Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-25
CANTON DUCKS AND GEESE
OBEDIE:NT TO THE CALL OF THEIR
OWNERS.
Forage for Themselves All Day, hut
Come Back to Their Beet
Home 1t Night.

Written for The enfng Star.
or all strange things that are to be found
in the many strange cities Of that strange
country, Canton, perhaps, furnishes the
strangest sights which the traveller from
the west finds in China. The boating popu-
lation of Canton alone Is estimated at 30o,-
o0v persons, who possess no other home,
whose strange life from the cradle to the
grave Is spent entirely on the rivers. with
the dipping of the oars, or the tremulous
culver of the long steering scull. as the
ceaseless accompaniment of all life's inter-
ests. This boating population has little
no connection with life in its social aspect
on shore; 1t has its own water police, its
river magistrate. its river doctors and, final
ly, its river priests. 1t forms, in fact, q
water city complete in itself.
But Of all the multitudinous boats, per-
haps the strangest are the duck and geese
beats, some of which shelter as many as
700 birds, which have been purchased
wholesale at the great duck and geese
farms and reared for the market. After
seeing one of these boats one no longer
wonders at the multitudes of these birds in
the Chinese provision markets. where they
form one Of the staple foods Of the people.
either fresh or in dried state. Beyond the
first expense Of buying the birds, the owner
OF the boat incurs no expense in feeding
day to forage for themselves along the mud
shores and the neighboring fields. where
they find abundance of dainty little land
crabs, frogs and worms, snails. slugs and
masgots. They are allowed couple of
hours for feeding and are then called back,
when they obey with an alacrity which IS
truly surprising, the pursuit of even the
most tempting frog being abandoned in
their hurry to waddie on board. Never was
there go obedient a school, and 1t Is difficult
to believe that this extraordinary pune
tuality is really attained by the fear of the
sharp stroke of a bamboo. which Is In
variaby administered to the last bird.
ArtinciaIIy Matched.
We have heard so much OF Chinese inge-
nuity that we are not greatly surprised to
find that the greater part of these ducks
are Matched artificially, or. in other words.
that they are the product Of a kind of in
cubator. Large duck-hatching establish
ments are found along the banks of all
small creeks and streams near Canton as
well as other large Chinese cities. In these
Matching houses many thousands of eggs
daily are being warmed gradually in great
baskets filled up with heated chaff and
placed on shelves of very open basketwork,
which are arranged in tiers all round the
walls. while on the ground are placed
earthenware stoves full Of burning char
coal. Here the eggs are kept for day and
a night, the position Of the baskets with
reference to the stoves being constantly
changed by attendants, who reserve their
wearing apparel for cooler atmosphere.
After this preliminary heating the eggs
are removed to other baskets In another
heated room. to which they are dexterous-
ly carried in cloths, each containing about
fifty eggs; no one but a neat-handed Chi
naman could carry such burdens without
breaking them. Here the eggs remain for
a fortnight, each egg being frequently
moved from place to place to equalize their
share of the heat. After this they are taxi
en- to a third room, where they are spread
nN-nr mid Sh.Altr ot,1 rxrit h
warm cotton. At the end of another fort
night hundreds of little ducklings stimuli
taneously break their shells, and by even
ing perhaps a couple of thousand fluffy lit
tie beauties are launched into life and are
forthwith fed on rice water. Duck farmers
are in attendance to buy so many hundred
of these ducklings. for they know precisely
when each great Matching is to take place
These the farmers take off to their respect
i've farms. where there are already an i'm
mense number of ducks and geese of diff
ferent ages, all in separate lots. The geese,
owing to the thickness OF their egg shells,
ares not Matched artificially; STILL flocks
numbering six eight hundred are reared,
and are provided with waffle shelves on
which to roost, damp ground Is .consid-
cred injurious to the young birds.
Morning Goose Market.
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 bought
by the duck farmers, they are fed on boiled
rice and after a while are promoted to
bran, maggots and other delicacies till the
day comes when the owners Of the duck
boats before mentioned come to purchase
the half-grown birds and commence to let
them fatten themselves. This continues
until they are ready for the market, and
either sold for immediate consump-
ton or bought wholesale by the provision
dealers, who split, salt and then dry them
trails are also dried and sold separately,
and the bills. tongues and feet are picked
In brine.
More curious still than Chinese methods
of dealing with fowls is their way of han
ding eggs. The charm Of lightly boiled
fresh egg is an unknown quantity to the
nizes eggs when hard boiled and much
prefers them advanced in age. For ordi-
nary use especially as a light diet for in
valids eggs are simply preserved by be-
ing stepped in salt water mixed with either
SCOT or red clay, in which they are baked
when required. But the truly refined pro-
cess Is to prepare solution of wood ashes,
lime and salt mixed with water in which
some aromatic herb has been boiled This
paste is run into tub and the newly laid
eggs are therein EMBEDDED in layers The
tub is Theoretically sealed, and at the end
of forty days the eggs are considered fit
for use, but at the end of forty years they
will be still better. They become black
throughout owing to the presence of the
lime, but the white becomes gelat inous and
the whole tastes rather like plovers eggs
hard boiled says one who had the cour-
age to try them. AS the value of this
dainty increases with age the Chinese cpl
cure discrimnates between the eggs of
successive decades, treating his most hon
ored guests to the oldest and most costly
just as the owner of good cellar brings
forth his choice wines.
The Professor.
From the Chicago Tribune.
In union," quoted the doctor. there is
strength"
Yes, assented the professor. Some