58 
INTRODUCTION. 
approaches, these sounds are gradually resumed, at 
first coining from the ground, as warnings that 
it is time to be alert ; as the darkness and still- 
ness of night sets in, one large flock after another 
hastens to its-feeding-ground, and the various calls 
and the noise of wings is heard with a clearness 
which is sufficient to enable the sportsman to mark 
the kinds and trace his prey to their feeding stations, 
to make him aware of their approach long before 
they come within his reach. 
Iu an economical relation, this Order is of con- 
siderable importance. It is scarcely necessary to 
state that it is to the members of it that we owe 
all our domesticated breeds of geese, ducks, &c., 
and that from them our finest feathers and downs, 
employed as articles of luxury, or by the fair sex 
as dresses and adornments of ornamental comfort, are 
derived. Next to the Gallinaceous Birds, they 
hold the highest rank for artificial breeding and 
improvement, and after being so treated, stand in 
high reputation for the table. Their breeding and 
rearing, in all their branches, yield considerable in- 
comes to their proprietors, and employ numbers for 
their care. Among northern nations, the collection 
of the eggs and young of many wild species are 
regular objects of employment and commerce ; * by 
* The rent of St. Kikla is paid almost entirely from feathers 
collected from both young and old birds, 240 stones being the 
quantity required ; while their winter light is supplied from oil 
collected from the stomach of the fulmar. Wilson, West. Isles , 
