RANKIN'S DUCK BOOK 



won first from Canada to the Gulf, and have never been de- 

 feated. Three times during the last 15 years we were obliged 

 to enlarge market boxes to accommodate the incrased size 01 

 our birds ; and yet we had bred only from our own stock. A 

 number of times I procured winning birds at the Pennsylvania 

 and Western State Fairs, with a view to a change of blood, 

 only to cast the birds aside on their arrival here, as I could 

 not breed from them without deteriorating my flock in size. 

 I thought if this was the result of artificial growing and of 

 in-breeding, I should keep right on. 



In-Breeding 



I always selected the very choicest and best from the 

 many I raised for breeding stock, and the result was a gradual 

 increase of size. I have seen many persons who, from a mis- 

 taken idea of introducing new blood, have reduced both the 

 size and quality of their stock. Let it be here understood 

 that a man who keeps but one drake and a few ducks is 

 breeding-in fast. But the one who keeps a thousand in differ- 

 ent yards can breed many years with- impunity, because the 

 intermingling of blood is exactly in inverse ratio to the num- 

 bers kept. I repeatedly heard prominent marketmen in New- 

 York and Boston say that my artificially-grown poultry, both. 

 in chicks and ducks, were the best that they ever handled. 



I was then breeding Pekins exclusively, and found the 

 business while growing them was far more profitable than 

 ever before, and accordingly increased my incubating and! 

 brooding capacity, and instead of growing 1,500 to 2,000 duck- 

 lings, grew from 10,000 to 20,000. This was done during the 

 early spring and summer, the machines and brooders being 

 used for early chicks during the winter. I had observed this, 

 during my experience with chicks, that crossing with the best 

 breeds always made better layers and better market birds than 

 either of the breeds from which they originated ; also, that the 

 first cross was always the best, and that continued breeding 

 from crosses is sure to deteriorate both in size and quality. 



Crossing 



I conceived the idea of procuring some of the best stock 

 possible of Rouens, Aylesburys, Cayugas, and crossing them 

 on the Pekins, with the object of increasing the size and pre- 

 cocity. I experimented first with Cayugas, and crossed both 

 ways, using both Pekin and Cayuga drakes, and, in order to 

 test the experiment fairly, the mongrel eggs were hatched in 

 the same machine, the young birds grown in the same yards,, 

 subjected to the same care and feed, with the Pekins. The 



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