Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-07-15
DICKS EVERYWHERE.
the PART THEY PLAY IN CHiNAS
MATERIAL ECONOMY.

the PART THEY PLAY IN cttiNAs
MATERIAL ECONOMY.
The Celestial Kinedow's r.s' Wealth q
Poe;try-The Basine~s OF Rearing f'uekA
Matching By Arrineiai Theoretically ir
MHrkee-Preserviax EsS&
DUCKS. chickens and geese probably pfav
more important part IN the material econ
oInJ Of life In China than IN al other coon
tries PUT together Speaking mor~ Tsarucu
tariy Of the former bird while u would no
doubt be IN exaggeration % say that the
ducks OF China outncmber the domestic
ducks OF the whole world beside il would
not be 80 much Of N exaggerae1on a. some
might think CHINA u . difiiculs country 70
estimate correctly In many features Ia
population Is by no means definitely enurnsE>
ated. aad the claim that the tonnage Of il
inland commerce excseds the ocean tonnage
of all the world Is not the idle boast one = ~
first thought disposed to think il So in the
matter Of ducks. were thers any way 30 end
out, it might be found that China contained
more than all other countries put together.
Ducks are q staple food OF rich and poor.
and the numbers one SECS everywhere are
something bewilderins. The vast swarun oe
tame ducks feeding In the fields or Forging
in the lakes and rivers everywhere through
out the empire are one Ct the most striking
features of the country You no sooner cro3
the bar Of Chinese river than you begin 70
see big droves Of ducks forastng along the
bant-s for food in charge Of duck herds
Duck sampans float past yoo-boars aseed Up
especially for the business Of rearing ducks
their quacking cargoes numbering NOT In
frequently 1900 ducks
These queer crafts fairly swarm on tho
lower reaches Of the Pearl river, In the vicin-
ity Of Canton. During tho memorable sy-
phopn Of July, isdo, that wrought such do
struction there. many Of tie duck sampans
were capsizsd and the ducks released The
result was that the river for some distance
was a mass Of tame ducks for the time being
without owners By tie unwrit,en Nv %
the duck rearing fraternity, every duck rnaA
gets away from q boas becomes . ''msr
verick, and, like the unbranded steer Of the
western ranges. is the property Of any body
who can gather him in
THOROUGHLY sYysEuzrn
The business of rearing ducks Is thoroughly
systemized in China Most Of the eggs in
the great centers OF population arc Matched
by artificial means in institutions called Poo
ap-chong. Like 50 many other things, ard
fetal incubation vas practieed In China long
before It was thought OF IN western coun
tries visit 70 one OF these patching estab
hshments Is very interesting In the large
Poo-ap-cbong al Pace- tai -shuee, near Canton,
hundreds Of ducklings are coaxsd by artifi-
ciai means out OF their shelis and into the
great busy world every day The way John
Chinaman manages il Is this:
the eggs are packed In baskets Of rics
husss, which have been thoroughly heated
through over charcoal ernbers The baskets
ara then stacked in tiers in dark rooms where
a high Temperature is maintained by Jars of
burning charcoal After few hours the
eggs are removed from the ilusks and PACKED
in warm baskets lined with soft paper. in
another artiticially nsated room Here they
are sept for two weeks. during which period
each egg is carefully turned over twice a day
AT the end of this time the eggs are laid ous
on broad benches and covered with paper for
another fortnight, wneD the tiny duckiings
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 10 buy the eggs and hatch out the
duckiings, the new arrivals are soid witnous
delay to the dealers whose spccaal branch OF !.
the business Is 10 rear the tender youngsters
TO a matursr age. Tho rearing establish
inents are situated on the bania of a river or
lake
Between Fat-shnn and sam-shuee. on the
Pearl river, | paid visit TO one OF thess
duckling establishments where there must
have been $1,000 ducks Huge coppers Of
rice were being boiled 20 feed them WITH and
bare legged men were coming and going with
baskets OF small land crabs worms. u1aggots (
and tiny fish Later ia life they are fed with
coarser food, bran and offal " hen about
half grown the ducks chang. ownersnip by
the wholesale again This time they are pur~< \
chased by itiaerant feeders and vsndera
These are the men who own the duck sam,
pans and VINO buy from the rearing stab
iishment several hundred young ducks ~
time
YOUNG DECKS Az poRAGERs
The duck boat sail up AMI down the
river ancnor1ng now AMI then IN IA yorabIs
places TO bet their numerous brood forage
along the muddy shore ana shadows for
food The siugs, WORMS. frogs crawflsh,
snaiis. and all manner Of creeping things that
abound in ,he ChIne~e river lands are rob-
bied up BY the wholesale by the hungry
nordes Of quarkerS that are suddenly lss
loose among them. From being IN the Gus
tody OF man from tho very beginning Of
their existence the Chinese ducks readily TO
spond to their owners call 1 have zen
drove Of 1000 ducks forsging In a Geld
Qnarter Of a mile from shore AT the ownerp
SUMMONS they came rscing back 20 the boat. r.,
Topping their wings and quackinx loudly In
RESPONSE
As tho ducks become fit for rnarkss The
boatnen dispose Of them to the dealers In
toe river side cities and sometimes p~sids
them through the streets Themselves Az tho
boatman's stock "a dcpleted by sales be goes
20 the rearing establishments snd takes
aboard a fresh suprly. Great numbers Of
ducks are purchased from the duck boasa By
provision dealers, who salt thsrn down and
DRY them Sailed ducks are ono II The
gtapis articles Of food IA China guitD -
much - as IL bacon in the United SsAera
Vast quantities are shipped from one part Of
the empire TO another and TO svery CAin..s 4
in foreign Countries Ons $500
the satsened carcass 81 crisd and salt>i
ducks hanging IN sbs wtndows u every meas
nsrke. IN Chinatown. San PraBc4.co or New
York All rAese are cured Ia Ian Chow or
AZ souas ore OF The many curing e<;2hlaaA-
merits On the Peari river sbo1t Canton
Another active b<ascE Of The duck hx5-
oess IN tbs sahsng and p<ezervinz 1T scxA