EIDER DOWN

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 111, 7 November 1923, Page 13

EIDER DOWN

_ Down is not usually plucked from tlie living bird for the purposes of commerce. The eider-ducks line' their nests with down taken from their own bodies, and it is from these nests that most of the down used for filling quilts is gathered. The down is generally collected twice a year, the first time being soon after the nests have been lined by the birds, and the second after the eggs have been hatched and the nests abandoned. It has been found that the collection of down in this way does not interfere with the birds to any extent, or retard the hatching of eggs. When the first supply is taken from the nests, the eider-ducks" immediately set to work to re-line them. It is a humane process, and is not attended by any cruelty or slaughter. Eider-ducks are found m Iceland and Norway as well-as in Oanada and other parts of the world They are usually protected or preserved by the laws of the country in which they are found. ■ But is is only recently that the possibilities of the eiderduck have been realiseU to the full extent, So m tlie future the supply of down may be more plentiful, as the birds are likely to be extensively bred for that purpose.