MAiTAOlSMENT OF PUOKa. IW 



THE PAEM-YABD DUCK. 



This, among duoks, is what the ordinaiy dunghUl, or barn-door fowl, is among 

 ehiekeus, and is iar inferior to the Rouen, Aylesbury, Cayuga or Pekin breeds- 



THB LABRiVDOR, BI^OK EAST INDIAN OH BUENOS AYEBS DUOK. 



This duck is another instance of misapplication of geographical names, since 

 It is neither common in Labrador nor in the East Indies. The British Zoologi- 

 cal Society received its first specimens from Buenos Ayres, but this fact alone is 

 not sufficient evidence that they originated in that locality. 



This breed, by the curled feather in the tail of the drake, shows its relationship 

 to the Mallard, and is regarded merely as a variation of that species, although 

 its color is quite different, being of a deep, lustrous black throughout, in both 

 sexes. 



These ducks do not become so thoroughly domesticated but that they will take 

 long flights from the barn-yard in search of food or water, sometimes absenting 

 themselves for days together, but generally returning at the approach of night- 

 faU. 



In size tlie Buenos Ayres duck is very small, and among fanciers it and the 

 Call-ducks correspond to the Bantams among chickens, and are bred especially 

 for smallness of size. 



CALL-DUCKS. 



This name is given to two varieties of small domestic ducks, the white and the 

 gray ; both differing from the ordinary breeds in their small size. In color the 

 Gray Call should be an exact counterpart of the wild Mallard, and the White 

 Call should be pure white. Its bill, however, is not flesh-colored like that of 

 the Aylesbury, but is a clear, unspotted yellow, any other color disqualifying the 

 birds from competition in the show-pen. 



Call-ducks, as their name implies, are remarkable for their loud and continu- 

 ous quacking, in a shrill, high note, which renders them valuable to the sports- 

 man as decoy ducks, 



MANAGEMENT OF DUCKS. 



With regard to the management of the duck-yard we cannot do better than to 

 quote the following directions, written by Fanny Field for the Prairie Farmer : 



" Every farmer who has a pond or stream of water on his premises should 

 keep a few pairs of ducks, at least. As a rule, where there is any. market within 

 a reasonable distance of the farm, ducks andducklings maybe profitably reared. 

 Young ducks, in good condition, always command a good price in city markets, 

 their feathers sell at a good price, and the eggs for cooking, and a roast duok 

 occasionally, make tempting additions to the farmer's table. A good many 

 farmers, who live too far from market to render it profitable to raise ducks for 

 Bale, would find that it would pay to raise them for feathers, and for meat for 

 tiieir own tables. Where one is blessed with a family of children the entire 



