CHiP. XIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 275 



taking the water, that she would fly to a 

 large stone which lay in the middle of a pond 

 to which the ducklings resorted, and patiently 

 await the brood, as they swam around it. 

 On the fourth year, she sat on her own eggs ; 

 and, expecting her chickens to take to the 

 water, as on former occasions, she flew to the 

 stone in the middle of the pond, and called 

 them to her with much earnestness ; but they, 

 as may be supposed, did not feel inclined to 

 follow her dictates. 



Ducks may, indeed, be grown and fattened 

 in a yard, without either pond or rivulet : 

 but their element is water ; nature prompts 

 them to indulge in it, and we may rest as- 

 sured that both the habit thus dictated to 

 them, and the kind of food which they obtain 

 there and in the ditches, are essential to their 

 health, while it aflPords a great portion of that 

 nourishment which they most love. When 

 grown to the age of being feathered, they 

 should, therefore, have free access to a stream 

 or pond, and to the fields and ditches sur- 

 rounding the house ; for, although they may 

 be raised without it, they will be fattened 

 with more difficulty, and their flesh will be 



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