&4 DUCK DOLLARS. 
gravelly, will be drained better than low, level land. It ought not to be 
possible for pools of water to form and get stagnant. 
Q.—You say that in the winter-time, to save labor in the morning, 
the food is mixed at night. How do you mix it? A.—In mixing the food 
by hand, use a common, ordinary square shovel and a box. The most 
convenient size of box will be found to be six feet long, thirty inches 
wide and two feet deep, set on legs about eighteen inches high, and 
holding thirty-five to forty pailfuls of food. 
Q.—You say that the mark of the sex in the drake is a curl feather 
in the tail. I have some drakes with two curl feathers in the tail. 
A.—Certainly; drakes are seen with two curl feathers in the tail, although 
sometimes one or both are missing. 
Q.—You give some details as to watering. Please give further 
details. .A.—Ducks saved for breeders, and on a grass range, are fed 
twice a day, morning and evening. They should be watered more often 
during the day in warm weather. It is a good plan to keep cool water 
before the breeders all the time. We say on page 31 that they can be 
watered five times a day in addition to the two times at which they are 
fed. We do not mean by this that one should be continually carrying 
water to them, but that the object to be attained is to keep cool water 
before the breeders nearly continuously. 
Q.—On care of breeding stock, you say to feed the mixture as soon 
as it is mixed. Why? A.—During the summer it is a good plan not 
to mix the food until it is needed, as it is apt to get sour. In the winter, 
to save labor in the morning, you can mix at night and have it all ready 
to feed in the morning. 
Q.—Some tell me that the down from ducks can be marketed sepa- 
rately from the feathers. Is this so, and does it pay? A.—The process 
requires special machinery and is not practiced except by feather mer- 
chants and feather renovators. We never heard of a duck breeder sepa- 
rating the down from the feathers, 
Q.—I would thank you if you could give me good directions for 
picking ducks wet, or by scalding, as this is the method followed in 
this section where all of the ducks and poultry are shipped to the New 
York market. A.—Picking ducks by the scalding method is very easy 
after a little practice and experiment. If you are in doubt, go to your 
butcher or poultryman and he will tell you further; and, perhaps, you 
can watch him while he scalds a hen or a duck and picks it. 
Q.—Your feed directions say one pailful is sufficient for thirty ducks. 
Is the size of the pail ten, twelve or sixteen quarts or more? A.—Ten 
quarts. If you use a twelve or fourteen-quart pail, do not fill it to the 
top. 
Q.—Would a good grade of what we term shorts take the place of 
low-grade flour? A—Yes; flour is used principally to make the feed 
hold together. In details like this, methods of feeding different from ours 
will give profitable results. Use the food materials which you have in 
your state. 
Q.—How few ducks need a light at night? 4.—Twenty. The more 
ducks one keeps in a flock, the more noisy and restless they are in the 
dark. 
