Ii6 BIGGIE POULTRY BOOK. 



The Swan (Cygnus), first cousin of the duck and 

 the goose, is frequently referred to as the type of grace- 

 ful beauty in outline and motion. There are numer- 

 ous varieties, nearly all of them found in a wild state, 

 Formerly the bird was served at feasts on special 

 occasions, but it is now kept in private and public 

 parks solely for ornamental purposes. 



DUCK NOTES. 



Quack ! Quack ! ! Quack ! ! ! 



Harvest-hatched ducks make good spring layers. 



Ducklings will kill rose-bugs, and rose-bugs in large doses 

 will kill ducklings. 



Ducks being water-fowl are warm-blooded and like water, 

 but appreciate a dry floor to roost on. Having a water-tight 

 roof the floor can be kept in proper order with cut straw or 

 leaves and dry earth. The litter should be short. 



The sex of ducks can easily be distinguished by the quack. 

 The voice of the male is pitched in a high key and that of the 

 female in a low key ; the male has a larger head and thicker 

 neck and when in full feather one of the tail feathers is curled 

 backward. 



White clover sod does not make a good pasture for duck- 

 lings. Bees like white clover as well as ducklings, and conse- 

 quently the three get badly mixed up. The bee stings as he 

 goes down the duckling's throat on a clover head, and the career 

 of the bee and duckling both come to a sudden termination. 



SINGLE FILE. 



