to 

 the hen. 



A few ducks are profitable about almost every 

 farm, and if there is an extensive grass or waste 

 run near, a large number may be kept with 

 advantage. Their food will cost very little, and 

 they lay large good eggs, if not very many of 

 them. The Aylesbury ducks are the prettiest, 

 though the Rouen look best on the table. 



In feeding ducks for use, pease and oat meal are 

 to be preferred. It is said that barley-meal 

 renders their flesh soft and insipid. Bruised oats 

 should be given to them freely for some weeks 

 before they are killed, which renders their flesh 

 solid and well tasted ; and the same general prin- 

 ciples recommended in the feeding of geese should 

 be kept in view. It has been found that the offal 

 of butchers' shops feeds ducks quickly, and that 

 this does not impair the flavour of their flesh. 

 In very many instances, ducks are reared in situ- 

 ations where there are no pools of clean water for 

 them to dabble in, and the poor animals are com- 

 pelled to grub with their bills in all sorts of 

 nauseous puddles, which, of course, makes their 

 flesh rank and offensive. They should, in all 

 cases, have a pool of clean water to swim in, and 

 are best reared near a natural meadow, lake, or 

 pond, where they can search for their appropriate 

 food. 



Geese and ducks should be kept separate from 

 the rest of the poultry, if it can be conveniently 

 done. 



THE SWAN. 



Swans are more commonly kept for ornament 

 than for any other purpose. Some people do not 

 like the flesh of swans, while others do. Young 

 swans from the age of six weeks till three months 

 are considered delicious on the table. They grow 

 rapidly, and are not expensive or troublesome to 

 rear, so that they might easily be produced with a 

 profit, where circumstances were favourable. A 

 little bread or grain laid on the edge of the water 

 is all they care for in the way of hand-feeding. 

 Its great size, snow-white plumage, and graceful 

 form, render it a most attractive spectacle on the 

 bosom of a pool or lake. It is a hardy, long-lived 

 fowl, and associates in pairs. The food of the 

 swan consists usually of seeds, roots, and plants, 

 rendered succulent by water. When fed in a 

 barn-yard, it seldom thrives, being more decidedly 

 aquatic in its habits than ducks or geese. The 

 eggs of the swan are not much in favour. She 

 lays from six to eight eggs, and if these are not 



