1872.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
133 
The Mandarin Duck. 
Almost any one upon seeing the Mandarin 
Duck, or rather the Drake, would guess that it 
was a native of China. There is an oddity about 
many of the animal and vegetable productions 
of that country, not 
less striking than 
that presented by 
its people. Our 
artist was afforded 
a rare opportunity 
of sketching these 
birds from life, by 
the Hon. Caleb Ly¬ 
on, formerly Gover¬ 
nor of Montana. 
Mr. L. has at Ross- 
mere, his residence 
on Staten Island, 
W. Y., a pond in 
which he has many 
rare and interesting 
aquatic birds, but 
none more beautiful 
than the Mandarin 
Ducks. These birds 
are known in China 
as Li-chi-ki, and 
highly prized by the 
wealthy Chinese, 
who are quite un¬ 
willing that they 
should be allowed to leave the country. An 
Englishman wrote some years ago to a cor¬ 
respondent to send him a pair of these birds. 
The reply came that it would be easier to send 
a pair of Mandarins than it would a pair of 
Mandarin Ducks. The first pair that was im¬ 
ported into the United States cost, in England, 
$375. The drake is quaint in appearance and 
gorgeous in plumage, while the duck is modest 
in her dress and makes but little show. One of 
the striking features of the Drake is its wing- 
fans,which stand erect and look much like the 
wings of a butterfly; these are of a chestnut 
color, edged with 
the deepest green. 
The crest is varied 
green and purple 
upon the top of the 
head, the long crest- 
feathers being chest¬ 
nut and green. 
From the eye to the 
beak is a warm 
fawn color, and a 
stripe of cream- 
color extends from 
the eye to the back 
of the neck. The 
sides of the neck are 
bright russet, and 
the front and breast 
a rich, shining 
purple. Upon the 
shoulders are two 
bands of black and 
two of white, alter¬ 
nating. The lower 
part of the bird is 
white. The bill is 
crimson and the 
legs are pink. The plumage of the female 
is a mottled brown. The drake wears his fine 
clothing only a portion of the year. In May 
he lays aside his crest and wing-fans and takes 
cn the brown color of the female, and remains 
in this inconspicuous clothing until August. 
The birds are able to perch, and are very fond 
of sitting upon branches overhanging the wa¬ 
ter. Though very attentive to his mate and a 
model husband, the drake has the reputation 
of being very quarrelsome, and will tyrannize 
over much larger and more peaceable birds. 
MAXI)AKIN DUCKS. 
Silver-spangled Polish Fowls. 
There are a number of varieties of Polish 
fowls, all of which possess the characteristic 
crests, or top knots, and U-shaped combs, sug¬ 
gesting a deer’s antlers, and prominent nostrils. 
The principal breeds are the black, with white 
crests, and two others, named from their re¬ 
spective markings of gold or silver spangles upon 
a black ground color. The relationship of all 
these to each other is indicated in the fact, that 
by culling from the last two mentioned, birds 
with but faint markings of yellow bay (gold) 
Polish fowls possess some economic merits: 
they are plump, small-boned, and moderate 
eaters, lay freely when their constitution has 
not been excessively weakened by repeated in- 
breeding (as is too often the case with a breed 
that is represented by only comparatively few 
-;y v~ , i stocks), and they 
are quite as hardy 
as any other fine- 
bred fowls, the Asi¬ 
atic races excepted, 
so long as they are 
kept out of the rain. 
The reason why 
they can not endure 
wet is, that the crest 
absorbs so much 
water, and the 
bones of the skull 
are so thin, and 
spread apart on ac¬ 
count of the de¬ 
velopment of a 
flesh}' - knob, serving 
as the base of the 
crest, that the head 
is exposed to cold. 
Their strong points 
are however not so 
much utility as good 
looks and an at¬ 
tractive disposition. 
They are about the 
most graceful in outline and carriage and showy 
in plumage of any fowls we have, and they are 
naturally as tame as the Leghorns are wild. 
Walks and Talks on the Farm,—No, 100. 
SILVER-SPANGLED POLAND FOWLS. 
and white (silver), and breeding in this way for 
some generations, a black breed with white 
crests may be formed, from which, by reversing 
the process, and seizing upon pied variations or 
“ sports ” in the progeny of black fowls, beauti¬ 
ful gold or silver strains may be again produced. 
I do not know of anything that has pleased 
me more than the numerous letters that have 
come to me from farmers, fruit-growers, and 
nurserymen in all parts of the country asking 
for more information in regard to my experi¬ 
ment with white 
mustard. Let no 
one call farmers 
“clod-hopping old 
fogies; ” for while 
as a class we are 
somewhat suspici¬ 
ous of new things, 
and are inclined to 
hold on to that 
which is good, it is 
very evident that 
there are thousands 
and tens of thou¬ 
sands of active, in¬ 
telligent, enterpris¬ 
ing men engaged in 
agricultural pur¬ 
suits who are study¬ 
ing everything per- 
taiuiug to their busi¬ 
ness. I have some¬ 
times felt annoyed 
at the disposition 
manifested by some 
of my neighbors 
to criticise unjustly 
my own farming operations. I have thought they 
were rather pleased than otherwise when any of 
my experiments failed. But, on the whole, I be¬ 
lieve I have judged them unjustly. At any rate, 
they seem interested and pleased whenever I get 
a large crop or raise a good animal. At first, they 
