Il6 BIGGI.E: POULTRY BOOK. 



The Swan (Cygutis), 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 s/ioi t. 



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. 



X. 



