The tame Ducks, reared about mills and rivers, or wherever there is a sufficient quantity of water for them to indulge their sports and to search for food, become a branch of trade, which proves very profitable to their owners.
THE EIDER DUCK, (Sornateria mollissima,)
Which is found about the coasts of the north of England and Scotland, becomes more numerous as we go further north, and is most abundant on Iceland and the Arctic shores, both of Europe and America. This bird is particularly valuable for the great quantity of down which it furnishes, as this is so light and elastic that beds and quilts made from it are preferable to any others. The birds line their nests with this beautiful material plucked from their own bodies, and it is chiefly by plundering the nests that the down is obtained. Each nest will furnish about half a pound of down in the season, and it is worth about four dollars a pound.