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OUR DOMESTIC BIRDS 



Would their wild ancestors (supposing them to have the same 

 characteristics) be equally fertile ? Unless we can find a wild 

 ancestor for the Chinese type, all that we know of the relations 

 of domestic races points to the conclusion that they, like the 

 European races, are descended from the Gray Lag Goose. 



The variety known as the African Goose is a larger and 

 coarser type of the Brown China, and is probably obtained by 

 crossing with the Toulouse or by selection from mixed flocks. 



FIG. 145. African Geese on a Rhode Island farm 



Nothing definite is known of the origin of this type, but to any 

 one familiar with the stock in the goose-growing district of Rhode 

 Island, and with the breeding methods of the farmers there as 

 applied in the development of the Rhode Island Red fowl, it 

 appears probable that African Geese came from this district. 

 Ornamental varieties. There are two ornamental varieties of 

 domestic geese and quite a number of species of wild geese that 

 are kept in collections of fancy waterfowl. The Sebastopol 

 Goose evidently belongs to the common domestic species. It is 



