Our consumption of feathers for upholstery has been computed at 700 tons annually, which figure is probably far short of the truth. Besides the large quantities produced at home, we imported in 1878, 20,602 cwt. of bed feathers, valued at 91,6791. ; this total was contributed as follows :—Germany, 6183 cwt. ; China, 5026 ; France, 3906 ; Russia, 2642 ; Italy, 820 ; other countries, 2025. The greatest diversity of value is to be noticed in the imports from these countries, thus :—German, about 97s. a owt. ; Chinese, 47s. ; French, 558. ; Russian, 1518. ; Italian, 229s. In 1877, Austria exported 24,293 metrical centners (of 110i lb.) of feathers, valued at over 500,0001. ; in 1878, the exports were 22,408 centnera. Russia exported from Archangel, in 1878, 10 tons, valued at 6501., the whole of which went to Holland ; and from Revel, in the same year, about 20 tons direct to England, increased to nearly 50 tons in 1879.
Dowx.—Tho loose, soft, fluffy barbs, which are attached to the lower part of almost all feathers, are supplemented, in the case of many birds, by an "accessory plume," the whole being generally known as "down." The growth is developed principally on aquatic birds, and is the secret of the superiority of their body feathers for upholstery purposes. Two or three spcoies of water fowl are remarkable for the abundance, softness, lightness, and elasticity of their down ; these are the eider-duek, king-duck, and wild swan.
The eider-dunk (Arras mollissima) is an inhabitant of the Arctic seas and shores of both hemi spheres ; throughout the open waters of the Arctio Ocean, the bird is very plentiful, and great numbers resort every year to breed on the coasts of Nova Zembla, Spitzbergen, Lapland, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Davis' Strait, Baffin's Bay, Newfoundland, and Labrador. Less commonly they appear as far south as some parts of Sweden and Denmark, the Frames, Hebrides, Orkneys, Shetlands, and Fern Isles, also in Massachusetts Bay, and on the coast of Maine ; but the down yielded in these low latitudes is markedly inferior to that produced in colder climates, as might reasonably be expected. In Iceland and Norway, eider-duck farming is a recognized and remunerative pursuit ; and the marine islands, and low-lying margins of estuaries, frequented by the bird—which is never seen on fresh water—are the object of special legislation. Nidification commences in May, and
lasts for 6-7 weeks ; the nest is lined with down plucked by the duck from her own breast ; about 4-6 eggs are then laid. The farmers remove a portion of both eggs and down, whereupon further supplies are furnished by the duck ; the partial robbery is re-perpetrated, and again for a third time. The produce of the three harvests will scarcely reach 3 oz. of impure dirty-brown down. After the third abstraction, the drake contributes about 1 oz. of whiter material, the removal of which will drive the birds away, while the former outrages are tamely submitted to. The gathered down is separated into different qualities, according to its specific gravity, by stirring it up with a stick in a sieve ; this at the same time eliminates the dirt. The yield of cleansed down is about half of the orude material. It is sewn up in little bags for export; and constitutes the most valuable and esteemed variety. The down of the dead bird is inelastic, and therefore valueless.
The king-duck, found in great abundance on the coasts of Spitzbergen and Greenland, and in lesser numbers on the shores of Newfoundland, affords large quantities of down, second only to that of the eider in value, and indeed seldom or never distinguished from the latter in commercial circles. The king-duek does not appear to receive the same consideration as the more valuable eider.
Heavy down, such as that afforded by swans, geese, and ducks generally, is employed for lining and stuffing winter garments. Real eider-down is more often used in bed coverlets, about lk lb. of it ordinarily sufficing. The industry has been much injured by the introduction of cheap inferior down, whose quality may be estimated from the circumstance that the weight of the coverlet is increased threefold. The local value of Icelandic eider-down in 1876 was 20s. a lb.; it is now about 98. The export from Iceland in 1870 amounted to nearly 8000 lb.