ORNAMENTAL WATERFOWL. 25 
go to the pond, care being taken to provide means of ascent 
from the water, unless the bank be sufficiently sloping to 
permit of their easy exit. 
The following method of rearing Mandarin and Carolina 
ducklings was given to me by a French breeder who has been 
very successful during a score of years in raising the small 
ornamental varieties. 
It will be observed that this gentleman advocates the 
use of vermicelli for young birds, an opinion I can warmly 
endorse, for it is valuable both from its nutritious qualities and 
the readiness with which, from its shape, it is devoured by the 
birds. Maccaroni and all sorts of Italian paste are likewise 
acceptable to ducks, but it must not be forgotten that fine flour 
in so highly concentrated a form is too binding in its character 
to form the staple food, and should be used in conjunction 
with plenty of vegetables and other articles of diet of a more 
succulent character. 
Mr. Pottier Cohen’s method of rearing Mandarin Ducks 
is as follows, being a literal translation from his letter to me :— 
“‘The eggs are set under Bantam hens, which, after an experience 
of 20 years, I have found preferable to allowing the duck to sit herself, 
and by this means securing the laying of the second batch of eggs, which 
would not be the case were the duck employed in rearing her young after 
the moult.” 
““The day before the eggs are due to hatch, the nest should be 
surrounded (with boards or a piece of wire netting), for the ducklings when 
hatched are very active and would leave the nest of their own accord and 
be lost.” 
“Tt is necessary to use insect powder in the nest and among the 
feathers of the sitting hen in order to destroy the ‘‘ zcarzs,” a sort of tick, 
which is very detrimental to the health of the young bird. Every day I 
lift the hen from the eggs and feed her under a coop, where she finds food, 
drink, and a dust bath, covering the eggs in the meantime with a piece of 
woollen stuff.” 
‘*T allow her to be off for ten minutes, she is then replaced carefully 
on the eggs.” 
