360 GEESE AND GANDERS. 



eggs. The dairymaid, thinking these too few for so large 

 a bird to cover, added an equal numher of Duck eggs. The 

 next morning she went as usual to see if all was right, when, 

 to her great surprise, she found the Goose quiet on her nest, 

 but every one of the Duck eggs picked out, and lying on 

 the ground. Her mistress directed her to replace them, 

 which was accordingly done; but the next morning, on going 

 again to examine the nest, she found all the Duck eggs, as 

 before, moved off, and lying round about the nest ; the Goose 

 eggs remaining under the sitting bird in perfect order. How 

 long she would have persevered in removing them is not 

 known, as, for fear of driving the Goose from her nest, the 

 experiment was not repeated. 



When once attached to each other, they appear to be very 

 constant ; in proof of which, a person having marked five 

 separate Ganders, and five separate Geese, with which they 

 had paired, found that, for three successive years, when he 

 attended to them, each regularly selected his companion of 

 the former year, and continued faithful to her. Why the 

 Goose has been so generally pointed out, proverbially, as the 

 most foolish of birds, it is difficult to say ; for the above, as 

 well as the following instances, would lead us to believe that 

 they are endowed with a larger, rather than a less, portion 

 of sense than other birds. 



An old Goose, which had been for a fortnight hatching in 

 a farmer's kitchen, was perceived on a sudden to be taken 

 violently ill. She soon after left the nest, and repaired to 

 an out-house, where there was a young Goose of the first 

 year, which she brought with her into the kitchen. The 

 young one immediately scrambled into the old one's nest, 

 sat, hatched, and afterwards brought up the brood. The 

 old Goose, as soon as the young one had taken her place, sat 

 down by the side of the nest, and shortly after died. As 

 the young Goose had never been in the habit of entering the 

 kitchen before, the fact can only be accounted for by sup- 

 posing that the old one had some way of communicating her 

 thoughts and anxieties, which the young one was perfectly 

 able to understand. We give this anecdote on the authority 



