SPANISH AND EMBDEN GEESE. 115 



dently attached to the writings of antiquity, suffi- 

 ciently classical, or a gourmand of sufficient taste 

 and calibre, to rival those of ancient Rome, in the 

 size of their goose LIVERS. I have thence never fed 

 my geese, during sixteen days, with a paste of Tur- 

 key figs, stamped and beaten up with cream, in order 

 to bring their livers upon the table, each the weight 

 of three or four pounds ! I modestly leave such 

 practices to princes, ministers, and men in high place. 

 It may be added, that, equal quantities of the meal 

 of OATS, RYE and PEASE, mixed with skimmed milk, 

 form an excellent feeding article for geese and ducks. 

 The SPANISH geese used to be preferred, but I 

 have had no experience of them. Our flocks, whilst 

 we resided in Middlesex, in the year 1788, were 

 esteemed the finest in the vicinity ; the breed of them 

 had been procured for us, from the neighbourhood 

 of Bungay, in Suffolk, by GofF, the dealer, already 

 spoken of. Formerly the Embden geese were 

 in the highest esteem. They are all white, male 

 and female, and of a superior, indeed very uncom- 

 mon size. Whether or not, as might be expected, 

 there be a countervailing objection in a correspond- 

 ing whiteness, and thence defect of savoury flavour 

 in the flesh, I am unable to say, having yet had no 

 experience in the Embden variety of Geese. 



The Swan. 



The SWAN. Exclusive of ornament, the chief use 

 of the swan is to clear pieces of water from weeds, 

 a service which was effected some years since by 

 swans, over a considerable breadth of water, at 



