THE WILD GOOSE. 397 



of others. The bird is far too important, in every respect, to 

 be entirely omitted in the present series ; and there are a few 

 points respecting it, which ought to be brought into more pro- 

 minent notice. Our Poultry books mostly call it a variety of 

 the Common Goose. But it is no more a variety of Goose 

 than the Swan is a variety of Goose. Cuvier seems to doubt 

 whether it is a Goose at all, and says that it cannot be properly 

 separated from the true Swans. Audubon kept some three 

 years, and, though the old birds refused to breed in confine- 

 ment, their young, which he had captured together with them, 

 did. He states their period of incubation to be twenty-eight 

 days, which is a shorter time than one would have imagined. 

 That circumstance alone, if correct, marks a wide distinction ; 

 and every statement of his, which I have had the opportunity 

 of testing, has proved accurate. I suspect that at a future 

 time, our scientific naturalists will deem it advisable to insti- 

 tute several new genera, for the reception of various water- 

 fowl that are now huddled into one or two ; particularly if 

 they allow the diet and habits of the birds, as well as their ex- 

 ternal form, to influence the rules of classification. 



Canada Geese eat worms and soft insects, as well as grass 

 and aquatic plants, which the typical Geese never do ; with us 

 they do not breed till they are at least two years old, and so 

 far approach the Swan. Like the Swan, also, the male appears 

 to be fit for reproduction earlier than the female. But Audu- 

 bon says, " That this tardiness is not the case in the wild state, 

 I feel pretty confident, for I have observed having broods of 

 their own, many individuals, which, by their size, the dullness 

 of their plumage, and such other marks as are known to the 

 practised ornithologist, I judged to be not more than fifteen 

 or sixteen months old. I have therefore thought, that in this, 

 as in many other species, a long series of years is necessary for 

 counteracting the original wild and free nature which has been 

 given them ; and, indeed, it seems probable that our attempts 



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