As to substituting milk for meat, a very successful feeder 

 tells me that he regards bone as more essential than meat. Milk 

 is safer than meat, because meat is so uneven in quality and often 

 poor, but he would use bone in connection with milk. I regard 

 this as an extremely valuable suggestion. 



If a single article of food were to be mentioned as of moi"e 

 value to duck breeders than any other, doubtless it would be 

 bran. Bran, however, differs, in these times, from the older mill 

 product, and modern brans are not all alike. I wish to impress 

 ■especially the need of securing a good grade of feeding stuffs for 

 ■ducks. Tainted meat, or moldy ground stuff will work quick 

 liavoc with ducklings, at almost any age. Some time ago, a cor- 

 respondent wrote to inquire what could be done for the duck- 

 lings, which had suddenly begun to die by the score and almost 

 by the hundred. Every possible point of failure was canvassed, 

 but handling seemed to be correct upon all, till we came to the 

 question of spoiled food. Then it came out that a mill which had 

 been relied upon, was putting out a product made from grains 

 that had virtually become rotted in the fields. 



Ducks have a desirable quality in the fact that they will not 

 eat when really sick, and thus they have some chance to recover. 

 The universal testimony is that a duck well-hatched is as good as 

 raised, after one gets the knack, and the chief difficulty in raising 

 ducks inheres in their greedy desire to gorge themselves, combined 

 with neglect, by their owner, to make sure that they always have 

 water to help them at this weak point. Dry feed and withheld 

 water are the duck's worst combination foe. Considerable can 

 be done to ward off trouble by soaking the cracked corn which is 

 used, for an hour or so before feeding it. (The only point to 

 watch out against is letting it ferment in extreme warm weather.) 

 Being then swollen before it is eaten, it will not make trouble by 

 swelling after being eaten. The duck has no crop proper, like 

 the hen. The feed is passed into the stomach, and thence 



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