1911 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



317 



was sailing gracefully in salt water, that, 

 notwithstanding all that had been said 

 about the beauty of swans, I preferred a 

 flock of Indian Runner ducks, especially 

 where there is one in the flock that has a 

 record of 100 eggs without a miss. " Hand- 

 some is that handsome does," you know; 

 and my pet duck comes in on both scores — 

 utility and beauty. By the way, I had for- 

 gotten all along to mention that this duck 

 came from the best pen of our old friend 

 Kent Jennings, who, I am glad to notice, 

 has a brief advertisement in this issue. 



THE INDIAN RUNNER DUCK AND THE VAL- 

 ENTINE DUCK-BOOK. 



Dear Brother Root:— I hope you will not take it 

 amiss if I say that I feel that you have treated me 

 about as you did the duck to which you gave "'a 

 bad name while she was quietly attending to bus- 

 iness." 



My chief "business" in writing "The Indian 

 Runner Duck Book" was to clear up the much- 

 muddled history of the Indian Runner, avcl to pre- 

 serve the white-egg duck for the farmers. The 

 Americnn Stct ■idnrd. in affirming that the true duck 

 is worthless, bade fair to push that duck entirely 

 out of the country. All breeders know that chang- 

 ing the type of any bird is likely to destroy Its most 

 valued points, and this is peculiarly true of the 

 Indian Runner. The original heavy-laying Run- 

 ner laid a white egg. Our markets often discrimi- 

 nate in favor of the white egg, even against the 

 light brown one. Much more would this be the 

 case against a green one: and as to taking too 

 much space on this point, it was the one point where 

 farmers needed learning. It was, in fact, the foun- 

 dation of the whole matter; and I have had many 

 letters from farmers telling me how long they had 

 looked for just such a book, and how exactly it just 

 met their needs. 



If you will pardon me for so saying, it seems to 

 me that you. who know so little about ducks— on 

 your own showing — and who, on your own show- 

 ing, believe the facts only when you have proven 

 them (as to the good laying, for instance i, have 

 hardly reached the point where you can logically 

 set up your opinion or your experience against that 

 of the men who raise perhaps 20,000 or 80,000 a sea- 

 son. These are the men who say ducklings should 

 not get wet while downy. If you will look in the 

 right place you will find that my book also says 

 that they should have water so that they can not 

 get wet in it. Young ducklings chill very easily, 

 and wet down adds greatly to the danger of such 

 fatalities. 



Another point where. It seems to me, you fail to 

 "play fair" is this: In the very number of your 

 journal where my advertisement appears ^a jour- 

 nal which has a good reputation), you charge me, 

 who have also, I believe, a good reputation, with 

 writing a book less valuable than it should be. 

 You do this because you ignore the point of view 

 from which it was written — that of the farmer who 

 must sell market eggs: and you do it in the very 

 number wherein my advertisement of the book 

 appears. 



We published this book ourselves, not ofTering it 

 to any outside publisher at all. It cost quite a bit 

 of money. We are paying you for advertising. We 

 can not tell all we know in a fifty-cent book. We 

 hope to get out a larger edition late in the year, 

 which will tell all the things you want to know. 



Finally, I feel that if you would be just, you will 

 publish this letter in the same department wherein 

 your comment appeared. C. S. Valentine. 



Ridgewood, N. J., May 5. 



My good friend, very likely you are right 

 about white eggs instead of eggs having a 

 green or bluish tint; that is, if they sell bet- 

 ter in the market we had better have ducks 

 that produce the white eggs; but in regard 

 to the color of the feathers or the markings, 

 I do think the poultry business all through 

 lays too much stress on this unimportant 



matter. We have had the same thing in 

 bee culture, as you may know. For years 

 everybody wanted yellow queens and light- 

 colored bees; but when they found that 

 these same light-yellow bees did not produce 

 the honey, most bee-keepers went back to 

 the leather-colored or still darker bees, even 

 if they were not so handsorae. It is the 

 honey we are after, with bees, and eggs tbat 

 will bring a good price in the market with 

 ducks. Of course, it is worth something to 

 have them "good-looking" also, if this lat- 

 ter is not pushed too far. Your remarks 

 about ducklings getting wet suggest that 

 very likely it would do more harm up here 

 in the North than down in Florida, where 

 the weather is always warm, and always 

 plenty of sunshine. In regard to changing 

 my opinion or my report because you had 

 an advertisement in our journal, I shall 

 have to plead guilty, although my com- 

 munication was written in Florida without 

 my knowing you had sent us an advertise- 

 ment. But I prefer to have it distinctly 

 understood that my opinion and write-up 

 on the Indian Runner ducks. Buckeye in- 

 cubators or any thing else, are given to the 

 public without any consideration whatever, 

 whether the thing is advertised in our jour- 

 narl or is not advertised; and if my remarks 

 hinder the sale of your book or that of the 

 goods of any other person, you can have 

 the money back if you wish. 



You have not, in the above, mentioned 

 the matter of telling the sex of ducks. 

 ^Vhen you get out another edition of your 

 book, if you will make it a little plainer 

 about letting them go into the water, and 

 also tell us how to distinguish the ducks 

 from the drakes, I shall be very glad indeed 

 to notice it. 



And how about the Indian Runner ducks 

 being non-sitters? Do they never sit at all? 

 or do the older ducks occasionally want to 

 sit, like our Leghorn hens and other non- 

 sitting breeds? 



BERMUDA GRASS FOR CHICKENS AND OTH- 

 ER FARM STOCK IN THE SOUTH. 



In deciding how to furnish our chickens 

 with green food at the least expense I very 

 soon struck on Bermuda grass; but many of 

 the neighbors cautioned me about letting it 

 get a foothold on my place, as it is a terrible 

 pest to the market-gardener. It runs over 

 ground and under ground; and it is, per- 

 haps, the most persistent grower of any 

 grass or any other plant in the South. It 

 got through the cement floor in my auto- 

 mobile-house, and came out between the 

 boards as high as my head. Where I first 

 commenced feeding the chickens it is a per- 

 fect mat, making a soft carpet in some places 

 almost a foot thick. The chickens keep eat- 

 ing it from daylight till dark; but, no mat- 

 ter how many there are in that yard, they 

 do not seem to be able to keep it down. It 

 was started in this particular yard by put- 

 ting little bits of sod about as far apart as 

 you would plant corn. But we were obliged 

 to take the chickens off for one summer to 



