THE PALMIPEDES 93 



analogous to the pig : it is a fat-factory. We divert 

 to our own use the excess of fat accumulated pri- 

 marily for the supply of the oil-sac on the rump and 

 the maintenance of the luster that distinguishes the 

 plumage. 



"The palmipede, you see, is admirably protected 

 against wet. Neither rain nor the finest drizzle can 

 penetrate the first covering of feathers, always kept, 

 as it is, well coated with the varnish laid on by the 

 point of the beak. The bird can plunge into the 

 deepest water, swim on its surface, or sleep there 

 cradled by the waves, and the wet will not reach it. 

 Neither will cold affect it, for under this outer cover- 

 ing is found a second, designed for resisting in- 

 clement weather and made of what is most effica- 

 cious for preserving the heat of the body. This un- 

 der-clothing of aquatic birds is a down so delicate 

 and soft that, unable to compare it with anything 

 else, we have given it a special name, that of eider- 

 down. In its proper place I will come back to this 

 down. For the present let us confine ourselves to a 

 general survey of the palmipedes, and of the duck 

 in particular. ' * 



