The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-01-02

One afternoon we went a 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 onward in
search of one of the greatest duck-hatching
establishments, where multitudinous eggs
are artifcially hatched. The first we came
to was closed, but the boatmen told us of
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 ara nice when cooked, but the col
lecting of these in this deep mud must be
truly detestable for the poor woman en-
gagged in it. Passing by amazing heaps of
old egg shells (for which even the Chinese
seem to have as yet found no use) we reach
ed the Matching house, in which many
thousands of eggs are being gradually
warmed in great baskets filed up with
heated chaff, and placed on shelves of very
open basket werk.- which are arranged in
tiers all round the walls, while on the ground
are placed earthenware stoves full Of burn
ing charcoal. Here the eggs are kept for
whole day and night, the position of the
baskets with reference to the stoves being
continually changed by attendants who re-
serve their apparel for use in cooler at
mosphere. After this preliminary heating
the eggs are removed to other baskets in
another heated room, to which they are dex-
terously carried in cloths, each containing
about so eggs. No one but a neat-handed
Chinaman could carry such burden with
out a breakage Here the eggs remain for
about a fortnight, each egg being frequently
moved from place to place to equalize their
share of heating, After this they are taken
to third room, where they are spread over
wide shelves and covered with sheets of
thick, warm cotton at the end of another
fortnight hundreds of little ducklings 81
multaneously 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 farm
ers (who know precisely when each great
Matching is due) are in attendance to buy
so many hundreds of these pretty infants,
whom they at once carry off to their re-
spective farms, where there are already an
immense number of ducks and geese of diff
ferent ages, all in separate lots, The geese,
by the way, are not Matched artifcially,
owing to the thickness of their shells, con-
sequently they are not so numerous as
ducks. Still, fiocks numbering 600 or 800
are reared, and are provided with waffle
shelves on which to roost, as damp ground
is considered injurious to the young birds.
A very large goose market is held every
morning 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 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 process
of letting them fatten themselves as afore-
said. This continues till they are ready
for the market and are either sold for i'm
mediate consumption or bought wholesale
by the provision dealers, who split, salt,
and then dry them in the SUM- The heart,
gizzard, and entrails are also dried and sold
separately, and the bills, tongues, and feet
are picked in brine.