Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-12-19
Duck Farmers in CHINA.

One afternoon we went q most interest
ing expedition up the river, and then
turned aside into one of the many creeks,
to the village of Faa-tee, and thence on
ward in search Of one of the great duck
Matching establishments, where multitude
nous eggs are artiticially Matched. The
first we came to was closed, but the boat
men told of us another further on, so we
landed and walked along narrow ridges
between large flooded fields, in which lotus
and water chestnuts are grown for the sake
of their edible roots. Both are nice when
cooked but the collecting of these in this
deep mud must be truly detestable for the
poor women engaged in it. Passing by
amazing heaps of old egg shells (for which
even the Chinese seem to have as vet found
no use) we reached the Matching house, in
which many thousands of eggs are being
gradully warmed in great baskets filled up
with heated chat, and placed on shelves of
very open basket work, which are arranged
in tiers all round the walls, while on the
ground are placed earthenware stoves full
of burning charcoal. Here the eggs are
kept for whole day and night, the posi-
ton of the baskets with reference to the
stoves being continually changed by at
PENDANTS who reserve their apparel for use
in q cooler atmosphere After this pre-
liminary heating the eggs are removed TO
other baskets in another heated room, to
which they are dexterously carried in
cloths, each containing about so eggs. No
one but a neat-banded Chinaman could
carry such burden without a breakage
Here the eggs remain for about o fort
night, each egg being frequently moved
| from place to place to equalize their share
| of heating After this they are taken to q
! third room, where they are spread over
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! thick, warm cotton; at the end of another
| fortnight hundreds OF little ducklings
! simultaneously break their shells, and by
evening perhaps couple of thousand
| fluffy little beauties are launched into
| life and are forthwith fed with rice
water. Duck farmers who know pre-
cisely when each great Matching is
due) are in attendance 10 buy so many
hundreds of these pretty infants, whom
| they at once carry off to their respective
farms, where there are already an i'm
mense number of ducks and geese of
different ages, all in separate lots. The
| geese by the way, are not Matched artif-
cially, owing to the thickness of their shells,
consequently they are not So very nume-
rous as ducks Still fiOcks numbering Goo
or 500 are reared, and are provided with
waffle shelves on which to roost, as damp
ground is considered injurious to the young
birds. \ very large goose market is held
every month in Canton, which is supplied
by geese boats, each of which brings 200 or
300 birds. AS to the baby ducks, they are
fed on boiled rice, and after a while are
promoted to bran, maggots and other deli
cacies, till the day comes when the owners
of the duck boats come to purchase the
half grown birds and. commence the pro-
cess Of letting them fatten themselves as
aforesaid. This continues till they are
ready for the market and are either sold
for immediate consumption or bought
wholesale by the provision dealers, who
split salt and then dry them in the sun.
The heart, gizzard and entrails are also
tongues and feet are picked in brine
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