awdust, or other suitable material. It is
not advisable to place them touching each other, and care should be
taken to turn them daily; if this is done the eggs will keep well for
three weeks, by which time you have collected a sufficient number to put
under hens, however small your stock may be.

Eggs left in the nest will, of course, not require turning, as the duck
does this herself.

When you have collected a number of eggs, place them under hens, having
first satisfied yourself that the hens are good sitters. Eight to ten
sittings of twelve eggs each is a good number to put down as a start, as
from this number you ought to get about a hundred ducklings, and these,
when old enough, can be divided into two runs of about fifty each. I
have found by experience that it is unwise to put a larger number than
this together until the birds are about six or seven weeks old.
Naturally, the number of eggs you can put down will depend on the size
of your stock and the number of sitting hens at your disposal.

A certain amount of care is necessary in preparing the nest for the
hens, as ducks' eggs are very fragile, and much more easily broken than
hens' eggs.

The following is the method which I recommend. Get any square box of
sufficient depth, and having cut some pieces of sod, build up the
corners of the box with them: then cut a square sod to fit the size of
the box, and having removed some of the earth underneath the centre of
the sod, place it grass upwards in the box. By this means you will
obtain the proper shape for the nest, viz., a gradual slope down from
the sides to the centre; this will prevent your hens accidentally
kicking eggs from under them, as owing to the shape of the nest any eggs
which are displaced must roll towards the centre or lowest part of the
nest; there is consequently little danger of any of the eggs getting
cold. After this, line the nest with dry moss. The sod underneath has
the advantage of producing greater heat, and gives a more satisfactory
hatch out than nests made of other material, and being firm does not
lose its shape.

Don't forget to give your sitting hen some ventilation, but be careful
that _no draught can reach the eggs_.

The sitting hens will, of course, be taken off to feed regularly every
day, and you will find them give you less trouble if you take care to
tether them on the same leg each day.

And now to return to the laying ducks.

As time goes on you must leave mo