57o 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
August 5 
LONG ISLAND DUCKS. 
Breeders and their Methods. 
(EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.) 
(Concluded ) 
The Feed. —The most important mat¬ 
ter is the feeding of the young ducks. 
The aim is to crowd them all they *will 
possibly stand, in order that they reach 
marketable weight at an early age. Still, 
care must be taken that the food is just 
right, and that the point of overfeeding 
is not passed, or the ducks will become 
sick, and loss will result. Long experi¬ 
ence is necessary to get just the right 
proportions and amounts of feeds to se¬ 
cure best results. Some breeders will not 
give away the secret of their rations, as 
they claim that it has cost them much 
time and money and labor to learn these, 
and that they are not justified in giving 
the results to others. But even though 
a beginner were given just the proper 
rations, it would require skill, practice 
and study, in order to know that the 
right results were being reached. 
Mr. Hallock feeds his young ducks, 
when first taken from the incubators, a 
mixture of about one-third by measure 
of bran, corn meal, and Red Dog flour. 
Tnis is thoroughly mixed with water 
enough to make it crumbly, and fed 
about four times a day, all they will 
eat clean. They are fed on board trays 
or troughs; some of them on sacks 
spread down in the pens. After they 
have finished eating, these are taken up 
and cleaned, so that none is left over. 
After about a week or two, meat meal 
is added to the ration, and about the 
same time, Eel grass chopped up in the 
troughs is also mixed in. This Eel grass 
furnishes a very cheap green food, as 
the only expense connected with it is 
gathering it from the inlets near by. 
The ducks eat it ravenously, and Mr. 
Hallock says that ducks would live on 
it, and do well, with no other food, al¬ 
though it would take a great deal of it 
to satisfy them. Eel grass is put into 
the mixing trough, and chopped up with 
a shovel; as it is very tender, it is very 
little work to do this and it is thus 
mixed with the soft feed. Clean sand 
is also mixed with the feed of the ducks. 
This ration is fed practically until the 
ducks are ready to kill. 
One experience of Mr. Hallock’s shows 
the great importance of pure feed. The 
effort is always made to get the very 
best meat scrap, meal and bran, and 
there is a great difference in these feeds 
on the markets. The point is to get the 
best. At one time, a lot of ducks were 
sick, and off their feed; they were dying, 
and no cause could be discovered. All 
the ingredients of the soft feed were 
thoroughly examined, and found to be 
all right, and it was a mystery as to the 
source of the trouble. Finally, one day 
the feeder happened to catch the odor 
from the sand they were using, and 
found that it was very foul; it had been 
dug out of the bottom of the creek near 
where the ducks had run, and was sup¬ 
posed to be all right, but it proved that 
the leachings from the duck yards had 
flowed down over it, and rendered it im¬ 
pure, and this resulted in the trouble 
mentioned. The throwing out of this, 
and the substitution of perfectly clean, 
pure sand remedied the difficulty. 
The young chicks are fed very much 
the same feed as the ducks receive dur¬ 
ing the first few weeks, and afterwards 
they are given wheat screenings. These 
are usually dug into the soil of the yard, 
so that they have to scratch for them. 
He has sometimes used green corn to 
mix with the duck feed, cutting it up 
into very short lengths, but he says that 
the Eel grass is much handier and 
cheaper, as it costs nothing but the gath¬ 
ering, and he thinks it is better. 
The Bedding. —The bottoms of the 
pens are covered with straw or salt hay, 
and this is thoroughly cleaned out very 
frequently. Mr. Hallock has tried planer 
shavings for this purpose, but finds them 
very unsatisfactory. He says that he 
believes that about as good litter for the 
pens as any is pure sand, which can be 
swept and cleaned out very easily. 
As soon as the feathers are grown, 
the ducks are removed from the brooder 
house to pens that extend into the 
water. Here they are left until large 
enough for market, when they are sorted 
out and killed. The very best and 
strongest specimens are usually kept for 
breeders, and as there are such large 
numbers to select from, it goes without 
saying that the selections are good, 
strong ducks. Mr. Hallock has set a lot 
of maple trees along the shore of the 
inlet through all his duck yards, and 
these are making rapid growth. He says 
that he is going to have plenty of shade 
there in a few years. I asked him why 
he didn’t set fruit trees instead, but he 
said that few of the fruits do well with 
them so close to the shore, and maples 
are the most satisfactory of any trees 
for the purpose. The water in the inlet 
at the point where the duck yards are 
located is fresh enough for drinking 
purposes, unless it may be a very high 
tide. It comes from springs above, and 
is quite cold. 
Pure Water Important. —An experi¬ 
ence which Mr. Hallock had with some 
chickens shows the importance of pure 
water for poultry. A large yard of 
chickens were sickening, and some of 
them died. The feed was thoroughly 
examined and found to be all right in 
every particular. The trouble seemed to 
be inexplicable. Finally, by accident, in 
a thicket the remains of an old stump 
had been found; the inside had rotted 
out, forming a basin; in this rain water 
had fallen until it had formed a stag¬ 
nant pool. From this, the chickens had 
been drinking. The hollow was cleaned 
out and filled with clean sand, so that 
the chickens could not use it as a 
drinking fountain any more. The trou¬ 
ble disappeared within a very few days. 
The stagnant water had been like so 
much poison. 
Killing and Picking. —It requires 
considerable experience to know just 
when a duck is at the right stage for 
market. Some reach the proper condi¬ 
tion at nine weeks of age, some 10, 
and some 11. They are killed by stick¬ 
ing in the mouth, are scalded and picked 
by pickers, who receive five cents apiece. 
A good picker will pick 40 or 50 ducks, 
and sometimes more, in a day, and 
usually a day’s work ends early, so that 
the ducks may be cooled and packed for 
shipping. Formerly, they were cooled 
in ice water, but now they are put into 
water cold as it comes from the well, 
and packed in ice when shipped. In 
dressing, the tail and wing feathers, as 
well as the feathers of the head and 
neck, are left. 
Mr. E. O. Wilcox, on the next farm to 
Mr. Hallock’s, was in his picking room 
superintending a lot of pickers. He has 
made a great success of the duck busi¬ 
ness, but has done it by thorough appli¬ 
cation and attention to every detail. He 
feeds about the same as Mr. Hallock, 
except that his proportions are some¬ 
what different. He mixes one-half 
meal, one-quarter bran and one-quar¬ 
ter Red Dog flour, with about one- 
twelfth meat scrap and the usual allow¬ 
ance of sand and Eel grass. Mr. Wilcox 
has tried varying the percentage of 
meat, but finds one-twelfth most satis¬ 
factory. He has made the experiment 
this year of putting in a gas plant, man¬ 
ufacturing gas from gasoline, to run his 
incubators, but found.it very unsatisfac¬ 
tory. Through leakage caused by care¬ 
lessness of workmen, a large number of 
eggs were lost. Besides this, the ex¬ 
pense, instead of being less than for 
kerosene, has been considerably more. 
Mr. W. H. Pye, at Eastport, had 
hatched the largest number of any one 
whom I saw, upwards of 24,000. His 
breeding houses and yards were literally 
crowded with ducks. It would seem 
that disease would be likely to be in¬ 
duced by such crowding, but everything 
is kept so scrupulously clean that the 
ducks all looked thrifty and healthy. 
He had a large number of pickers at 
work, and was killing some ducks that 
were rather small because of his lack of 
room. His water front is not very ex¬ 
tensive, and more room would be greatly 
to his advantage. He has been very suc¬ 
cessful as a breeder, and is said to have 
made a very fine thing out of the grow¬ 
ing of ducks. 
Mr. H. J. Rosenberg is known far and 
near as the great turkey man. He has 
taken many prizes at Madison Square 
Garden and other shows. He has some 
of the heaviest turkeys in the country. 
His place is located a mile or two back 
from Eastport, and is very favorably sit¬ 
uated for poultry. The greatest trouble 
he has had is that some sort of vermin 
has carried off his young turkeys and 
chickens. He not only breeds the wild 
turkeys upon the Bronze, but also breeds 
the former pure. He has also been very 
successful with broilers, and considers 
a cross of the White Indian Game upon 
Plymouth Rock superior to any other, 
either crossed or purebred. f. h. v. 
Gen. Otis not only wants more men to 
help conquer the Filipinos, but has, also, 
ordered 2,500 horses. He says that he has 
tried the horses of Manila, but they are 
too small for cavalry purposes. A large¬ 
sized Texas pony seems to be what he is 
after. _ 
When children are fretful without apparent cause 
—always ailing, puny, delicate and you “cannot 
make out what is the matter,” Dr. I). Jayne’s Tonic 
Vermifuge will generally bring them round aright. 
Dr. D. Jayne’s Family Medicines never have been 
recommended as cure-alls; but Jayne's Expectorant 
does cure Throat and Lung diseases 
For Headache, take Jayne’s Painless Sanative 
Pills.— Adv. 
Horse Owners! Use 
GOMBAULT’S 
Caustic 
Balsam 
A Safe Speedy and Positive Cure 
The Safest, Rent BLISTER ever used. Takes 
the place of all liniments for mild or severe action. 
Removes Bunches or Blemishes from Horses 
and Cattle. SUPERSEDES ALL CAUTERY 
OR FIRINC• Impossible to produce scar or blemish. 
Every bottle sold is warranted to give satisfaction 
Price $I.SO per bottle. Sold by druggists, or 
Bent by express, charges paid, with full directions 
for its use. Send for descriptive circulars. 
^mMWRENCTj^HJAMS CO., Cleveland O. 
lallei 
lorses 
_____ ix # wu 
will try GALL POWDER. 60 cents by mall. ' 
MOORE BROS. Albany N. Y. , 
CATTLE FLY OIL. 
Cattle Fly OU, 
prepared and 
put up in gal¬ 
lon cans, ex¬ 
pressly for 
keeping Flies 
from Horses 
and Cattle 
during the 
Summer 
months. 
It is perfectly harmless, and will be found a great 
comfort to cows when milking. This mixture Is ap¬ 
plied with the Double Tube Lightning insect Ex¬ 
terminator, which throws a very line spray of the 
oil mixture. One ga'lon of Cattle Fly Oil is suffi¬ 
cient to spray 500 cows: a greater flow of milk is 
guaranteed. We will express to any address one 
gallon of Cattle Fly Oil with a Double Tube Light¬ 
ning Insect Exterminator for $2. 
The Exterminator is also adapted for killing potato 
bugs and insects of every nature. 
Specia' prices for quantities. 
Seventeen Patents granted on our 8prayers. 
AGENTS WANTED EVERYWHERE. 
D. B. SMITH & GO.,Utica, N.Y..U.S.A. 
Breeders’ Directory. 
White Wtandottes Exclusively.— 
Write wants. Spencer’* Poultry Farm. Phenix, R. 1. 
I EPUnBNQ - White and Buff 200 Hens for 
Lcununno sale at {1 each. Show birds. 12 
and $3. DELLHURST FARMS, Mentor, Ohio 
Uni CTEIMC— Show animals, all ages, large rich 
nULO I LI nO milking Butter-Bred Herd. 
C HENANGO VALLEY STOCK FARMS, Greene, N 
Y.—Dutch Belted and Jersey Cattle; Dorset and 
Katnbouillet Sheep; Poland-Cbina, Jersey Red and 
Suflo k Pigs; White and Bron/.e Turkeys. Peafowls 
and Blooded Chicksns. Seed Wheat, $2; Itye, $1; 
best in the world; bags free. 
ChsAnekisae Ram and ewe lambs. Price $8 to 
dnrupsflires no each. A iso youmr Short-horn 
Hull. I > .C.Figs$3 to$5 ea. W.A.LOTUERS,Lack,Pa. 
LOCUST GROVE STOCK FARM 
Holsteins, Dorsets and Berkshires. 
Money can’t buy better Dorset Sheep in England 
titan third importat'on which arrived June 30. Prin¬ 
cipally yearling ewes, selected from the best English 
flocks. We will.spare a few ewes b r ed just tne sort 
for foundation stock. Send for circular and prices. 
Mention The R. N.-Y. Address 
J. L. HENDERSON & SON, Box 211. Washington, Pa. 
GUERNSEYS. 
84 Cows averaged 399 pounds 
butter each in 1898 Some 
choice young stock for sale. 
ELLERSLIE STOCK FARM, 
RHINECLIFF, N. Y 
Registered Jersey Cattle 
For Milk and Butter. 
R. F. SHANNON, 907 Liberty St., Pittsburgh, Pa. 
HAVING SOLD GUERNSEY BULL CALVES, 
WILLSWOOD FARM 
now offers at BREEDING PRICES the best lot of 
BERKSHIRE pigs ever raised here. Write what 
you wish to purchase. 
WILLS A. SEWARD, Budds Lake, N. J. 
BLOODED LIVE STOCK 
Sheap —Oxfords,Shropshires,South- 
downs. Fancy Poultry. PIq»— 
Berkshires, Poland-Chinas, Chester 
Whites, Yorkshires. Catalogue free. 
H. L. HOLMES, Harrisburg, Pa. 
LargeYorkshirePigs 
THE ENGLISH BACON BREED. 
Healthy, hardy and most prolific of all breeds 
Have raised 147 pigs from four sows the past year 
Choice Boars, Gilts and bred sows for sale by 
HILLS & PRICE, Crystal8pringFarm, Delaware, O. 
O C ^ | A R Write for information tel 1- 
I EL VV I La ing bow by buying one pig 
another will be given free. 
F. H. GATES & SONS, Chittenango, N. Y. 
IMPROVED CHESTER WHITES 
of the best breeding and all ages for sale at reason 
able prices. Pamphlets and prices free. 
ClIAS. K. RECORD, Peterboro, N. Y 
POULTRY 
♦ We keep everything in the POULTRY LINE, ♦ 
♦ Fencing, Feed, Incubators, Live Stock. Brooders ♦ 
♦ —anything—it’s our business. Call or let us ♦ 
♦ send you our illustrated catalogue—it’s free for ♦ 
A the asking—it’s worth having. 4 
♦ Excelsior Wire and Poultry Supply Co., ♦ 
♦ 28 Vesey Street, New York City. ♦ 
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rioath in I inn on hens & chickens. 64-p. Book Free 
UCfllll IU LluC u. J.Lambert, Box307, Apponaug.K.I. 
HERE’S A MONEY MAKER 
good rell- 
agentft. 
who have 
tried it are making 
ey rapidly selling the Hl’NTKK 
TOOf 1ILKSS Cl’KKY COMB. Having 
no sharp teeth it does not scratch, Ir¬ 
ritate and injnre the skin. Removes 
all dirt, dust and dandruff. It’s a per¬ 
fect shedder, leaves the coat smooth and 
Catalog of Farm Specialties FREE. 
glossy. Sample prepaid 25c. Catalog ox rarra specialties rnr.n. 
HUNTER CURRY COMB CO., 107 Ann St., Racine, Wls 
Send 5 cents 
stamps for postage 
o n catalogue o f 
100 styles of single 
and double OAK- 
TANNED leather 
harness. 
Sold direct to consumers at wholesale prices. 
KING HARNESS COMPANY, Mfrs., 
212 Church St., Owego, N. Y. 
Some Bargain Combinations. 
This Is a popular combination. The four books are 
by P. H. Jacobs, and illustrated. The poultry papers 
are well edited, and recognized authorities 
Price alone 
Poultry Keeper.$0.50 
Inter-State Poultryman.50 
Designs for Poultry Houses.25 
Incubators and Brooders.25 
Diseases of Poultry.25 
How to Judge Fowls.25 
The Rural New-Yohkek. 1.00 
Total.$3.00 
Combination price, $1.50. 
Thrlce-a-Week World. 
Gives you all the news of the whole world 
every other day. It is the next thing to a 
great daily paper. We can send It and The 
Rubal New-Yorker, both one year, for $1.65 
Hoard’s Dairyman 
and The Rural New-Yorker, both one 
year, for $1.65. 
The Rural New-Yorker, New York. 
