THE CANADIAN POND- WEED 13 



west coast of Scotland to the tufted duck (Fuligula 

 cristata). Both species have a bright yellow iris, 

 and the plumage of both presents strong contrasts 

 of black and white ; but the tufted duck, though a 

 pretty and interesting bird, is very inferior in size 

 and beauty to the true goldeneye (Clangula glaucion). 

 The latter is known as Kattlewings in some places, 

 because of its noisy flight. 



Very fascinating are the vignettes of wild life 

 revealed by the spy-glass on a bright winter morn- 

 ing with snow on the ground. Sweeping the lens 

 slowly round the water-margin, one may detect 

 many a brightly coloured little group, some standing 

 on the snow in sunny nooks under the leafless alder 

 copse, others floating on the placid surface all 

 perfect pictures of security and content. 



IV 



There is a special reason just now for the content 



of wildfowl in this sanctuary, because of 



The 



the extraordinary growth of the Canadian Canadian 



pond-weed 

 pond-weed. It must have come there as 



a fragment adhering to the plumage of some tra- 

 velling duck, for it does not exist anywhere else 

 within a radius of forty miles. One would say that 



