Evening star., 1919-08-17

ing less plentiful. Twenty years
ago nearly every farm of any consid-
erable size, and innumerable small
ones supported ducks in varying
numbers. while on those farms bor-
dering the bays. rivers and their trib-
utaries flocks of geese could invaria-
bly, be found.
The plucking of these geese was
an event of Importance; in fact. they
were grown largely for their feath-
ers. and are still grown for that pur-
pose in the south, where the live
fowls are plucked from two to three
times a year, in some cases as often
as once in every six weeks each
goose producing on an average OF a
little more than pound of feathers,
valued at so cents a pound
Reports from this section of the
country and its surrounding territory
indicate a tendency on the part of
the farmer to discard the ducks and
geese. During the past two years
have visited farm after farm in Mary
land on which there were no signs of
the presence of these fowls. This
condition is unfortunate, because OF
all types of poultry none is more
profitable than these waterfowl.
Wonderful foragers they are, making
few demands upon the farmer or his
family. while from the waste mate
rial of the farm, the home and the
natural foodstuffs found on the range
meat of the highest quality is pro-
duced.
The eggs. too. particularly those
from the ducks, furnish quantities of
valuable and highly nutritious food
foS human consumption. The young
ducks, or ducklings. and the gos-
lings offer a welcome change OF diet,
and the adult fowls come in very
useful during the winter. when fresh
meat is less plentiful in the country.
But, argues the housewife, ducks
and geese require too much OF my
time. With my house work and my
chickens I have all that I can attend
to. and unfortunately in many In
stances this is only too true. If more
of our improved labor saving devices
were used in the home and better
equipment provided for the poultry;
If standard bred poultry were kept.
and If some systematic method Of
management practiced, time could
more easily be found to give to the
care Of ducks and geese.
In the selection of the ducks the
poultry keeper has rather a wide
range in the way of breeds and varie-
ties to select from. According to the
American standard Of perfection there
are eleven standard breeds now rec
ognized by the American Poultry AS
sociation-the Pekin, Muscovy, Ayles-
bury. Rouen. cayuga, Buff Swedish
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the black East India. All of these. with
the exception Of the Muscovy. are said
to be descended from the wild Mal1ard.
The three last-named breeds are not
commonly found on the farms. AS
utility fowls they do not rank with
the others. They are rather ornament
al and are raised mainly for exhibi-
tion purposes. The Call ducks. which
are the smallest, are used successfully
as decoys in the shooting of wild
ducks.
In this country the most popular
breeds are the Pekin. Muscovy and
the Indian runner. the first named
being by far the most important COM
mercially. 1t is of Chinese origin and
was first brought into the United
States from England in 1874. Since
then it has grown rapidly in popu-
larity.
Enormous duck ranches have been
in several Of the eastern
states. while on Long Island there
are many plants having a capacity
of from forty to fifty thousand green
ducks or broilers annually. which in
from four to six pounds each. AS
soon as they reach this stage they
are dressed and marketed. as the
meat Is then at its best. The dressed
carcass with its rich yellow skin is
free from unsightly dark pin feathers.
all plumage being creamy white. The
shanks and toes are or should be
reddish orange in color and the bill
orange yellow free from black mark
ings.
Though bred primarily for meat. the
quiet and gentle, can be easily han
died and controlled. AS its body is
heavy in comparison with its spread
of wings, 1t has not power Of sus-
tained flight and may be confined by
low fences. The adults. male and fe-
male. are uniform and much alike in
size. the drake and duck weighing nine
and eight pounds, respectively.
The Muscovy, though a heavy. meaty
fowl Is not in the same class with
the Pekin. One writer declares that
lit is a good flyer and can readily
fly over ordinary poultry fences"
There is nothing unusual about that
for the Muscovy: they can fly over
the highest fences ever built and then
still higher. have seen them m
sustained flight for at least four or
five minutes flying over the tops Of
the forest trees. They are wonderful
foragers but poor layers. The stand
ard weights Of the adults are. drake
10 pounds, duck pounds. The red
face is roughened or corrunculated.
There are two varieties of the breed,
the white and colored. The plumage
of the former is pure white. the legs
are pale orange or yellow, while the
bill is pinkish flesh colored. The
body and wing plumage of the col
ored variety is lustrous blue splash
ed with white. The tail feathers are
black. The bill is pink shaded with
horn and the legs yellow or dark
lead in color.
The Ayesbury is very like the Pekin
grows rapidly and is well adapted to
the farm and the commercial plant.
Its plumage is pure white and the
dressed fowl is most attractive. 1t is
an English importation-in fact, the
breed is a native of that country, where
1t has attained great popularity.
The Rouen duck is a French pro-
duction as indicated by it's name. 1t
is also like the Pekin in shape and
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