880 



NEW ENGLAND FAIi:MER. 



Aug. 



rCTDIA GOOSE. 



Mr. Bennett describes the India Goose as 

 dunnisli on the breast and belly, and entirely 

 destitute of a pouch or dewlap. In size it is 

 a medium between the African and Chinese. 

 It is the most symmetrical of the goose tribe ; 

 and if such a thing can be said of a goose, 

 this variety is decidedly graceful. At the 

 time of writing his book he had a single speci- 

 men, a male, of which he gives a cut. It was 

 a present from Dr. Bates of Barre, Mass., 

 who says that the gander, when in good con- 

 dition, weighed 28 pounds. The cut which 

 we give above was electrotyped for us, from 

 the plates for an unpublished work on Poultry 

 and has never before been printed. We have 

 no personal knowledge of the variety, and it 

 appears to be only incidentally alluded to in 

 the books on poultry in our possession, a fact 

 which is not a little remarkable, considering 

 its striking appearance. Mr. Bement says, 

 that "like the Jews and Gipsies, it has not 

 been allowed a place among the natives of any 

 one region," though it must have been domes- 



ticated for a long period, and Mr. Willoughby 

 says the old writers called it the Guinea Goose, 

 from ft fashion once prevalent of appl} ing the 

 term "Guinea" to everthing of foreign or un- 

 certain origin. 



THE CANKER WORM IN MICHIGAN. 



We have not heard of the appearance of 

 this insect in any new locality during the 

 present year. Neither does it appear that 

 any special means have been taken to destroy 

 or check it where it has appeared for several 

 years. The colony in the neighborhood of 

 Marshall is still flourishing and gradually 

 spreading. It was mentioned in the report of 

 last year, that some of the trees first attacked 

 were dead, and that others were evidently dy- 

 ing. I am informed that the indications of 

 decay and death are much extended the pres- 

 ent year, and that the speedy and total destruc- 

 tion of tlie orchards which have harbored this 

 insect is now obvious. It would have boen 

 better if the suggestion of cutting down the 

 trees and burning them had been adopted. It 

 was evident three years ago, that the profits of 

 the trees were ended. The insect could have 



