42 



They did not at tiist, wlien turned out on the pond among tlie other 

 vvater-fovvl, appear to take mucli notice of each otiier ; but sorae 

 vvorkmen being at the time employed about the pond, one of the 

 birds (I thiiik, from recollection, it was the malė,) seemed to have 

 formed some sort of attachmenl to one of the men woiking. VVhen- 

 ever he was present the goose was always near to him, and whenever 

 absent at his dinner, or vvhen otherwise employed, the bird appeared 

 restless, and gavę vent to its solicitude by fiequent ciies, uhich as 

 well as the anxiety, ahvays ceased vvith the reappearance of the 

 vvorkman. 



" The man having freąuently occasion tu pass through adoor, which 

 wa.s obliged to be kept open, it \va.s feared t^at the attachment of the 

 animal might lead to its foliovving ils friend, and that on its e.\it, it 

 might fail in vvith and be worried or stolen by vennin, and in conse- 

 quence the pair of geese vvere confined in one of the divisions adja- 

 cent to, but divided from, the pond, on February 26. 



" Within this small inclosure, in the sheltered half of it, in one 

 corner, stood a small hulch, in which the female on the oth of March 

 laid her first egg. Till within a fe\v days of that period no alteration 

 took place in their manners,butil ihen became obvious that the malė 

 was jealous of intruders, and would run at and seize them by the 

 trovvsers, giving pretty sharp blows with his vvings ; but this alvvay.s 

 cea-sed if he observed that the female was at some distance, vvhen 

 he vvould instantly rejoin her : his returr. to the female was alvvays 

 accompanied by great hurry and clamour, and much gesticulation up 

 and down of his head, bul not of the vvings. Three other eggs follovved 

 on the 7th, 9th, and 1 Ith of March. The eggs vvere vvhite, and very 

 large in proportion to the size of the bird, being, I should imagine, 

 (for, having no proper scales at hand, 1 did not vveigh or subtract any 

 of them, hoping that more might be laid,) fully equal to tliose of the 

 Swan Goose or Anas cygubides. The goose also surprised us by the 

 rapidity of her operations, for vve were hardly avvare of the fourth egg 

 having been laid that morning, vvhen it vvas evident that she had be- 

 gun to sit. During the vvhole period of incub:ition there could not 

 be a more attentive nurse, and indeed she could not vvell help it, for 

 the male, if she seemed inclined to stay out longer than he thought 

 right, appeared, by his motions, to be bent on driving her bacjf, nor 

 vvas he satisfied till he had accomplished his object, vvhen he again 

 resumed his usual position, vvith liis body half in half out of the 

 hutch and his head tovvards the female ; but if any person crossed the 

 yard of the division, he vvould immediately hurry after the intruder, 

 though, if he found there vvas no intention of inolesting the nursery, 

 he seemed generally satisfied, and did not likę to quit the sheltered 

 part of the division. At nigh; he constantly made room for himself 

 by the female, the result of vvhich vvas unfortunate tovvards the pro- 

 geny. 



" On the 12th of .-^pril the egos began to chip, and on the 13th 

 tvvo goslings vvere escluded ; but it vvas found that the mother had 

 pushed from under her the other tvvo eggs, vvhich vvere consequently 

 taken avvay and put under a hen, though, as one vvas very nearly 



I 



