DUCK. Anas. The family comprises many varieties. The domestic varieties, as compared to the wild, are but few. The most import ant of the domesticated ducks are, the Mal lard, the Aylesbury, the Rouen, the Musk, or Brazilian duck, incorrectly called Muscovy, and also Guinea duck, the black East Indian, the Wood duck, the Mandarin and the black Cayuga duck. Of these varieties the Wood duck is principally valuable for the brilliant and varied plumage of the males. The common duck of our barnyards is a mongrel made up of numerous varieties, and has nothing to commend it in this day of pure breeds. They are of almost every mixture of gray and white, many of them resembling the wild Mallard, showing in a striking manner, by reversion, one of the origins of this bird. The period of incubation of the duck is from twenty-eight to thirty-six days, depending on the season, the variety, and the temperature of the air. In suitable localities ducks are profitable, and any locality is suitable where they may be able to reach a pond, run ning stream or marshy land. In all such loca tions they will, iu a great measure, provide for themselves during the summer. If kept in confinement they soon pine, and if fed exclu sively on artificial food the cost of keeping will be more than the value of the ducks. The young of all ducks are great insect destroyers, and among the most agile of young fowls. Hence in the garden, or on the farm, a few broods, hatched under a hen, and the coops placed among rows of vegetables where insects abound, will be found to amply pay for them selves. They are also prolific layers, laying about one hundred eggs in a year. The first food of young ducks should be curds, hard boiled eggs chopped fine, rubbed up with bread crumbs, and moistened with milk. At the end of a week they will greedily eat Indian meal mush in which a few onion tops, chopped fine, have been mixed. The Aylesbury is the largest, except the White Musk, and by the best white duck. It is distinguished by its large size, its cream-white plumage, and its characteristic light yellow or cream-colored bill and orange legs. When well bred, adult Aylesbury ducks weigh from eight to ten pounds per pair, while the best specimens will reach twelve. This duck takes its name from the town of that name,where it has long been bred with great care. The Aylesbury is a prolific layer, it being not unusual for the duck to lay more than one hundred eggs, and in some instances one hundred and fifty, in a single season. The average weight of their eggs is about three ounces. Early-hatched birds sometimes lay in the fall. It is quiet and easily fattened, and fine for the table. The Black East Indian or Buenos Ayrean cluck, a native of both sections that contribute to its name, is not as well known as it deserves to be, though it is more remarkable for its beauty and excellent game flavor than for its size, being less in size than the Aylesbury. Metallic tints, varying with the light from green to a gilded purple, decorate their form of uniform velvet-black, their bills and feet being of the same hue. The female has the same general color as her mate, and is nearly as beautiful, while her disposition is far more amiable. These ducks require but common feeding to be fit for the table, their flesh being prized for its high game flavor. The Mallard duck is only interesting as being generally regarded as the progenitor of our common domestic duck, and of the Aylesbury and Rouen. It is found all over the northern part of both •continents in its wild state, congregating during winter in vast flocks. It is bred in England and Ireland, in marshy districts in a partially reclaimed state, under the name of the Marsh duck. It is small, hardy, prolific, dark gray, and is esteemed as a game bird. The Musk duck is a native of Brazil, South America,where it is still found in large numbers in its wild state. It is occasionally called the Brazilian duck. In their wild state these ducks are very dark colored, while with us they are changed to various mixtures of brown, black, and white, and sometimes a blending of brown and drab. The adult drake weighs from nine to ten pounds, while the duck rarely exceeds half his weight. They have long bodies, short legs, and a very -clumsy appearance upon the ground, which they much prefer to large bodies of water. They like to perch upon the branches of a low tree, a fence, or a low building, especially during the night. They do not rank high for the table, even when young; and the males are tyrants in the poultry yard. Time of incubation from thirty-four to thirty-six days. The Rouen duck has for a long time been as distinguished in France as is the Aylesbury in England. It is the largest and, in some respects, the best duck of all our domestic varieties, though less beautiful in form than the Aylesbury. Its color is pleasing, closely resem bling the wild Mallard. These ducks have broad, -clumsily-built bodies, and when highly fattened they are very ungainly in their movements. They are remarkably quiet, easily fattened, and are most excellent layers of very large eggs, and have no equal for the table in the domestic family of ducks. The adult Rouen not unfre quently reaches from twelve to fifteen pounds per pair. The Wood duck, so called from its habit of building its nest in the hollows of trees, and also from its frequenting the edges of river groves in search of acorns—one of its principal foods in the autumn—is one of the most beauti ful of the duck tribe and easily domesticated.
It is, however, quite rare in collections, its small size making it unprofitable either for its eggs or flesh. Mr. Townsend Glover mentions as • among the rare ducks, at the Paris Exposition •of 1865,the following. The Red-billed Tree duck, (Dendrocygna antumnalis) from Guinea and Brazil, appeared to be quite domesticated, and when I saw it it was feeding upon the short turfy grass in its enclosure in a very goose-like man ner. It is a very ornamental bird, the bright red bill and legs forming a striking contrast to the shaded gray and black color of its plumage. The White-faced Tree duck from Brazil, in the same paddock, is also one of the perching ducks, but is of a smaller size, with bluish bill and legs, and instead of the usual quack given by our tame duck, this bird makes a kind of whistling sound. Our common wood or summer duck is also domesticated here. This species of duck ought to be more highly prized by our country men than it now is, and most probably it would be were it a foreigner and cost a very large sum of money to import. In these gardens it is as tame as our domestic Mallards, and reproduces with as little trouble. The Mandarin ducks, from the north of China, were all in very plain plumage, but, when in full summer dress, the male is said to be the most beautiful bird of the duck tribe. It somewhat resembles our summer duck in size, shape, and color, but is said to be infinitely more beautiful. These ducks were introduced into Holland about 1850, and repro duce very readily • in a state of domestication. The Bahama duck, Anus (dafila) Bahumensis, is very easily domesticated, and resembles a small Mallard with a pointed tail, but the bright red color on the base of its bill renders it a most beautiful object when swimming. Of these varieties we may remark that, the Mandarin duck is generally disseminated. They were originally imported to the United States in 1854. In its plumage it resembles the wood duck, but is more beautiful and elegant. It is chiefly valuable as an ornamental species. Of the Cayuga Black duck, one of the most superior, as it is among the largest of either American or foreign ducks, Mr. C. N. Bement writes as follows: Of the origin of the Cayuga duck I can not give anything reliable. This duck has been bred in the country so long, that all trace of the origin is lost. Tradition says they are descended from a sort of wild duck that stop in Cayuga lake and Seneca river, on their passage north and south, fall and spring; yet from hunters I have never been able to obtain or hear of any closely resembling them, either in weighty or feathers. Yet they are called the Big Black duck, Cayuga, or Lake duck. The Black Cayuga duck in perfection, is black with a white collar on the neck, or white flecks on the neck and breast—rarely black without white, and as the white seems inclined to increase, we usually select them nearly or quite black for breeding. The duck has a faint green tint on the head, neck, and wings. The drakes usually show more white markings than ducks, and the green tint on head and neck is more strongly marked. They differ from the East Indian and Buenos Ayrean ducks very materially; they are much larger, longer in body, and shorter in leg, better feeders, but are not so intense in color; indeed, beside the East Indian, the Cayuga looks brown. When well fed, the duck begins to lay about April, and usually gives an egg every day until eighty or ninety are laid, when she will make her nest and sit, if allowed; if not, she will generally lay a litter in September. The Cayuga ducks are hardy, of good size, and for the table are superior to other ducks; the flesh quite dark and highly flavored. If well fed, they become very fat; can be readily made so fat that they can not raise themselves from the ground by their wings; twelve pounds to fourteen pounds to the pair would be a good average weight. I once had a small flock that averaged, at six months, sixteen pounds the pair, but they had been forced to their utmost, and never gained weight after six months. The Cayuga duck is very quiet in its habits; they are rarely able to rise from the ground, a fence one foot high will turn them; they are not disposed to wander from home; they commence laying about the last of March and lay fifty to ninety eggs, when they wish to sit, which they do well, but they are careless mothers; they cross readily with other ducks, and produce is certain. Of the other varieties of ducks, val uable for ornament or peculiar qualifications, Tegetmeier says: The title Call-ducks is given to two small varieties of the domestic duck, that bear the same relation to the full-sized birds that Bantams do to ordinary fowls. They are known as the grey and the white Call; they both differ from ordinary breeds in their very small size; for show birds, the smaller the better. The shape of the head is also distinct; they are most esteemed when possessing a full round forehead, with a broad, short bill. In color, the grey Call should be an exact counterpart of the Rouen and wild breeds, not only in plumage, but also in legs, feet, and bill.