352 THE DUCK. 



who is obliged frequently to continue on the nest till three 

 successive broods have been hatched. When the young Ducks 

 leave the shell, they are placed near a fire, and nursed with 

 great care. By these means many Ducklings are sent at 

 Christmas to London, where they meet with ready purchasers. 

 Of all people in the world, the Chinese are said to be the 

 most skilled in the management of poultry, particularly of 

 Ducks, many people at Canton earning their livelihood merely 

 by bringing them up ; some buy the eggs and trade with them, 

 others hatch them in ovens, and others attend on the young 

 ones. The following is their plan : — They lay an iron plate on 

 a brick hearth ; on this they place a box full of sand, half a 

 foot high, in which the eggs are put in rows ; they cover the 

 box with a sieve, over which they hang a mat. To heat 

 them they make use of a particular sort of wood, which burns 

 slowly and uniformly ; at first, they give them but little 

 warmth, increasing it gradually, and it becomes a strong heat 

 by the time the eggs are hatched. If the heat is increased too 

 much, the young Ducks are hatched too soon, and in that case 

 they generally die in three or four days. The hatched young 

 ones are sold to those who bring them up ; and these try, in 

 the following manner, whether they are hatched too soon or 

 not. They take up the little Ducks by the bill, and let their 

 bodies hang down : if they sprawl and extend their feet and 

 wings, they are hatched in due time ; but, if they haye had 

 too much heat, they hang without struggling. The latter often 

 live till they are put to the water, which is generally eight 

 days after they are hatched — this turns them giddy ; they get 

 cramped, throw themselves on their back, and die in convul- 

 sions. They are carefully fed with boiled rice, mixed up with 

 herbs and little fish, chopped small. When they are older, 

 they are removed into a larger floating-pen, called a sampane, 

 which has a broad bottom of bamboo, with a gallery round, 

 above the river, and a bridge declining towards the water. An 

 old and experienced stepmother is provided to lead them down, 

 and attend them when feeding : these old birds are so well 

 trained, that at the given signal in the evening, they return in 

 the utmost haste with their young broods. This signal is a 



