young and most active. The size of yards, too, may have an in- 

 fluence on this especial characteristic. Small yards, which offer 

 no good starting point for strong flight, will often confine the 

 bird — any birds — much better than larger yards. That is, not 

 such high fences will be demanded. It is in the daily and yearly 

 learning of such things as these as they come along, that any 

 poultry raiser gets "knack" and accumulates a store of wisdom 

 on innumerable points which it is simply impossible to pass on in 

 entirety to any other worker. It is one point at a time usually. 



I think it was late in 1910, though I am not quite certain as 

 to the date, that a breeder in the east sent a trio of English-bred 

 Indian Runners to the Government Experiment Station of Porto 

 Rico, for experimental purposes. It is quite time some one in 

 authority was doing something with these ducks, on this side of 

 the Atlantic ocean. For, if the things which Indian Runner 

 breeders have been saying have been untrue, they would result in 

 uncounted waste of money for the thousands of farmers who will 

 try them. Whereas, if they can be proved true by some of those 

 in whom the farming contingent have confidence, it will mean 

 hundreds of thousands of dollars for the farmer's pockets. We 

 know positively that breeders in this country, even women on the 

 farms, are mjiking hundreds of dollars from their Indian Run- 

 ners each year. On the date of January 36, 1911, I received a 

 circular from one such woman, claiming that her ducks were 

 made to average over ten dollars each in eight months. It is not 

 likely that this was from market eggs, however. But with a yield 

 of 180, and a price of 35c, the gross income would be more than 

 half this amount. The need at present is for some Experiment 

 Station here to make an exhaustive test of both types of Indian 

 Runners for the benefit of the American farmer, on the market 

 egg basis. 



A farmer who believes thoroughly in Penciled Runners, sent 

 a pen to the Missouri Station, for entry in the National Competi- 



57 



