CHAPTER XIII. 

 DUCKS. 



Ducks and rats do not thrive in the same house. Tim's Wife. 



A duck's appetite is as big as the feed din. Tim. 



The domestic duck is believed 



Spfc* to be a descendant of the Wild 



^^k. Mallard, the most common and 



numerous of the wild species. 



|ppr Four varieties are recognized in 



the "Standard of Perfection" the 



^-**mmiif;' Rouen, Cayuga, Aylesbury and 



Pekin. 



Rouens are regarded as a French breed and 

 appear to be the Mallard domesticated and enlarged 

 by selection and breeding. The pair seen in the fore- 

 ground in colored Plate XV, fairly represent the 

 shape and beautiful plumage in which this variety 

 is clothed. The standard weights of adult birds, male 

 and female, are nine and eight pounds respectively. 

 They are hardy and are prolific layers of large green- 

 ish eggs. 



The Cayuga is an American variety, jet-black in 

 plumage, supposed to have originated near Lake 

 Cayuga, New York, from a cross of Mallard and the 

 Wild Black, or Buenos Ayres duck. The standard 

 weights for these are eight and seven pounds respec- 

 tively. 



The Aylesbury is the favorite English variety. 

 The plumage is a pure " dead- white " throughout, the 



