AQUATIC FOWLS. 



273 



The following is a description of the adult 

 plumage of both male and female : 



Drake. Bill inclined to green, the nail and 

 around the nostrils being black. Head and 

 neck, as far as the white collar, which should 

 be very distinct, brilliant iridescent green; 

 throat and breast claret-brown ; back, scapulars, 

 and thighs gray, with minute wavy dark lines 

 at right angles to the shaft of the feather ; tail 

 brown, with the outer edge of the feathers white, 

 forming a broad margin of that color, the three 

 centre feathers being curled ; primaries brown ; 

 secondaries with a bar of bright steel-blue form- 

 ing the speculum, the band of black, the ex- 

 tremities being tipped with white ; lesser wing- 

 coverts rich brown; greater wing-coverts the 

 same, with a narrow white margin ; under part 

 of the body gray, with the same wavy dotted 

 lines as on the back ; legs and feet orange. 



The duck has a uniform plumage of rich brown, 

 every feather being more or less marked with 

 black ; bill, legs, and feet dusky ; irides light- 

 brown in both sexes. 



The Rouen duck has been usually spoken of 

 as a late layer, but this is entirely contrary to 

 what has happened with us, for we have found 

 the old birds good egg-producers in autumn, 

 even before their moult has been completed ; in 

 this respect, indeed, they resemble the Shanghai 

 fowl. With some cessation in mid-winter, they 

 recommence at a period when others of their 

 species have only just begun. Even the young 

 ducks of the year are singularly prolific ; those 

 hatched in March will sometimes commence 

 laying the latter part of August or first of Sep- 

 tember, and continue to give from three to four 

 eggs per week till October. 



The colors of the Eouen duckling, when first 

 hatched, are a yellowish-brown body color, with 

 patches of yellow upon the face, breast, and 

 wing, a dark line passing along the side of the 

 face about the eye. At two weeks old, these' 

 colors have become blended and indistinct, and 

 so remain till the feathers take the place of down. 



Is the Rouen duck specifically distinct from 

 the common brown duck of the farm-yard ? Mr. 

 Furneaux inclines to the opinion that it is but 

 a cultivated sub-variety of the common duck. 



The peculiaritv of voice which has always 

 S 



been noticed, the deep greenish-blue tint of the 

 egg, and the great bulk of the body, resembling 

 a pillow or bolster supported on two sticks (for 

 the indentation of outline before and behind 

 the legs suggests the simile), favor the idea of 

 at least a permanent variety; though whether 

 it may amount to specific difference we will not 

 undertake to decide. 



It is indisputable that the most hardy variety 

 of duck is the Rouen ; and from this cause it is 

 that they are frequently kept with a degree of 

 profit and success very rarely attained where 

 other kinds are preferred. 



Of- all kinds of ducks the Rouen seems the 

 most useful; and at the same time, there arc 

 very few parties who will not freely admit that 

 for beauty of plumage, few, if any, excel them. 

 They commence laying sooner in the spring 

 than any other ducks ; are infinitely more hardy 

 than the Aylesbury, even when kept on the same 

 farm ; and, indeed, bear well trials from keen 

 and inclement weather that would quickly de- 

 stroy all hopes of immediate benefit from the 

 more docile breeds. 



The Rouen ducks lay very freely if the eggs 

 are removed, and the eggs are readily incubated 

 by common hens; but for brood stock, ducks 

 should only be used for rearing them, or in after 

 time the drakes will be one of the most trouble- 

 some pests in the whole yard. It will be well 

 for new beginners to pay the fullest attention 

 to these last remarks, as it will prevent much 

 vexation and disappointment, and perhaps an 

 equally unfavorable ebullition of temper in them- 

 selves; therefore, except for killing, let the 

 ducks themselves watch their own offspring a 

 duty they will accomplish with carefulness, per- 

 severance, and success. The flavor of the Rouen 

 duck is really most excellent, being surpassed 

 by none others. Incredible weights have like- 

 wise been attained by some birds of this variety. 

 At one of the Birmingham shows, a drake and 

 three ducks of this kind were tested by the 

 judges with scales, against all other kinds tfien 

 present, and exceeded the most weighty of their 

 rivals by nearly four pounds; their own weight, 

 though then simply taken from the pond, with- 

 out any extra feeding, was twenty-six pounds 

 and three-quarters. 



