552 
MALLARD. 
where she dives from under them, and thus teaches 
the ducklings to shift for themselves. In the depth 
of winter they visit the southern bays of Greenland 
by thousands. The natives pursue them in their 
little boats, and when they dive, trace their course 
by the air-bubbles which rise to the surface : when 
the ducks appear, they strike them with darts pro- 
vided for the purpose. When their nests have been 
robbed of the down, the birds will pluck more to 
supply the deficiency : if this should be removed, 
they will again have recourse to their breasts : thus 
will a single duck sometimes furnish half a pound of 
this valuable commodity, though in the end the 
poor sufferer has hardly a single feather left to de- 
fend her from the cold. 
