AQUATIC FOWL. 



141 



THB CANADIAN GOOSE. 



brown, each feather tipped with whitish ; rump and tail black ; 

 tail coverts and vent white; primaries black, reaching to the 

 extremity of the tail; sides, pale ashy-brown; legs and feet 

 blackish-ash. The male and female are exactly alike in plumage. 

 Bewick says, it is as familiar, breeds as freely, and is, in every 

 respect, as valuable as the common goose, and it is more ornamental. 

 In their spring and autumnal migrations, they are well known to 

 the inhabitants of the interior, as well as .the coast and great lakes 

 of America, from the lowest latitudes of the United States, and 

 have been seen as far north as has yet been approached by our 

 most intrepid navigators, and were then pursuing their journey 

 farther northward. The English, at Hudson's Bay, depend greatly 

 on geese ; and, in favourable years, kill three or four thousand, 

 and barrel them up for use. In a good day, a single Indian, will 

 kill two hundred. The autumnal flight lasts from the middle of 

 August to the middle of October. The feathers are an article of 

 commerce, and are sent to England. The vernal flight lasts from 



