Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/671

Rh POULTRY 647 and chalky soil and in a warm situation they are reared with ease, but are quite unsuited to damp cold localities. The continued vociferation of the hen-birds renders their maintenance near a house very objectionable, as the cry is continued throughout great part of the night. Several variations of colour exist, but they do not require any detailed description. Ducks. All the varieties of the domesticated duck are descended from the Common Mallard or Wild Duck, Anas boschas, a species which, though timid in its wild state, is easily domesticated, and suffers changes of form and colour in a few generations. The most important breeds are the Rouen, which, retaining the colour of the original species, grows to a large size ; the Aylesbury, a large white breed with an expanded lemon-coloured bill ; the Pekin, a white breed with a pale yellowish tint in the plumage, and a very bright orange bill ; two breeds which are entirely black. The smaller of these, which has been bred down to a very diminutive size, is remarkable for the extreme lustre of its feathers and the fact that its eggs are covered with a dark black pigment, which becomes less in quantity as each suc cessive egg is deposited. It is known by the equally absurd names of East Indian, Labrador, or Buenos Ayres duck. The larger black variety, the Cayuga duck, has been recently introduced into England. Decoy or call ducks are small breeds of a very loquacious character, which were originally bred for the purpose of attracting the wild birds to the decoys. Some are of the natural colour, others are white. Amongst the less known breeds are the Duclair ducks of France, evidently the result of crossing white and coloured varieties. Among the breeds differing in structure may be mentioned the Penguin duck, so called from its erect attitude, the Hook-billed and the Tufted ducks, etc., but these are not of practical importance. For table and mar ket purposes no breed surpasses the Aylesbury ; its large size, great prolificacy, early maturity, and white skin and plumage cause it to be reared in immense numbers for the London markets. By good feeding the ducks are caused to lay in the winter months, when the eggs are hatched under Cochin or Brahma hens, the young ducklings being reared in artificially-warmed buildings or in the labourers cottages ; they are fed most liberally on soft food, soaked grits, boiled rice with tallow- melters greaves, and in ten or twelve weeks are fit for the market ; if killed before moulting their quills, which they do when about twelve weeks old, they are heavier than afterwards and much better eating. When ducklings are required for the early spring markets the old birds must be fed most freely to cause the production of eggs in cold weather, corn being given in vessels of water, and the birds must be shut up at night, or the eggs will be laid in the water, where they sink and become putrid. Duck-rearing is a very profitable industry, very high prices being paid for ducklings in the early months of the year. The so-called Muscovy duck is a Brazilian species, Cairina moschata, which is not reared for the market, although the young birds are edible. The drake not unfrequently mates with the common duck, and large but sterile hybrids are the result. Geese. The domestic goose of Europe is undoubtedly the descendant of the migratory Grey Lag Goose, Anser cinerem, from which it differs chiefly by its increased size. Although domesticated since the time of the Romans, it has not been subject to much variation. The most im portant breeds are the large grey variety known as the Toulouse, the white breed known as the Embden, and the common variety frequently marked with dark feathers on the back, and hence termed &quot;saddlebacks.&quot; There has also been introduced from the Crimea since the Russian war a variety in which the feathers are singularly elongated, and even curled and twisted ; this breed, which is termed the Sebastopol, is of small size and more important as a fanciers breed than from a practical point of view. In some countries a second species is domesticated ; it is usually termed the Chinese, knob-fronted, or swan goose, Anser cygnoides. Though perfectly distinct as a species, having a different number of vertebrae in the neck and a loud clanging voice, it breeds freely with the common goose, and the hybrids produced are perfectly fertile, the late Mr Blyth asserting that over a large tract of country in the East no other geese except these cross-breds are ever seen. Geese are much more exclusively vegetable-feeders than ducks, and can only be kept to profit where they can obtain a large proportion of their food by grazing. The old birds should not be killed off, as they continue fertile to a great age. Geese are readily fattened on oats thrown into water, and the young, when brought rapidly forward for the markets, afford a very good profit. The Chinese, if well fed, lay at a much earlier date than the common species, and, if their eggs are hatched under large Cochin hens, giving three or four to each bird, the young are ready for the table at a very early period. The nest, as in all cases of ground-nesting birds, should be made on the earth and not in boxes, which become too dry and over-heated. In breeding for the market or for the sake of profit, the very large exhibition birds should be avoided, as many are barren from over-fatness, and none are so prolific as birds of fair average size. In this article the Pea-fowl (see PEACOCK, vol. xviii. p. 443) has not been included, as, although long since domes ticated, it is to be regarded rather as an ornamental than as a useful bird, and in congenial localities in which it can avail itself of the shelter of trees it requires no manage ment whatever beyond feeding, nor should the slightest interference with the sitting hen be practised. Pigeons. All the different breeds of pigeons which are known to the fancier have descended from the wild blue Rock-dove, Colwnba livia, and return to the coloration and form of the wild original if allowed to interbreed without interference. When reared as articles of food pigeons are generally treated most disadvantageously ; with due care and proper management six or seven couples of young can be raised from each old pair during the year, and a continuous supply of young birds for the table can be depended on. The ordinary pigeons houses are most objectionable, the birds being exposed to rain and extremes of temperature at all seasons. To be reared successfully pigeons should be housed in a room or loft, with shelves 9 or 10 inches in width running round the walls about 10 inches apart; each shelf should be divided into com partments not less than 16 inches long; this arrangement gives room for a nest at each end and enables the old birds to go to nest again before the young are able to fly. If coarse earthen saucers or nest-pans are used the young will be kept out of the dung, which is ejected over the sides and can be easily removed. They are first fed with a secretion from the crops of the parents, and afterwards with dis gorged corn; when required for the table they should be killed before the old birds cease to feed them, as when they begin to feed themselves they lose weight, become thin, and are much less marketable. To obtain a con tinuous supply of young pigeons the old birds must be well fed with grain and pulse ; clean water and a supply of old mortar rubbish mixed with salt should be always access ible ; the loft and nest should be kept clean and well ventilated, and the birds have free access to the open air. The breed should be of fair size, the blue rocks being too small to be of full market value as dead birds, though in great request for pigeon-shooting, and, unless a consider able number are kept so as to prevent close interbreeding, some birds from other lofts should be introduced occasion-