280 



THE AMERICAN POULTERER'S COMPANION. 



in the various races of fowls, and even to a 

 greater extent than appear in geese. These 

 varieties may be thus stated : 



The Rouen duck, 

 The Aylesbuiy duck, 

 The Common duck, 



The Muscovy duck, 



The Crested duck, 



The Buenos-Ayrean duck. 



We give precedence to the Rouen duck, be- 

 cause we believe that, under ordinary circum- 

 stances, it will be found the most profitable* va- 

 riety. Its plumage, moreover, is of great rich- 

 ness. The latter, we will admit, is a point of 

 minor consideration in a bird whose merits 

 must be weighed by its value as an econom- 

 ical inhabitant of the poultry-yard; but where 

 both these recommendations can be combined, 

 there are few persons who would not be desir- 

 ous of so uniting them. 



Ducks generally are very prolific in eggs. 

 Mowbray says they are good layers (one, the 

 property of Mr. Morell, laid an egg every day 

 for eighty-five successive days), and that a duck 

 has been known to lay, in the autumn, dur- 

 ing forty-six nights in succession, after which 

 she continued to lay every other night. " The 

 Rouen duck," say the authors of the " Poultry 

 Book," " has usually been 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 be- 

 fore their moult has been completed : in this 

 respect, indeed, they resemble the Shanghai 

 fowl. With some cessation in mid-winter, they 

 recommence in January and February, at a pe- 

 riod when others of their species have only just 

 begun. Even the young ducks of the year are 

 singularly prolific ; some of our own, hatched 

 this March (1853), laid in the latter part of Au- 

 gust, and have continued giving us three or four 

 eggs per week to the present time (October)." 



" We have one Rouen drake and three ducks," 

 says Mr. Punchard ; " the latter commenced 

 laying in February (1853), and up to July laid 

 334 eggs, besides a few soft, and five double 

 ones. One of the ducks laid every morning for 

 ninety-two consecutive days, and never desired 

 to sit." 



Like those varieties of fowls that pass by the 

 name of "Everlasting -layers" such as the 

 Spanish, the Polish, and the Hamburgs the 



production of eggs is the object to which the 

 natural powers of the Rouen duck are mainly 

 directed. 



The egg of the duck is by some people very 

 much relished, having a rich flavor, which gives 

 it a decided superiority over the egg of the com- 

 mon fowl ; and these qualities render it much 

 in request with the pastry-cook and confection- 

 er three duck eggs being equal, in culinary 

 value, to six hen eggs. 



The duck possesses many excellent qualities. 

 They were great favorites with the ancients, 

 from the mildness and simplicity of their char- 

 acter, from their great fecundity, and from the 

 cheapness and ease with which they are pro- 

 vided for. The feathers of the white sort are 

 excellent, and will compare favorably with those 

 of the goose. 



The inoffensive and harmless character, the 

 social and conversational qualities of ducks, 

 render them not only pleasant but profitable 

 birds to keep; and the contrast between them 

 and chickens, in their nature and habits, is much 

 in their favor. The manners and actions of the 

 duck, whether upon land or water, are curious 

 and pleasant. Their regular afternoon parade 

 and march in single line, the elder drakes and 

 ducks in front, from the pond homeward, is a 

 beautiful country spectacle, to be enjoyed by 

 those who have a relish for the charms of sim- 

 ple nature. A parcel of ducks, which had been 

 accustomed to their liberty, were, for some par- 

 ticular reasons, shut up for several hours. On 

 the door of their house being opened they rush- 

 ed out, threw themselves into rank-and-file, 

 soldier-like, and marched, with rather a quick 

 step, three or four times round a certain space, 

 constantly bowing their heads to the ground, 

 then elevating them and fluttering their wings ; 

 the ceremony finished, they quietly adjourned 

 to the water. We have laughed a thousand 

 times at the conceit with which our boyish im- 

 agination was impressed ; namely, that the act 

 we had witnessed was nothing less than a duck- 

 ish thanksgiving for their deliverance. 



Of the kind and social nature of the duck, 

 the following is related by Mowbray: "We had 

 drawn off for the table the whole of a lot of 

 ducks, one excepted. This duck immediately 



