144 Capt. Blakiston on the Birds of the 



the American continent, I became convinced that such a bird 

 existed, and made known my belief, both by letter to my friend 

 Mr. George Lawrence, of New York, and also to Prof. Baird and 

 Mr. Cassin, when I visited Washington and Philadelphia in the 

 spring of 1859. This conviction, however, was not founded on 

 any specimen seen, but from the verbal evidence gained from 

 the traders and Indians of the country. No one could have 

 been more loth to believe in a " Large Goose " than myself, 

 because I always fancy that, if any bird is shot, it is sure to be a 

 very large or particularly small one, so many persons being in the 

 habit of making molehills into mountains in the sporting way ; 

 but still I was assured so frequently, by those who could have no 

 interest in intentionally deceiving me, of the existence of this 

 " Large Goose," that had I obtained it I intended to have named 

 it major; I am delighted to find, however, that Mr. Ross has 

 dedicated it to our mutual friend and zealous naturalist, Mr. 

 George Barnston. These reports, moreover, exactly agree with 

 Mr. Ross's observations of its associating only in small flocks, 

 and being " yellow " (as the Indians said) on the breast. By 

 some it was called the " Barren Goose." 



In concluding my remarks on the Bernicla of Northern Ame- 

 rica, I may add that one Indian on the Saskatchawan testified to 

 four kinds of Grey Geese (all those similar to the Canada Goose 

 are called Grey Geese), which he specified as follows : — 1, the 

 Large Goose ; 2, the Common Grey Goose ; 3, the Short-necked 

 Goose ; and 4, the Small Goose. No. 1 is now known as B. barn- 

 stonii; No. 2 is B. canadensis ; and No. 4, B. hutchinsii ; but No. 3 

 (which, however, I never heard of from any other source) cannot 

 be accounted for by any species yet known to naturalists. More- 

 over I should remark that Mr. Andrew Murray has described 

 ('Edin. New Phil. Journal,' April 1859, p. 226) a Goose, which 

 he considers distinct from B. canadensis, under the name of B. 

 leucolcema, which he received " from Hudson's Bay." In colour 

 and markings I should suppose it to be Mr. Ross's B. barnstunii ; 

 but the table of comparative measurements (if we except the 

 total length, which appears to be of the skin) agrees so nearly 

 with those of B. canadensis that I cannot see how it is to be di- 

 stinguished by greater size. I reiterate that the average length 



