s. (_Photographs from the Bureau of Animal
Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture._)]
[Illustration: FIG. 6. Upper--Rouen Drake showing summer plumage. At
this season the Rouen drake assumes a plumage resembling quite closely
that of the female. In the fall the drake again assumes the normal male
plumage. Lower--Rouen Duck. (_Photographs from the Bureau of Animal
Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture._)]
_The Cayuga._ The Cayuga is much like the other breeds of the meat
class in general type or shape of body showing good length, breadth and
depth. It is a very solid duck and weighs heavier than it looks. The
body carriage is slightly more upright than the Rouen but not so much so
as the Pekin. The back line should be straight and any tendency toward
an arched back must be avoided. It is slightly smaller than the Pekin,
Aylesbury and Rouen, averaging about a pound less.
In making the mating, size is important and breeders should be selected
which are up to standard weights if possible. While this breed is not
kept very widely at the present time, nevertheless it is an excellent
market duck, dressing out into a very plump yellow carcass in spite of
its black plumage which is a disadvantage in dressing. The color should
be a lustrous greenish black throughout, being somewhat brighter in the
drake than in the duck. The duck is more likely to show a brownish cast
of plumage, particularly as she grows older. It is hard to hold good
black color with age. Moreover, white or gray is apt to occur in the
breast of females. With age also a little white sometimes develops on
the back of the neck, around the eyes and underneath the neck at the
base of the bill. The white which occurs in breast is more likely to
come in ducks and is not commonly found in the drakes. In the drakes on
the other hand, there is a tendency for the white to come on the throat
under the bill.
Drakes as a rule run truer in color and hold their color better than
do the ducks. Where the white mottling occurs in plumage with age one
need not hesitate to breed from these birds if they were of good black
color as young birds. The drakes of the best color do not as a rule fade
or become mottled to any great extent with age. It is necessary to guard
against birds as breeders which have a rusty brown lacing on the breast
and under the wings, also those which have a wing-bow laced with brown.
There is a tendency for the bill of drakes, which should be black, to be
too light or olive in color a