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PREFACE

Of all lines of poultry keeping, duck raising is unique in that it lends
itself to the greatest degree of specialization and intensification
along lines which are purely commercial. On a comparatively small area
thousands of ducklings can be reared and marketed yearly. The call for
information concerning the methods used by these commercial duck raisers
has been considerable, and since such information is not available in
complete concise form the present book has been prepared partly to
furnish just this information.
The methods used by successful Long Island duck raisers differ widely in
some particulars and since in the space at command, it has been
impossible to describe all the methods used, the plan has been adopted
of detailing in the main the methods of one successful grower. This it
is believed will prove to be more helpful and less confusing than to
attempt to give the method of several different men.
Much space has been given to the operations of the commercial duck
raisers but the fact is recognized that the great bulk of the ducks
entering into the trade of the country is the product of small flocks
kept on general farms. For this reason a chapter has been added dealing
with duck raising on the farm, and attention is here called to the fact
that most of the information given under commercial duck raising can be
readily adapted to use in connection with the farm flock.
Detailed, complete information on goose raising is even more fragmentary
than is the case with ducks. Yet there is a fine opportunity to rear a
few geese at a profit on many farms, and the need and call for
information is quite general. It is for this reason that a section of
this book has been devoted to goose raising and in that section all the
good reliable information available on the subject is given. The special
attention of the women of the farm is directed to the opportunity which
goose raising offers to make a good profit on a small side line with the
minimum of initial investment and of labor.
The greatest care has been taken to make the information on both duck
and goose raising as complete and clear as possible. However, the
authors appreciate the unlimited value of good illustrations in making
clear methods and operations which are more difficult to grasp from a
word description, and have therefore assembled a set of illustrations
for this book, the completeness and excellence of wh