THE POULTRY BOOK. 
309 
white seems inclined to increase, we usually select them nearly or quite black for 
breeding. The duck has a faint green tint on the head, neck and wings. The 
drakes usually show more white markings than ducks, and the green tint on head 
and neck is more strongly marked. They differ from the East Indian and Buenos 
Ayres ducks very materially ; they are much larger, longer in body, and shorter in 
leg, better feeders, but are not so intense in colour ; indeed, beside the East 
Indian, the Cayuga looks brown. 
“When well fed, the duck begins to lay about April, and usually gives an egg 
every day until eighty or ninety are laid, when she will make her nest and sit, if 
allowed ; if not, will generally lay a litter in September . 
“ The Cayuga ducks are hardy, of good size, and for the table are superior to 
other ducks ; the flesh quite dark and high flavoured. If well fed, they become very 
fat ; can be readily made so fat they cannot raise themselves from the ground by 
their wings, a foot wide board keeping my ducks from my little trout-pond. My 
flock last year weighed : drakes 9 pounds, ducks 8 pounds, or 17 pounds the pair ; 
these are extreme weights, and only to be reached by careful feeding ; 12 to 14 
pounds the pair would be a good average. I once had a small flock that averaged 
at six months, 16 pounds the pair, but they had been forced to their utmost, and 
never gained weight after six months. The Cayuga duck is very quiet in its 
habits ; they are rarely able to rise from the ground, a fence one foot high will 
turn them ; they are not disposed to wander from home ; they commence laying 
about the last of March, and lay fifty to ninety eggs, when they wish to sit, which 
they do well, but they are careless mothers ; they cross readily with other ducks, 
and produce is certain.” 
If it were considered desirable to establish a breed of large black ducks in this 
country, it would hardly be requisite to send across the Atlantic for the variety. 
By mating large Buenos Ayres drakes with heavy Rouen ducks, such a breed 
might readily be produced, and, by careful selection of brood stock for a few gene- 
rations, would become firmly established. 
CALL DUCKS. 
The title of Call ducks is given to two small varieties of the domestic duck, 
that bear the same relation to the full-sized birds that Bantams do to ordinary 
fowls. They are known as the grey and the white Call ; they both differ from 
ordinary breeds in their very small size ; for show birds, the smaller the better. The 
shape of the head is also distinct ; they are most esteemed when possessing a full 
round forehead, with a broad short bill. In colour, the grey Call should be an exact 
counterpart of the Rouen and wild breeds, not only in plumage but also in legs, feet 
and bill. The white Call should be clothed in feathers of pure and unsullied white ; 
the bill, however, is not flesh-coloured, as that of the Aylesbury, but a bright 
clear unspotted yellow, any other colour being regarded as disqualifying the birds 
from success in a severe competition. 
Call ducks, as their name implies, are remarkable for their loud and continuous 
