DT.7CLAIR DUCKS.
IT is now a considerable number of years since the Poultry mania first seized upon England, and spread itself like wildfire, not merely amongst those who had plenty of money to throw away in gratifying their hobbies, but still more, perhaps, amongst that class which seeks to enrich itself by catering for the pleasures of others ; and fowls of every description, Cochins, Bralunas, Japanese, Spanish, French, Dominiques, and who knows how many other varieties and sub-varieties, have suc- cessively attracted notice, and had their special admirers, whether for their useful or ornamental qualities ; while books without number, from the thinnest duodecimo to the most ponderous quarto, bear testimony to their respective merits ; but singularly enough, whatever may be their differences of opinion on many points, almost all of these publications have one thing in common,—they are almost wholly devoted to cocks and hens, and they say very little indeed about humbler denizens of the farmyard which, with proper treatment, might be made exceedingly profitable. We have always slightly re- sented this treatment of the genus anatidue, for we have a predi- lection for ducks, knowing them to be extremely companion- able, intelligent birds, and have often found. much amusement in studying their little ways ; in seeing them come waddling along, punctual as clockwork, morning and. evening, going to and. returning from their foraging expeditions, casting sly glances at the window, to see whether or not they might safely venture upon making a raid upon the succulent green leaves of the arums, put out to enjoy the benefit of a refreshing shower, or flatten down a nice bed of pelargoniums, while they dived beneath them in quest of favourite delicacies, and have said to ourselves, 'Since John Chinaman finds his advantage in a duck-boat, and. the Vale of Aylesbury thrives in great measin.e by its famous ducks, since the Southern France nthnage largely depends upon the same birds for its winter pot-au-feu, and the halles of Paris make such ample returns in hard-cash to the farmers of Normandy for the primeurs of earliest spring, why should not duck-culture extend itself throughout our Three Kingdoms, and be a means of profit not merely to the farmer, in these days of impoverishment, but to our poorer classes also ? In fact, we felt that the duck question was really for us at least a burning question, and that it had. to be looked into ; and with this view, determined to make a voyage of discovery into the duck districts of Northern Franco, and to see for ourselves what there was to be learned about the "education "—to use the fashionable French term—of our quacking favourites. Where, however, were these to be found? "At Rouen, of course," says the ignorant and credulous reader and "at Rouen, of course," equally said we ; and
we wandered about the dear, delightful, dirty, old town—still dear and delightful, notwithstanding Haussmanic desecrations, and not very much less dirty even yet than of old—making inquiries, all ending in disappointment, until, lo 1 a ray of light bursts in upon us from the most unlikely quarter, for in the Concierge of the Palais de Justice, the attendant of the Law Courts, we find a brother of the craft, a veritable poultry-fancier, who tells us that if we want to see ducks that are something like ducks, we must go to Duclair.
It is extremely probable, nay, perhaps, it may be taken as an actual certainty, that the greater number of our readers are just as ignorant as we were as to the locality of Duclair, for the student of the French Bradshaw will not find it on the map, and may, perhaps, not chance to notice that parenthesis about the little river which falls into the Seine at Duclair cliffs, in the forest of Le Trait. Having discovered, however, after much inquiry, that the duck-country was not very far from the territories of the Rai d'Yvetiit, we put ourselves into the train one bright autumnal morning, and as we stepped forth from the station of Barrentin, found the little town nestling against the side of a hill, woods and orchards surrounding it, and a rich country stretching away on either side. Strolling into the auberge near the station, we asked for a carriage to take us onward, but the patron was at work on his farm, no horses could be had, and we must await the arrival of the omnibus, which would convey us to our destination, we were told, in a couple of hours. We endeavoured to gain a little information from our hostess. "No doubt, Madame knew the country well. M. son man i farmed his land, Madame could tell us where to find the best Duclair ducks ?" But Madame could not say. Madame had her own little affairs; she did not mix herself up with those of others. Madame was aware that there was a market at Duclair, but as for ducks or fowls, she knew nothing about them, not so much even as the breed of her own not bad-looking hens, at that time busily engaged in picking up their living about the door. Discouraging, to say the least of it ! But the longest hour must have an end. The omnibus drives up, a small, close, uncomfortable vehicle, which is instantly invaded, and eight souls very tightly squeezed together, with the addition of a huge market-basket and a baby, are shut in by the driver, who mountsahis seat, and after plenty of whip-cracking and a little delay at the next public-house, we roll through the streets of ]3arrentin and past its cotton factories, down into the lovely valley of Ste. Austreberte.
French people are generally sociable, and after a little pre- liminary conversation it was easy to bring forward the inevitable ducks ; but while one of the passengers had heard of a farmer, "l'autre cot o5 de la Seine," who had some special mode of fattening ducks for the Paris market, another young bourgeoise, who was rather pretty and evidently tree-coquette, assorted most positively that she had been eating Duclair ducks all her life, and that they differed in no way whatever from the ducks of any other place. Meanwhile, the lumbering vehicle as it rolled on followed the course of the lazy, little, winding river, passing here a village, there a chtiteau, and. now a mill, each surrounded by rich meadows, orchards, and gardens, backed by wooded hills, with patches of bright-green pasture land on the elopes, the whole presenting a delicious picture of peace and plenty. At last we reach a little bowrg, with an old church and market- place, some common-looking streets, and two or three hostelries, at one of which we are deposited, and again, but not without considerable misgivings, commence our inquiries. This time it was in a long, low kitchen, with black rafters, and a huge, open fire-place, in which cheerful jovial landlord and his family logs were burning, where the
were just taking their second clgjeuner, the more delicate cookery being performed over a hot hearth of glorious blue tiles. With some diffidence we propound the question ; we arc English, we are lovers of poultry, we have some little experience in the matter, have we been rightly informed that there are at Duclair, or, at least, in its neighbourhood, ducks of some special breed
and of peculiar excellence ? Mais bien stir, Monsieur ! Dials certainement 1' The canoo.ds de Duclair were renommeo! They were une race touts particuliere ;' they were larger, better, handsomer, more precocious, in every way more profitable, than any other breed of ducks; they took prizes in Paris ; they had been sent to other parts of France ; but—as, of course, it was supposed that we were buyers—they were ` cher, hien cher Dames ! Un mallard et deux canes de la vraie race no se vendraient pas e, moms de cinquante francs.'" If he had said a
hundred, it woulhi have mattered little at that moment; our iperseverance was about to be rewarded, and all we had now to do was to engage a char-h-bane with a driver only too happy to expatiate upon the a.vicultural industry of his pays, and to ,drive from one homestead to another to see it in actual operation. The time of year was not exactly a bad one, as " prepara- tions " were already beginning for the winter campaign, for in -these dis tricts every one may be said to be occupied more or less with duck-rearing. Between the chalk cliffs of Duclair and the Seine, broadening grandly as it approaches its em- bouchure, and rendered more attractive by little wooded pro- montories stretching out into it at intervals, is a narrow strip -of land laid out in orchards, and divided between small peasant proprietors, depending entirely for their maintenance upon their fruit, their cow, their goat, their pigs, their few fowls, and, best source of profit 0 all, upon their ducklings, which they rear in baskets by the fireside, taking care, how- .ever, to let them have some fresh air, were it only for five or -ten minutes, daily. When snow is on the ground, they go so far as to put down a piece of carpet for the ducklings, as wet is very injurious to them at that tender age ; but out they must To, in any case, if their owners would not see them die. They are worthy, however, of all these petits some, for a fat duck in the season, namely, from Twelfth Day till Easter, will -easily fetch twelve francs in the Duclair market. As the birds • can be ready for the table at eight weeks old, it follows that their breeders are very well paid, and they calculate on making at least a franc a week clear profit upon each of them. Reckon- ing eight francs, therefore, for each duck, and supposing that one hundred (not at all an extraordinary number), have been !reared, this alone would produce e32 a year, a comfortable little income, in addition to that from other produce, for a man whose land is his own. Many of the peasants, however, do not fatten their ducks, but content themselves with selling them, when sufficiently grown, to those who, like M. Vauclin, make a business of preparing them for the market. The food given to them at first is, of course, the traditional chopped egg imixed with nettles, and afterwards a little barley-meal and milk ; but very soon the voracious youngsters are promoted to • a• diet of worms, the collection of which for the purpose forms the regular occupation of a niunber of women. During the three weeks of fattening, barley or buckwheat-meal mixed with milk is made into a paste, and administered in the form of long- shaped pellets, which are put down the throat with the finger, .but, of course, the young birds have been well fed from the .beginning, and never allowed to be out of condition. Those destined for the concours, however, are given even yet daintier ,provender ; for them, the beet fresh butter is by no means considered too good. Ducks so fed must pro- bably be far too oily to be agreeable eating, but if they -carry off first prizes, they may be said to have achieved their -destiny. The duck of the true Duch& breed is black, with a white neck and breast, and one snowy feather at the end of -each wing. The drake, however, is of a beautiful grey colour, with emerald head and neck, and wings of bluish-green. They must not be speckled at all, like the Rotten variety. The birds
and broad and heavy behind. They are large and lengthy,
grow rapidly, and are good layers, the time of our visit,
namely, the second week of October, many birds were laying, and in other places hatching was already going on. Some of the farmers are very proud of the purity of their breed, and careful to maintain it, and they sell their eggs for hatching
at from fifty •centimes to a franc a-piece, according to the season, for the thrifty peasants do not commit the folly of keeping stock birds, but buy the eggs (warranted, of course), when they have a hen or a turkey ready to sit upon them. Moreover, as no Frenchwoman would dream of letting her birds waste their time over an uncertainty, all eggs are sub- mitted to the mirage after five days of incubation, the infertile ones being returned to the seller, who can always make use of them in the kitchen, as "clear eggs" are not in any was' spoiled by this short experience of the hatching process. We have a good deal to learn from our neighbours in the way of thrift and economy ; we might, at any rate, initiate duck-rear- ing with great advantage in many localities. For ourselves, we shall not easily forget this particular page of our French ex- perience, not the least pleasant of our holiday rambles having been the one which had for its object the discovery of Duclair Ducks.
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