Show ja t ae m t 41 ir j ag I 1 z 14 i I 1 AVO ICELAND S I 1 1 ROCKY COAST stua 91 grounds of bardt sow ahw cs fica axe are protected by the inage Xuat hm that ato are so go prized in every 1 1 t special letter T was near reykjavik 4 P r the capitol wi of iceland that I 1 first made the acquaintance of elder eider a 2 ducks says ellzabeth elizabeth t 77 aw taylor A 11 anz 1 ia 9 half hours brisk I 1 I 1 t jk 1 4 row brought us to angey on one e of the elder eider farm islands in front of the turf roofed little buildings on the stony aroun ground d a quantity of down was drying fluffy masses of brownish gray amy looking as it if the first puff of wlad would blow them out to sea but bat valla my maid told me that the d down own was so interwoven with blades of dried grass that an ordinary wind would not stir it following a rough trail we soon reached the low pastures near the sea by the action of rost frost f and damp the surface had been up heaved intz into hillocks about is 18 inches high and between these the ducks were nesting I 1 was tolling over the uneven ground when w hen suddenly a large grayish brown duck burst like a bomb from alm almost os under my teet feet and I 1 balanced to and fro on my hillock fearing to advance lest I 1 crushed the em eggs looking carefully about me I 1 soon awn found them seven great eggs as large as those of a goose peeping out from the down w which swelled up around them in a thick roll A little farther on I 1 was surrounded by excited perturbed mothers some still brooding and others with ducklings duc klings hardly out of the shell the mottled and low toned plumage so I 1 P I 1 I 1 P I 1 I 1 ti as 01 i I 1 i f I 1 I 1 I 1 i q ill GATHERING DOWN harmonized with the gray rocks and dead grasses around me that I 1 could hardly distinguish the ducks at a distance of a few paces just then I 1 saw a young woman coming with he her r apron full of down gudron that was waa her name was on terms of pleasant intimacy with her ducks and they stayed tranquilly on their eggs at her approach and even allowed her to stroke their heads and see it if the ew eggs were hatching of valla too they seemed to have little fear though she was a stranger to them why is it gudrun I 1 asked that the ducks are so afraid of me gudrun smiled shyly and replied 1 I think froken that they do not like your hat that was the trouble accustomed as they were to the simple kerchief or the small black aufa worn wom by icelandic women with its heavy silk tassel hanging down on one side they had bad taken umbrage at my any straw travel traveling I 1 ug hat bat with its perky ribbon bows however the ducks were not unreasonable when they saw that valla and gudrun talked amicably with me they waived their objections to my headgear and finally permitted me to caress their sleek heads and wings all the accounts I 1 have read about elder eider ducks say that nests are robbed of their down twice the duck auppl supplying y it each time from her own body the third time the drake gives his white down and this Is allowed to r remain L but I 1 was told by farmers in iceland that now they never take the down until the little ones are hatched it hash has been found that the birds thrive better and increase faster when they are allowed to live as nature meant the them to do go 60 now the poor door mothers are no longer obliged to strip themselves of all their down don to furnish their despoiled nests nesta elder ducks are found along the seacoast of arctic america and siberia greenland norway sweden JL TA apland iceland the faroe islands and an nova dk thir they are true ocean oce an birds living during the alie winter out out at sea 4 A and nd diving tor for their food which wh con slats of small fth fish she shellfish mah and alid crabs ix begin in i to a gather n util little groups near the abo shores often alx lx one bli bird will mt g 9 grounds F I 1 M I 1 hasl z I 1 I 1 1 ii f 46 le f W lemi I 1 danl r U their J old I 1 ft i U d I 1 n k beiji i M boul BoOi Z dai dacks 1 es wor I 1 aj 1 0 I 1 dall 04 I 1 71 am f ika oi 45 igral iss Ms A it ildea i adow donw I 1 Is aar A UP ad I 1 cheve i a p kfir ahw 1 I 1 20 adji A 4 hiim i w layfer P 1 2 I 1 R as wil 1 J jl C U W 4 tai kiili ft wl 4 e 1 t seem alt ainia mi mr ese aero 3 I 1 jye ev fd J r ai if Z si e tk p add is I 1 1 I 1 I 1 x 96 Y ali an 1 Z 6 ct k ai I 1 I 1 i I 1 eael W ze i 1 6 I 1 aw aa I 1 e r V I 1 ts I 1 q aw Z anten ten tan i 1 1 1 4 1 C L I 1 a 1 4 1 4 6 IT 5 WW W W 7 m 1 35 4 rif f I 1 thellie Th ellve e it I 1 I 1 I 1 as the e nesting ds called can be formed bir I 1 ame carmels tar mels U jand ind possesses the stoper wat attractions I 1 tr actions A A aman A to t ha sea eba la Is t lebike he lebi fb Kt p w ace tui icia i or meek ot of lanb Is 13 often chosen chose u i it tha aa many hillocks aniorte there them is no ud need ot making artificial nests otherwise the tart turf mastbe cut in blocks and set up on end 46 40 form fora small oblong compartments these are am often rooted roofed over with pieces of turf or wood must be in readiness WO before re it Is time for the birds to corn come from the sea the ducks sem to th MO like to have the 32 neighboring elgha some som a life ike or m movement on farm lands as they P probably probably feel fed more secure from their natural enemies foxes and ravens but on oil the carpet itself all must be peace and serenity |