3l6 THE BEGINNER IN POULTRY 



nine. A claim of three hundred thirty-four eggs has 

 been attached to a certain Massachusetts hen in this 

 country. This and the above claims for the Indian 

 Runner duck are the highest laying claims I have ever 

 seen. The " Record Duck " had six descendants in 

 public competition and making fine records of their 

 own at last advices. Between this three hundred twenty 

 egg claimed record, which no Runner breeder would 

 think of looking at as possible to the average commer- 

 cial worker, and the one hundred fifty egg known relia- 

 ble record for these ducks kept in large flocks, there is 

 a painfully wide margin, somewhere along which the 

 average worker would probably land. The most fre- 

 quent claim for pens of half-a-dozen or so is in the neigh- 

 borhood of one hundred eighty per duck (I have known 

 of averages above two hundred in ■ this country). 

 This ought to insure a profit of two dollars or over for 

 each duck kept, and, as the losses are few after the easy 

 trick of handling is learned, it offers a good chance to 

 those who have proper facilities. This duck seems to 

 have appealed especially to the women, and there are 

 numbers of them in the country already who are earn- 

 ing a good living for their families from these ducks 

 alone. 



Not long ago, I had some correspondence with a Vir- 

 ginia farmer to whom I offered a discount on a book I 

 was selling. He replied that he could make all the 

 money he wanted from his Indian Runners, and that if 

 he handled my book he would like to do it without 

 profit for the sake of his customers. 



If one were to raise waterfowl for the feathers espe- 

 cially, the white varieties like Pekins, Aylesburys, White 



