148 THE DUCK. 



CHAPTER XII. 



The Duck. Domesticated Species. Mallard. Muscovy. 

 Wood Duck. Best Mode of fattening them. Canvass-back 

 Duck. Attempts to Domesticate it. 



OF the forty-five species of ducks found 

 in Europe and America, but three have been 

 domesticated, and of these only two have 

 been so completely tamed as to be rendered 

 subservient to the uses of man. These two 

 are, 



1. Anas boschas, or Mallard, the stock 

 )f our common tame duck, and, 



2. Anas (Gymnathus) moschata, Muscovy 

 Duck, improperly so called, for it is exclu- 

 sively a native, in its wild state, of the 

 tropical regions of America. 



The other, not so completely domestica- 

 ted, is the 



3. Anas sponsa, Wood or Summer Duck, 

 remarkable for its gaudy plumage. 



Of the common tame duck there are sev- 



* 



eral varieties, but the most profitable are 



