PREFACE 



Of all lines of poultry keeping, duck raising is 

 unique in that it lends itself to the greatest degree 

 of specialization and intensification along lines 

 which are purely commercial. On a comparatively 

 small area thousands of ducklings can be reared and 

 marketed yearly. The call for information con- 

 cerning the methods used by these commercial duck 

 raisers has been considerable, and since such in- 

 formation is not available in complete concise form 

 the present book has been prepared partly to fur- 

 nish just this information. 



The methods used by successful Long Island duck 

 raisers differ widely in some particulars and since 

 in the space at command, it has been impossible to 

 describe all the methods used, the plan has been 

 adopted of detailing in the main the methods of one 

 successful grower. This it is believed will prove to 

 be more helpful and less confusing than to attempt 

 to give the method of several different men. 



Much space has been given to the operations of 

 the commercial duck raisers but the fact is recog- 

 nized that the great bulk of the ducks entering into 

 the trade of the country is the product of small 



