3。TuftedDuck，withalargetop—knotoffinedownyfeathers，supportedonafleshymass，withtheskullperforatedbeneath。Thetop—knotinaduckwhichIimportedfromHollandwastwoandahalfinchesindiameter。
4。Labrador（orCanadian，orBuenosAyres，orEastIndian）;plumageentirelyblack;beakbroader，relativelytoitslength，thaninthewildduck;eggsslightlytintedwithblack。Thissub—breedperhapsoughttoberankedasabreed;itincludestwosub—varieties，oneaslargeasthecommondomesticduck，whichIhavekeptalive，andtheothersmallerandoftencapableofflight。（8/1。’PoultryChronicle’1854volume2page91
andvolume1page330。）Ipresumeitisthislattersub—varietywhichhasbeendescribedinFrance（8/2。Dr。Turral’Bull。Soc。d’Acclimat。’tome7
1860page541。）asflyingwell，beingratherwild，andwhencookedhavingtheflavourofthewildduck;neverthelessthissub—varietyispolygamous，likeotherdomesticatedducksandunlikethewildduck。TheseblackLabradorducksbreedtrue;butacaseisgivenbyDr。TurraloftheFrenchsub—varietyproducingyoungwithsomewhitefeathersontheheadandneck，andwithanochre—colouredpatchonthebreast。
BREED2。HOOK—BILLEDDUCK。
Thisbirdpresentsanextraordinaryappearancefromthedownwardcurvatureofthebeak。Theheadisoftentufted。Thecommoncolouriswhite，butsomearecolouredlikewildducks。Itisanancientbreed，havingbeennoticedin1676。（8/3。Willughby’s’Ornithology’byRaypage381。ThisbreedisalsofiguredbyAlbinin1734inhis’Nat。Hist。ofBirds’volume2page86。）Itshowsitsprolongeddomesticationbyalmostincessantlylayingeggs，likethefowlswhicharecalledeverlastinglayers。（8/4。F。Cuvierin’AnnalesduMuseum’tome9page128saysthatmoultingandincubationalonestopstheseduckslaying。Mr。B。P。Brentmakesasimilarremarkinthe’PoultryChronicle’1855volume3page512。）
BREED3。CALLDUCK。
Remarkablefromitssmallsize，andfromtheextraordinaryloquacityofthefemale。Beakshort。Thesebirdsareeitherwhite，orcolouredlikethewildduck。
BREED4。PENGUINDUCK。
Thisisthemostremarkableofallthebreeds，andseemstohaveoriginatedintheMalayanarchipelago。Itwalkswithitsbodyextremelyerect，andwithitsthinneckstretchedstraightupwards。Beakrathershort。Tailupturned，includingonly18feathers。Femurandmetatarsuselongated。]
Almostallnaturalistsadmitthattheseveralbreedsaredescendedfromthecommonwildduck（Anasboschas）;mostfanciers，ontheotherhand，takeasusualaverydifferentview。（8/5。Rev。E。S。Dixon’OrnamentalandDomesticPoultry’1848page117。Mr。B。P。Brentin’PoultryChronicle’volume31855
page512。）Unlesswedenythatdomestication，prolongedduringcenturies，canaffectevensuchunimportantcharactersascolour，size，andinaslightdegreeproportionaldimensionsandmentaldisposition，thereisnoreasonwhatevertodoubtthatthedomesticduckisdescendedfromthecommonwildspecies，fortheonediffersfromtheotherinnoimportantcharacter。Wehavesomehistoricalevidencewithrespecttotheperiodandprogressofthedomesticationoftheduck。Itwasunknown（8/6。Crawfurdonthe’RelationofDomesticatedAnimalstoCivilisation’readbeforetheBrit。Assoc。atOxford1860。）totheancientEgyptians，totheJewsoftheOldTestament，andtotheGreeksoftheHomericperiod。AbouteighteencenturiesagoColumella（8/7。DureaudeLaMallein’AnnalesdesSciencesNat。’tome17page164;andtome21page55。Rev。E。S。Dixon’OrnamentalPoultry’page118。TameduckswerenotknowninAristotle’stime，asremarkedbyVolzinhis’BeitragezurKulturgeschichte’1852s。78。）andVarrospeakofthenecessityofkeepingducksinnettedenclosureslikeotherwildfowl，sothatatthisperiodtherewasdangeroftheirflyingaway。Moreover，theplanrecommendedbyColumellatothosewhowishtoincreasetheirstockofducks，namely，tocollecttheeggsofthewildbirdandtoplacethemunderahen，shows，asMr。Dixonremarks，"thattheduckhadnotatthistimebecomeanaturalisedandprolificinmateoftheRomanpoultry—yard。"TheoriginofthedomesticduckfromthewildspeciesisrecognisedinnearlyeverylanguageofEurope，asAldrovandilongagoremarked，bythesamenamebeingappliedtoboth。ThewildduckhasawiderangefromtheHimalayastoNorthAmerica。Itcrossesreadilywiththedomesticbird，andthecrossedoffspringareperfectlyfertile。
BothinNorthAmericaandEuropethewildduckhasbeenfoundeasytotameandbreed。InSwedenthisexperimentwascarefullytriedbyTiburtius;hesucceededinrearingwildducksforthreegenerations，but，thoughtheyweretreatedlikecommonducks，theydidnotvaryeveninasinglefeather。
Theyoungbirdssufferedfrombeingallowedtoswimaboutincoldwater（8/8。Iquotethisaccountfrom’DieEnten—undSchwanenzucht’Ulm1828s。
143。SeeAudubon’OrnithologicalBiography’volume3page168onthetamingofducksontheMississippi。ForthesamefactinEnglandseeMr。WatertoninLoudon’s’Mag。ofNat。Hist。’volume81835page542;andMr。St。John’WildSportsandNat。Hist。oftheHighlands’1846page129。），asisknowntobethecase，thoughthefactisastrangeone，withtheyoungofthecommondomesticduck。Anaccurateandwell—knownobserverinEngland（8/9。
Mr。E。Hewittin’JournalofHorticulture’1862page773;and1863page39。）hasdescribedindetailhisoftenrepeatedandsuccessfulexperimentsindomesticatingthewildduck。Youngbirdsareeasilyrearedfromeggshatchedunderabantam;buttosucceeditisindispensablenottoplacetheeggsofboththewildandtameduckunderthesamehen，forinthiscase"theyoungwildducksdieoff，leavingtheirmorehardybrethreninundisturbedpossessionoftheirfoster—mother’scare。Thedifferenceofhabitattheonsetinthenewly—hatchedducklingsalmostentailssucharesulttoacertainty。"Thewildducklingswerefromthefirstquitetametowardsthosewhotookcareofthemaslongastheyworethesameclothes，andlikewisetothedogsandcatsofthehouse。Theywouldevensnapwiththeirbeaksatthedogs，anddrivethemawayfromanyspotwhichtheycoveted。Buttheyweremuchalarmedatstrangemenanddogs。DifferentlyfromwhatoccurredinSweden，Mr。Hewittfoundthathisyoungbirdsalwayschangedanddeterioratedincharacterinthecourseoftwoorthreegenerations;notwithstandingthatgreatcarewastakentopreventtheircrossingwithtameducks。Afterthethirdgenerationhisbirdslosttheelegantcarriageofthewildspecies，andbegantoacquirethegaitofthecommonduck。Theyincreasedinsizeineachgeneration，andtheirlegsbecamelessfine。Thewhitecollarroundtheneckofthemallardbecamebroaderandlessregular，andsomeofthelongerprimarywing—feathersbecamemoreorlesswhite。Whenthisoccurred，Mr。Hewittdestroyednearlythewholeofhisstockandprocuredfresheggsfromwildnests;sothatheneverbredthesamefamilyformorethanfiveorsixgenerations。Hisbirdscontinuedtopairtogether，andneverbecamepolygamouslikethecommondomesticduck。Ihavegiventhesedetails，becausenoothercase，asfarasIknow，hasbeensocarefullyrecordedbyacompetentobserveroftheprogressofchangeinwildbirdsrearedforseveralgenerationsinadomesticcondition。
Fromtheseconsiderationstherecanhardlybeadoubtthatthewildduckistheparentofthecommondomestickind;norneedwelooktootherspeciesfortheparentageofthemoredistinctbreeds，namely，Penguin，Call，Hook—
billed，Tufted，andLabradorducks。Iwillnotrepeattheargumentsusedinthepreviouschaptersontheimprobabilityofmanhavinginancienttimesdomesticatedseveralspeciessincebecomeunknownorextinct，thoughducksarenotreadilyexterminatedinthewildstate;——onsomeofthesupposedparent—specieshavinghadabnormalcharactersincomparisonwithalltheotherspeciesofthegenus，aswithHook—billedandPenguinducks;——onallthebreeds，asfarasisknownbeingfertiletogether（8/10。Ihavemetwithseveralstatementsonthefertilityoftheseveralbreedswhencrossed。Mr。YarrellassuredmethatCallandcommonducksareperfectlyfertiletogether。IcrossedHook—billedandcommonducks，andaPenguinandLabrador，andthecrossedDuckswerequitefertile，thoughtheywerenotbredinterse，sothattheexperimentwasnotfullytried。Somehalf—bredPenguinsandLabradorswereagaincrossedwithPenguins，andsubsequentlybredbymeinterse，andtheywereextremelyfertile。）;——onallthebreedshavingthesamegeneraldisposition，instinct，etc。Butonefactbearingonthisquestionmaybenoticed:inthegreatduckfamily，onespeciesalone，namely，themaleofA。boschas，hasitsfourmiddletail—featherscurledupwardly;nowineveryoneoftheabove—nameddomesticbreedsthesecurledfeathersexist，andonthesuppositionthattheyaredescendedfromdistinctspecies，wemustassumethatmanformerlyhituponspeciesallofwhichhadthisnowuniquecharacter。Moreover，sub—varietiesofeachbreedarecolouredalmostexactlylikethewildduck，asIhaveseenwiththelargestandsmallestbreeds，namelyRouensandCallducks，and，asMr。
Brentstates（8/11。’PoultryChronicle’1855volume3page512。），isthecasewithHook—billedducks。Thisgentleman，asheinformsme，crossedawhiteAylesburydrakeandablackLabradorduck，andsomeoftheducklingsastheygrewupassumedtheplumageofthewildduck。
WithrespecttoPenguins，Ihavenotseenmanyspecimens，andnonewerecolouredpreciselylikethewildduck;butSirJamesBrookesentmethreeskinsfromLombokandBali，intheMalayanarchipelago;thetwofemaleswerepalerandmorerufousthanthewildduck，andthedrakedifferedinhavingthewholeunderanduppersurface（exceptingtheneck，tail—coverts，tail，andwings）silver—grey，finelypencilledwithdarklines，closelylikecertainpartsoftheplumageofthewildmallard。ButIfoundthisdraketobeidenticalineveryfeatherwithavarietyofthecommonbreedprocuredfromafarm—yardinKent，andIhaveoccasionallyelsewhereseensimilarspecimens。TheoccurrenceofaduckbredundersopeculiaraclimateasthatoftheMalayanarchipelago，wherethewildspeciesdoesnotexist，withexactlythesameplumageasmayoccasionallybeseeninourfarm—yards，isafactworthnotice。NeverthelesstheclimateoftheMalayanarchipelagoapparentlytendstocausetheducktovarymuch，forZollinger（8/12。’JournaloftheIndianArchipelago’volume5page334。），speakingofthePenguinbreed，saysthatinLombok"thereisanunusualandverywonderfulvarietyofducks。"OnePenguindrakewhichIkeptalivedifferedfromthoseofwhichtheskinsweresentmefromLombok，inhavingitsbreastandbackpartiallycolouredwithchestnut—brown，thusmorecloselyresemblingtheMallard。
Fromtheseseveralfacts，moreespeciallyfromthedrakesofallthebreedshavingcurledtail—feathers，andfromcertainsub—varietiesineachbreedoccasionallyresemblingingeneralplumagethewildduck，wemayconcludewithconfidencethatallthebreedsaredescendedfromA。boschas。
[Iwillnownoticesomeofthepeculiaritiescharacteristicoftheseveralbreeds。Theeggsvaryincolour;somecommonduckslayingpale—greenishandothersquitewhiteeggs。TheeggswhicharefirstlaidduringeachseasonbytheblackLabradorduck，aretintedblack，asifrubbedwithink。Agoodobserverassuredmethatoneyearhisducksofthisbreedlaidalmostperfectlywhiteeggs。Anothercuriouscaseshowswhatsingularvariationssometimesoccurandareinherited;Mr。Hansell（8/13。’TheZoologist’
volumes7，81849—1850page2353。）relatesthathehadacommonduckwhichalwayslaideggswiththeyolkofadark—browncolourlikemeltedglue;andtheyoungducks，hatchedfromtheseeggs，laidthesamekindofeggs，sothatthebreedhadtobedestroyed。
（FIGURE39。SKULLS，viewedlaterally，reducedtotwo—thirdsofthenaturalsize。A。WildDuck。B。Hook—billedDuck。）
TheHook—billedduckishighlyremarkable（seefigure39，ofskull）;anditspeculiarbeakhasbeeninheritedatleastsincetheyear1676。ThisstructureisevidentlyanalogouswiththatdescribedintheBagadottencarrierpigeon。Mr。Brent（8/14。’PoultryChronicle’1855volume3page512。）saysthat，whenHook—billedducksarecrossedwithcommonducks，"manyyoungonesareproducedwiththeuppermandibleshorterthanthelower，whichnotunfrequentlycausesthedeathofthebird。"Withducksatuftoffeathersontheheadisbynomeansarareoccurrence;namely，intheTrue—tuftedbreed，theHook—billed，thecommonfarm—yardkind，andinaduckhavingnootherpeculiaritywhichwassenttomefromtheMalayanarchipelago。Thetuftisonlysofarinterestingasitaffectstheskull，whichisthusrenderedslightlymoreglobular，andisperforatedbynumerousapertures。Callducksareremarkablefromtheirextraordinaryloquacity:thedrakeonlyhisseslikecommondrakes;nevertheless，whenpairedwiththecommonduck，hetransmitstohisfemaleoffspringastrongquackingtendency。Thisloquacityseemsatfirstasurprisingcharactertohavebeenacquiredunderdomestication。Butthevoicevariesinthedifferentbreeds;Mr。Brent（8/15。’PoultryChronicle’volume31855page312。WithrespecttoRouensseedittovolume11854page167。）saysthatHook—billedducksareveryloquacious，andthatRouensuttera"dull，loud，andmonotonouscry，easilydistinguishablebyanexperiencedear。"AstheloquacityoftheCallduckishighlyserviceable，thesebirdsbeingusedindecoys，thisqualitymayhavebeenincreasedbyselection。Forinstance，ColonelHawkersays，ifyoungwildduckscannotbegotforadecoy，"bywayofmake—shift，SELECTtamebirdswhicharethemostclamorous，eveniftheircolourshouldnotbelikethatofwildones。"（8/16。Col。Hawker’InstructionstoyoungSportsmen’quotedbyMr。Dixoninhis’OrnamentalPoultry’page125。）IthasbeenerroneouslyassertedthatCallduckshatchtheireggsinlesstimethancommonducks。（8/17。’CottageGardener’April9，1861。）
ThePenguinduckisthemostremarkableofallthebreeds;thethinneckandbodyarecarriederect;thewingsaresmall;thetailisupturned;andthethigh—bonesandmetatarsiareconsiderablylengthenedinproportionwiththesamebonesinthewildd...完整阅读请扫描二维码下载丁香书院APP免费看：