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Show H I i; THE DUCKS?! Wtl-I H I " v.-l--'f h ?uv!i H j C. S. Gorline. Hi rr r,, . f , t, H Written for thcDcserctjjEarmcf. h H There pre millions oft 'English Hi speaking people v!iq 'arc unorc or, Jcssj HI familiar with the species of fowl, , HI whose chief characteristic that of HI plunging beneath the water, hence, Hi a duck which has acquired a name Hj and a place tin the poultry yard that H is second to none. When, the curtain H of liistory was rung up on the stig. H of life many centuries ago the re- H inofcancestors of our present, breeds H f ducks were found in m partial state H of domestication. Cblmnclla, one of H the earlier Roman writers, mentions H both the wild and tame diclc as.in- H mates 'of the Roman poultry yard some eighteen hundred centuries' ago. i The duck, however, docs not -seem to hoivc teen known to the ancient Egyptians, Egyp-tians, nor ds it mentioned in Jewish hfslory nor in the Ol&'Tcsta'mcntt ' It is' believed that .the, Romans were among the first to domesticate the duck and that it was carried by them to England along with the Dorking fowl. The nesting habits of the bird rendered tine task of gathering the eggs comparatively easy and the eggs were hatched by common domesticated domesticat-ed hens. There can therefore be lit-''tie lit-''tie doubt that the several breeds of domesticated duck arc descended from the 'common wild duck (Anas bco-' bco-' chas); about the only important distinction dis-tinction between the wild and the domesticated do-mesticated being in color and size. In; its wild state, the duck has a wide , range, from the Arctic to the Antarctic Antarc-tic regions, and being migratory it is found in all intermediate region.?. Unlike the wild duck, however, th'i domesticated species arc polygamous. In Europe and in 'America the will duck is subject to but little variation, while on the Malayan archipelago there is said to be an "nusua.1 an 1 wonderful variety of ducks, but alj oc the donicstioated species. In the Southern States and in Mexico, too, the domesticated varieties arc vcv numerous and in some instances take pn, most beautiful plumage.. There h a- wide range of differences, too,in the color of the eggs produced, raifg- ing Jrom a pale green to almost pure sf H , 5'. r whitcwhilc in Labrad'or the first laid --- n eggs of thia season arc nearly black. In. the domesticated state, there is a noticcaHc reduction in the iswccp'of the w'ingj plainly the result of gradual disuse owing to the fact of their being protected from enemies. With the shortening of the wings, we notice a gradual change in the type; a fuller, flatter rnd broader keel and shorter and stouter legs. Under domestication domestica-tion there has also been a marked ifi-crease ifi-crease in size. As a result of variation varia-tion and artificial selection, we now have the following breeds of white d'ucksi The Pckin, Aylesbury, Gall, Crested, Muscovy; colored ducks, the Rouen, and Muscovy; black, the Cay- uga and East India, .and blue ducks kn&wn'as Swedish and Indian Runnel Run-nel ' S ncr. , . 4 Of the 'utility breeds, the I?ck"in stands easily at the head of the list, followed cldscly by the Aylcsburjy, the Rouen and 'the Indian Runner. It is the Pckin duck that has mra.de possible pos-sible the great duck ranches of the Atlantic states, where in some instances in-stances thirty to forty thousand young ducks arc annually produced on a single plant, and for which a ready ud profitable market is found in the cities. Pcrlwups no breed can equal tl.r.m for forcing For market s they can .be brought up to a weight of five pounds each in fromi six to eight weeks. The American variety of the Pckin duck is tine largest pi all ducks. When fully mia.turcdf, 'it 'jj not unu.uial for them to weigh 20 lb4s. to the pair although the standard weight of the drake is but 8 lbs. and that of the adult duck 7 lbs., while the weight of the Aylesbury drake is 9 lbs. and that of the duck 8 lbsu which is the same as the standard weight of the Rouens. The Aylesbury Ayles-bury ie the English exhibition breed and, is much like the Pekin in man wa-ys. The carriage of its keel ds lower, low-er, in front and its bill, shanks' and feet are more of tt light straw c,olor than those of the Pekin andi thejyoung do not mature as quickly, although they are considered better roasting ducks. The demand for white plumage plum-age in poultry of late yetairs has done much to discourage the raising of the Rouen duck which for centuries has been the pride of England and which i9 undoubtedly one of the best roasters roast-ers ever put upon the market. In Conn and color the Rouen is almost an exact counterpart of the wild Mallard, Mal-lard, so highly esteemed by all lovers of roast duck. Amiongst the black ducks the Cayuga and East India hold first place. The Cayuga is said to be a variation of a wild duck that formerly for-merly abounded in the vicinity of the beautiful lake of that name in northern north-ern New York, and which has been bred up to its present state of utility I and beauty. The Cayuga is of good 1 size and the color of the plumage is i a rich brilliant black glossie'd over I with a d'clicatc greenish sheen. The last duck to be admitted to the Standard Stand-ard is the Indian Runner and thii breed bids fair to eclipse the Pckin in popularity when better known. Like the famous Rhode Island Reds, the Indian Runner has sprung from nowhere in particular. They arc of medium size, very hardy, mature quickly and as producers of eggs are really wonderful, some breeders claiming an average of as high as 200 cggG per bird per annum. In sluipc they arc most peculiar, carrying the keel at an angle of about 90 degrees de-grees and in movement they have the o-ppcarancc of tipping or constantly fialling forward. In color, too, they arc peculiar. The head is a light gray and while or fawn colored, bill green with black head, hazel eyes, 'neck white from head to breast, breast a light fawn, body and fluff fawn or ; light gray, shanks and toes a rich golden color. For a .strictly fancy birdi, there is nothing that will compare with the Hooded Merganser. The "hood" is not unlike the hcad-dros'S shown in pictures of ia.ii Indian Chief. It has a black base, with a white center, and is surrounded with a black fringe. The neck is black as is the bill and back, but with a. white breast and white wing flights. This istriking plumage, with its fiery red eycs makes a combination that is .enchanting .enchant-ing to the admirer of the strictly fancy. |