WILD GEESE IN LAPLAND. 167 



on the east coast of Sweden. This is an error. Eve- 

 rest, writing in 1829, says, " We met with the common 

 gray wild goose, male and female, and their brood of 

 eight newly-hatched goslings, among the small islands 

 near Tjotoe ; but they become more frequent as we 

 advance northwards. They are said to be birds that 

 keep to the coast, and they are usually seen feeding 

 below high- water mark." The wild goose feeds on fine 

 grasses and their seeds, and on aquatic plants ; their 

 nest is made in the coarse herbage by the water, and 

 contains from eight to twelve dirty yellow eggs. 



In Sweden, wild geese are frequently taken or shot 

 by means of the skjut-ko, or shooting-cow, which is 

 made of stout canvas stretched on a kind of frame- 

 work somewhat resembling a cow in shape. A hole 

 is made in the head of the false cow, and the sportsman 

 having got inside, pokes his gun through this hole, 

 which is taken by the geese for the cow's horn. It 

 should be mentioned that the false cow is painted of a 

 colour to resemble the real animal. When all is ready, 

 the sportsman quietly walks forward, and easily gets 

 within range. The geese are, in fact, so completely 

 deceived that they sometimes fly on to the back of the 

 skjut-ko. 



Large numbers of wild geese are captured in Lap- 

 land during the moulting season, when, having lost 

 many of their wing-feathers, they are unable to rise 

 from the ground. " At this season," says Lloyd, " the 

 Finnish ny-byggare, or squatters, as well as the Lapps, 

 get up regular hunts ; provided with several dogs, 

 they proceed to the morasses, where geese are known 

 to resort, which, although frequently very wet and 

 difficult to traverse, are not impassable. Firearms 



