CHAF. xiii.] FARMING FOE, LADIES. 2G5 



Though gregarious in their general habits, 

 and migrating in large flocks from the coun- 

 tries in which they are bred, to those to which 

 they resort for food during the winter, yet, 

 when breeding-time arrives, the " mallard " — 

 as the male is called- — pairs with a single 

 duck, and wing their way to some lonely 

 spot, where they dwell apart, until they again 

 assemble for migration. They breed but once 

 a year, forming their nest on the ground in 

 brakes of fern, or tufts of reeds and rushes, 

 lining it with the warm down of their bosoms ; 

 the mallard all the while keeping watch when 

 the duck is occasionally absent from their 

 charge in search of food. When the hatch- 

 ing is completed, and the ducklings have 

 broken their shell, they are within a few 

 hours carried by the old birds to the water, 

 where they at once begin to feed and swim, 

 the parent-bird sheltering them under her 

 wing when gathered on the land, or crouch- 

 ing around her for warmth, as they do not 

 return to the nest ; and, when feathered, they 

 float the whole night long upon the water. 

 In three months, they are able to fly ; and, 

 in three months more, their growth and 



