CHICKEKS AND DUCKLINGS. 229 



the first week of June, when green peas may be 

 confidently looked for as their natural accom- 

 paniment. For a fortnight keep the hen cooped 

 on grass, giving the ducklings access to a small 

 enclosure — temporary, of course, as it must be 

 moved daily. Feed with soft food — groats 

 thrown into a shallow dish kept always full of 

 water, in which may be a fresh turf ; a little 

 buckwheat, linseed, and hemp-seed, with crusts 

 of bread — all, when well soaked, are greedily 

 devoured by ducklings. I prefer a hen to a 

 duck mother, as being more easily managed, and 

 not requiring a daily bath. Goslings can also 

 be reared successfully under hens, and the earliest 

 eggs (three to each hen) should be set as soon 

 as laid, leaving the latest for the goose herself. 

 The Toulouse breed lays freely, sometimes thirty 

 eggs before showing any inclination to sit. They 

 are fond of all green food — cabbage, lettuce, 

 spinach, &c., in addition to soft food and grain. 

 The goose mother is very exclusive, and is jealous 

 of any interference with her young, and though 

 careful, and seldom losing any by iUness. or acci- 

 dent, she cannot, owing to her wandering habits 



