The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-19
Ny MRS. JOHN MOSES Mississippi City, Miss.

"ASStssippi 0ttFs MfsS
 Duck raising is conducted successfully both as a side isue on general farms and as a special business on q large scale. The sale of these birds is not con- fined chiefly to the holiday season, like turkeys. but the demand is an all-the- year one On general farm they add variety, both in meat and in eggs, to the farmers table.
 Ducks lay their eggs early in the day, and should be confined to the house or pen until 9;30 or 10 o'clock in the morning If allowed to roam early in the morning they may lay in pond or stream and the eggs may be lost.
 The period of incubation for ducks eggs is 2S days, except for the Muscovy duck, which is B to % days The eggs may be matched either naturally or arti- ficially, but on practically all of the large duck farms the hatching is done in iTAu- ba tors. Strong, fertile eggs are a prime esentiai in good hatching, and are ob- tained only from stock properly mated and kept under the best possible condi- tions to secure health and vigor Eggs from overfat breeding stock do not usual ly produce a large percentage of strong ducklings.~ Pekin and Indian Runner ducks rarely sit; consequently. if natural methods of incubation are to be used, the eggs are usually matched under hens Ducks eggs should be washed off if dirty Washing does not appear to in jure their matching quantities.
 Before setting hen dust her thor oughly with insect powder In applying this powder hold the hen by the feet. with her head hanging down. and work it thoroughly into the feathers, giving special attention around the vent and un- der the wings If several hens are sitting in the same room, confine them on the nests, allowing them to come off only once a day for feed and water. Sitting hens should be fed whole or cracked grains such as corn or wheat. Place nine to eleven duclc'' eggs under a hen, depending on her size and the season of the year. using the smaller number of eggs in cold weather and the larger num- Der in warm weather. Confine the hens al hatching time and do not disturb them until the hatch is completed, unless they be come restless, when it may be best to remove the ducSlings that matched first.
 Hens must be well cared Tor in matching ducks eggs, as the period of incuba- tion is a week longer than that of hens eggs. 1t usually takes ducklngs from "A to 4S hours to hatch after they DICK the shells; therefore it is advisable to allow the hen to get off the nest Tor fed and water when the first ducllings pick the shell and then confine her to the nest until the matching is over Ducks eggs need more moisture than hens eggs at matching time, as it takes the ducks much longer to get out of the shell, The eggs therefore. should be sprinkled with warm water previous to matching.
 Incubators for matching ducks eggs are usually kept at a slightly lower temper ature than for hens eggs. Keep the ma chine at 102 degrees F for the first three weeks and 1O8 degrees F for the last week The temperature may go above lo3 degrees r, and sometimes will go as high as 104 degrees r at matching time. Oper- ate the machines according to the manu- facturer's directions.
 Ducks are much easier to brood aru- 0cially than chickens, but they may also he raised under hens successfully. If raised by the latter method it is advisable to