FEATHER INDUSTRIES 191 



departed. Tlien the inferior down is gathered and 

 cleaned. And all through the nesting season the 

 drake duck swims placidly out in the offing, eat- 

 ing, sleeping, and preening his feathers, quite ob- 

 livious of the tribulations of his mate. The 

 feathers on his breast remain intact. 



The eider-ducks of Iceland have grown so used 

 to the presence of people near their breeding 

 grounds that they will recognize the men who 

 tend their nests. They dislike strangers, but will 

 go so far as to allow themselves to be handled by 

 those whom they know. The Icelanders treat 

 them with the gentlest care, constructing artificial 

 nests and warding off danger when possible. The 

 birds return each year to the same spot and will 

 breed in the close vicinity of buildings. Some 

 have even been known to rear their broods on the 

 turf roofs of inhabited cottages. By kindness and 

 care they h,ave been led into a state of semi-do- 

 mestication. 



But, as has already been mentioned, eider-ducks 

 are not responsible for all commercial down. So 

 great is the demand for this substance that they, 

 in truth, are able to supply only a very small 

 fraction. The downs ranking next in quality are 

 those obtained from the goose and swan, the 

 former bird producing thousands of tons annually 

 throughout the world. 



As with eider-ducks, the feathers from live 

 geese make the best down, and as the geese do 



