GOOSE 



2535 



GOOSE 



money for years in trying to make good rub- 

 ber, our coats and overshoes to-day might be 

 like it, and automobile tires such as we now 

 have would be unknown. 



The discovery which this tireless inventor 

 made was that rubber mixed with sulphur and 

 heated to the melting point is no longer subject 

 to changes of weather. He learned this fact 

 in 1839, after nine years or more of persistent 

 effort in the face of poverty. It was another 

 five years before his process was perfected and 

 could be patented, and then came year after 

 year of lawsuits to protect the patents suits 

 so expensive that he was never out of debt. 



Goodyear was born in New Haven, Conn., 

 though his boyhood was spent in Naugatuck. 

 He became an iron manufacturer in Philadel- 

 phia, entering into a partnership with his 

 father, which in 1830 ended in failure. He then 

 turned his attention to rubber, with the result 

 descriBed above. 



GOOSE, a web-footed bird closely allied to 

 the swan and duck, and in size ranging between 

 the two. Its neck is longer than that of the 

 duck, but shorter and less gracefully curved 

 than that of the swan. Geese are more at 



THE GOOSE 



home on land than either swans or ducks, as 

 their legs are longer and placed nearer the 

 middle of the body. Geese are long-lived; in 

 some cases individuals have reached the age 

 of fifty years. There are about forty species 

 found in different parts of the world. In the 

 United States and Canada there are ten or 

 twelve species of wild goose. These are migra- 

 tory, and early in the spring they fly in wedge- 

 shaped flocks to the northern breeding grounds 

 as far north as the shores of Hudson Bay. 

 Their winter haunts are the Southern United 

 States and Cuba. When on the wing they 



utter curious honking cries. Most geese are 

 vegetable feeders, searching for food on land, 

 frequenting the water less than ducks but often 

 enjoying plants growing in shallow lakes. The 

 Canada goose (which see) is the most numer- 

 ous of the American species; occasionally when 

 migrating it is seen in flocks of thousands, 

 honking loudly enough to be heard at a dis- 

 tance of several miles. 



Domestic geese are descended from the gray- 

 lag goose of Europe, but by careful breeding 

 have been developed to much greater size and 

 weight. The graylag goose is now scarce, but 

 is found in some parts of Northern Europe. 

 Geese were imported by the early colonists 

 of America. The American wild goose, or 

 "honker," has since been tamed and introduced 

 into Europe. The raising of geese was for- 

 merly much more extensively carried on than 

 now; flocks of several thousand guarded by 

 peasants, called gooseherds, were common in 

 England and Europe until recent years. They 

 are highly valued for their flesh and for their 

 feathers, quills and eggs. The flesh is usually 

 roasted. From the livers of fattened geese 

 the delicately-flavored paste known as pate de 

 joie gras is made. The food value of goose is 

 high, the percentage of fat and protein being 

 more than that of beef. This prized game bird 

 is protected from slaughter, except for brief 

 seasons, in nearly all the states and Canadian 

 provinces. 



In History and^Literature. The story of the 

 sacred geese that saved the city of Rome is 

 one of the most interesting narratives of early 

 Roman history. In 390 B. c. the Romans were 

 attacked by a fierce northern race of people 

 called Gauls. 

 Finally driven to 

 their last place 

 of refuge, a steep, 

 rocky hill known 

 as the Capitol, 

 they prepared to 

 withstand a long 

 siege. One night 

 as the Consul 

 M a n 1 i u s lay 

 sleeping beside 

 his sword, near 

 the Temple of 

 Juno, where were 



WEDGE-SHAPED 



FORMATION 

 The appearance of geese on 

 kept 'the sacred the wing when 

 geese, he was awakened by a clamorous out- 

 burst of hissing and cackling. Grasping his 

 sword, Manlius rushed to the walls of the 



