WILD GEESE 189 



are allowed to roam over this and adjacent islands and 

 waters. Their principal feeding-ground is out on the bays, 

 where they eat eel-grass and sea-lettuce, pulling up plants 

 by the roots at low tide. They get fat on this diet. A 

 little grain is given now and then to keep them tame. Also 

 they are supplied with fresh water in winter. 



Mating. On the first warm days in March those not 

 already paired for life secure partners, and there is a general 

 mating. Geese nest in the same spot every year, so these 

 performances take place near the fenced pastures where the 

 goose community is accustomed to breed. They are let in 

 one pair at a time, that they may select location with the 

 least friction, and then they will hold it. There is much 

 quarrelling, however, and some pairs are broken up. The 

 geese are fed grain for awhile before laying, till they are turned 

 out to roam with the young when these are quite large. 

 Neither young nor old are troubled with lice, and it is thought 

 that their feathers contain some element which keeps the 

 pests off. 



Breeding-grounds. The breeding-field or paddock is an 

 enclosure of 25 to 30 acres, and has around it a board fence 

 3 feet high. About 75 pairs breed here, and raise 200 

 to 300 young annually. There are a few small fresh-water 

 marshes in the enclosure, and here numerous hummocks are 

 thrown up, which are soon covered with grass and low 

 brush. These are favourite nest-sites, and five to seven 

 eggs are laid by each pair. They nest but once each season. 

 When the young hatch they are pinioned and turned into 

 another pasture with the parents. If the goose dies, the 

 gander will rear the young alone, but, curiously, the mother 

 either cannot or will not rear the young if the gander should 

 be removed. Some of these birds are already fifty years 

 old. They breed better when thirty than when even ten 



