THE DUCK. 319 



nest, sat, hatched, and afterwards brought up the brood. 

 The old goose, as soon as the young one had taken her 

 place, sat down by the side of the nest, and shortly after 

 died. As the young goose had never been in the habit of 

 entering the kitchen before, I know of no way of accounting 

 for this fact than by supposing that the old one had some 

 way of communicating her thoughts and anxieties, which the 

 other was perfectly able to understand. A sister of mine, 

 who witnessed the transaction, gave me the information in 

 the evening of the very day it happened." The Rev. F. C. 

 Morris tells of a goose which had a number of ducks' eggs 

 placed with some of her own that she might hatch them, 

 but which twice removed the ducks' eggs from the group, de- 

 clining to sit on any but her own. 



The Duck. The many varieties of Ducks might well occupy 

 much more space than we can spare for them. The better 

 known of these are the Wild Duck, the Common Duck, the 

 Eider Duck, the Long-tailed Duck, the King Duck, the 

 Canvas-back Duck, the Mallard, the Teal, the Widgeon, the 

 Mandarin, and the Common Shelldrake. 



An interesting illustration of the affection which ducks 

 sometimes show towards each other is given by Dr. Stanley. 

 He says: "A pair of Muscovy Ducks were landed at Holyhead 

 from a Liverpool vessel, returning from the coast of Africa. 

 The male was conveyed to a gentleman's house, and put 

 with other ducks, towards whom he evinced the utmost 

 indifference : he evidently pined for the loss of his mate ; but 

 she was brought after a time, and let loose; he did not at 

 first see her, but when, on turning his head, he caught a 

 glimpse of her, he rushed towards her with a joy which was 

 quite affecting. Nothing after that would induce him to quit 

 her; he laid his beak upon hers, nestled his head under her 

 wing, and often gazed at her with the greatest delight." 



The Swan. The Swan is one of the most graceful of the 

 bird kind, the purity of its colour and the beauty of its 



