298 



GOOSE 



GOOSEBERRY 



cropping the grass and other herbage on which the 

 geese chiefly feed. The feet are short and com- 

 pletely webbed ; the hind-toe is present ; and the 

 legs are placed comparatively far forward, so that 

 the movements on land are less awkward than 

 those of most ducks. Geese swim little, and never 

 dive. When migrating, or on other long flights, 

 they usually fly in a double line, converging to 

 form a more or less perfect wedge, led by a single 

 gander. The genus is represented by over a dozen 

 species occurring throughout the palaearctic and 

 nearctic regions. Only one species is certainly 

 known to nest in Britain the Gray Laggoose 

 (A. cinereus) from which our common domestic 

 goose is believed to be descended. This species 

 used to breed abundantly in the fen districts 

 of England, but has become very rare since the 

 drainage of these parts. It still breeds, though 

 not commonly, in the northern counties of Scot- 

 land and in the Hebrides, and large flocks are 

 seen in winter in some of the central counties 

 of Ireland. The nest is placed among heather or 

 on a ledge of rock, and is made of reeds, moss, or 

 grasses. The eggs, usually five to six in number, 

 are surrounded by down plucked by the female 

 from her own breast. The length of the adult 

 male is about 35 inches ; of the female, 30 inches ; 

 the plumage is grayish-brown on the upper parts, 

 bluish-gray on the wing-coverts, dull white with 

 black markings on the under parts ; the feet, legs, 

 and bill are flesh-coloured, and the nail at the tip 

 of the bill is white. This last characteristic is 

 shared by a smaller species, the White-fronted or 

 Laughing Goose (A. albifrons), and by it these 

 two may be readily distinguished from the other 

 two common species which have the nail black. 

 The white-fronted goose arrives in Britain every 

 winter in large flocks as soon as severe weather 

 sets in on the Continent. The male measures 

 27 inches ; the prevailing colour is brown. The 

 Bean Goose (A. segetum) and the Pink-footed 

 Goose (A. brachyrht/ncus) are closely-allied species, 



Bean Goose (Anas s&jetum). 



common in many parts of the country from autumn 

 till late in spring. The bean goose is said to 

 exhibit a fondness for newly-sown beans, among 

 which it causes considerable havoc. Its plumage 

 is darker than that of the preceding species ; its 

 length is 34 inches. It is readily domesticated. The 

 smaller pink-footed goose has the legs and feet of 

 a pink colour ; the bill pink above, black at the 

 base and edges ; the nail, as in the bean goose, 

 black. 



A great rarity in Britain is the white North 

 American Snow Goose (Chen hyperboreus), which 

 is found all over North America, but breeds in the 



far north. The Canada Goose (Bernicla cana- 

 densis), found all over North America (where it 

 is the commonest wild goose), is partially domesti- 

 cated in Europe, where it breeds freely. Among 

 the sea-geese the genus Bemicla, represented by 

 our Barnacle Goose (q.v.) and Brent Goose (q.v.), 

 must especially be noted. In other genera there 

 are many interesting forms which can only be 

 mentioned. The Egyptian or Nile Goose ( A lopochen 

 cegyptiaca), which is often seen figured on Egyptian 

 monuments, was the ' fox-goose ' or ' chenalopex ' 

 of the Greeks, so called perhaps on account of the 

 burrows in which it breeds or the fox -like colour of 

 part of its plumage. It is frequently kept in con- 

 finement, and finds its nearest relative in the 

 Orinoco Goose (Alopochen jubrtta) of north-east 

 South America. Notable also is the African 

 Spur- winged Goose ( Plectrop terns ), in which the 

 corner of the wing bears a strong spur. Very 

 unique, with sharply -clawed and only slightly 

 webbed toes is the Semi-palmate Goose (Anseranas 

 semipalmatus) of Australia, which in habit and 

 anatomy suggests a crane. Also Australian and 

 very peculiar is the sluggish and heavy, thick- 

 billed Cape Barren Goose ( Vereopsis novw hollandice ), 

 rapidly becoming scarce (see CEREOPSIS). Finally 

 this last form leads us to the yet more remote 

 Cnemiornis, which formerly inhabited New Zea- 

 land, but having wholly lost the power of flight 

 naturally became extinct. 



Although the common goose has been long 

 domesticated, and was probably among the very 

 first of domesticated birds, the varieties do not 

 differ widely from each other. Emden Geese are 

 remarkable for their perfect whiteness, Toulouse 

 Geese for their large size. As a domesticated 

 bird the goose is of great value, both for the table 

 and on account of its quills and fine soft feathers. 

 The quills supplied all Europe with pens before 

 steel pens were invented, and have not ceased to 

 be in great demand. Geese must have free a.ccess 

 to water, and when this is the case they are easily 

 reared and rendered profitable. Two broods are 

 sometimes produced in a season, ten or eleven in a 

 brood, and the young geese are ready for the table 

 three months after they have left the shell. They 

 live, if permitted, to a great age. Willughby 

 records an instance of one .that reached the age of 

 eighty years, and was killed at last for its mis- 

 chievousness. Great flocks of geese are kept in 

 some places in England, particularly in Lincoln- 

 shire, and regularly plucked five times a year for 

 feathers and quills. Geese intended for the table 

 are commonly shut up for a few weeks, and 

 fattened before being killed. Great numbers are 

 imported from Holland and Germany for the 

 London market, and fattened in England in 

 establishments entirely devoted to this purpose. 

 Michaelmas is the great goose season. Goose-hams 

 are an esteemed delicacy. The gizzards, heads, 

 and legs of geese are also sold in sets, under the 

 name of giblets, to be used for pies. The livers of 

 geese have long been in request among epicures 

 both ancient and modern. The pdte de foie gras of 

 Strasburg is made from livers in a state of morbid 

 enlargement, caused by keeping the geese in an 

 apartment of very high temperature. See BARNACLE 

 GOOSE, CEREOPSIS, DUCK, SWAN. 



Gooseberry (Grossularia), a sub-genus of 

 Ribes (see CURRANT), distinguished by a thorny 

 stem, a more or less bell-shaped calyx and flowers 

 on 1-3-flowered stalks. The common gooseberry 

 (Ribes Grossularia) is a native of many parts of 

 Europe and the north of Asia, growing wild in 

 rocky situations and in thickets, particularly in 

 mountainous districts ; but it is a doubtful native 

 of Britain, although now to be seen in hedges and 

 thickets almost everywhere. There are three main 



