THE TAME DUCK. 457 



being nearly full grown and in fine eating order at three 

 months old ; far excelling, in this respect, all other Poultry, 

 except G-eese." 



Of the Tame Duck, Mr Dixon says : 



One leading opinion seems to run throughout them all, that 

 our farm-yard Ducks are nothing more than the tamed de- 

 scendants of old English Mallards. It is a pity to disturb so 

 plausible and general a belief; but an attempt to approximate 

 to the solution of Audubon's problem, " when this species was 

 first domesticated/'" has raised some doubts upon the subject, 

 which it is of no use to suppress. 



One thing, I think, may be demonstrated, i. e. that the date 

 of its first appearance in domestication on the European con- 

 tinent is not very remote, however high may be its antiquity 

 in India and China. In pursuing these sort of inquiries, 

 which are daily becoming more interesting and more import- 

 ant in their conclusions, one regrets that untranslated works on 

 natural history or farming (if such there be) in the Oriental 

 languages, are sealed records to almost every one who has the 

 leisure to make use of their contents. It is extremely pro- 

 bable that great light might be thrown on the origin and history 

 of our domesticated animals by a careful inspection of such 

 works. As it is, we are left to obtain our evidence from im- 

 perfect and (with the exception of geology) more recent traces. 



If the Swan and the Pelican were forbidden to the Israelites, 

 and their carcases to be held in abomination, (see Leviticus 

 xi. 18,) the Duck would probably be included in the list of 

 unclean birds ; or, rather, we may without violence suppose 

 that the Hebrew words translated "Swan" and "Pelican," 

 are used generically for all web-footed Fowl. But, as Scotfc 

 says, " here the critics find abundance of work." 



I think it may be shown from negative evidence that the 

 Romans at the time of our Saviour, and subsequently, were 

 not acquainted with the domesticated Duck. I can find no 



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