182 FOWLS. 



are valuable to the bird-fancier, as flowers are to florists, for 

 certain monstrosities and deviations from the usual laws of 

 nature. Thus the English Pouter, that swells his crop to a 

 fearful distention, and the Fantail, that makes his tail-feathers 

 adorn his head like a halo, is of exceeding value to \hz fan- 

 cier of birds. 



Domestic pigeons are nice broiled, roasted, or even boiled 

 plain and served with butter-sauce in a boat, but wild pig- 

 eons are only eatable, potted or braised. Young squabs of 

 the tame pigeon, when drawn, and the craw extracted, and 

 washed through several waters, may be cut open in the 

 back, skewered and broiled quickly, and sent to the table 

 with a little pepper and a bit of butter put to each squab. 

 See Game. 



Among the web-footed domestic fowls, the Duck holds a 

 conspicuous place. The Wild Duck or Mallard (Anas bos- 

 chas) is the original of our common duck ; in its wild state it 

 pairs, in its domesticated condition becomes polygamous, but 

 retains some of its shyness, for the female lays away from the 

 house, and secretes her eggs. While hatching, she should 

 not be disturbed ; but when her young are out, and she will 

 no longer be induced to keep them in the nest, she must be 

 watched, and not allowed to keep her little brood out long, as 

 the heat and the night dews cannot be endured by them with 

 impunity. The duck brings out her young in a month, when 

 she should be well fed, and have a flat dish given her with 

 water for her little ones, renewing the water frequently, and 

 giving the ducklings meal paste, or boiled rice. If the eggs 

 of the duck are given to the common fowl, the brood of 

 ducklings must be looked to, for, disregarding the call of the 

 hen, they will otherwise remain too long in the water, get 

 chilled through, and die. As ducks are gross feeders, eating 

 animal and vegetable substances of all kinds, before being 

 killed for the table their food should for some weeks be 

 selected for them. 



