found except in forests of the loftiest trees, the lower branches of
which, being high above the ground, seem to be its favorite resort. Its
food consists principally of fruit, but occasionally a caterpillar is
found in its stomach.

THE MANDARIN DUCK.

A Letter from China.

Quack! Quack! I got in just in time.

I came as fast as I could, as I was afraid of being whipped. You see I
live in a boat with a great many other ducks.

My master and his family live in the boat too. Isn't that a funny place
to live in?

We stay in all night. Waking up early in the morning, we cry Quack!
Quack! until we wake the master.

He gets up and opens the gate for us and out we tumble into the water.
We are in such a hurry that we fall over each other. We swim about
awhile and then we go to shore for breakfast.

There are wet places near the shore where we find worms, grubs, and
roots. When evening comes the master blows a whistle. Then we know it is
time to come home.

We start as soon as we hear it, and hurry, because the last duck in gets
a whipping. It does not hurt much but we do not like it, so we all try
to get home first.

I have web feet, but I perch like other birds on the branches of the
trees near the river.

My feathers are beautiful in the sunlight. My wife always sits near me.
Her dress is not like mine. It is brown and grey.

From May to August I lose my bright feathers, then I put on a dress like
my wife's.

My master's family are Chinese, and they are very queer. They would not
sell me for anything, as they would not like to have me leave China.

Sometimes a pair of us are put in a gay cage and carried to a wedding.
After the wedding we are given to the bride and groom.

I hear the master's whistle again. He wants me to come in and go to bed.
Quack! Quack! Good bye!

[Illustration: MANDARIN DUCK.]

THE MANDARIN DUCK.

"A more magnificently clothed bird," says Wood, "than the male Chinese
Mandarin Duck, can hardly be found, when in health and full nuptial
plumage. They are natives of China and Japan, and are held in such high
esteem by the Chinese that they can hardly be obtained at any price, the
natives having a singular dislike to seeing the birds pass into the
possession of Europeans."

Though web-footed, the birds have the power of perching and it is
a curious sight to watch them on the branches of trees overhanging
the pond in which they live, the male and female being always