Duck raising has been developed within the last ten years into a flourishing industry. Prior to that time the duck was not considered a profitable fowl to raise; its flesh was never prized very highly by the masses. Ducks were raised without constraint in waterways, feeding mostly on fish and water insects. This food gave the flesh a strong fishy flavor; hence it was not particularly sought after, save by the few who were partial to that class of diet. The duck centers of Long Island and New England were then producing a limited number each season, and it was with difficulty that these were sold with any profit. In fact, one of the most prominent duck raisers may be quoted as saying that he was obliged to visit the city markets personally and tease the dealers to purchase his birds, in order to secure anything like satisfactory prices.

Artificial incubation and brooding, combined with judicious feeding, have been instrumental in the development of the industry. Machinery has enabled the duck raiser to accomplish his ambition of having his stock in the markets when prices are the best, and also of raising large numbers of birds in a limited space of time. The season for raising ducks is about six months—from February to July. The methods employed by the most successful raisers will be given in this bulletin, and the most approved buildings, appliances, feeding, and care will be treated in detail.

Duck raising is to be recommended to farmers as a profitable source of revenue; and by careful attention to the work, as knowledge increases, the scope of the industry may be extended. There are numbers of farms in this country to-day that are devoted exclusively to raising ducks, averaging from 5,000 to 20,000 ducks as an annual output. An idea of the proportions of the business may be had from the fact that as high as three tons of feed are used daily by a single raiser during the busy season. The profits are the very best, and good incomes may be made when once the business is thoroughly mastered. But the reader should not jump imprudently to the conclusion that these results can be easily obtained. Duck raising is an arduous task; one that requires an apprenticeship and absolute knowledge of the business before success is reached. Those who have been successful in raising ducks have learned the business much as one does any other vocation. The beginner should start modestly, and increase his plant as his knowledge of the work increases. The average farmer has all the facilities for raising a goodly number of ducks, and may with a little outlay add considerably to his income.

It is not at all necessary that ducks should have access to water to be raised successfully; they grow and thrive as readily without. There are successful plants where thousands of ducks are raised that have no water, save that which is given them as drink. It has been a matter of much dispute which is the better way. Some duck raisers use water and allow their breeders the freedom of it; some allow their growing stock intended for market free access to water until they are eight weeks old, when they are penned and fattened for market. On the other hand, there are raisers who have no water on their farms, excepting wells, who are just as successful and raise as many birds as those who have the water. The only noticeable difference between "upland" and "water" ducks is that the latter are of prettier and cleaner plumage than the former.

A duck plant should be located on a line of railroad in direct communication with the city markets, and not too far from the station. Almost any location will do for the plant, and worn-out land, that can be had cheap, will do as well as the richer and more fertile land costing several times as much. Sandy sod is to be preferred. The buildings should be arranged to secure good drainage and be convenient to each other, that labor may be reduced to a minimum. The labor attached to raising poultry is an item that is overlooked by many, and the cost of it often reduces very notably the earnings of the plant.

Every department of the plant should be so located as to economize the time of the attendants. The incubator cellar should be convenient to the brooder house, the brooder house to the growing house and pens, and these to the killing house. The feed house should be located conveniently to the brooder and growing houses and the breeding pens. The task of feeding the growing stock four times a day and the breeding stock twice a day is no small one. Watering is also to be thought about.

The exact arrangement of a plant suited to all locations can not be given, as each locality differs from others in some respect, and what may be suitable for one will hardly do for the other. The plans of no two of the largest plants are alike. They differ in location of the buildings to suit the lay of the land; but they all have the same general idea of the convenience of each building to the others. Illustration of this will be seen in fig. 9. When laying out a plant, make provisions for future enlargement; allow plenty of room on all sides to extend the buildings without rendering inconvenient the work that will be necessary to attend to the additional stock.

BUILDINGS FOR BREEDING DUCKS.

Houses for ducks are single affairs. They are built plain and comfortable, and have no furnishings whatever. A duck is differently constituted from a hen, and must be cared for under different conditions. The hen needs warmer houses and drier surroundings than does the duck. A duck does not mind the cold, if she can keep her feet warm; cold feet will affect a duck as a frozen comb does a hen, retarding laying and inducing ailments. The feathers of a duck are almost impenetrable and will withstand almost any degree of cold. Again, a duck can not stand the amount of confinement in a house that a hen can; she is more restless in disposition and is given to exercise in a greater degree than is a hen. Indigestion is not so prevalent with ducks as with chickens; the duck's ceaseless motion aids the digestive organs and keeps her generally in good health.

In fig. 10 is shown a simple house that may be built at small expense. It is plain and has a shed roof. Such a house should be built of rough boards, 12 inches by 1 inch, and joints covered by 3-inch by 1-inch strips. The roof should be made water-tight and covered with tarred paper, shingles, or tin. The outside should be well drained around the bottom, that it may not be damp. Some advocate board floors, raised from 6 to 8 inches from the ground and covered from 4 to 6 inches with dry earth, straw, or leaves. The writer favors the using of board floors in all houses for chickens, but thinks it not essential for ducks. If the house is well drained on the outside and the earth floor is covered with hay, straw, or leaves, it will be perfectly satisfactory. There must not be dampness in the house, as the birds will not do so well; while they are given to water on the outside they must have comfortable quarters in which to "warm up," or "dry out."

The building shown in fig. 10 may be constructed of any dimensions desired, according to the size of flock to be kept. A house 12 by 14 feet will accommodate nicely a flock of a dozen. There are no interior arrangements whatever, simply the floor surface of the building. It is better not to use nests. Some raisers use a plain nest, as shown in fig. 11. These nests are made of 1-inch boards, 12 inches high and 16 inches long, set 14 inches apart, and held together in front with a 3-inch strip. The nests are nailed to the back of the house. But more than half the eggs are laid on the floor of the house or in the yard, and, if permitted, a duck will build herself a nest to her liking. Again, a duck is liable to injure herself by falling over the strips in front of nests or other obstructions that may be in the house. In fig. 12 is shown the nest of a wild duck.

When two or more breeding pens are to be kept, the plan of the house shown in fig. 10 may be extended to any length desired, as shown in fig. 13. In figs. 14 and 15 are shown two more designs of duck houses, which are practical and cheap, and may be built singly or in rows for a number of pens. Either of these houses, and also that shown in fig. 10, make excellent breeding houses for the farmer to keep ducks in. An inclosure should be given the breeding ducks, as they do better confined than when at liberty. Give plenty of room and inclose the run with 2-inch wire mesh 2 feet wide. If water is accessible, it should be inclosed by the mesh-wire fencing of the same width as for the run. In fig. 16 is shown a duck house with water runs, and also the arrangement of wire runs in the water. This is an admirable plan for farmers who have running water on their farms.

BROODING HOUSES.

The general construction of a brooder house is similar to that of the breeding house, and differs only in interior arrangements. The latter has no interior arrangements whatever, while the former has the system of heating and covers necessary for giving warmth to the young stock. In fig. 17 is shown a design of single-brooder house and ground plan that is generally used by duck raisers. This house should be built upon a good foundation and be entirely proof against rats. A good plan is to sink half-inch wire mesh about 2 feet in the ground and around the entire inside of the building; this will make it perfectly secure against rats and mice.

The accepted plan of a brooder house makes it 15 feet wide and as long as desired. The building is 4 feet high in front and 5 feet in rear.

GROUND PLAN.

It is divided into pens 12 feet long and 6 feet wide, and has a 3 foot passageway extending the entire length of the building. The ground plan (fig. 17) shows the general arrangement of the interior and location of the brooders.

The brooder box is next to the passageway, or walk, and runs the entire length of the building. This box is 30 inches wide and 8 inches high; the sides are 7 inches high and nailed securely; the top of the cover is nailed across with cleats to make it substantial, and the cover has an inch strip nailed underneath in front and back to keep it in position. These strips rest against the 7-inch sides and make the brooder snug and tight when closed. The heating pipes are directly beneath the cover and are 2-inch pipes, flow and return. Some prefer 1-inch pipes, using two flows and two returns. When three pipes are used they should be about 8 inches apart from center to center. These pipes rest on the partition boards of the pens. The front of the brooder, leading into the pens, is cut out in the center about 4 inches deep and 4 feet long (fig. 18, A), while the ends and the other side are solid, being 7 inches high. The construction of the brooder is clearly shown in fig. 18, B, with cover removed, while fig. 18, C, shows cover. The heater is located at the end of building.

Another plan of brooder house is that shown in fig. 19. This house is known as a double brooder house, with walk in the center and pens on either side, and with heater at the end. Many prefer this plan to the single brooder house, as the care and attention required for the youngsters is much less and the cost of heating is reduced, one heater being sufficient for both lines of pipes. Then, again, this latter plan shortens the length of the building by one-half and makes the work more concentrated. The arrangement of the interior is the same as that of the single brooder house.

The plans of brooder houses, as given above, are for ducklings from the time they are taken from the machines until they are ready for the cold brooder, or growing house. The young ducklings, when taken from the nest or incubator, are very delicate and susceptible to the changes of the atmosphere; they must be kept very warm and free from chilling. The first three weeks of a duckling's life is the most critical period, and after that time the liabilities of loss are reduced to a very low rate—hardly five to the hundred. The front of brooders for young ducklings should be hung with strips of woolen cloth to keep in the warmth of the brooder. The greatest care should be given them at this period; the duck raisers really consider it the most important part of their work, and after a bird has passed the "critical age" they may be counted on for the market.

Usually the care of the ducklings at this age is given to the women. They are more careful of the wants of the youngsters and attend to the detail work religiously. A case is known of a single attendant living, as it were, in the brooder house with the ducklings. She began her work with the morning feed at 6 a. m., and until sundown, when the night's meal was given, she was with her charges. The cleanliness of the brooder and pen was carefully attended to and everything was done to promote the health and comfort of the youngsters. At night they were all in their brooders and as snug as it was possible for them to be. A single neglect in the starting of a duckling will result in loss to the raisers. System is the key to the situation, and there should be no deviation from it whatever.

The duckling goes from the warm brooder house to the cold brooder house. The latter house is planned in a way similar to the former, with the exception of the 30-inch brooders. When the birds are taken from the warm brooder house they are three weeks old and of sufficient age to withstand a cooler temperature. They do not need the extra heat of the warm house, and in it would not grow nearly so well. The size of pens in the growing house is larger, and the ducklings are not crowded so many in a pen. If the birds are to be raised in colonies of one hundred each, the accommodations should be ample for them. It has never been proved to be good policy to crowd the growing stock; it retards their growth and encourages disease.

The cold brooder house should have a system of heating if birds are to be raised for an early market. The same system of pipes used in the warm brooders should be run around the sides of the building, about 2 or 3 feet from the floor. This will give sufficient heat for the house and keep the birds comfortable. These pipes may be connected with the same heater used for running the warm brooder pipes. In the Northern States, in extremely cold weather, raisers also use the heating pipes in the warm brooder house in addition to the cold brooder pipes.

An excellent plan is shown in fig. 20 for the arrangement of the heater for connecting the pipes in the warm and cold double brooder house. It will be seen that the heater is placed in the center of the building; the warm brooder house is shown on the right and the cold brooder house with runs attached is shown on the left, and pipes, indicated by dotted lines, run in both directions. This is the most economical house to build and lessens the work in attending the stock. The room in the center of the building will be found very useful and is generally used as the feed room. The heater is in the cellar beneath this room. This plan is used by one of the largest and most successful raisers of ducks on Long Island, and it has his highest indorsement.

The building may be of any size, the plan being as successfully carried out on a large scale as on a small one. If a small building is used at first, it may be enlarged on either end to suit the growing business, and extended upward of 100 feet in either direction, thus making the building more than 200 feet in length. The heater must be considered, when put in, with this object in view. A heater capable of heating the 200-foot house can easily be regulated to heat one of 50 feet, but a heater that will heat properly only a 50-foot or 100-foot house would be insufficient to heat the larger one.

Another difference between the cold brooder house and the warm brooder house is that the former has outside runs attached. These runs are used for feeding and watering when the weather permits, instead of the feeding troughs inside the house. The ducks should be allowed the freedom of the outside runs as soon as the weather is suitable. Ducks like a life in the outer world, and they will grow more rapidly there than when they are confined to the house.

Ducklings are kept in the cold brooder house until they are six or seven weeks old, when they are transferred to large quarters known as growing houses. It is here that they are pushed for the market until they are 10 weeks old, when they are salable. There is no heat in the growing houses, which are used only as a means of shelter during the early spring months. When the weather is well advanced, the ducks seldom take to the houses at night; they prefer the outside and spend their nights on the ground. The growing houses should be abundantly ventilated, as too close an atmosphere will do more harm in a single night than if they had not been housed at all.

A Pekin duck at 10 weeks is quite large, weighing close to 4 pounds. It is quite as large as a full-grown duck of some of the other breeds. In the space of two or three weeks from the time the ducklings are placed in the growing houses they will be marketed at the weight of 4 to 5½ pounds each. This weight is easily obtained, and when reached the profitable time to sell has arrived, as they then command the best prices. Often a bird kept after this time loses in weight and becomes unprofitable. The growing houses are built after the plan of the breeding houses, only much smaller. They need not be more than 4 or 5 feet high in rear and 1 or 2 feet high in front. Such a house is shown in fig. 21. This and other houses shown in figs. 22 and 23 may be built singly or in rows, with 12-inch boards separating the runs.

SUPPLYING WATER.

As has been previously stated, water for bathing is not at all necessary for growing ducks, but a liberal supply for drinking is absolutely essential to their growth. The food of the duck is such as to require drink when eating, as it is comparatively dry and can not be eaten hurriedly as grain is. When feeding, always replenish the water troughs or fountains with pure, fresh water.

A duck when feeding will eat a small quantity and go to the water troughs, for drink, repeating this performance several times during the meal. Conveniences for supplying drinking water to breeding and growing ducks are varied, and almost any contrivance will answer the purpose. When small numbers of ducks are kept, the simplest method of supplying water is in wooden troughs. These may be built V-shape or with square bottoms. They are shown in figs. 24 and 25.

For smaller ducks, those kept in the warm brooder house, the fountain plan is to be preferred, as the youngsters can not get into the water and become wet or chilled. These fountains may be made of air-tight cans for the reservoir and a tin plate 2 inches larger in diameter than the can. A tomato can and an ordinary tin pie plate make an excellent fountain. Remove the top of the can and punch a small hole in the side about a quarter of an inch from the free top edge; fill the can with water and place it inverted on the plate. The water will run out until it reaches in the plate the level of the hole in the can. The plate will not overflow and water will be supplied automatically.

Some raisers use a pan—a pie plate, for instance—and place a stone several inches smaller in diameter than the pan in the center, leaving a margin for water around the edge.

When large numbers of birds are kept, it is of course necessary that a system for watering be adopted for saving labor. A practical system in use is where the water is supplied by 1-inch pipes and having a cock in each pen directly over the water trough. Fig. 26 shows a diagram drawing of this plan. The flow of the cocks is regulated by having the one in the first pen run very slowly and gradually increasing the flow of the water in each pen. Thus all the troughs will be full at the same time. The pipe should rest on top of the fencing about 2 feet high which divides the runs. This plan of watering can also be used in brooder houses to good advantage.

FEEDING.

The food of the duck is both vegetable and animal in nature. In the wild state it gathers its food from brooks and marshes, consisting of flag, grasses, small fishes, water insects, etc. When the birds are raised in confinement this diet must, in a measure, be imitated to get the most satisfactory results. The duck has no crop, the food passing directly from the throat to the gizzard, and as a consequence the food must be in a soft mushy state. Too much hard food, such as grain, does not agree with these birds and they can not thrive on it. While some raisers use a small allowance of grain others do not, and it has not been proved to be of any advantage to feed it. Soft food is their natural diet, together with grasses, vegetables, and animal food. The proper selection of the food is extremely important to secure the rapid growth of the duck, and the ingredients of the food must be such as will afford a well-balanced and substantial ration. As a whole, it may be said that the rations used by the largest duck raisers are essentially the same, differing only in the quantities used in the mixing. Investigations show the real values of the food to be the same for producing rapid growth and early development. The duckling grows twice as rapidly and is a much heavier eater than the chick, and to produce the best results its food must be such as will be easily assimilated. The various methods of feeding given in this bulletin are recommended for raising ducks successfully.

It costs from 6 to 12 cents a pound to raise a duck for market at ten weeks of age. The cost of feed is from 4½ to 5 cents a pound, and that of labor, etc., is from 4 to 8 cents a pound. It costs from $1.75 to $2.50 each to keep breeding ducks a year.

The three different methods of feeding ducks are as follows: (1) Feeding ducks for market (ten weeks old); (2) feeding young ducks to be kept as breeders; (3) feeding old ducks. The first method, for the sake of convenience and to explain more fully the composition of the rations, is subdivided into four parts, as follows.

(1) From time of hatching to five days old provide the following mixture: Cracker or bread crumbs and corn meal, equal parts by measure; hard boiled eggs, 15 per cent of the total bulk of crackers and meal; sand, 5 per cent of the total of crackers and meal. Mix with water or milk, and feed four times a day.

(2) From five to twenty days old, the following mixture: Wheat bran, two parts by measure; corn meal, one part; rolled oats, 50 per cent of this bulk; beef scraps, 5 per cent; sand, 5 per cent; green food, 10 per cent. Mix with water to a dry crumbly state and feed four times a day.

(3) From twenty to forty-two days old, the following mixture: Wheat bran, two parts by measure; corn meal, one part; beef scraps, 5 per cent of this bulk; sand, 5 per cent; green food, 10 per cent. Mix with water to a dry crumbly state and feed four times a day.

(4) From forty-two to seventy days old, the following mixture: Corn meal, two parts by measure; wheat bran, one part; beef scraps, 10 per cent of this bulk; coarse sand or grit, 5 per cent; green food, 10 per cent. Mix with water to a dry crumbly state and feed four times a day.

The hours for feeding are 6 a. m., 10 a. m., 2 p. m., and 6 p. m.

Below is given another system of feeding ducks for marketing at ten weeks of age. This system is practically the same as the one given above, differing only in the ingredients used for the first two parts or until the duckling is twenty days old. The method given below is used successfully by one of the largest duck raisers on Long Island. It is divided into three parts, as follows:

(1) From time of hatching to seven days old, feed equal parts by measure, corn meal, wheat bran, and No. 2 grade flour, and 10 per cent of this bulk coarse sand. Mix with water to a dry crumbly state and feed four times a day.

(2) From seven to fifty-six days old, feed equal parts by measure, corn meal, wheat bran, and No. 2 grade flour; 10 per cent of this bulk beef scraps; 10 per cent coarse sand, and 12½ per cent green foods (green rye, oats, clover, etc.). Mix with water to a dry crumbly state and feed four times a day.

(3) From fifty-six to seventy days old, feed two parts by measure. Corn meal; one part wheat bran; one part No. 2 grade flour; 12½ per cent of this bulk beef scraps; 10 per cent coarse sand; 12½ percent green food. Mix with water to a dry crumbly state and feed three times a day—morning, noon, and night. Give last feed an hour before sundown.

When ducks are raised for breeders they are fed differently from those intended for market. They are not forced so much as are the latter, and less fattening food is given them. The corn meal and beef scraps are reduced to one-half the quantity used in the above rations. The following is an excellent ration: Equal parts corn meal, wheat bran, green food, 5 per cent beef scraps, and 5 per cent coarse sand or grit.

A ration for breeding (laying) ducks is recommended as follows: Fifty per cent, by measure, corn meal; 15 per cent wheat bran; 15 per cent green foods (cooked vegetables, such as potatoes, turnips, etc.); 12 per cent beef scraps, and 8 per cent coarse sand or grit. Mix with water to a dry crumbly state and feed twice a day, morning and night. After the breeding season is over and the ducks have stopped laying they are changed from this to the equal-parts ration, as given above for ducklings from seven to fifty-six days old.

MIXING FEED.

The feeding stuffs should be mixed in a trough sufficiently large to hold the quantity without wasting over the edges. First mix the corn meal and bran together while dry; after these have mixed thoroughly, making an evenly colored mixture, it should be moistened with water and mixed to a dry, crumbly state. It should not be too wet or sloppy, as it is then not so good for the fowls, neither can it be handled and fed properly. Warm water should be used when the weather is excessively cold. In a second trough place the green foods, such as cut rye, oats, etc., and dampen with water; then mix the allowance of the No. 2 grade flour with it. Thoroughly mix, so that the flour will completely cover the green stuff. After this has been done mix the flour and green mixture with the corn meal and bran mixture and add the allowance of beef scraps and sand. When vegetables are used, they should be well cooked before mixing in the rations.

The duck raisers on Long Island use large quantities of fish for their breeding stock. This is known as the "fish diet," and is considered as being very valuable to induce egg production. Where fish are cheap they form an excellent substitute for beef scraps in the rations for breeding ducks or ducks not intended for market, but under no circumstances should fish be fed to stock that will be marketed. Fish makes the flavor of the flesh strong and ducks fed on fish will not have ready sales in the market. The fish are cooked by boiling in iron camp kettles until well done, and then mixed, bones and all, in the rations as given above for breeding ducks. When fish is used the beef scraps are omitted.

HOW MUCH TO FEED.

The amount of feed needed each day for young ducks varies as much as does their growth. Their growth averages a half pound a week, and to make this increase of weight each week requires an additional quantity of food over the preceding one. The rule is, feed each meal what they will eat up clean with a relish, and do not allow them to linger over the feed trough. It is better they should have not enough than too much, as they will be in a much better condition to relish the next meal. One thing is considered to be of as much importance as the feed, and that is removing the feed left over and thoroughly cleaning the troughs after each meal. This is scrupulously attended to by successful duck raisers.

One raiser gives, as a generous allowance for one day's ration for one hundred laying ducks, the following: For the morning meal, 35 quarts of the mash, and for the evening meal 40 quarts, making a total of 75 quarts for the day's portion, or three-fourths of a quart to each duck a day. Another raiser allows 400 quarts, fed in halves, twice a day, to six hundred breeding or laying ducks, averaging two-thirds of a quart to each duck a day.

There are many patterns of feed troughs in use, hardly any two being alike. They are simple affairs, the simpler the better, as they are more easily kept clean. The designs given for water troughs are equally as good for feed troughs and answer the purpose very well. Each pen of birds should have two troughs, one for water and the other for feed, built proportionately to suit the age and size of the birds they are intended for. Make them of sufficient length to avoid crowding, so that all the birds in each pen will have ample room to eat at the same time.

OYSTER SHELLS AND GRIT.

Grit in some form is essential to ducks and should be kept before them at all times. Many overlook this fact and do not seem to understand that it is of as much value to them as it is to chickens. The sand used in the mashes tends to supply a certain amount of grinding material or grit to them, but does not fully satisfy them for digesting their food. On a farm where more than ten thousand birds are raised annually, and where disease is practically unknown, it was noted that in every pen there was a box of grit and a box of crushed oyster shells. This raiser states that he considers grit and oyster shells an absolute necessity for ducks, and he attributes the healthy appearance of his stock to it. His birds eat it freely and the supply is never allowed to run out.

KILLING AND DRESSING FOR MARKET.

There are two methods of dressing ducks for market, by dry picking and by scalding. Both of these methods are good and are being successfully employed by the largest raisers. Some have a preference for dry picking and others for scalding, and it becomes only a matter of taste which method is used. When birds are dressed by scalding they should be dipped several times, or until the feathers come out easily. The back should be dipped in the water first. After scalding, wipe them as dry as possible with a sponge and pick the breast feathers first. A bird when dressed for market has left on it the feathers on the wing, the tail feathers, and the feathers on head and neck, as shown in fig. 27. The legs are left on, and the birds are not drawn.

The process of dry picking is considered the simpler of the two methods, and one who is accustomed to the work can readily dress 3 dozen birds in a day. The picker's outfit consists of a chair, a box for the feathers, and a couple of knives, one knife being dull and the other being sharp pointed and double edged, for bleeding. The bird is taken between the knees, the bill held open with the left hand, and a cut made across the roof of the mouth just below the eyes. The bird is then stunned by striking its head against a post or some hard substance. The picker seats himself in the chair with the bird in his lap (fig. 28), its head held firmly between one knee and the box. The feathers arc carefully sorted while picking; the pins are thrown away and the body feathers with the down are thrown into the box. Care should be taken about this, as the feathers from each bird will weigh about 2 ounces, and will quite pay for the picking.

The dull knife and the thumb are used to remove the long pinfeathers, and this should be done without tearing the skin. The down can usually be rubbed off by slightly moistening the hand and holding the skin tight. Often some of the pins can not be taken out without tearing and disfiguring the skin; when such is the case they should be shaved off. Seven or eight minutes is all the time necessary to dress a bird. After the birds are picked they should be carefully washed, and plumped by placing in a tank or barrel of ice water. They are hardened in this ice water and given a rounded and full appearance. They are then packed in barrels or boxes and shipped to market. The first or bottom layer is packed with backs down; a layer of ice is then placed over them, and all other layers are packed with the breasts down, a layer of ice being between each layer of ducks. The top of the box or barrel is then rounded off with ice and covered with burlaps. A flour barrel will hold about three dozen birds. Some raisers use boxes for shipping and have the empties returned free.

DEVELOPMENT OF THE DUCKLING IN THE EGG.

Eggs to hatch must have good, strong germs and must be laid by healthy stock. Debilitated, degenerated stock will not produce healthy and vigorous young. The health of the breeding stock must be promoted and everything done that will assist to increase the fertility of the egg. Comfortable houses, cleanliness, pure water, and above all wholesome and nutritious food, are the best promoters of health. The best stock to be had is none too good, and it is erroneous to send the earliest and best stock to market for the small increase in price, and save the later and inferior stock for breeding purposes. A continuation of this practice for a few years means degenerate stock, infertile eggs, weak germs, and large mortality among the newly-hatched birds.

After an egg has been under incubation for thirty six hours, it will, if fertile, when held to the light, show a small dark spot a trifle larger than a pin's head. This little spot is the life germ and shows the egg to be fertile. From this time the development of the germ into the duckling can be plainly seen if the egg be held to a strong light. On the sixth or seventh day the first testing of the eggs should be made and all infertile ones taken out. The germ is very distinct at this time, and there has been a gradual change going on in the interior of the egg. The little spot has been constantly enlarging and becoming more dense, and little veins are seen running in divers directions.

This is the appearance of an egg with a strong, live germ, which under favorable circumstances will produce a duck.

An egg that is not fertile on the sixth or seventh day will be perfectly clear and transparent; all such should be removed at once, as it is useless to allow them to remain. Another kind of egg often seen is a weak or imperfectly fertilized egg, and shows an irregularly-shaped blood vessel, which had started but lacked vitality enough to continue. Such an egg will not hatch and should also be removed from the nest or incubator. Frequently the germ in an egg will show life when tested on the seventh day, but lacks the vitality to carry it through, and when tested later will show dark, irregular blotches over the surface of the egg. These will not hatch, and should be taken out when noticed.

On the fourteenth day the little creature inside the egg begins to assume shape and show considerable life. It has increased many times in size since it was seen on the seventh day; the red veins have become more numerous and have spread over the entire surface, while the yolk is scarcely distinguishable from the other portions. The pupil of the eye has now become distinct, and the projection of the wings is clearly perceived. The absorption of the yolk has also commenced, and this will continue until the twenty-fourth day, when it will be nearly completed. The egg from this time on will rapidly grow opaque, and at the eighteenth or twentieth day is entirely so. On the twenty-fourth day the duckling is ready to make its way out of the shell, and in forty-eight hours after pipping the shell it will be entirely out.

NATURAL INCUBATION.

Hatching under the sitting hen (generally used for hatching ducks) is what is termed the natural process of incubation. The hatching of eggs by this means has always been followed, and no special skill is needed for success, provided the eggs are well fertilized with healthy germs. Many who raise ducks in large numbers, however, use almost exclusively artificial means; some use both the natural and the artificial, while others use the natural entirely.

Of the natural method we shall treat first: Hens of medium size of the American class, barred Plymouth Rocks and Wyandottes, are considered the best for sitting. Nine duck eggs are about the right number to place under a hen in early spring weather, but when the season is far advanced as many as thirteen are used. The hens should be provided with large, roomy nests, and slatted fronts that can be removed and replaced easily when the hens are fed and watered. The nesting material should be of hay or straw, and the nest should be slightly concaved; in the bottom place a little finely cut hay.

Before the hen is put on the eggs she should be thoroughly dusted with insecticides; the nest also should have a good dusting of the same. Both hen and nest should undergo a thorough dusting several times during the process of hatching as a safeguard against lice. When the ducklings are hatched they should also have their share of the insecticides before they are given to the hen. When a large number of sitting hens are used for hatching, as many as possible should be set at one time, and the ducklings raised in brooders. Hatching with hens may be done on a large scale and the young brooded artificially. As many as five hundred sitting hens are used on some farms for hatching ducks. They are set in small houses or rooms with the nests around the sides in tiers, each nest having its own lattice door. Each day, in the morning, the hens are taken from their nests and fed and watered on the floor of the room. They are taken down in limited numbers, sections, as it were, at a time, and after they have had the food, drink, and a little exercise they are placed back on the nests and another section is fed and watered.

ARTIFICIAL INCUBATION.

The subject of artificial incubation has engaged the attention of the civilized world for generations past; the method has done wonders for the poultry industry and has opened up the pathways to fortunes that might otherwise never have been made. The science of incubation and brooding has been developed wonderfully in this country during the last quarter of a century, and what seemed almost an impossibility then has indeed become a certainty now. There are many thousands of chicks and ducklings hatched by artificial means each year, and the numbers of good machines now being manufactured in this country at low prices make poultry raising a business that almost anyone with a limited capital may profitably engage in. The mission of an incubator is to supplant the sitting hen, and make it possible to hatch a large number of chicks at a minimum amount of cost and labor. That this can be done is proved each day.

For artificial incubation, have a room with a temperature as nearly uniform as possible. Balance the beat in the machines, or in other words, see that the heat is uniform at both ends, and, in fact, all over them. See that each is running steadily before placing the eggs in it, as there is a great deal in starting right. The machines should be run at a temperature of 102° for the first three weeks, and 103° the last week. The eggs should be turned twice each day at regular periods. Introduce a pan of water from the fifteenth to the twenty-second day, no matter what the location of the machine, whether in a damp cellar or in a dry room overhead, in a moist atmosphere near the seashore or in a dry one at an altitude in the country. The temperature may go as high as 101° just previous to and while hatching without injury. Place the glass on a live egg after the animal heat rises, which will be when the circulation begins. This will be perceptible in good eggs the fourteenth and fifteenth days.

Considerable weight has been put upon the ventilation question in incubators by manufacturers and operators, but it has been found that when the egg chamber is roomy, and the eggs are taken out and cooled twice each day, it is not of so much consequence. There is no doubt but that there must be some ventilation in the egg chamber, but from the experience and observation of the writer the value of the subject has been overestimated by many. Some machines have top ventilation, some bottom, and others both top and bottom, and there is seemingly no marked difference in the hatching.

When the ducklings are hatching, the broken egg shells should be removed once in every six or eight hours, so that they will not slip over the pipped eggs, as it would be sure death to the imprisoned ones. Occasionally a little bird is unable to free itself from the shell and needs help; the expert can readily detect when this is necessary. The one point to note in this connection is this: The egg just before hatching radiates a great deal of heat, while the duckling, when first out, being not unlike a little sponge, absorbs it, or in other words, the rapid evaporation which takes place generates cold; so that when the ducklings are out the machine should be gauged one degree higher.

When the ducklings are all out and dried off, the machine will run at least two degrees lower than when they were in the egg. Plenty of ventilation is needed in the machines while hatching. Keep the ducklings in the machine at least twenty-four hours after hatching, when they will be strong enough to be removed to the brooder. The heat in the brooder should be started twenty-four hours previous to use, so that it will be perfectly heated and ready for the ducklings when they are taken from the machine.