DUCK DOLLARS 21 
either by a sitting hen or by an artificial incubator. Orders for such 
fertilized eggs are taken in advance from October on, but they cannot 
be delivered until about the first of February, because duck eggs are not 
fertile when laid in November and December. The 
buyer, if he wishes to do business the following spring, November 
should place his order for eggs beginning October st. Eggs et 
His order will be placed on file by the duck breeder and Hensile 
the eggs shipped when ready from February 1st on. If the beginner 
waits until January to June before placing his order for eggs, he will get 
them delivered right away if the breeder has them for sale. It is a fact, 
however, that the number of duck eggs for hatching offered each year 
is comparatively small, and many late buyers are disappointed. If you 
read this for the first time in July or August, better not 
start at ducks until the following spring, when the eggs 
will be at their highest fertility. Use up the fall months 
in building and getting ready. 
Duck eggs for hatching are shipped by express after careful packing 
in a carton or box made for this purpose. The package is stamped 
“Handle with care. Keep from freezing.” It is the experience of egg 
shippers that, as a rule, they are handled with care and are kept from 
freezing, and the traffic is large and successful. The express cars are 
heated, and the eggs have no chance to freeze there. A temperature of 
from fifteen degrees to thirty-two degrees Fahrenheit | ooK out 
would have no effect on the eggs in their well-packed They Don’t 
container, in any event, unless continued for two or three Freeze 
days. The only danger is, that an ignorant or careless expressman at 
destination, with the mercury zt or below zero to fifteen degrees above, 
would leave them on the depot platform for twenty-four to thirty-six 
hours. This must be avoided. A good way, after you have ordered 
the eggs, and after you have been notified by the shipper of the date 
of shipment, is to go to your express agent and tell him that you 
have some duck eggs coming about such and such a time. Ask him 
to take them inside his office when they arrive, and tell him why. 
Ask him to notify you on arrival by telephone, and then you go your- 
self to the depot and get your eggs. Or, if you live in a city or 
town where the express company has a wagon delivery, ask him 
to get them to you as soon as possible after the train 
is in, and offer to pay him a little extra for such prompt ce 
service. Remember, you cannot recover from the Quickly 
express company for freezing or breakage. All such risk is borne by 
you. Another point: Suppose after putting the eggs through your 
incubator, or under your sitting hen, you hatch out only a few, or have 
some other misadventure with them, you may feel that it is not your 
fault, and may try to collect damages of the egg shipper, but no egg 
shipper is legally bound to pay such a claim. It is a risk incidental to 
the business, which you must take. It may be the fault of your incu- 
bator, the lamp, ventilation, or of yourself or hired man, or a 
dozen other causes. It is true, also, that it may be the fault of the 
eggs, that they were not laid by good, rugged stock, and not properly fer- 
Start in the 
Spring 
