The Indian runner duck book; the only authoritative American book about this marvelous egg machine by Valentine Caro Syron 1855-

Author:Valentine, Caro Syron, 1855- [from old catalog]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ducks
Publisher: Ridgewood, N.J., F. H. Valentine
Published: 1911-03-25T05:00:00+00:00

ately threw aside a chance to do something for the farming people in studying the two warring types of the Indian Runner. They assumed that the fanciers were right in breeding to fawn, simply because the fawn contingent was in the majority and slavishly followed the Standard. As an interesting commentary on this, a disgusted word from one who has bred Indian Runners for years fits in as nothing else could. He was engaged in the practical job of catching birds to fill a shipment and for his own breeding pens. Color study was, of course, a main feature in O. K.-ing, or discarding specimens, and, as is always the case, many birds that looked well on their feet had to be rated as seconds on account of fawn in the flight feathers. I happened to be looking on, and heard his dictum: "Color in Indian Runners is nothing but a humbug anyway, for they change color every two months. How are you going to describe the color fairly when that is the case? It is out of the question! And who is going to say which is the right color, that of December, or of March or of June?" It struck me that this was as pungent a comment on the folly of ruining the distinctiveness of the Indian Runner (because some one happened to think fawn in solid color was more desirable than any two shades of fawn penciled together might be) as could possibly be made. The question must always be, Which of the varying shades of fawn is Standard fawn, and when shall the bird be judged on color,—in winter or in summer? If in summer, or spring, it must be far too dark in December; if in December it is to be just right, it will be nothing but dirty white in June. And this everybody knows.

I saw two breeders selecting a bird to fill an order that called for a high class specimen. The choice lay between two birds, one of which was nearly perfect in color, but was only moderately long in body and neck. The other was of beautiful shape and carriage, but had a flaw in the wing flight. "Which would you send? Which would you rather have if you were

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