ANATID.E. 497 



return to tlie more temperate parts of Europe, Asia^ 

 and America. 



From tlie central position of their legs, tlie mode- 

 rate size of their feet, and the length of their tarsi, 

 the Geese walk readily on land, and, indeed, are 

 much more frequently seen there than on the water. 

 They sw4m, howeyer, with buoyancy and ease, but 

 rarely diye, and only in cases .of great emergency, 

 when wounded or otherwise, unable to escape. 



In diet they are graminivorous as well as grani- 

 yorous, that is, liye upon grass as well as upon 

 grain, indeed, chiefly on the former ; and for pro- 

 curing such kind of food their laminated bill is 

 admirably adapted. For this purpose they seek the 

 meadows of the interior of the country, and resort 

 much to fields of young wheat and other grain. 

 From the great size of their wings, their flight is 

 strong, and they make rapid progress during their 

 migratory journeys, as they can moye at the rate of 

 fifty or sixty miles an hour. In these flights they 

 advance in a diagonal line, or in two lines, meeting 

 in a point like the letter Y. They breed in the 

 marshy districts of the countries to which they 

 retire during the summer months, laying several 

 eggs of a white or sullied white colom\ 



Many schemes are had recourse to in the north of 

 Europe to capture wild geese. In Lapland they 

 are taken during the spring in steel traps. These 

 are set near to natural openings in the ice, where 

 the birds are known to resort, and baited with the 

 roots of the river horse-tail {Ei£iii^ehim fliiviaiile) , ov 

 of the Ranuncjilus ' aquatilis- When feeding in 

 stubble-fields, or elsewhere, wild geese are also not 

 unfrequently shot with the assistance of a stalking- 

 horse ; and if the animal be well trained, great 

 execution may thus at times be done. But in lieu 

 of a steed, a so-called Skjut-Ko, or shooting- cow, is 

 made use of. This apparatus, M. Grieff" tells us, " is 

 composed of strong canvas, in the form of a cow, 

 and painted brown. For its easier transport, it is 



