San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1888-09-26
ghe Daily Eight.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER, rs, 1888.
THOROUGHLY -sYsTEMIzED.


The business of rearing ducks is thoroughly
systemized in China Most of the eggs in
the great centers of population are Matched
by artificial means in institutions called Poo
ap-chong Like so many other things, artl
fetal incubation was practiced in China long
before it was thought of in western coun
tries A visit to one Of these Matching estab
hshments is very interesting In the large
Poo-ap-chong at Pace tai since, near Canton
hundreds OF ducklings are coaxed by artif
cial means out Of their shells and into :he
great busy world every day. The way John
Chinaman manages it is this
The eggs are packed in baskets Of rice
husls, which have been thoroughly heated
through over charcoal embers The baskets
are then stacked in tiers in dark rooms where
high temperature is maintained by jars of
burning charcoal After few hours the
eggs are removed from the husks and packed
in warm baskets lined with soft paper, IN
another artifcially heated room. Here they
are kept for two weeks, during which period
each egg is carefully turned over twice day
At the end of this time the eggs are laid out
on broad benches and covered with paper for
another fortnight, when the tiny ducklings
issue forth by the hundred almost as spon
taneously as the blossoms of a morning
glory.
The business of the Poo-ap-chong being
simply TO buy the eggs and hatch out the
ducklings, the new arrivals are sold without
delay to the dealers whose special branch Of
the business is to rear the tender youngsters
to a maturer age. The rearing establish
ments are situated on the banks of a river 0r
lake.
Between Fat-shan and Sam-shuse. on the
Pearl river, | paid a visit 70 one Of these
duckling establishments, where there must
have been $1,000 ducks Huge cuppers Of
rice were being boiled to feed them with and
bare legged men were coming and gong With
baskets of small land crabs. worms n4aggUts
and tiny fish. Later in life they are TED with
coarser food, bran and otfaL When ABOUT
half grown the ducks change ownership oy
the wholesale again This time they are pur
chased by itinerant feeders ami Venders
These are the men whU Jwn the duck sam
pans, and who buy from the rearing estaU
isbment several hundred yyui.,: Iucks al a
time.
YOUNG DECKS AS FORAGEas
The duck boat men SAL up and down the
river, anchorlng now and then IN favoraL!e
along the muddy shore and shadows tor
food The slugs, worms. frogs crawfish
snails, and all manner OF creeping things that
abound in the Chinese river lands are COB,
bled up by the wholesale by the hungry
hordes Of quackers that are suddenly let
loose among them From being in the Gus.
tody of man from the very beginning of
their existence the Chinese ducks readily re
Spond to their owners call have seen a
drove of 1000 ducks foraging in a field
quarter of mile from shore At the owner
summons they came racing back to the boat.
Hopping their wings and quackIng loudly ir
response.
? As Tie ducks become fit for market the
boatmen dispose of them to the dealers III
the river side cities, and sometimes peddle
them through the streets themselves. As the
boatman's stock is depleted by sales he goes
to the rearing establishments and takes
aboard fresh supply. Great numbers OF
ducks are purchased from the duck boats by
provision dealers, who salt them down and
dry them Sailed ducks are one of the
staple articles of food in China, quite as
much So as Is bacon in the United States.
Vast quantities are shipped from one part OF
the empire 10 announcer duu W every SuLutSe
community in foreign countries One sees
the fattened carcases Of dried and salted
ducks hanging in the windows of every meat
market in Chinatown, San Francisco or New
York All these are cured In Lin Chow or
at some one of the many curing establish
crnents on the Pearl river about Canton
Another active branch Of the duck bust
ness is the sailing and preserving Of eggs
Preserved ducks eggs are one Of John China
mans favorite edibles and millions Of them
are 50 treated every season. On certain
festive occasions. as the birth of a son, large
quantities of these delicacies, dyed in fanciful
colors are eaten. To preserve them the eggs
are STEPPED for forty days in paste made OF
salt, lime and wood ashef> n sailed jars
Thrifty housewives all over China carefully
store away their wood ashes to sell to the men
who make business of preserving eggs
Thoms~ Stevens in New York Sun.