THE BIRD SUPPLY 



risistance of the careful householder's equipment. 

 There was a time when the domestic poultry of New 

 England did not furnish as great a supply of feathers 

 as was desired. Furthermore, "Eider down" was 

 recognized as the most desirable of all feathers for 

 certain domestic uses. 



A hundred and fifty years ago New England sea- 

 faring men frequently fitted out vessels and sailed 

 to the Labrador coast in summer on "feather- 

 voyages." The feathers sought were those of the 

 Labrador Duck and the Eider. These adventurous 

 bird pirates secured their booty either by killing the 

 birds or taking the down from the nests. The com- 

 mercializing of the Labrador Duck meant its undoing. 

 The last one known to have been taken was killed 

 by a hunter near Long Island, New York, in 1875. 

 Forty-two of these birds only are preserved in the 

 ornithological collections of the whole world. 



Another species which succumbed to the persistent 

 persecution of mankind was the Great Cormorant 

 that at one time was extremely abundant in the 

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