Page:Ducks- and how to make them pay (IA cu31924003102971).pdf/29

Rh fed by hand. Ducks are particularly useful to run over a ploughed field, as well as grass, as nothing clears the wire-worms better than these birds. In one instance, I know a farmer who was troubled with wire-worms in a certain field, no matter what he planted it was always eaten up, but he bought 150 young ducks to turn into it and they cleared the field of the pests. They clear off slugs just in the same way. They will travel half a mile after worms and slugs, and if farmers were to adopt the plan of turning their stock ducks into the fields in the spring and autumn they would clear the ground of all kinds of vermin. Ducks will follow the plough the same as rooks do. Farmers find that ducks are among their best friends, particularly Indian Runners, and this hint may be taken by fruit-growers, especially where there is top fruit, such as apples, pears, and plums, as many grubs travel on the ground from tree to tree, and usually do this in the evening, and those who notice the ducks will find they go under the trees in search of these grubs after sunset.