THE FEATHER xMAN 243 



his wings. It's a courting call, to tell the birds 

 whom he has chosen for his mates that he is wait- 

 ing for them. Feathers need to be strongly braced 

 to resist such beating against the air." 



The Feather Man turned back to his writing, as 

 though to close the subject, but Shan was full of 

 questions, and did not notice the dismissing action. 



**How about the inside feathers, sir?" he asked. 

 ''Have they got hooks, too, or are they soft and 

 fluffy because they haven't?" 



"Getting interested, are you?" smiled the 

 Feather Man. "Well, Shan, I have no objection 

 to explaining these things to you, so long as you 

 try to remember them. You ask about down- 

 feathers. They are quite different in their struc- 

 ture from contour feathers, because they have no 

 quill. The barbs are long and slender and all 

 come from one central point. The barbules do 

 not possess hooks, as in the contour feathers, but 

 they have knobs which help to felt the feathers 

 together, while the barbs of one dowTi feather in- 

 terlock with the next, instead of the barbules do- 

 ing it. 



"This interlocking is finer than the finest weav- 

 ing. It is so incredibly fine that no cold wind can 

 penetrate. That is why the Eskimos make shirts 



