GEESE 



163 



Virginia in 1817. It appears, however, that the early introduc- 

 tions were immediately so mixed with the native geese that the 

 distinct type was lost, and that it was not until nearly 1850 that 

 the specimens were brought here from which the stocks now 

 known were produced. There are two varieties of the China 

 Goose White and Brown. They are smaller and more graceful 

 than the improved 

 European varie- 

 ties and are more 

 prolific layers than 

 any except per- 

 haps the Roman 

 Goose. They have 

 a large knob on 

 the head at its 

 juncture with the 

 upper mandible. 

 Most of the geese 

 of Europe are 

 either white or 

 gray (black-and- 

 white). The red 

 which appears to 

 a slight extent as 

 brown in the Gray 

 Lag Goose has 

 been lost or so reduced that it is not noticed except in the Tula 

 Goose, which is sometimes clay-colored. The colored variety of 

 the China Goose is distinctly brown. Hence, if they came from 

 the same wild species as the European geese, the red which was 

 reduced in Europe was greatly increased in China. But if, 

 as is not impossible, they came from different wild species, 

 a most interesting question arises : The Chinese types and 

 the European types are perfectly fertile when bred together. 



FIG. 144. Brown China Geese. (Photograph by 

 E. J. Hall) 



