THE DUCK. 319 -

nest, sat, hatched, and afterwards brought up the brood.
The old goose, as soon as the young one had taken her
place, sat down by the side of the nest, and shortly after
died. As the young goose had never been in the habit of
entering the kitchen before, I know of no way of accounting
for this fact than by supposing that the old one had some
way of communicating her thoughts and anxieties, which the
other was perfectly able to understand. A sister of mine,
who witnessed the transaction, gave me the information in
the evening of the very day it happened.” The Rev. F.C.
Morris tells of a goose which had a number of ducks’ eggs
placed with some of her own that she might hatch them,
but which twice removed the ducks’ eggs from the group, de-
clining to sit on any but her own.

The Duck. The many varieties of Ducks might well occupy
much more space than we can spare for them. The better
known of these are the Wild Duck, the Common Duck, the
Eider Duck, the Long-tailed Duck, the King Duck, the
Canvas-back Duck, the Mallard, the Teal, the Widgeon, the
Mandarin, and the Common Shelldrake.

An interesting illustration of the affection which ducks
sometimes show towards each other is given by Dr. Stanley.
He says:—“A pair of Muscovy Ducks were landed at Holyhead
from a Liverpool vessel, returning from the coast of Africa.
The male was conveyed to a gentleman’s house, and put
with other ducks, towards whom he evinced the utmost
indifference: he evidently pined for the loss of his mate; but
she was brought after a time, and let loose; he did not at
first see her, but when, on tuming his head, he caught a
glimpse of her, he rushed towards her with a joy which was
quite affecting. Nothing after that would induce him to quit
her; he laid his beak upon hers, nestled his head under her
wing, and often gazed at her with the greatest delight.”

The Swan. The Swan is one of the most graceful of the
bird kind, the purity of its colour and the beauty of its