ability that a good business could be worked up by
one who would pay special attention to producing a strain of ducks of
early maturity, large size and good vigor in order to supply breeding
drakes to many of the commercial duck farms. These farms usually secure
drakes for breeding from sources outside their own flocks each year but
the usual practice is to exchange drakes with some other commercial
grower. While very good birds are to be found on these duck farms there
is no greater opportunity to engage in any systematic breeding, the
selection of the breeding stock being of rather a hurried nature during
certain seasons of the year when the ducks are being marketed. Moreover,
the long continued custom of exchanging drakes with the neighboring
farmers has in most cases led to the blood being so largely confined
within one circle that no great percentage of new blood is obtained by
these exchanges. Of course, the opportunity along breeding lines for
this purpose is limited to the Pekin duck as this is the breed which is
kept upon all the large commercial duck farms in the United States.
_Prices for Breeding Stock._ Duck breeders who make a specialty of
selling breeding stock or eggs for hatching find a steady and quite a
wide demand for their stock. The eggs are usually sold in sittings of 11
and bring a price of from $3 to $5 per sitting depending on the quality
of the stock. The prices received for the birds themselves depend of
course upon their quality and may run anywhere from about $5 to $25 per
bird.
_Ducks for Ornamental Purposes._ On estates or in parks where natural or
artificial ponds are included in the grounds, waterfowl are often kept
for ornamental purposes. Any breeds may be used, and often the gay
colored Wood Duck and Mandarin, or some one of the small breeds such as
the Calls, Black East Indian or the Mallards are kept for this purpose.
It is said that these small ducks will absolutely destroy the mosquito
larvae in any such ponds or lakes.

CHAPTER II
Breeds and Varieties--How to Mate to Produce Exhibition
Specimens--Preparing Ducks for the Show--Catching and Handling

_Breeds of Ducks._ There are 11 standard breeds of ducks. All of these
breeds with the exception of the Call, Muscovy and Runner consist of a
single variety. The Call is divided into two varieties, the Gray and the
White; the Muscovy consists of two varieties, the Colored and the White;
and the Runner consists of three varieties, the Fawn and White, the
White and