MANUAL ON POULTRY. 53 



DUCKS AND CAKP PONDS. 



As carp culture is now becoming so common a few suggestions on 

 the above subject will be appropriate here. Whether the ducks 

 seek the eggs of the carp while they remain attached to the grass on 

 the margin of the pond is not fully determined, but there is 

 no question of the fact that in seeking their food in the shallow 

 water, as they are fond of doing, the ducks incidentally desiroy a 

 great many eggs. They should therefore be carefully excluded 

 from the ponds during the spawning season of the carp, which 

 extends from the first of April to August. After that time the 

 ducks may frequent the ponds to the advantage of both the fish and 

 the ducks until the return of the spawning season. 



The tadpole of the bull frog is very destructive of the eggs of the 

 carp, and as they are at their most destructive stage during the early 

 part of the spawning season, they should if possible be destroyed. 

 Ducks are exceedingly fond of them and are very successful in de- 

 stroying them, while they do not disturb the young fish. 



In order to test this, a pond which contained a large number of 

 small carp was drawn down to a depth not exceeding two feet at the 

 deepest part and ducks given free access to it. They were watched 

 for two days, during which time they destroyed large numbers of 

 the tadpoles, but were never seen to catch a fish. 



Again, a large Muscovy drake was seen to swim repeatedly over 

 a small pond eight by twenty feet in area, containing perfectly 

 clear water not exceeding one foot in depth. In this pond were 

 fifty six small fish. The drake observed the fish as he passed over 

 them but made no effort to catch them. The conclusion, therefore, 

 from observations thus far made, is that ducks may with advantage 

 to both fish and ducks have free access to the carp ponds from 

 August to March, inclusive. 



