walk without being able to waste either, or mix the contents of food and water-dishes with filth. It also prevents the birds from sopping the straw in the bottom of their pens, or of soiling their white plumage, both of which they are bound to do if possible, and as the duck, especially the Pekin, is a very timid bird, this plan familiarizes her with the appearance of the attendant without bringing her into actual contact with him.

Use Half the Pens for Feeding Purposes.

One-half or ten feet of the twenty-foot pens should be utilized for feeding purposes. The lower board of this slat partition should not be more than three inches wide and should rest upon the ground so the birds can readily feed over it. As this ten-foot partition is but two feet high, the attendant can readily step over it to pick up a stray egg occasionally. Six feet of this partition should be portable and secured with a groove or button so it can be easily removed to allow the entrance of a barrow in cleaning out the pens; this should be done when the birds are out, never when they are in.

The remaining ten feet of the pen should be used for nest boxes, which can be fifteen inches square and one foot high. A board four inches wide may be fastened in front to prevent the nest material from being drawn out. This latter may be composed of finely cut hay or chaff. This must be perfectly dry, as the duck while laying will work it all over and cover her eggs carefully, which as they are pure white, become easily soiled and stained; this will necessitate washing unless things are kept dry and clean. This is a vital point with us, as it never did seem as if a filthy egg would hatch as well as a clean one. I abominate a machine filled with filthy eggs; it actually hurts my feelings to handle them. These nests should be covered closely and the partition above them be correspondingly high, as the birds will often mount upon the boxes. The back of the nest boxes next the walk should be closed with a board hinged below so that the attendant can let it down readily and secure the eggs from the walk.

The Room for Mixing Feed.

Some twelve feet of this breeding-house may be utilized as a cook and mixing room, and must necessarily be a little higher posted than the rest of the building,—say, two feet higher. This cookroom, with boiler, is an essential thing in a duck-house. Unlike hens, they do not take kindly to hard food and whole grain. Their digestive organs, in many points, are different from the hens, and they do not assimilate hard food readily. They require more vegetable food, and those vegetables must be cooked,—but more about this hereafter.

Of course, this building should be sweet and clean, and must be well deodorized; for, though ducks do not generate vermin like other fowl, and are not subject to as many diseases, or as readily affected by thermal changes,—in fact, a good driving rainstorm is their delight,—yet they will not thrive when confined in filthy quarters. It engenders a morbid appetite, impairs digestion, and your bird is poor before you know it. This, of course, arrests the egg production at once.

I wish here to impress upon the breeder the absolute necessity of the careful handling and feeding of his birds; and, when necessary, handle very gently, always taking the bird by the neck. This is very essential, because the bones of a well-bred, well-fatted duck seem wholly disproportioned to the size and weight of his body, and we have often seen a wing broken or a leg disjointed by the convulsive efforts of the bird to escape when caught by those members through the carelessness of the attendant.

The timidity of the Pekin is proverbial. You should move quietly among your layers if you would have them thrive, as constant agitation and disquietude will surely debilitate them and reduce their flesh. I have known a pair of heavy exhibition birds to lose a pound per day during their confinement the first four days of exhibition, and to be eight pounds lighter than they were ten days before when started for the show. Their recuperative powers are equally wonderful. I have often seen Pekin ducks, after having produced one hundred eggs in nearly as many days, on evincing a desire to sit, and being somewhat reduced in flesh, when shut up in a yard with drakes and well fed, in less than a week commence her regular contribution of an egg per day.

Water Not Needed.

The majority of people have the impression that water to bathe in is essential to secure fertility in duck eggs, but it is a great mistake. My ducks never see water, the year round, except to drink. They are confined in yards 24x100 feet, some forty in each yard, twenty-four feet being the size of the pens inside of the breeding house. They are confined in these yards for nine months, or till August 1, when they are removed in order that the land may be disinfected. This is done by plowing and growing a crop of barley or rye, when the land is ready for the ducks again.

Free Range Unnecessary.

I am constantly experimenting to see if there are defects in my system. A few years ago I had thirty breeding-yards devoted to ducks. I wished to ascertain the difference in egg production and percentage of fertility between ducks yarded close and those with free range, the feed and other conditions being the same. One lot of fifty ducks were allowed the range of a five-acre lot, in addition to their own yard. They ranged in common with our cows, there being plenty of grass. Another lot of seventy-five were allowed the range of the whole premises, with the same feed and care as the eight yards confined. The latter were liberally supplied with all the green and vegetable food needed. The egg production and the fertility of each were carefully noted. I was much surprised to find that the difference was very little, and that in favor of the birds confined.

The Mode of Feeding.

differs with the season of the year. During the autumn and early winter months feed twice each day about equal quantities of corn-meal, wheat-bran, and boiled turnips and potatoes, with about ten per cent. of ground beef scrap thrown in. At noon, give a small amount of dry food, composed of equal quantities of cracked corn, oats, and wheat. When the birds commence laying, as they will about January 1st, gradually increase the quantity of meal and animal food, proportionally decreasing the amount of bran.

The Pekin Duck.

is my favorite. I have experimented carefully during the last thirty years with all the larger breeds, crossing them in every conceivable way to obtain the best results, and am perfectly satisfied with the Pekins. I am now through experimenting, and as I grow nearly 20,000 ducklings yearly, can hardly afford to guess at it, as one cent per bird makes a difference of over $200. in my receipts,—one cent per pound, a difference of over $1200. It is readily seen that I can only afford to use the bird that will grow the greatest number of pounds of flesh in the shortest space of time. Nor is this all. It must be the bird that will give you the first eggs of the season, as this will enable you to get your birds on the market when they will command the highest price, as there is more clear profit from one early bird than from three later ones. This will be the more readily understood when it is known that the maximum price paid for early birds is thirty cents per pound in Boston and New York, the minimum price for late ones eighteen cents, the cost of production being the same for both.