WILD GEESE. 241 



scarcely leave a blade of grain growing in quite a large 

 district. It is estimated that they devoured crops val- 

 ued at two hundred thousand dollars in one county of 

 California in 1878, and that their depredations in other 

 sections were equally as great; it is therefore evident that 

 they are not such welcome visitors as they would be if 

 they had smaller apjjetites. A strong peculiarity about 

 some of the geese is the manner in which they alight to 

 feed, for each si:»ecies keeps by itself, although the vari- 

 eties of the same species may be mingled indiscriminately 

 together, and gabbling contentedly while they are en- 

 gaged in impoverishing the grangers. Shooting produces 

 such little effect on their numbers that many farmers 

 have almost given it up m despair, and depend on grain 

 soaked in strychnine for accomplishing their purpose; but 

 this method has its drawbacks, for the geese that do not 

 succumb at once to the poison may fly away and be shot 

 by men who do not know what they have been feeding 

 on, and, as a result, persons who eat their flesh are fre- 

 quently poisoned. They poison wild geese with Colchi- 

 cus ifidicus in China, but this, it seems, is not baneful 

 to human beings, as one rarely hears of any fatal acci- 

 dents, although the birds are freely eaten by the poor 

 people, while the use of strychnine is often attended 

 by the direst results in parts of the West. There are 

 about a dozen species of wild geese in the United States, 

 by including the Dendrocygna found in the extreme 

 Southwest, and which seem to be the connecting link 

 between the AnserincB and Anatince. These inhabit 

 trees, and have qualities which make them akin to both 

 families, but as they are only found in limited numbers, 

 and are partial to tropicial climates, I have not deemed 

 it necessary to describe them specifically. 



The system of wild-fowl shooting practised in the West 

 varies very much, and is either elaborate or very simple. 

 If a person could only believe some waggish old farmers, 



11 



