NEW ZEALAND GARDENING. 215 



Feed. Boiled potatoes and turnips mixed with a little 

 barleymeal or pollard is the most suitable food for ducks, 

 together with what they can pick up when liberated, as they 

 should be for a few hours each day. 



Sitting Ducks. The nest should be made on the 

 ground, in a cool retired spot. A dozen eggs will not be 

 too many to place under a large duck. The duck while 

 sitting must be supplied with fresh food twice a day, morning 

 and evening, placed within her reach. Duck eggs may also 

 be set under hens. The ducklings will thrive best on oat- 

 meal porridge for the first eight or ten days, when they may 

 have barley-meal, pollard, and crushed wheat, with a plentiful 

 supply of chopped green food. If well attended to, the 

 young ducks should be ready for the table in about ten 

 weeks. They will thrive without the old duck when a 

 fortnight old, provided they are kept in a warm house at 

 night. 



The ordinary farm-yard duck is a nondescript, so far as 

 breeding is concerned. They are, however, excellent layers, 

 good sitters, and make nice plump birds for the table. They 

 require access to water more than either of the above 

 described breeds do. 



TURKEYS. 



THE Cambridge, the Norfolk and the American are the 

 hardiest breeds. Four hens to one cock are the best 

 proportions. The hens, if well fed, will commence to lay in 

 August, producing from fifteen to twenty eggs. It is a good 

 practice to place the first seven eggs under a Shanghae hen, 

 and to allow the turkey to sit on the balance if she wants to. 

 The turkey hen must be kept perfectly quiet while sitting, as 

 they are timid. October is the best time for setting turkeys. 

 The young birds are very delicate, and require a large 

 amount of attention until they are quite two months old, 

 and must be protected from cold rains during that period ; 

 in other respects they require the same attention as ordinary 

 chickens. Hens should not exceed four years old. The 

 cocks should be changed every two years, and should not 

 exceed that age. 



