Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1894-12-23
ON A DUCK RANCH.
Pennsylvania Farm Sells Twelve
 Thousand Ducks a Year.
An Interesting Account of Visit to This Unique Institution How tho Fowls Are Handled and
 Marketed

During my vacation days last sum .mer. says writer in Country Gentle
 man, l found in a valley under the shadow of the Blue mountains of Penn sy1vania what the proprietors called q duck ranch The name struck me as
 being odd. If it means broad acres. ranch is a misnomer; if it signifies a place where large numbers of animals CT fowls are reared, this place was well aamed, since during the past year twelve thousand ducks were reared on the few acres of the ranch.
 The story told by the proprietor was confirmed by their New York buyer At the time of my visit, early in Sep tember. there were about four thou sand nearly ready for market, and such T multitude of pure white birds was q pretty sight. The variety grown is the fellin, that at maturity will weigh fourteen to twenty pounds to the pair They have rich, yellow skin, and or ange colored bills and legs. They bear confinement well. and t is claimed they may be reared successfully with water sufficient only for drink However, it | found that without water in which to wash themselves their plnmaec is soiled by the mud, and the feathers. worth from forty to fifty cents pound, are injured in market value.
 The Pel1ins are prolific in eggs, lay ing from 125 to 150 each in a year. but many of the eggs are infertile h fact, the proprietors of this ranch thought they did not get to exceed fifty ducks from 100 eggs The duck naturally, or as ordinarily kept on the farm, rarely lays before spring time. Duelzs reared in the approved modern style. matched in May. will begin to lay about the holidays and continue laying all win ter and this weakeas then vitality. But why is not the constitution weak ened also in respect to making rapid and great growth of frame? The barn. yard fowl has undergone the same rev olution of habit, and have found their eggs as fertile in winter as # any other time. Is not this lack of fertility at- tributable rather to the fact that the natural habit of the duck is not com pletely revolutionized by domesticc- tion? By nature the duck is mono gamous-that is. the drake mates only with one ducb--aud it is probable that in large iloclss there are dlales that will mate each only with one dnclz. while other dral1es will earc for two CT more each, and thus the fertilization proves unequal and irregular Ducks tt their best de not show the develop ment of the polygamous habit to the same extent as barnyard fowls. The best authorities recommend in-breeding only five or six ducks to one dr,s!4e.
 The eggs are matched in incubators. which are set in operation as soon as there is q complement of eggs to i'll 8 machine. On we'll managed duck farm the duclzlings should begin to peep about the 1at of February. and incubators are lePl running until the lst of July The durl5s are roafea rn- der artificial breeders in their houses and ia small yards. an! aot allowed ae- cess to water for bathsnr until month old presume ia winter they never ro out of their yarIi untl i5ilie.l. From the time they are latcaad until reasly for market sl,e dnehlisses are fed al the wholesome food thcy can digest. 'i1li at ten weeks old the Pcl1ins should dress ten pounds to the pair
 Of course, such vgeiglita arc obtained only by farmers who thoroughly wn- derstana fine basi-ess. Tflle ean l vis- tied had been in the bs.silcss several years and had learned loy practical cx- 39sience how Co achieve success. For anyone ee try 1t, relying on book knowledge alone. yvoaA. simply be in- viting failure. Tn competent hands poultry farming may he successfully conducted on a large scale; hence it was great satisfaction to see this no- sion illustrated on this .aach. did not inquire how well it was paying, but slaat 1t was . paying business va. evi- sient- U is proposed b try and rear s8890 ducks at this ranch next year. u is estimated that pessin ducks may ae reared to the age of ten weeks for 2 eenzs pound, and the price rs- eeivea will probably average 70 cents q pound. The earliest shipments will eeafize 8 cents a pound or more. and la cents is about the lowest figure for Item ae any season.
 There is one peculiar feature in the market fer choice poultry the breeder neea not consign his stock for sale and take the chances of the market. 4 class of New York dealers are always II search of poultry of superior s1l1al- fly. and will buy 1t outright Ut excel- sesit prices These dealers supply lhe larFFc fashionable hotels and rastaur- ants that will have only the Lest. and t Is eften more Of q question of ability to get what they want than of price. Inc hanse handling these ducks in New York was getting 20 cents pound for choice spring chickens V hen