Telegram-herald., 1889-11-20

Ths wonderfully sofs and warm sub
stanoe which ve eall 4lasr-eoWn l. pro
daoed b tie ei3er da'ik. al iah4tssant
of The Arc1c ocez1 Il ls proper - eall
these tlras inhabitants ~ ths ocean. Tor
they pass tie grS4teT part ~ 1hear lives
far oas st SEA. only coming - land for
hEtls ~ hile ia spring for the purpose of
laying ard h2tching their sggz
They are very aw kward 0n L4nd. but
are wonderful swimmers and divers. de
scending twelve fathoIns below the sur
face Of the water ard remaining sub
merged - hong - five minutes Al . time
Their food consists principally ot mo-
lusks. which they pick up from the bed
OF the sea
Their fayorits laying places are certain
email. low Islands OF the coast Of Nor
way, which are called "sider-holms.-
The birds visit these islands ia pairs,
which present striking contrast in ap-
peaTsnce. the brakes being brilliantly
colored ia black, white aud green, while
the females are Of dull reddish brown,
matching the color Of the scanty vegsta-
tion 50 perfectly that even q practiced
hunter can hardly discover them when
they crouch down among the reeds.
On coming ashore the duck proceeds
very deliberately 10 choose place for a
nest, while the drake follows and occa-
sionaily gives warning Of real or fancied
danger The duck Is very hard 70 suit,
and It IS not an unusual thing for her,
after examining al likely spots out Of
doors, 10 march boldly into house and
cooliy select what she considers a suit
able place for her nest, such as the oven
II II happens 70 be unused az the time.
The human inmates OF the house wei
come her gladly, supply her with food,
and cheeriully submit 10 any small in
convenienceS like the temporary loss Of
their oven. for they know that their guest
viii pay good price for her board and
lodging. When the duck has selected a
place she gathers grass and sticks and
builds her nest. Then she plucks the
soft down from her breast and makes a
wonderful mat, which not only covers
the bottom of the nest but rises so far
above the edge that it can be folded over
the eggs when the duck leaves the nest
in search of food.
When the six or eight eggs are laid
they are seized, together with the valu-
able eider-down mat, by the people of the
house, and the duck goes of in sorrow TO
her mate, who awaits her on the shore,
as his courage never rises TO such pitch
as 10 lead him into the house
The duck, somewhat wiser than be-
fore, proceeds to build another nest out
OF doors. and as her own down feathers
are exhausted she calmly plucks the
brakes breast as bare as her own. After
this outrageous treatment he goes of ii
disgust and rejoins his companions at
sea. This time the duck is allowed to
hatch her brood without human inter
ference. But whenever she leaves the
nest two or three eggs are liable to be
stolen by some other duck who has a
nest near by. The marauder carefully
folds the down coverlid over the robbed
nest again and carries the stolen eggs to
her own nest. In this way the eggs are
changed about so that duck may finally
hatch out brood containing not single
one Of her own offspring. AS soon as
the ducklings are all hatched out, the
mother or foster-mOther, if undisturbed,
endeavors TO lead her flock To the shore.
This march To the sea is to the duck
lings what teething is to human infants,
the most trying" time of their lives,
for they are exposed to the attacks OF
birds of prey and other enemies. Usu-
ally the islanders interfere again at this
point, but now their interference benefits
the ducks as well as themselves. They
gather the down and carry the ducklings
in baskets TO the shore, the old ducks
following them very contentedly.
When the shore is reached the baskets
are emptied into the water. The old
ducks plunge in. and after good deal
of commOtiOn swim out to sea, each fol-
lowed by flock of ducklings, some Of
which she has never seen before.
The duck does not always make her
first nest in q house, of course, and if the
first nest is not disturbed she will simply
hatch her brood and put to sea with
them, and the drake will not be robbed
of his feathers. But the islanders are
very watchful. and the fist nest rarely
escapes, no matter where it is built.
Sometimes the ducks down is suffi-
cient to supply the second nest, and in
this case the drake remains with his
family. This nest is then robbed also, and
the poor duck is forced to begin third,
with the help of the draEes down feath-
ers. The rule among the eiier-down
hunters is 10 rob every nest until the
brakes feathers, which differ in color
from those of his mate, appear among
the down. When this occurs it is known
that the pair will build no more that
year, and so the eggs nre allowed TO
hatch IN order to preserve the species.
a single nest will furnish at least an
ounce Of down. which ia worth on the
spot about twenty-five cents Of our
money. As the birds visit the island in
vast numbers the collection and sale Of
the down mats is au important source Of
income % the Inhabitants. L. b. Fetch
er In New York Home Journal
Tho Shahs Eat SHOW