FARMERS' REGISTER— ON RAISING BUCKS. 



867 



though the old ducks in their wild state fed on rice 

 and the seeds of various (grasses that are found 

 along the edges of the rivers, brooks and ponds, yet 

 that at the spring of the year when the young wild 

 ducks are hatched there are few seeds ripe, and it 

 is questionable whether at that early age they feed 

 at all upon grain or seeds. There appears in the 

 digestive organs of these young birds sometliing 

 unsuited to this kind of food — it passes through 

 them without affording much nourishment. I had 

 ascertained by dissection that their gizzards were 

 filled not with vegetable food, but with the frag- 

 ments of small craw -fish, worms and various 

 aquatick insects, as well as the spawn of fislics, 

 and I determined in the following year to try the 

 effects of animal food. In due time my young 

 ducks were hatched, beef was given them at first, 

 after having been chopped very fine ; tliis they de- 

 voured greedily and eat it in preference to alj 

 kinds of vegetable food. The effect upon their 

 health and growth was immediate and surprising! 

 They appeared to grow faster than any otlier poul- 

 try—in a few weeks they were out of danger, and 

 in a few montlis fit for the table. As beef was 

 expensive I tried cheaper kinds of food, such as 

 the haslet of animals, crabs, fishes, &c. The re- 

 sult was equally favorable. I was now satisfied 

 that in the article of food the end is attained by 

 simply following nature and givmg the young 

 ducks animal food. 



But although my experiment was thus far favo- 

 rable, I found that many of my youn^ ducks died 

 after having been suffered to go in the dews and 

 water, and that after many showers of rain tliey be- 

 came tlioroughly wet, and that when showers were 

 succeeded by hot suns, they were subject to a dis- 

 ease of some apoplectic character, or a coup de 

 soleil which killed numbers. Here I was mucli 

 puzzled. I had succeeded in one instance by fol- 

 lowing nature, but I fountl that I could not carry 

 my theory through, and that water affected the 

 domesticated duck very differently from what it 

 did the same bird in its wild state. The fact was 

 not unknown to me that the down of young wild 

 ducks is almost impervious to water ; they are ex- 

 posed to dews and rains— they dive to the bottom 

 of pools and streams, and live in the water; yet 

 they always keep dry — an oleagenous substance is 

 spread over their feathers, from which the water 

 glides off instantaneously and leaves the bird dry 

 during all weathers. Not so with the young of 

 the domesticated duck. Owing, either to the con- 

 finement of numbers in a smail space, where their 

 down becomes ruffled and displaced, or to their not 

 Jaeing able to procure that kind of food wliich in 

 the wild state is favorable to the secretion of that 

 peculiar oil which is found contained in the glands 

 of birds, and which serves to lubricate their leath- 

 ers and protect them from the wet, the down of the 

 young tame duck soon becomes thoroughly wet, 

 and when this is once the case, it is suWect to va- 

 rious diseases and is difficult to raise. To accom- 

 modate the young duck to that artificial state into 

 Avhich it had been thrown by domestication, I 

 found it necessary to adopt some mode by which 

 during the first few weeks of its life, (the only 

 time in which it requires much care,) it might be 

 preserved from the effects of that element, which 

 m its native state is almost its only residence, and 

 furnishes the means of its subsistence. A little 

 reflection enabled me to guard against the incon- 



veniences and dangers which result from this 

 state of domestication. I had my coops built pret- 

 ty large and tightly shingled, so as to be impervi- 

 ous to water. The young ducks were not let out 

 in the morning dews till the sun Iiad dried the 

 grass, and the vessels in which their water was 

 placed were railed over, so that they could drink 

 by inserting their bills between tliese little railings, 

 but were prevented from getting into tJie water. 

 After following these simple directions with regard 

 to food and shelter, I found that by a little atten- 

 tion of a servant, I could supply my table with 

 ducks the whole year round — thai I seldom lost 

 one in twenty, and that they were free from all dis- 

 eases. I raised from one hundred to three hundred 

 ducks per year, and now found tliat they were (he 

 easiest of all poultry to raise. I communicated 

 tlie result of my experiments to my friends. Those 

 of them who had the disposition — the patience and 

 industry followed my directions, and in every in- 

 stance met with the same success — I liave their 

 assurance, that they can now raise ducks in any 

 numbers, and some of them have for the last two 

 or three years supplied our markets with from three 

 to five hundred ducks of the largest size and finest 

 flavor. 



After having carried my readers through this, 

 perhaps to them, tedious detail of experiments 

 wliich cost me much time and attention, but tor 

 which I was more than repaid by the successful re- 

 sult, I shall now proceed to give, under different 

 heads, such simple directions as will enable our 

 planters and farmers to supply their tables with 

 this kind of poultry, which might be an object to 

 those who are in the habit of supplying our mar- 

 kets. 



1. The species and varieties of ducks best adapt- 

 ed to the purpose of breeding. — The only two spe- 

 cies of ducks that are raised in this country are 

 what are commonly called the English duck and 

 the Muscovy duck. Tlie English duck is a de- 

 scendant of the wild duck that visits us every win- 

 ter in such numbers, called the Mallard (Anas bos- 

 chas) is found also in Europe, and breeds in Eng- 

 land, although not the largest, it is certainly 

 among the finest flavored ducks in the world. The 

 flavor of the famous canvass-back duck ( jJnas val- 

 lisneria) that is found so numerously in the Chesa- 

 peake, and more recently in the Santee, and at the 

 mouth of the Savannah river, is no doubt superior 

 to it, but it is supposed that this is owing to the 

 peculiar kind of root on which that bird feeds, be- 

 lieved to be the ValUsencria j/?nericana — and that 

 were it fed on common food its flavor would not be 

 superior. 



The English duck, which is so common in our 

 yards, has from its long domestication, run into a 

 number of varieties, which differ so much from 

 each other as to appear like different species; they 

 are of different sizes — of a variety of colors, and 

 some are tufted. The variety to which I have usu- 

 ally given the jjreference, goes by the common 

 name of the Madagascar duck, is distinguished by 

 its being of the largest size — having a pretty long 

 neck and almost invariably a light streak above 

 the eyes, and usually a small streak extending 

 from the lower part of the upper mandible to be- 

 low the eye. 



The Muscovy duck (jlnas Moschata) is anoth- 

 er duck more recently introduced, but which is 

 now very common, and is well deserving a place 



