THE GARDENING WORLD 
August 26, 1905. 
68 'i 
[By Rosecomb.] 
The Housing of Ducks. 
The first point to be considered in duck 
breeding, as in all other kinds of poultry raising, 
is the question of housing.. The old proverb 
speaks of catching the hare before cooking it, 
and in like measure must one have the house 
or houses ready before commencing to breed 
ducks. The question of a duck house is not as 
important a matter as is that of an ordinary 
■poultry house, for the simple reason that ducks 
will of their own accord sleep by the pond or 
stream side and come to no harm. Ducks are 
naturally very hardy, and seem able to resist 
the inclemency of the -weather very easily. Yet 
if very early ducklings are to be reared it is 
necessary that warm, comfortable houses be 
provided for the stock ducks during the winter 
months, as warmth is conducive to early laying. 
On no account must they be overcrowded ; if 
overcrowding of the stock is permitted, good-by e 
to all ideas of successful raising of ducklings^ 
The Egg Question, 
To accommodate a flock of thirty ducks a 
house should be about six feet by eight, and 
they should be fastened up at night, so that 
their eggs may be collected in the morning. 
Ducks are more given to laying away than are 
fowls, therefore they should not be let out of 
their houses until nine or ten o’clock in the 
morning. I am, of course, referring now to 
where the ducks are allowed their liberty. 
The houses should have runs attached to them 
wherever possible, and then the birds may be 
allowed the use of the runs in the morning, 
which is preferable to their being shut up in 
the houses altogether. 
Peat Moss v. Straw. 
As/ ducks always sleep on the ground, the 
floor of the house needs to be well covered with 
litter of some sort. In country districts straw 
is generally used, because it is more readily 
get-at-able, but it is not nearly so good as peat 
moss litter, which is warmer for the birds,. is 
more valuable as manure, and owing to its 
absorbent properties goes much farther than 
straw, and thus keeps down the expenses. 
Where only a few ducks are kept, any ordinary 
outhouse will afford them shelter, and in many 
places they share the accommodation of a cart* 
house or tool-house. 
Profitable Breeds. 
Of all the pure breeds, the Aylesbury, as I 
said last week, is the most highly esteemed as 
a table bird, but in ducks, as in many other 
things, first crosses are often most profitable. 
Where table birds are required a Pekin-Ayles¬ 
bury cross is the one most to be commended 
and the one most usually employed. The 
drake should be a Pekin, and the ducks should 
be Aylesburys. The Aylesbury possesses a 
very deep, heavy body, and it matures with 
extraordinary rapidity. The Pekin does not 
attain to such great size as the Aylesbury, but 
is a very quick grower ; for this reason, there¬ 
fore, is the cross commended.. The early 
maturity of the Aylesbury is quickened by the 
extra stamina which the Pekin cross infuses, 
and this gives even greater size at an early age 
than is found in the pure-bred Aylesbury. In 
districts where ducklings are reared on a large 
scale for the market this Pekin-Aylesbury 
cross is a very favourite one. 
Young Stock for Breeding. 
In selecting stock for use as producers of 
early marketable ducklings, only young ducks 
should be bought, and they should be well- 
grown and healthy. Stock ducks should 
always be well developed ; undersized birds 
must never be usecl for the propagation of 
their species. Too early breeding is undesirable, 
therefore the ducks selected for breeding- 
should be hatched not later than March ; they 
will then be well matured by the time the 
breeding pens are made up. The reason for 
selecting young ducks is because they lay 
earlier than old ones, and for duckling raising 
early eggs are required. 
The Drake’s Age. 
The drakes should be two-year-old birds. 
These will be fully matured, and yet not so old 
as to have 1 st any of their vigour. Thus 
strong, healthy ducklings may be expected as 
the result of the union of yearling ducks and 
two-year-old drakes. Perhaps second season 
would be a better term than two-year-old, 
because drakes hatched in March or April of 
one year would not be two years old in the 
October or November of the following year 
when the breeding pens are usually made up 
Early Eggs. 
If very early ducks are selected, and mated 
in October, it is quite possible when the 
accommodation allows of it to get eggs early 
enough so that two or three broods may be 
hatched before the end of the year, and by 
Christmas quite a large supply of eggs should 
be ready, if not already in course of incubation. 
For early ducklings the breeding pens must be 
mated in October or early in November, and 
not more than three or four ducks to each 
drake, the preference being given to the smaller 
number thus early in the season. Hens are 
most suitable for the hatching of ducklings. 
In my next week’s contribution I hope to give 
my readers some useful notes on the feeding of 
ducklings. 
Answers to Correspondents. 
R. J. W. (Ealing).—(1) Yes, I intend giving 
a series of articles on duck rearing); the second 
appears this week. If you read the series care¬ 
fully you will find each of your questions dealt 
with. (2) If you wish your birds to lay well 
give them plenty of worms, slugs and snails, 
failing these butcher’s offal. (3) Most certainly 
not. (4) If you wish your Bantams to become 
fat, and stop laying, give them plenty of Indian 
corn, but if you wish to keep them healthy and 
in good laying condition avoid it. 
Leghorns (Stockport).—The White Leghorn 
is one of the best winter layers we have. In 
addition to laying a large egg it lays a goodly 
number. Some of the best layers I have ever 
known have been cross-bred birds between the 
White Leghorn and the Minorca. The Brown 
Leghorn matures more quickly than the White, 
and lays quite as many eggs, but they are not so 
large. 
~ Propagation of Ferns 
FROM 
SPORES. 
The propagation of Ferns from spores is an 
exceedingly delicate operation, and one which 
in many cases is but imperfectly understood, 
failure and disappointment being too often the 
result. Where a collection of Ferns is grown, 
and it is desired to increase the stock by 
means of spores, the greatest care is necessary 
to ensure success. The fronds of those species 
selected for propagation should be collected 
just when the spore cases are turning brown. 
They should then be washed under a strong 
running tap to wash away any loose spores of 
other kinds which are almost certain to have 
collected on the fronds. The reason for this 
is obvious. Fern spores being so extremely 
light, the least movement in the atmosphere 
will waft myriads of these minute bodies all 
over the house, and considerable numbers 
will inevitably alight on the fronds of other 
species than those from which the spores 
originated, and the chances are that unless the 
collected fronds are washed the “ aliens ” will 
germinate before the legitimate species, and 
a fine batch of Nephrodium mode, Adiantum 
cuneatum, or some other common kind will be 
the result. 
After washing, the fronds must be placed in 
a packet and laid away in a dry place for a few 
days. They will then be ready for sowing. 
This operation is best done early in the year, 
say January or February. The young plants 
will then have the entire summer in which to 
grow, and will in most cases be nice sturdy 
plants by the advent of winter, and will, con¬ 
sequently, be able to withstand the vagaries of 
the weather at that season. The soil being 
merely the medium upon which the spores are 
to germinate, it is not necessary for any special 
compost to be used. Four- or five-inch pots, 
half-filled with crocks, and these covered with 
a layer of rough stuff, over which should be 
placed a layer of soil which has been thoroughly 
roasted, bringing the whole to within an inch 
or so from the top, will be found suitable. 
The soil is burned in order to get rid of all 
living organisms which are present. On this 
the spores should be thinly scattered, the pot 
covered with a square of glass, and watered 
from the bottom by immersing the pot to the 
surface of the soil. 
Underneath the stage in the propagating pit 
is a convenient position for the pots until the 
spores have germinated. Each pot should be 
stood in a saucer, which can be filled with 
water as required, as on no account must spores 
be watered overhead until they have ger¬ 
minated and the little heart-shaped bodies 
considerably advanced. These are known as 
prothalli, and from these will eventually come 
the young plants. When the prothalli have 
attained a good size they must be “ patched 
off,” that is, pricked off in little patches about 
an inch apart in shallow pans. If left in the 
spore pot too long they are apt to become 
overcrowded, with the result that they very 
often rot. After fertilisation has taken place, 
which is during the prothallus stage, the little 
fronds will begin to appear, and it will be 
necessary to separate them out, either pricking 
out the young plants singly or two or three 
together into pans, from which, as soon as big 
enough, they are potted into thumb pots and 
shifted on as found necessary. Dunn. 
Confucius was passionately fond of water¬ 
melon seeds. 
Neglected Food.- —In this country Celery 
root is given to the pigs; on the Continent it 
is a cheap vegetable for human food. In Eng¬ 
land most cottage gardens grow 'Sunflowers, 
but the poorest labourer would never think of 
them as food producers. In Russia they are 
grown by acres, and the seeds are collected 
and sold to dealers, who salt them. 
