270 



MONTHLY JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE. 



one) in its own nest. One gander is generally 

 put to five geese. The time of incubation va- 

 ries from twenty-seven to thirty dajs. The 

 goose begins to lay in March, but the time of the 

 month depends upon the state of the atmos- 

 phere. 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 geuerally proves fatal to them. Night- 

 shade is also equally pernicious to them, and 

 they have been known to be poisoned by eating 

 sprigs of yew-tree. 



Ducks. — Ducks are a kind of fowl easily 

 kept, particularly near ponds or streams of wa- 

 ter. In such situations, even the poorest fami- 

 lies may have half a dozen of them running 

 about without the least inconvenience. In keep- 

 ing them in a domestic state, one drake is usual- 

 ly put to five ducks. The ducks begin to lay in 

 February ; their time of laying being either at 

 night or early in the morning. They are ex- 

 tremely apt to deposit their eggs in some se- 

 <iuestered spot, and to conceal them witii leaves 

 or straw. From eleven to fifteen eggs is the 

 immber 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 thej' have libertj', 

 they will give no trouble whatever in feeding, as 

 the duck, when she feels the call of hunger, cov- 

 ers her eggs carefully up, and seeks food for her- 

 self, either bj' going to the streams or ditches in 

 her neighborhood, or, if such are not at hand, she 

 will come to the cottage and intimate her wants 

 by her squalling. When the young are hatch- 

 ed, they should be left to the care of the duck, 

 who will lead them forth in due time ; and 

 when she docs so, prepare a coop for them, 

 which should be placed on short grass, if the 

 weather is mild ; and if cold or stormj-, they 

 should be kei)t 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 \\eek8 after they have emerged from the 

 shell. Ducklings \vill begin to wash themselves 

 the first day after they are hatched, if they fir.d 

 water at hand. Therefore, a fiat dish filled with 

 that element should be always within their 

 reach. Many persons are in the practice of clip- 

 ping the tail, and the down from beneath it, in 

 ducklings, if the weather is wet during the first 

 weeks of their existence. This to prevent them 

 from dragging themselves, which has a tenden- 

 cy to produce intestinal diseases. From a fort- 

 night to three weeks is all that is necessai^y to 

 confine them to the coop. 



The first thing on which ducklings are fed is 

 a mixture of barley, peas, or oat-meal, and wa- 

 ter. They may afterwards be fed upon a mix- 

 ture of buckwheat and any of the above-named 

 meals. Tlie greatest attention must be paid to 

 keeping their bed warm and dry ; and with 

 young ducks a frequent change of straw is ab- 

 solutely necessary, as their beds soon get dirty 

 and wet. 



Ducks are not such attentive guardians of 

 their young as hens, and therefore it is a com- 

 mon practice to place duck eggs under a sitting 

 hen, and leave her to hatch them as her o\\n 

 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 all a mother's fondness. The 

 natural desire of the ducklings to plunge into 

 jwater and swim away from the shore vexes her, 

 (570) 



but she watches for their return, and does all iq 

 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 altogether makes a bet- 

 ter nurse than their own proper parent. 



In feeding ducks for use, peas 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 principles 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 

 flavor of their flesh. In very manj' instances, 

 ducks are reared in situations where there are 

 no pools of clean water for them to dabble in, 

 and the poor animals are compelled 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, where they can search for their 

 appropriate food. 



Those who have paid much attention to the 

 management of domestic poultry, assert that 

 geese and ducks should be kept apart from oth- 

 er fowls. The former should have their houses 

 ranged along the banks of a piece of water 

 with a fence, and sufficiently extensive for 

 v^-alks in front, with doors for their access to the 

 water, which can be closed at pleasure. 



Swans.— Swans are a class of aquatic fowls 

 kept for ornament rather than use. The flesh, 

 even of the young, is black, hard, and rank, 

 while that of the old is too tough for mastica- 

 tion. The eggs, also, are not peculiarly palata- 

 ble ; and there is little inducement to rear them, 

 in short, if mere pecuniary advantage be looked 

 to, excepting on the score of the skin, feathers, 

 and down, which are articles of considerable 

 value. At the same time, if the swan be not a 

 productive bird, few animated objects can be 

 compared with it as regards ornament. Its 

 great size, snow-white plumage, and graceful 

 form, render it a most attractive spectacle upon 

 the bosom of a pool or loch. It is a hardy, long- 

 lived fowl, and associates in pairs. The food of 

 the swan consists usually of seeds, root.s, and 

 plants, rendered succulent by water. When 

 fed in a barn-yard it seldom thrives, being mote 

 decidedly aquatic in its habits than ducks or 

 geese. From the color of the European swan 

 being so uniformly white, a black swan used 

 once to be proverbially spoken of as an impos- 

 sibility, but black swans have been found of late 

 in Australia. 



Pigeons. — Pigeons are among the most orna- 

 mental and usefid appendages of a rural dwell- 

 ing. If permitted to fly abroad to seek their 

 food, little expense will be incurred for their 

 keep, while the value of their young will be of 

 some importance to cottagers. The pigeon has 

 a great power of fiight, and will go to a dis- 

 tance of many miles in quest of the means of 

 subsistence ; but wherever it may fly, it never 

 fails to return home. The leading features of the 

 district around its habitation appear to be im- 

 pressed on its memory, and, flying at a great 

 hight, and with a wonderful power of vision, 

 it .sees the well-remembered landmark.s, and di- 

 rects its path homeward. This habit of seek- 

 ing for the place at which it was reared, makes 

 it difficult to keep pigeons in any new home ; 



