POULTRY PRODUCTION AND POULTRY INDUSTRY 47 



States can at least be doubled without serious danger of 

 widely sweeping epidemics. 



As already noted, the one exception to the foregoing is 

 duck farming. While the total production of ducks declined 

 39.3 per cent, (see Table I) between 1900 and 1910, the farms 

 devoting their entire space to duck culture increased in 

 number and size. This was particularly true of New York, 

 it being the only state showing an increase in the number of 

 ducks at the taking of the last census. "There are many 

 plants in the eastern states growing from 5000 to 10,000 or 

 12,000 ducks a year, a number growing up to 20,000, and 

 some with an annual production of over 50,000. "^ This 

 has been carried on on a relatively large scale on Long Island 

 since prior to 1860. 



That this is possible is largely due to the comparatively 

 phlegmatic temperament of ducks, so that they are not so 

 quarrelsome as other sorts of poultry, coupled with their 

 lack of susceptibility to disease arising from filth in their 

 food or quarters. 



' Robinson, Principles and Practice of Poultry Culture. 



