192  Notes  on  Continental  Poultry-keeping. 
of  oats,  barley,  and  buckwheat,  with  bran  given  in  the  form  of 
bran  mash,  pollards  and  middlings  being  sometimes  added.  In 
many  cases  ducks  are  kept  entirely  on  wheaten  bran  and  water. 
It  may  be  useful  to  English  poultry  breeders  to  know  that 
scalded  bran  in  winter  given  to  fowls  is  a cheap  way  of  increas- 
ing the  animal  heat,  and  materially  increases  the  production  of 
eggs.  In  Poitou,  where  no  special  attention  is  given  to  poultry 
raising,  it  is  customary  to  feed  the  young  ducks  and  geese  on 
boiled  nettles,  as  well  as  on  the  young  leaves  of  the  elm  and  the 
lime,  mixed  with  curds,  the  nettle  being  often  specially 
cultivated  for  the  purpose. 
“ Hardly  a menu  in  Paris  is  complete  without  the  word 
chapon.  Whilst  a great  many  real  capons  find  their  rvay  to 
Paris,  it  is  certain  that  a large  proportion  of  so-called  capons 
are  merely  cockerels  which  have  not  been  operated  on.  How- 
ever, there  is  no  doubt  that  the  operation  is  much  practised,  as 
it  is  found  that  capons  fatten  more  rapidly  than  cockerels. 
The  operation  is  performed  mostly  by  unskilled  and  self-taught 
peasant  women — female  fingers  being  smaller  and  better  suited 
for  such  delicate  work — and  a very  small  proportion  of  the 
birds  is  lost.  At  the  same  time  it  is  not  an  operation  which 
should  be  attempted  without  practical  instruction  from  an  ex- 
perienced person.  Full  details  of  the  French  system  of  caponisingp 
are  given  in  Tegetmeier’s  ‘ Poultry  Book,’  and  an  American, 
calling  himself  ‘ Farmer  Miles,’  has  lately  been  given  instruc- 
tion in  the  operation  in  England.  Capons  are  sometimes  used 
for  bringing  up  young  chickens. 
“ Duclair  ducks  having  attracted  some  attention  in  England, 
and  being  thought  by  some  persons  to  be  a distinct  variety,  it 
may  be  as  well  to  mention  that,  while  they  have  a great  reputa- 
tion for  early  laying  and  early  maturing,  they  have  all  the 
appearance  of  bad  Rouens,  with  which  variety  they  evidently 
have  close  affinity.  Their  colour  is  a black  brown  with  white 
breasts,  the  drakes  having  green  beaks  and  the  ducks  black. 
They  breed  tolerably  true  to  feather,  but  are  apt  to  throw  white 
flights,  which  are  not  admissible. 
“ In  the  coloured  atlas,  entitled  ‘ La  France  Agricole,’  by 
M.  Gustave  Heuze,  the  following  numbers  are  given  for  the 
whole  of  France,*  viz.  : — 
Fowls 42,856,790 
Geese  3,881,557 
Turkeys  1,760,506 
Ducks 3,610,841 
“The  best  book  on  French  fowls  is  by  M.  C.  Jacque,  and  is 
* These  numbers  arc  taken  from  the  last  published  Agricultural  Census  of 
France. — II.  M.  J. 
