DUCK DOLLARS 9 
How the Webers Started 
The Weber farm for the breeding of white Pekin ducklings of an 
advanced type consists of 100 acres, and is located in Wrentham, Nor- 
folk county, Mass., twenty-five miles south of Boston. It is now (1911) 
owned by two brothers, from forty to fifty years of age, named John and 
David. 
The work is divided between the two, and they have (September, 
IQ1I,) five hired men, not counting the expert duck pickers, five in 
number, who work by the piece. Seven hired men were employed up to 
the middle of August. John manages the care of the eggs and the 
incubators. David looks after 
the growing stock, sale of the 
feathers, and directs the kill- 
ing, picking and shipping. 
Mr. Weber, senior, his 
wife and the sons Henry, 
William, David and John 
came to America from Ger- 
many in 1868, and settled in 
Boston, where the family was 
increased by two girls. The 
father worked at the leather 
trade in Roxbury. In the old 
country, the family lived a 
rural life, and longed for it 
Old Weber Homestead here. The father looked for 
farms and a chance to do 
farming. He moved to Dorchester, a suburb of Boston, beyond Rox- 
bury, and worked at gardening. It was not until 1883 that he realized 
a long-cherished hope by locating in Norfolk county as a real farmer, 
with fifty-five acres to till, The son William was then in Chicago at 
work, David was in Boston in the leather business, Henry was also in 
Boston at work, leaving the youngest boy, John, at home with his sisters. 
The father first thought he could do best at truck farming. Later fifteen 
cows were kept and the milk sold to contractors. It was hard times, 
and the family managed to live but did not prosper. 
The start with poultry was in 1888, when. the father investigated 
white Pekin ducks. It was an experiment, and all the family was appre- 
hensive of failure. In spite of the necessity of the most 
rigid economy, Mr. Weber understood the vital import- 
ance of beginning with the best obtainable breeding 
stock. The ten ducks and two drakes, all white Pekins, 
together with the incubator, cost $175. They were bought of a duck 
breeder who lived a few miles from their home. This was thought to 
be a bit of folly, and the men folks had to “catch .t’” from their rela- 
Parent Stock, 
Ten Ducks, 
Two Drakes 
