rear them, so as to be early in the spring of the year, 
find it worth their attention ; the chickens seliino; at a 
good price, and at an early state of their growth ; the 
eggs also of these fowl, produce considerable profit. 
In November, 1807, eggs were sold at Stourport at 2d. 
each, as well as in many other places. 
The gallinse, or guinea fowl, are also very prolific, 
and their eggs much admired ; they have a wild fowl 
appearance; their flesh is also much esteemed by some 
people, who fancy in taste it resembles that Of the 
pheasant. 
4. DUCKS. 
The breeding of ducks is not so much attended to as 
it ought to be, in particular when we consider the great 
use they are of to grass lands, and more so to culti¬ 
vated vegetables, in cleaning them from worms, snails, 
and insects. A gentleman who resided two years in 
China, told me, (says Mr. Carpenter) that it is the 
custom of the Chinese, to keep very large flocks of 
ducks to devour certain reptiles common in that coun¬ 
try, and which would otherwise destroy the crops of 
rice, and I experienced the benefit of the information ; 
for one year I had a field of flax of about six acres so 
covered with the slug worm, that the crop was, in many 
parts, like to be destroyed; these fat slug worms do 
almost all the mischief in the night, or early in the 
morning, and in an hour or two after day light appears 
they retire into their holes. To put a stop to thefr de¬ 
predations, I sent about one hundred ducks of the com¬ 
mon sort amongst them, and bargained with a man to 
attend 
