Embden geese. At 26 days old the White Runners weighed one 

 pound each ; the Columbians of similar age weighed four ounces, 

 (one- fourth as much, notice!). Runners 60 days old weighed 

 three pounds each; Columbians 41 days old, the nearest in age 

 on hand, weighed less than a pound. The Embden weighed 

 tipped the scales at five pounds, when just about one month old. 

 I know of nothing else in the fowl line which grows so fast, espe- 

 cially considering that they are rather light eaters. 



Water fowl will eat cheaper foods than will hens, so that 

 the food question may, so to speak, be "dodged." There really 

 isn't any food question, as between growing chicks and growing 

 ducklings, when we consider the rapid gains made by the duck- 

 lings. If there were, it would be in favor of the ducks. The 

 three vital companion questions, to the farm, are the feed ques- 

 tion, the laying and the market. The Runner will settle the first 

 two if the farmer is good for the last. His salesmanship is the 

 one thing to be called in question, in the case of the Indian Run- 

 ners. 



W. W. Henry, a Virginia farmer, says: "I can give my 

 testimony as to its being entirely practical to handle a few ducks 

 with hens, where all are on good range, and to feed all alike on a 

 grain ration and get good results. I have seen Indian Runner 

 ducks up at night to feed with hens, and gone in the morning be- 

 fore they were fed, yet lay splendidly from the middle of Janu- 

 ary to August ; but, there was fine range and only about six ducks. 

 My birds commenced to lay on oats alone in October of this year 

 (1911). I have always had them with hens and now have some 

 46 ducks and about 200 hens and pullets. I get about 35 eggs a 

 day, and half of their feed is grain (oats and corn). The au- 

 thorities say the duck is not adapted to grain feeding, but I never 

 feed anything else in the November laying season. After I have 

 fed mash to young birds till they have good size, I then feed grain-. 



