Morning journal and courier., 1881-10-10

| berS as before. When one sees bne treatment l the birds get their annual return is strange | and unaccountable, for they are systemati- 1 caIly robbed by the island owners. In the | spring, when the ducks swarm here to search I out places between the rocks to build nests l in, they, having selected suitable site pluck 1 the down from their breasts-that soft, silky l down famous the world over as the warmest and softest of coverings. Felt between the fingers it resembles floss silk it is so soft and | it is as springy as rubber. great bulk of | it can be compressed into an incredibly small space, and when released after long I time it resumes it's original size. The first plucking is very abundant, for the bird is preparing for warm weather and is prodigal of it's thick under plumage. The first nest is stolen by the farmers and the bird finding it gone finds still enough down upon its breast to construct another, which in turn is taken like the first. The supply of down on the female is now exhausted and she calls on the drake, and from his down the nest in which the eggs are matched is made. In case this nest should be taken the
 bird seeks another nest-hiding place. When taken from the nest the downis full of straw, chips, bits of moss and wads of lichen and
 must be cleaned before it is fit for use. The machine used in the process of cleaning is of the most primitive kind, and consists of sort of harp made of coarse strings of raw seal hide over which the nest is rubbed. In this operation the dust is driven out, and the room in which it is performed is as cloudy as the cording room of an old oakum walk
 Phe chips of straw, moss and hchen fall through, and only the down remains under the rubbing hand of the operator. Even in the matter of cider down there is a diserep- ancy between the real thing and the received notions about 1t. I have seen cider down presented for sale in New York which was pure white, while the real article is dark slate color and
 U vi ot O iGfo Ire 1nt fIra the fur of the blue fox. There is cider down taken from birds that have been killed in the far north, there is cider down half from killed birds and half from robbed nests, and there is cider CD down taken from geese in Long Island and New Jersey and sold to The down from dead birds, or even the mixed down, is without the virtue of the nest-robbed article, and there is so much adulteration practiced in the business that, even in Iceland, you are liable to be imposed on if you don't purchase from the farmer direct. Iceland down is special grade in the market, and brings better prices than any other at the annual auction held for it's sale at Copenhagen. The supply from Iceland is very limited, and only amounts to 1000 pounds per annum There Is peculiar virtue in cider down as bed, aside from it's great warmth l It may be that the decided contrast between
 
 bunk aboard ship made those I slept on | ashore in Iceland particularly agreeable, but | from whatever cause l always awakened in I the morning quite revived and freshened ! from these downy beds. After long rides in- I land on native ponies drenched with rain l and with brook water up to the hips from crossing deep lords, six hours rest on an | cider down bed took all the stiffness out of | the jo1nts and left one fresh for another days 1 ride. Riding Iceland ponies, at least such of | them as were available for the use of visit ors, Is not an agreeable business. The sad | dies are all told and you can generally feel iron in their structure through the not soft CT | pig iron that covers it. A number of stirrup straps were broken by members of the Ali | ance party where the slightest slip would have been fatal, and 1t Is recommended to those who in the future intend to make in-
 land excursions to take their own saddles with them if they covet safety and comfort The horses themselves are sure footed enough, but lazier than bears, and it is not a bad scheme to insist that your guide shall undertake the work of beating them into pa c1ng mood for 1t requires continual applica- tion of the whip to keep them going. The horses are about the size of mustangs They l were originally large horse, but hardship and scant food have dwarfed them. They efer capital illustration of the doctrine that animals, after several generations, ac- commodate themselves to the condition in which they find themselves and bend to ne- cessity. Icelandic horses have remarkably large heads for the size of their bodies, and their legs are short and thick. They are not like the Shetland pony, which is perfect miniature horse. The best of the Icelandic 1 horses are purchased and sent to Scotland | where am informed by the agent who pur- ehases them, the colts, owing to good feed ing and attention in eighteen months are a hand and half higher than the dams, show ng that under favorable circumstances they 1 will revert to their original stature.