214 Poachers and Poach ing. 



the farmer's wife to stroke them as they sat on 

 their nests. Of course there is another side to 

 this pleasant picture, as we see, when we learn 

 how the " good lady " of the island repays the 

 confidence of the birds. But we will allow 

 Dr. Hartwig to tell it in his own way. He 

 says : 



"The eider-down is easily collected, as the 

 birds are quite tame. The female having laid 

 five or six pale greenish-olive eggs, in a nest 

 thickly lined with her beautiful down, the col- 

 lectors, after carefully removing the bird, rob 

 the nest of its contents, after which they replace 

 her. She then begins to lay afresh though this 

 time only three or four eggs and again has 

 recourse to the down of her body. But the 

 greedy persecutors once more rifle her nest, and 

 oblige her to line it for the third time. Now, 

 however, her own stock of down is exhausted, 

 and with a plaintive voice she calls her mate to 

 her assistance, who willingly plucks the soft 

 feathers from his breast to supply the deficiency. 

 If the cruel robbery be again repeated, which in 

 former times was frequently the case, the poor 

 eider-duck abandons the spot, never to return, 

 and seeks for a new home where she may indulge 

 her maternal instinct undisturbed by the avarice 

 of man." 



Nature is prolific even in her waste ; but 

 although eiders are plentiful, their breeding 



