that our days of research are nearly over, and we find that our life is all too short. But there is a satisfaction in knowing that others will take this thing up where we leave off and carry it on to the end.

The Superiority of Artificial Poultry Growing.

We predict a great future for artificial poultry growing. It is yet in its infancy. The time will come when it will gradually supersede many of the regular farm crops on the sterile soil of New England, when every farmer will have his proper complement of poultry appliances, and when you can prove to the average farmer that the capital necessary to run a poultry plant (which will with less labor ensure him a greater income than that from his whole farm) is less than one-fourth of that required for any other farm investment. You will begin to see him scratch his head to evolve ideas. The beginner in starting, should recollect that this is a business of detail and that small things must be taken into account. It is not only a very essential thing to choose the best breeding stock that can be had, but, all other conditions being the same, to select the color of their feathers.

We have always had a predilection in favor of white birds, for the feathers (which are no small item in ducks) command nearly double the price of colored ones, and are always more saleable. Again, we must cater for the market with young birds, and every one knows that young birds are more or less addicted to pinfeathers, many of which it is very difficult to remove, as they have secured a lodgment just under the skin, but have not found their way through. Now a dark pinfeather is a blot upon the fair surface of a fine chicken or duck, and the thrifty housewife in selecting her dinner will always leave the pins behind. She does not like a variety of colors in her duckling, if she does in her dress. The dealer, aware of this peculiarity of the ladies (who, by the way, form a large share of his customers) will, if he buys at all, cut you on the price.

Unfortunately we started in with dark birds, but it did not matter at that time, as the Pekin had not been imported, and there were very few Aylesburys in the country. We were surrounded by vermin of all kinds. Our young birds disappeared mysteriously, and in such large numbers that we were nearly discouraged. Hawks do not trouble ducks, but rats, weasels and minks developed such a fondness for them as to completely atone for any neglect on their part. We made a free use of steel traps, guns, and phosphoretic poison. The battle raged for two years; at the end of that time I think it would be difficult to find one of the above-mentioned vermin one-fourth of a mile from the place. It was a great relief; our ducklings could range at will, even be left out during the night, and still the full complement appear at the dough-troughs in the morning.

Do Not Have Neighbors Too Near.

Another source of discomfort was our neighbors' cats. Now, we are eminently social in our disposition, and enjoy our neighbors' company very much. We like to spend a social evening with them and have them do the same by us. But not so their cats. We never interchanged civilities with them, their visits were too ill timed and frequent. Our ducklings were carried off in large numbers, and in pure self-defense we shot the cats.

Of course, this made trouble in our neighbors' families, especially the female portion, by whom it was promptly resented. The principle of "touch my dog, touch me," was illustrated here in all its force. No amount of provocation ever justified us in their eyes in killing their cats. With pater familias it was different. His affections were not engaged. He recognized the necessity of the thing, laughed it off, and said it was all right. Now, cats breed fast and are very prolific, and our neighbors were plenty, and we are unwilling to state the amount of our losses from those sources, for fear our veracity would be doubted. We endured this sort of annoyance for some twelve years, but made up our minds that if we ever selected another poultry ranch we would locate our neighbors at a distance. We have done so, and now have no trouble from this source.

We found that the Cayuga duck was a more precocious bird than the Rouen, and were better layers. The eggs were more fertile. They were also much hardier, and, as a consequence, there was less mortality among the young. But they were rather small in size, dressing only seven to nine pounds per pair. The Rouens were nearly four pounds heavier, but had their disadvantages. They were not so productive in eggs, and those did not give us the same percentage of hatch, while the mortality among the little ones was much greater. We do not like to condemn any variety of birds on one trial, as we may be unfortunate in our selection of a strain, but our subsequent experience with these birds fully confirms the above; and though they are a large, attractive bird, we do not consider them as hardy as either Pekin, Aylesbury or Cayuga.