THE DOMESTIC DUCK.] 



POULTRY. 



[the call duck. 



while at work, when they have bo stuflVd thom- 

 selves with the exhumed worms, that they have 

 actually been unable to rise after lyin-^ down. 

 For tlio purpose of fattenin£», and brint^iiig 

 their tlosh to a good flavour just before killing, 

 boiled potatoes are excellent, and, if mixed 

 with a little grain, the feeding is greatly im- 

 ])roved. Imlian meal is also good, although, 

 at iir.st, it should be given sparingly. If ducka 

 are allowed to enter a garden, they will not do 

 much harm, while they will help greatly to 

 free it from slugs and insects ; but, as they are 

 rather ungainly walkers, and by no means 

 remarkable for any extraordinary beauty of 

 plumage, we, ourselves, would rather put up 

 with a i'ew extra slugs in our flower-beds, than 

 permit a few of these unhandsome creatures 

 to walk over them at their pleasure. Ducks 

 lay a large number of eggs ; and we have 

 heard of the case of one laying upwards of 

 eighty in succession. This is prodigious ; and 

 when we consider that three duck-eggs are, 

 in culinary estimation, of the value of six hen- 

 e"f^s, a bird possessed of such prolific powers 

 is not, even in a commercial point of view, to 

 be lightly estimated. It is mostly by night, and 

 not by day, that the duck lays ; and while pro- 

 ducing, she requires a greater degree of at- 

 tention than the hen, until she has acquired 

 the habit of resorting to a regular nest. 

 "When she has done this, attention is no longer 

 necessary. In hatching, the eggs require 

 thirty-one days ; and after the ducklings have 

 come forth, they should have, for their first 

 food, boiled eggs, nettles, and a little barley. 

 For the first day or two they should be kept 

 from water ; but after they have seen the light 

 for a few days, they may, with the greatest 

 safety, be left to shift for themselves. The 

 drake should have from four to six females, as 

 he does not pair like the wild duck. Of the 

 domestic duck there are many varieties ; the 

 white having a preference by some over all 

 the rest. Of this variety, the Aylesbury is 

 the favourite. It is very easily tamed ; and, in 

 Buckinghamshire, it lives with tiie cottager in 

 a state of domestic familiarity, similar to that 

 which characterises the sociable qualities of 

 the pig in the cabin of the sister isle. In this 

 county, many of the cottagers add to their 

 little incomes by rearing the Aylesbury duck 

 for the market; and the interior of the cot- 

 5 X 



tagerfl' dwellings Bomotimes presents a singular 

 appearance to the eye of the Htranger. They 

 are 8up[)lied with boxes and pens, ranged 

 round the walls, for the purpose of protecting 

 the early broods, which may be said to bo 

 brought up by hand. Tins duck ia a large, 

 handsome bird, with unspotted plumage, yellow 

 legs and feet, and flesh-coloured bill. It is a 

 most assiduous mother, and very productive. 



Until the introduction of the Khone, or 

 liohan duck, which is very prulilic, and lays 

 largo eggs, the Aylesbury variety was held to 

 bo the most valuable of all the species. The 

 latter, however, still fairly divides the honour 

 with the former, and is by some regarded as 

 superior. Its flesh is of a most delicate flavour, 

 being by many compared to that of the chicken ; 

 but it is said, that a cross between it and the 

 Khone is superior in flavour to all others. 



In France, ducks are both excellent and 

 abundant, especially in Languedoc and Nor- 

 mandy, where duck-liver pies are considered a 

 great delicacy. 



THE MUSCOVY, OR MUSK DUCK. 

 This bird does not, as some suppose, take 

 its name from having been imported from that 

 country, but from t\\Q flavour of its flesh. It 

 is easily distinguished by a red membrane sur- 

 rounding the eyes, and covering the cheeks ; 

 and the Mush name, by which it is distin- 

 guished, is both a contraction and a corruption 

 of the term Muscovy. It is a distinct species 

 from the common duck ; and the hybrid race 

 will, therefore, not breed again between them- 

 selves. They are, however, capable of doing 

 so with either of the species, from the com- 

 mixture of which they spruug. 



THE BLACK EAST INDIA DUCK. 

 This species of duck is all black, except the 

 bill, whicli is deeply tinged with a rich green. 

 When floating on the bosom of a pond, mingled 

 with the pure white Aylesburys, they present 

 a beautiful contrast. The varieties of water- 

 fowl may, perhaps, be as well studied in the 

 inclosuro of St. James's Park, Loudou, as auy- 

 where else. 



THE CALL DUCK. 



Thisi3thci?(7«/«;«ofitsrace,u3uallycoloured 

 like the wild mallard, but often ichite — a colour 



873 



