376 Letters, Extracts, Announcements, &e. 
called Tanghsichén, 50 /i north-west of Hangchow, the people 
of which are currently believed to possess a secret in Cormo- 
rant-rearing which gives them special success. 
“The Cormorant’s book-name is Lu tzu, and the common 
name is Yu ying (‘fish-hawk’) or Yi ya (‘ fish-crow’). 
“The females lay yearly from three to nine eggs, in the 
first and eighth moons. The colour of the eggs is green, but 
it is much covered with white chalk; their size is that of 
ducks’ eggs. The white inside is slightly green, and the 
eggs are never eaten, on account of their strong flavour. 
“The eggs of the first season (first moon) are the only 
ones retained for hatching. Towards the beginning of the 
second moon they are given to the hens to hatch, as the 
female Cormorant is a careless mother. The young break 
their shell after a month’s incubation. When new born they 
cannot stand on their legs, and are very sensitive to cold. 
They are.therefore taken away from the hen, placed in baskets 
filled with cotton wool, and kept in a warm place. The eggs 
of the second season are not used, the weather being too cold ; 
they are given away to children and beggars. 
“The young birds are at first fed with a mixture, in equal 
parts, of beancurd and raw eel’s flesh cut fine. If eels are 
not procurable, the flesh of the Hei yit (Ophiocephalus niger) 
is used instead, in the form of small pills. At the end of a 
month the down begins to be covered by the larger feathers, 
and the quantity of fish-flesh given to them is increased, while 
that of beancurd is reduced. A second month elapses, and 
the young birds, having grown to double their original size, 
are fit for the market; a male fetches $1 or $2, and a 
female half as much. 
“The birds are now fed with young fish thrown to them. 
When they have attained their full size, a string is tied to 
one leg, the other end of it being fastened to the bank of a 
pond or canal. They are then made to go into the water, 
the trainer whistling a peculiar call and using a bamboo to 
force them. Small fish are thrown them, upon which they 
pounce greedily, as they have been kept on short allowance 
of food. They are now called back by a different whistle- 
