368 THE DUCK. 



them with stimulating food ; and when the eggs are ready, 

 they are put under a hen, who is obliged frequently to 

 continue on the nest till three successive broods have been 

 hatched. When the young Ducks leave the shell, they are 

 placed near a fire, and nursed with great care. By these 

 means many Ducklings are sent at Christmas to London, 

 where they meet with ready purchasers. 



Of all people in the world, the Chinese are said to be 

 the most skilled in the management of poultry, particularly 

 of Ducks, many people at Canton earning their livelihood 

 merely by bringing them up ; some buy the eggs and trade 

 with them, others hatch them in ovens, and others attend 

 on the young ones. The following is their plan : they lay 

 an iron plate on a brick hearth ; on this they place a box 

 full of sand, half a foot high, in which the eggs are put in 

 rows ; they box the cover with a sieve, over which they 

 hang a mat. To heat them they make use of a particular 

 sort of wood, which burns slowly and uniformly ; at first, 

 they give them but little warmth, increasing it gradually, and 

 it becomes a strong heat by the time the eggs are hatched. 

 If the heat is increased too much, the young Ducks are 

 hatched too soon, and in that case they generally die in three 

 or four days. The hatched young ones are sold to those 

 who bring them up ; and these try, in the following manner, 

 whether they are hatched too soon or not. They take up 

 the little Ducks by the bill, and let their bodies hang down : 

 if they sprawl and extend their feet and wings, they are 

 hatched in due time ; but, if they have had too much heat, 

 they hang without struggling. The latter often live till 

 they are put to the water, which is generally eight days after 

 they are hatched, this turns them giddy ; they get cramped, 

 throw themselves on their back, and die in convulsions. 

 They are carefully fed with boiled rice, mixed up with herbs 

 and little fish, chopped small. When they are older, they 

 are removed into a larger floating-pen, called a sampane, 

 which has a broad bottom of bamboo, with a gallery round, 

 above the river, and a bridge declining towards the water. 

 An old and experienced stepmother is provided to lead them 



