Rouen Ducks. 539 



are from twenty to thirty feet high, and well ventilated. The weight of the drake is considered 

 good at nine pounds and the duck at eight pounds, but these weights are rather exceptional, 

 and many persons consider seven pounds a fair average. I once exhibited a pen of three birds 

 that weighed thirty-two pounds when they left home, and even when judged at Birmingham, 

 where they won the cup (extra prize), still weighed thirty pounds. These were the heaviest pen 

 I ever had." 



In America yellow bills are considered permissible for Aylesbury Ducks, though in England 

 tantamount to disqualification. There is a reason for this in the great power of the summer sun 

 on the birds' if let out in the United States, while the heat is too great to keep them in. Under 

 these circumstances it is almost impossible to keep the bills pale, unless under exceptionally 

 advantageous conditions, such as having the run of a thick wood ; the rule is, therefore, 

 relaxed almost of necessity. 



THE ROUEN DUCK, as we have already stated, almost exactly resembles the Wild Duck, 

 or Mallard, in its plumage, but has by domestication lost the light and graceful shape of its 

 ancestor, in exchange for a thicker and heavier build and greater aptitude to fatten. For a long 

 time this variety was always inferior to the Aylesbury in weight at Birmingham Show— that great 

 test of relative claims— but years ago they began again* to approach the old champion breed, then 

 equalled it, and finally a few years since passed it ; since which Rouens have weighed heaviest on 

 every occasion we can remember. For farmers, and perhaps in the average of circumstances, we 

 bdieve the Rouen is the most profitable breed ; though owing to its later periods of breeding and 

 of maturity it is not so well adapted for the peculiar London trade previously described. 



For our notes on this breed we must again express our obligations to Mr. J. K. Fowler. 



" The Rouen Duck, which is only second to the Aylesbury as a celebrity amongst our domes- 

 ticated water-fowl, most probably, as its name suggests, came originally from the city of Rouen, 

 in Normandy ; though some ingenious persons have tried to show that the name should be ' roan,' 

 and think that it was so called on account of its colour ; though why that particular colour should 

 be pitched upon from the many various ones its plumage contains it is hard to guess. It is far 

 more probable that it is correctly called 'Rouen,' and that 'roan' is a corruption; for we know what 

 quantities of poultry are raised in France, and Normandy is the most celebrated of the French 

 provinces in this respect. We have, however, no proof that the breed of ducks in question are 

 especially the product of Rouen, though you may always see a large number of them, or, at any 

 rate, birds closely resembling them, for sale in the market-place of that glorious old city. 



"They are not less hardy than the Aylesburys, but do not come to maturity quite so early. 

 Their flesh is very delicate, and they can be made to fatten to quite as great a weight as the 

 Aylesburys. In appearance they should resemble as closely as possible the common Mallard, or 

 Wild Duck ; but the breast of the drake must now be of a deeper claret-brown colour. The 

 following points in respect of colour must be attended to for exhibition purposes : the drake 

 should have a clear bill of yellow, with a slight greenish tinge ; a bright yellow is objectionable, 

 and, on the other hand, a leaden colour is a fatal defect. The shape of the bill should be as 



* We say "began again," because Mr. Hewitt writes us that many years ago he beat all other ducks in weight with Rouens. 

 "At several of the earliest Birmingham Shows," he says, " I exhibited Rouens that not only won in their own class, but outweighed 

 all other ducks. Emulous to see what weight I could attain, I purposely fed up with milk and Scotch oatmeal, and exhibited a 

 pen of two ducks and a drake at thirty-two and a quarter pounds, being about five and a half pounds heavier than the same ducks 

 were the preceding year. This overfeeding caused them, even when reduced to breeding condition, to ever afterwards lay shell-less 

 eggs, and from that time not a duckling was raised from them— a tolerable caution against excessive feeding." 



