West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1886-01-08
cHlnEse DUCK FARMING.
The Arrangements oT an ArtiRcIsl Hatch.
CRY Scar Canton.

CRY Scar tantoh.
One afternoon we went a most inter.
esting expedition up the river. and then
turned aside into one of the many
creeks 10 the village of Faa-tcr. and
thence onward in search of one of tn,
great duck-hatching establishments,
whore multitudinou~ vggs aru artificial.
~ hatChcd. The first we came to wa,
closed, but the boatmcn told Us of an
other further on. 80 we landed and
walked along narrow ridges between
large flooded fields. in which lotus and
WNtCr-ChCStnuts are grown for the sake
of their edible roots Both are nice
when cooked, hut the collCctingo of these
In this deep mud must lee truly dctcst.
able for the poor women engaged in H.
Passing 10y amazing heaps of old cgg
shells Uor which even The Chinese scom
TO have as Yet found no Ust) we reached
the hatching-hOusc, i'm which many
thousands of eggs are boing gradually
warmed in great baskets filled up with
heated chaG. and placed ON shelves
Ot very open basket work, which are
arranged in tiers all round the walls.
whilc on the ground are, placed
"arthcnwarc stoves fuil of burn.
ing charcoal Hero the eggs are
kept for a whole daV and NIGHT. tho
position of the baskets with reference
to stoves being continually changed bv
attendants VINO reserve their uppnrcl
for use in cooler atmosphere After
this preliminary heating the cges arc
removed to other baskets I'm another
heated room, to which they are dexter
ouSlv carried i'm cloths. each containing
about fifty egg No one but neat
| handed Chiuaman could carry such a
| burden without u brcahagci Here the
ogg7 remain for about fortnight. each
egg being frequently moved from place
To place 10 eIualiIo thcir share of heat
ing. After this they are takon 10 "A
third room, whore they are spread over
wide shelves and covered with sheets
of thick, warm cotton: at the end of
another fortnight hundreds of little
/ ducklmgs simultaneously break their
shells, and by evening perhaps couple
of thousand lluhy little bcautc, arc
launched into life and are forthwith
| fed with rice water Duck farmers
(whu know precisely when each
great Matching is duc) are in at.
tendance to buy SO many hun.
drcds of these pretty infants, whom
/ they at once carry on Co their respect
i've farms, where there are already an
! immense number OF ducks and geese of
different ages, all in separate lois. The
geese, by the way, are not hatchcd art
lhclally, owing 60 the thickness of their
shells, consequently they are not so
very numerous as ducks Still, nocks
numbering six on eight hundred are
reared, and are provided with whattlc
shelves on which TO roost as damn
| ground is considered injurious to the
young birds \ very large goose mar.
kot /. held every morning i'm Canton,
which is supplied by geese boats, each
Of which bring two OF thee hundred
| birds. A. TO the baby ducks, they are
| fed ON boiled rice, and after awhile are
! promoted to bran, maggots and Other
dclicacic-, ill the day come, when the
owner OF the duck boats come to pu.
| chase the half-grown birds and com.
mcnce the process OF letting them fat
ten as aforesaid. This continues till
| they are ready for the market and are
| either sold tor immediate consumption
on bought wholesale by the provision
dcalcr-, who split, salt and then dry
them in the sun. The heart gilzarcJ
and cntrails are also dried and sold
separately, and the bills, tongues and
feet are picked in brine - Bclqrayid