430 THE BREMEN GOOSE. 



late Eben Rollins, Esq., of Boston kept a correspondence 

 with the house of Dallias & Co., in Bremen, and at his re- 

 quest, Mr. Rollins ordered, through that firm, and on my 

 father's account, two danders and four Geese, of the breed 

 mentioned by the stranger gentleman. The Geese arrived to 

 order in Boston, in the month of October, 1821; and I append 

 a copy of "Directions relative to the Geese from Bremen," 

 given to the captain of the ship in which they arrived. I 

 hold the original in my possession ; and transcribe it verb, 

 et lit. : 



"Emden, 17 th August, 1821. 



"The captain who is to take over these six Geese will find 

 the cages a little large; however, it is necessary that their 

 lodgings be sufficient wide, if they shall arrive sound in 

 America. Two Geese which were sent to Bremen last year 

 in a small box, died on their arrival there; being water-birds, 

 they want a much more careful management than Fowls; they 

 ought to have constantly fresh water in abundance; a quantity 

 of good sand and muscle scells, (shells,) serving for their di- 

 gestion, must be put into their feed-box ; there ought to be 

 always sand and straw below in their cage for litter; also above 

 the cage, as the birds perish otherwise by insects. The Geese 

 must be feeded ; they used to pick the straw from above down 

 to the feet. The Geese must be feeded with good clean oats, 

 and sometimes with cabbage leaves/' 



Ever since my father imported the Bremen Geese, he has 

 kept them pure, and bred them so to a feather no single in- 

 stance having occurred in which the slightest deterioration of 

 character could be observed. Invariably the produce has been 

 of the purest white the bill, legs, and feet, of a beautiful 

 yellow. No solitary mark or spot has crept out on the plum- 

 age of any one specimen, to shame the true distinction they 

 deserve of being a pure breed : like, with them, always haa 

 produced like. 



