DUCK DOLLARS 81 
ought to; that is just the way the finest eggs, poultry, butter, etc., are 
sold, at the highest prices. 
Q.—I dislike the idea of killing the ducklings. Can I sell them 
alive? A.—Yes. There are thousands of poultrymen in the business of 
picking up birds alive from farmers, and marketmen everywhere who 
will take them alive. 
Q.—I do general farming. Do you think I can grow the foods your 
ducks eat and do better feeding them to ducks than selling them sepa- 
rately? A—Yes, you can get much more for them in the form of duck 
meat. If breeders make big profits with ducks by buying everything, 
as we do, those farmers who have to buy only a part of the ration, rais- 
ing the most of it, will make more money. ~ 
Q.—Instead of buying so much food stuff, why don’t you raise it on 
your farm? A.—We wish to have our time free for the ducks and do not 
care to be busy at general farming, as we are satisfied with the profit on 
ducks from feeding bought food. We grow vegetables and green stuff 
for our needs, as that is no trouble. 
Q.—What is the proper time for killing ducklings? A.—From ten 
weeks to three months of age. Keep them longer and they eat off the 
profits every day. The average farmer or housewife raising ducks for 
amusement by guesswork does not realize that. The age of ten to twelve 
weeks represents the maximum of plumpness and tenderness with the 
minimum of expense. After that age, the plumpness and tenderness 
decrease and the cost of keep is being added to all the time. 
Q.—I read what you say, that worms are fine for ducks and save on 
the grain bill. Why not raise worms? Is any treatise published on 
propagating worms? Guess you will think I am joking. A.—Don’t 
know of any worm guide. ’ Would advise that you try the method seen 
in Belgium, where there is considerable swampy land. It is not uncom- 
mon there to find a duck raiser walking in the swampy land at the head 
of a flock of ducks, his wooden shoes at every stride squeezing out of 
the muck worms which the ducks gobble greedily—a sort of automatic 
self-feeding, non-paying scheme. 
Q.—Is there anything gained by breeding a small duck? A relative 
of mine living near here who did some duck breeding a few years ago 
used to get a good price for small ducklings, and said his dealer sold 
them quicker than bigger ducklings. A.—About ten years ago, some 
hotel and restaurant men in New York -went to their duck and poultry 
markets, and said: We don’t want you to give us too large a duckling. 
We get a good price now on our bills of fare, and we wish from you 
(so we can make all the money possible) a medium-sized bird. When 
half of a medium-sized bird gets on to the table, it certainly will be large 
enough for one or two people. A whole big duckling is large enough 
for a family dinner. Keep the size down so they will cost us less and 
make us more money.” The duck marketmen evidently did not argue 
the matter much. They passed the word along to the breeders in the 
territory south and west of New York, where most of the ducks then 
were being produced, and these breeders, to’ please their trade, actually 
began to breed for smaller size. Before long they were shipping to 
market ducks weighing not more than four pounds. The result was what 
