A variety not usually met with, but which deserves to be better known, is that advertised by the Messrs. Baker as the Labrador Duck; the Zoological Society have had it under the name of Buenos Ayres Duck, and received it from that place; in the south of England it is known as the Black East Indian Duck. It would be difficult to fix upon three more dissimilar and widely-separated spots on the face of the globe. We may at once discard the claim of Labrador, however rich in wild specimens, to the honour of sending any new tame variety of bird. Believing that our Tame Ducks are all importations from the East, I should give the preference to the Indian title. Nothing is more probable than that the Zoological Society had their birds from the East, via Buenos Ayres. Whether the stock had been introduced there a month, or twenty years, previously, does not alter the main fact; while ships direct from India would be very likely to land a few pairs at the first Channel port they touched at.

But from whatever quarter obtained, they are handsome creatures. A little girl, at her first sight of them, could not help exclaiming "Oh! what beautiful goldengreen Ducks!" The feet, legs, and entire plumage, should be black a few white feathers will occasionally appear; but I had some birds that were immaculate, and such Ishould be the model of the breeder. The bill also is black, with a slight under-tinge of green. Not only the neck and back, but the larger feathers of the tail and wings, are gilt with metallic green; the female also exhibits slight traces of the same decoration. On a sunshiny day of spring, the effect of these glittering Black Ducks sporting on the blue water, is very pleasing, especially if in company with a party of the Decoy breed in strictly Mallard plumage.

A peculiarity of these Black East Indian Ducks is, that they occasionally—that is, at the commencement of the season-lay black eggs; the colour of those subsequently laid gradually fades to that of the common kinds. This strange appearance is not caused

by any internal stain penetrating the whole thickness of the shell, but by an oily pigment which may be scraped off with the nail. They lay, perhaps, a little later than other Ducks, but are not more difficult to rear. Their voice is said to differ slightly—a fact I have not observed: but they are far superior to others in having a high Wild Duck flavour, and if well kept, are in just repute as being excellent food when killed immediately from the pond, without any fatting. My attention was first called to them by a friend and neighbour, to whom I am indebted not only for the information, but for handsome specimens, The time of incubation of the Tame Duck is thirty days. The best mode of rearing them depends very much upon the situation in which they are hatched. For the first month, the confinement of their mother under a coop is better than too much liberty. All kinds of sopped food, barley-meal and water mixed thin, worms, &c., suit them. No people are more successful than cottagers, who keep them for the first period of their existence in pens two or three yards square, cramming them night and morning with long dried pellets of flour and water, or egg and flour, till they are judged old enough to be turned out with their mother to forage on

*

* Does the Mallard differ in this respect from the Tame Duck? I think not. But, according to Audubon, "at length, in about three weeks, the young (of the former) begin to cheep in the shell." Did we not know his usual great accuracy, we should suspect some error, and also be startled at the subjoined statement. "The squatters of the Mississipi raise a considerable number of Mallards, which they catch when quite young, and which, after the first year, are as tame as they can wish. These birds raise broods which are superior even to those of the old ones, for a year or two, after which they become similar to the ordinary Ducks of the poultry-yard. The hybrids produced between the Mallard and the Muscovy Duck are of great size, and afford excellent eating. Some of these half-breeds now and then wander off, become quite wild, and have by some persons been considered as forminy a distinct species. They also breed, when tame, with the Black Duck (Anas fusca) and the Gadwal, the latter connection giving rise to a very handsome hybrid, retaining the yellow feet and barred plumage of the one, and the green head of the other parent."

the common and the village pond. Persons with extensive occupations, over which the Ducks would stray and be lost, will find it better answer their purpose to buy in their main supply of Ducks half-grown, than to rear them, besides having the satisfaction of putting a few shillings into the pockets of their poorer neighbours. A few choice old favourites may still be retained for their services as grub destroyers, for the beauty of their plumage, and for the pleasure of seeing them swim their minuets in the pond, bowing politely to each other-the bows to be returned-before they take their afternoon's doze on the grass, with their sleepy eyelids winking from below, and their bills stuck under the feathers of their back, by way of a respirator. The healthy heartiness of their appetite is amusing rather than disgusting. A cunning old Duck, to whom I tossed a trap-killed mouse, tried hard to get it down in the rough state, but finding that impossible, she toddled off with it to the pond, where after a due soaking, the monstrous mouthful easily slipped down. They are cheerful, harmless, goodnatured, cleanly creatures. As Audubon says, They wash themselves, and arrange their dress, before commencing their meal; and in this, other travellers (in America particularly) would do well to imitate them."

A few original notes on the Mallard will not be out of place here, though the facts they record show that the Teal and such like water cage-birds have a truer claim upon them, if disposition and habits are to guide our arrangement.

"I have seen enough of the Mallard of England and his untrustworthy progeny, to make me doubt of his being the origin of our Farm Duck. That the Mallard is becoming less frequent every year in our vicinity is true, but we have attributed it chiefly to the exertions of unbidden would-be sportsmen on our river. We still, however, have them in certain places in tolerable abundance. They are fond of frequenting the furze and heath on our downs in spring, and sometimes breed there,

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but oftener in willow beds and the thick grass in our meadows, whence I have often had eggs brought me, and set under Hens. These generally hatch well, if the Hen's breast be dipped in water a few times during incubation. There is a decided gain as to docility in Ducks hatched in this way, over those caught on the river, even if only a single day old. Young Wild Ducks are certainly some of the most cunning and slippery little creatures extant, and the best way is to commence handling them as soon as hatched, by which means, and by confining them for some time within an inclosed place, they soon become more reasonable. In every case I have not been able to trust them until the feathers began to appear but in several seasons that I have reared them, they have been so distrustful, that it was not safe to allow them liberty, and as soon as ever their wings were grown, they were off. On one occasion I had two of these birds, about a quarter grown, that grew exceedingly slowly they were very wild, and one night made their escape to the river, where they remained until the evening of the following day, when they were retaken. If I had not previously marked them, nobody should ever have persuaded me that they were the same. I could not have conceived that less than twenty-four hours' immersion in the river could have caused the growth it did: but so it was. Another time I succeeded in making a couple so gentle and sociable that when half grown they would follow me, and eat out of my hand. Soaked bread they are very fond of when young, afterwards corn, &c.; the seed tufts of the sedge are a great treat when soaked in their water. The two birds above mentioned were both ladies, and while I was trying to procure a drake, (no easy matter) they vanished about the end of November, being probably whipped up when out in an adjoining road. One year I lost a fine brood by turning them into an exquisite little pond (as we thought), that had been lined with lime, whereby they became immoveably stuck at the sides, and perished.

Another time, in our great kindness we procured some river weeds, water crowfoot, &c. and placed them in their pond, forgetting it was not running water. The poor

little things became apparently tipsy, rolling and turning about in all directions, and speedily coming to an end. One set of docile creatures I succeeded in rearing turned out to be four drakes, and so for one reason or another none have remained over the winter-the more to be regretted as I wished to verify Waterton's account of the wonderful changes in dress the Drake undergoes in June and July, the oddest part of which is that immediately on the completion of the bird's sober change of raiment, he begins to shed those feathers again, to make room for his gala dress.

"One cause of the diminution of numbers in the Mallard here, is a Fox-preserver about half a dozen miles off. These vermin seem to be fonder of Ducks than anything else, and the Ducks are preserved for them! How they catch them has always been rather a mystery to me, but it must be by lying perdue in the sedge for them. This, however, would seem to be but a poor chance.

"Wild Ducks rendered tame, and corn-fed, are certainly superior to any, having the fine wild flavour without its fishiness. Beech mast are a good occasional diet for Wild Ducks, if thrown into their piece of water."H. H.