iSSj.] General Notes. Ill 



The Canada Goose. — Mr. James P. Howley, in his article entitled 'The 

 Canada Goose (Bernicla canadensis),' in the October 'Auk', p. 310. lines 

 33 and 34, states that thev •"require six months to mature." This is con- 

 trary to my obseryations regarding the breeding of this bird. My notes, 

 howeyer. are entirely confined to their breeding while in a state of captivity. 

 During the last week in May. 1879, ^ saw some goslings, just hatched, be- 

 longing to Capt. Lane, of Shinnecock Bay, Long Island. N. Y. August 

 16, I saw them again and was unable to distinguish them from the rest of 

 the flock by their size or plumage. The present season Capt. Lane raised 

 nineteen Geese. I saw the flock daily from June 26 to July 25, and during 

 the latter part of the time the young birds were hardly distinguishable 

 from the old ones, except by the solicitude the parents displayed for the 

 safety of their progeny. Capt. Lane has had remarkable success in breed- 

 ing Canada Geese in confinement, and has kindly furnished me with the 

 following information regarding their habits during the incubating sea- 

 son : "They make their nests of dried grass, raising them about twelye 

 inches from the ground. They feather them when they begin to lay. 

 which is about May 1. None lay until three years old: the first season 

 four egg-s are laid, five the second season, and when older six and seven. 

 A goose never has more than one mate. The gander never sits on the 

 nest, but while the goose is sitting never leaves her. The time of incu- 

 bation is four weeks. The young when hatched are strong enough to take 

 care of themselves, that is. they eat grass and walk and swim as soon as 

 they get dry. They w r ill eat meal on the second day. They are in the 

 down four weeks, and are fully grown in six weeks. When swimming, 

 the gander goes ahead, the young next, and the goose follows, invaria- 

 bly." — Wm. Ditcher. Xe-;- fork City. 



The Eider Ducks of the New England Coast. — In view of the general 

 confusion and ignorance respecting New England Water Birds, it may be 

 not amiss to call attention to the fact that two forms of the Eider Duck 

 are found regularly in winter on our coast. Of these Dresser's Eider 

 {Somateria dresser/) is the commoner, as well as probably the only one 

 which breeds within our limits. The other. Somateria mollissima proper, 

 is much less numerous, but ^ti 1 1 far from rare or accidental. It doubtless 

 reaches Massachusetts, but I do not remember to have seen specimens 

 from any point south of the mouth of the Penobscot River. Maine. The 

 best authorities now regard dresser/ as specifically distinct from mollis- 

 sima. — William Brewster. Cambridge. A/ass. 



The White Pelican on Lake Ontario. — In the last number of 'The Auk' 

 (p. 395) Mr. Mcllwraith records a visit of i\\e White Pelicans to the west 

 end of Lake Ontario. March 13. 1SS4. The birds had evidently spent 

 some time in the neighborhood, for I learn from Capt. Thos. Campbell, 

 Keeper of Burlington Bay Lighthouse, that four Pelicans were seen there 

 February 5-7, 1SS4. — C. Hart Merriam, Locust Grove, N. T. 



