Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1893-11-08
AN ELDER DUCK FARM.
How IcetRnd's Chief Industry Is Mar
a1cd and M,Ja p-o9tahyo

aged and Made Profitable.
In thu recesses and holes and
cavities between the hummocks of
ICELAND the cider ducks may be seen
sitting on their nests. OF these
here axe several scores, and the birds
themselves when sitting are perfectly
lame, some of them even allowing a
stranger to stroke them with the
hand. They are not all Matched at
he same time, and are still in the
'gg when others a-e Matched and
swimming about in the sea The
irake. as is so frequently the case
With the male bird. is a handsome,
snowy creature, with much white in
1is plumage. He is excessively shy
aud wary. while the female, whose
)lumage is brown and glossy, is, on
'he contrary, tame and confidinr.
The duck lays from five to six eggs
It the beginning OF June. and it is
10 unusual thing to find from ten to
sixteen eggs in one nest. together
with two females, who sit either ct in
.ervals, or, if necessary, both at the
same time, and strange to say. Eeem
TO agree remarkably well with one
mother. The period of laying lasts
Iome six o. seven weeks, and the
birds are in the habit of laying three
lines in different places. From the
1rst and second Of these both the
Town and eggs are taken away. but
rom the last it Is very seldom that
;he farmer removes either. Should
lie do 50 with any degree OF per-
sistency the birds would desert the
otality, and he is not such fool as
% destroy the duck with the golden
eggs.
In some cases the owner resides
On or near the farm. In this par
ticular instance he visits the island
from the mainland once a week at
least So soon as he and his men
arrive at the nest they carefully re-
move the female and take away the
suPerAuous down and eggs. The
luck Immediately begins to Law
fires and covers her eggs with
new down, which she plucks from
her own breast If the supply is in
adequate the male comes to her assist
ance and helps to cover the eggs
with his down. This being white is
easily distinguished from the brown
coTering which the female supplies,
and is not so good in quality.
The nest is now, as a general rule.
let until the young ones are Matched,
There Is not much callowness and
helplessness about these youngsters.
About an hour after they are out of
the she'll they quit the nest together,
when it Is once more plUndered. This
1oWn IS divided into selweed down
and grass down. The latte. Is gener-
ally considered to be the best ia
quality. The down is very valuable
and fetches from 81 to So pound.
The three first takes of down vary
considerably in quality. the first
being superior to the second AMI the
second to the third. The birds them
selves, apart from their down giving
capacities, are OF little value. The
down taken from dead elder ducks is
valreless, as it has lost all its marve-
lous elasticity.
Az elder duck farm or is excessively
proud Of his ducks. and regards them
With intense and peculiar affection,
'ays the Chicago Record. The owner
II the farm just described was in the
habit of saying that he would rather
ose one of his children than one of
lis ducks, but to any one who had
seen both, this statement would seem
to have had but little comparative
value