THE EIDER DUCK. 
849 
Falcon the Eider Duck has but few enemies, for the 
Lapps and Greenlanders are the only people who perse¬ 
cute these useful birds. In Norwegian Lapland and 
Finmark their wanton destruction has been entirely done 
away with, owing to the laws enacted for the protection of 
the Eider Duck having been made more stringent. The 
young birds, however, are subject to other and greater 
dangers. The Eaven is most destructive to both eggs and 
young, and Skuas often pick up one of the brood from the 
shore while they are basking and preening themselves. 
Excepting during the breeding season it is not exactly 
easy to shoot Eider Ducks, as they will rarely allow the 
boat to bring you close enough to make a successful 
shot; besides which they die very hard, and the closeness 
of the plumage prevents the shot penetrating. Their 
utility for the table is infinitely less than the value of 
their plumage, as the flesh tastes fishy and strong, while 
the magnificent down brings in a considerable income 
to the island proprietors. It is true that at least thirty 
nests are required to produce one pound weight of pure 
down; but as a moderate sized island will accommodate 
often from three to four hundred pairs, and that it is 
otherwise utterly unproductive, Eider Ducks must be 
regarded as a veritable blessing, poured by the ocean 
into the lap of man. Up to the present there is but little 
eider-down exported from Norway, for every Norwegian, 
even to the poorest fisherman, likes to sleep under an 
eider-down quilt. From Iceland, however, and still more 
from Greenland and Spitzbergen, a large quantity of 
down is annually exported: this is estimated on an 
average to amount in value to 10,000 thalers per annum; 
thus it will be seen that this trade is of great importance 
to the inhabitants of these desert coasts. 
