The Durham daily globe. (Durham, N.C.) 1889-1894, 1893-08-15
AN Elder DUCK FARM.
One of Frigid Iceland's Leading Ind,

PNA bLIdA L Cdh DOdSG vi. Du
those who take the trouble to %journey
thither will find much to interest them
The city-for its cathedral authorize.
the use of the w~ord-consists of a strag
Cling collection of wooden houses
which remind the traveller of some small
and desOlate village on the west cOast
of Scotland. A large square building,
like some giant barn or mammoth
county cOnstabulary, first strikes the
eye. This is the governors house,
almost the only stone building in town.
All the available space on the shore no,
taken up with house, is covered with
Goldfish, drying in the sun, and giving
out an intOlerable stencil. All the rocks.
palings and even the roofs Of the houses
themselves are covered with these
cleaning testimonies of the citv's chief
occupation or trade. Other products
Of the place are elder down, horses and
hot water. One of the larger elder
duck farms is situated on a small island
in the bay, and, with the permission Of
the owner, can be visited by strangers.
The scene, as pictured by a writer in
the Globe Of London, is not without
interest. Behind, far away on the hori-
zOntal line, rises the ~snOw-capped peak
Of the Snaefel JOkuls, nearly six thou
sand feet in height, which, though more
than sixty miles away, glistens and
shines like silver in the morning sun.
In front lies Reykjavik, the civil and
ecclesiastical metropolis of Iceland.
Not much agricultural labor or ingenu-
lty is expended by the elder duck farm
er upon his property. 1t consists for
the most part of a large open field of
the wind and worked by the action of
the weather into round hummOcks, such
as may be frequently met, with all over
the barren and devastated country of
Iceland. In the receSSeS and holes and
cavities between the hummOcks the
cider ducks may be seen setting on their
nests. OF these there are several scores. |
and the birds themselves when sitting |
are perfectly tame, some of them even
allowing a stranger to stroke them
with the hand. They are not all
Matched at the same time, and many
are still IN the egg when others are
Matched and swimming about in the
sea. The drake, as is SO frequently the |
with the male bird, is a handsome.
snowy creature, with much white in his
plumage. He is excessively shv and
while the female, whose plumage
IS brown and glossy, is, on the contrary,
lame and contiding. The duck lays from
i've to six eggs at the beginning of
June, and it is no unusual thing to find
rom ten to sixteen eggs in one nest,
with two females, who sit
either at intervals, or, if necessary,
both together at the same time. and,
to say, seem to agree remark
well with one another. The
'erlOd Of laying lasts some six r seven
and the birds are in the habit
II laying three times in different
'laceS. From the first and second of
heSe both the down and the eggs are
away, but from the last it is very {
eldOm that the farmer removes either. .
'hOuld he do SO with any degree of :
consistency the birds would desert the }
ocality, and he is not such a fool as to ;
estrOy the duck with the golden eggs. =
In some cases the owner resides on r
I near the farm. In this particular |
1stance he visited the island from the
once a week at the least. So
Don as he and his men arrive at the
est they carefully remove the female, ,
nd take away the superfuous down =
eggs. The duck immediately be- T
ms to lay afresh, and covers her eop =
18th new down, which she p1ucks from
er own breast. If the supply is mad
the male ONE to her assist
ace n helps to cover the eggs with
Is down. h being white is easily
from the brown covering
Inch the female supplies, and is not
good IN quality. The nest is now,
a general rule, left until the Young
les are Matched. There is not much
.llowness and helplessness about
Iese youngsters. About an hour after
ley are out of the shell they quit the
'st together, when it is once more
undered.
The best down and the greatest NUM-
r of eggs are obtained during the
st three weeks of the laying period,
ia 1t has in general been observed
at the birds lay the greatest number
eggs in rainy weather. The female {
a close and persistent sitter. and so S
ng as She is sitting the male. with .,
mmendable cOnstancy,. remains on Or
e watch hard by, but so soon as the 7
ung are Matched he considers his re. =
onsibility at an end aud leaves them Il
their own devices and the care of a'
cir mother. 1t is a curious and prettv c(
INT to see how the latter looks after OF
brood. She leads them out of the dl
st so soon as they creep out of the &C
gs and precedes them to the water, II,
lille they toddle after her. When she of
aches the waterside she takes them !,
her back and swims with them for a ~
v yards; she then dives. and the III
ung ones are left floating on the 70
ter like yellow corks, and henceforth pc
compelled to look after themselves.
deed, the farmer seldom sees his al
again till the next breeding sea- ri
/, for they become comparatively m,
III and live out among the damp 81,
ks IN h sea, where they feed upon ~;
ects and seaweeds and other like .
erS. Some idea of the value of the GU
p may be CLEANED from the fact that {
: female during the whole time of
ing generally gives half a pound of
which is. however. reduced one -