Show DOUT SOME BONE WILD DUCKS obits OF THE eiders AND VARIOUS OTHERS vw the ron soft down of tir the lidel doell ll 11 secured away up in the orth little nuck lla are lint Tau taught slit thoro there ii nothing oleo ol 01 natures borks and no lie product of man marfe I 1 handl handt raft so soak so delicate doll cato and s clostio is 0 tho the down that grows upon t tl breast of thu tho older deck duck it is L said li 1 int ono one tankful tand ful grasped from a qu quo itley t of this down will make a we eluted elut Td why by quilt five feet square bo she weight eight of 0 tho the down is lisa m than aalf an oun ounce C 0 in building their nests t 0 older lucks use bita of eca sea grass I 1 dee vige and whatever K else Is available for I 1 io they plaster ou on tho the in ini do with ciny clay so as to mako tho the noet nest ir tight A it layer of tho the finest gras g grasses soot fea fc athora thors alth and other soft aa t thi i covers tho the clay and last tho the bom fomia plucks from hor her own breast tho the doll dol loito to down with which to finish h tho the hot for her duck anis down is ac CI that tho the nath es of lab M r S salts ap its borgon borgen and other far north arthen irl moko make a groat port part of their I 1 dicomo by stealing tho the down from th thi nests of theelder tho the older ducks j they watch tho the homo bailing of tho the ducks an and d noto note tho the laying i tho the eggs from day to day aher about tho the compliment of eggs has be acel tilted theao these rascally poun down and steal both eggs and do domni dalgos n then tho the ducks proceed to repair dao agos tho rho female is now obliged to 11 denude her breast in order to got do dewi ono enough ugh to lino line hor her nest then chiti who more eggs are laid tho the pirates ma mak their cruel visit again tho the latici bucka try it once mom but this ti tin tho the drake ha to supply tho the down when tho the pirates havi hav for tho the third timo time committed their rol 1 cry the poor ducks abandon tho the pla place ce i id d disappear whether they at ini in las I comprehend tho the trouble lo or whether iho ho anity of tho the drako drake leads him to the una nt at tho the loss of half his dacyn 1 something we havo have yot yet to loft it must bo be said for tho the older dafo however that ho be is a good and faa faq f ul husband ns as nearly all drakes anjin artlin their wild state instances In aro citel by natural lots wherein tho the same e pair tir of ducks for twenty yeara raised d leir broods in the same 90 place tho the nesting habits of f early all the other wild ducks of a country aro arc similar to thoo of t U i eider older the ducklings arc are born li it the spring in cold regions and w when en 10 a timo time corned come a to migrate southward t a young ones aro are aa au good fl era ers as th tho P parents arents tho the ducks aro are taught to oat as soon ai thoy they leavo leave tho the sh mhd and a little later the mother them to swim and dive I 1 this is tho the way she gives tho the fiat ow swimming cimmin lesson ehe aders tho the little ones to got on her back aa as you may havo have seen young chickens get got on tho the back of tho the 01 old id hen men then sho she waddles into the water rims slams s out a little way and suddenly diina leaving the ducklings to paddle their own banoo but the mother does pot olt go 0 tar far away she comes to the surface surface quickly and anxiously watches result of tho first swimming lesson As ducks aro natural swimmers the little quackery qu ackers at once become as of tho the water ae as a child of candy the diving leison aomos neat the ile mother will dive and try to induce the youngsters cra to follow her if they wont do it sho she gets behind them and anif tilts them up tip so that their beads heads 9 go 0 under then like ilke tho the average boy chev are lust just crazy to dive when they find how easy it is all ducks aro are good divers but when in flocks rocks on the water tt troy cy always pro fer for to mcado danger by flying but stray ducko that bavo have been detached from flocks will generally divo in preference to flying in order to escape tho the gunner somo some of ot tho the dacks found on our lakes and are am such expert divera divers that thoy avoid tho the shots of tho the best it is thought that the they understand what tho flash of a gun can means and they are so quick that they get under the surface of tho the antor wr tor before the lead reaches machos them tho the only way tho the gunner gunne can got a chanco at these divers id Is to firo fire one shot to make the duck dive and then bo be ready with another tha instant that the game show above the surface the calivas canvasback back and tho the mallards aro are tho the best beat known among the edible cibie ducks of our country and the m mallard is recognized as the progenitor of our domestic duck tho the latter however is n rather ignoble docen dant of noble while tho the wild duck lives in largely agel on roots and grains thero there la Is nothing too filthy for tho the domestic d do 0 scon dant refuse that a pig would disdain to touch will bo be gobbled by a tamo tame duck as if it were tho the most delicate ali morsel in their f finlly relations ioas they ore are ox 01 trombly cremisi tho the drako drake is a faithless hus husband bando puffed up with self oon con colt and utterly indifferent to his spouse L nesting time andio and to tho the ducic hugs lings when they appear and tho the wife Is not much better than the husband she will sometimes leave the nest when hatching go off on an excursion and let lot the eggs spoil spell even it if sho she suo hatches the eggs ehe she dowiat 4 r if i to care anything ng for fo tn cionco that make is h business bual abw 9 rivo vivo out thai rl oon tract to female 14 bon hen will guard a brood of otiis ula lloro diem with all the solicitude of 41 lous ious and twid evor watchful moth |