138 BOARD OP AGRICULTURE. [Jan. 



other retained. In 1856, the one so retained laid sixty-seven egga 

 without so much as proposing to pass through the sitting process ; in 

 1857 she laid sixty-five eggs before the feathering of her nest, pre- 

 paratory for sitting. Her mate, in the hands of another person, has 

 done about as well. The eggs, as fast as five were gathered, were 

 placed under hens and hatched — in this way a fine flock was obtained 

 before autumn. 



The experiment has not been tried to learn whether they would 

 breed amongst themselve3, but the probability is they would not. 

 Recourse has always been had to the pure bred, on one side or the 

 other. Here was the off'spring of two distinct species, (BufFon and 

 some others hold that they are distinct species,) the progeny of which 

 should, as a matter of course, be mongrels, yet, by resorting to one 

 or the other of the originals, the eggs prove prolific. An attempt 

 has been made to induce her to mate with a wild or Canadian gander, 

 hoping to obtain a stock of mongrels from that cross, but so far without 

 avail. In the same pond with this goose and the wild geese, is a 

 pair of swans, the male of which proved false to his mate and coupled 

 with the goose. This fact being noticed, great care was taken of her 

 eggs from this time forward ; though late in the summer, two of the 

 eggs hatched ; the goslings (or whatever else they should have been 

 called) were very large on coming from the shell, and for several 

 weeks throve finely, when one night both disappeared, and no trace 

 could be found of them. The hen alone was left. 



We would advise others to procure, as above mentioned, a gander to 

 couple with Bremen geese, hoping for the same result as above stated. 

 The raising of geese would then be an easy and profitable business, 

 and should one such chance to mate with a Avild or Canadian gander, 

 it would prove still more profitable, as the general price of such 

 mongrels (fcAr the last two years in Quincy Market) has been three 

 dollars each at first hands. 



Geese, China. — There were several coops of this variety. This 

 goose is much smaller than the preceding, though about equally pro- 

 lific in eggs with the pure African, yet it is so noisy as to prove a 

 nuisance about the premises, for it will hang about the dooryard in 

 preference to taking to the water. 



Geese, Wild or Canadian. — Some half-dozen coops of these 

 geese grace^ the tent. In our eyes, this is the handsomest and most 

 intelligent of all geese, and they afi'ord the owner more pleasure than 

 almost any other water fowl. 



We wish some writer fitted for the undertaking, would write out an 



