THE FEATHER MAN 245 



her breast, until, after she has been despoiled four 

 times, her breast is entirely naked of feathers. 

 They grow, of course, at the next molt. When 

 the mother bird has given all the down-feathers 

 she can spare, the father becomes a willing victim. 

 His feathers are not as springy as his mate's, 

 however, and command a lower price. Towards 

 the end of the nesting season, the parent birds 

 are left alone and allowed to rear their young. 

 The value of the eider down lies in the fact that, 

 being a northern species where warmth is neces- 

 sary, the inner feathers are particularly elastic 

 and soft.'^ 



"What color, sir I" asked the boy. 



''The down feathers, you mean? From the 

 mother a yellowish color, almost like a very light 

 khaki. From the father, white. The Eider Duck 

 is curiously colored, being faint above and somber 

 below, in contrast to the general coloring of birds 

 which is dark above and light below." 



"Is there any reason why birds are colored that 

 way, I mean, what is called ' concealing coloration. ' 

 Is all that true, sir?" 



The Feather Man leaned back in his chair and 

 swung one leg over the other. 



"That's quite a problem," he said, "and it 



