CONSERVATION OF THE EmER 



great care of the breeding birds, which often 

 enter their houses to find suitable nesting- 

 places, and cases are authenticated in which 

 the poor fisherman vacated his bed in order 

 not to disturb the female eider, which had se- 

 lected it as a quiet corner wherein to raise 

 her young. In another place the cooking of a 

 family had to be done in a temporary kitchen 

 as a fanciful bird had taken up her abode on 

 the fireplace." 



When St. Cuthbert, that holy man, went to 

 live a lonely life on Fame Island, he tamed the 

 eiders and they are called St. Cuthbot's ducks 

 even to this day. 



Eider-down is not only extremdy light and 

 elastic, but is also one of the poorest conductors 

 of heat. It is therefore an ideal substance for 

 preserving warmth and is the best material for 

 coverlets, puffs, cushions, etc. Its money- value 

 is considerable and there is always a demand for 

 it in the markets of the world.^ The retail price 

 in Boston at the present time ^ of well-cleaned 

 Iceland or Norwegian eider-down is $14 a 

 pound. It is probable that each nest fur- 



' The down obtained from dead eiders, however, soon loses 

 its elasticity and is of little value. 

 * 1913. 



313 



