Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-03

Inere is no uOIneSllc IOWl So lie0
from disease and parasites as the Pc
kin duck. nor is there one that so
quickly responds to kind treatment and
intelligent care.
AS the public is being educated to the
fact that there is nothing more de-
licious than the ten-week duckling, the
demand for good ducks is steadily in
creasing.
Formerly people believed that to raise
ducks it was necessary to be where the
birds could have constant access to
water. AS a consequence, the larger
number were grown near the coast and
were fed largely on fish, and in conse-
quence the flesh was coarse and had
strong fishy taste, which was exceed
ingly disagreeable to most people. To-
day duck raising is quite different
matter. New the eggs are mostly arti-
f1cially incubtaed and the birds have
water only to quench their thirst.
I have never raised large numbers of
ducks, as my ground is limited, but it
seems to me that with minimum of
work one may raise maximum or
ducks. I have found that they grow
just as we'll if closely confined as
though they have a large range. To
my mind, the one great drawback to
duck raising is the fact that their
whole ambition seems to be to see if it
is possible to distribute their drinking
water over their entire enclosure and
thoroughly mix it with the bran mash
that they have succeeded in scattering
instead of eating. This leaves pen
that seems never to be really clean an
hour after YOU have carefully cleaned
it. I am satisfied that they will grow
the greatest number of pounds of flesh
in the shortest length of time of any of
the breeds, and with the possible ex-
ception of the Indian Runner will pro-
duce the greatest number of eggs, as
we'll as the earliest.
They have a coarse voice that they
do not hesitate to use in season and
out, but if they are some distance from
the house this is no great hardship.
The feathers of the Pekin are pure
white, and are largely mixed with
down, and always command a good
price in the market. They are a large,
beautiful bird, pure white on the out
side and slightly cream-colored near
the skin. They originated in China, as
and curved, and the head is finely
shaped, with full bright eyes, The legs
and beak are a dark bronze, in beauti-
full contrast to the white feathers. They
should weigh from seven to ten or
eleven pounds apiece when mature.
However, do not hold them until ma
ture to market them. About ten weeks
is the time when they are at their best
from market standpoint.
The white feathers are twice as val
liable as those from the colored breeds,
and the ducklings when picked look
much better, as there are no disfguring
colored pinfeathers.
The natural food of the duck is soft;
unlike the hen. the duck has no crop,
the duct leading from the throat to
the gizzard direct, is very small com
pared to the size of the bird. Conse-
quently it does not thrive we'll on hard
food. They should be fed mash
composed of bran and meal in about
equal parts, with about Is per cent of
animal food. This mash should be
crumbly, not sloppy. They should have
plenty of green food, and should only
be fed what they will eat up clean. If
the mash can be mixed with milk, well
nd GOOD. hut do not give them milk