ANATHXaB. 523 



and interesting family, but the greater part of them 

 are not so intimately connected with man as many 

 of the other families, and probably do not do him so 

 much good, nor can they be accused of doing him so 

 much mischief: that, however, they do both good 

 and harm to a certain extent must, I think, be 

 apparent to anyone who carefully considers the food 

 of the various species; for instance, some of the 

 Geese and the Wigeon, living to a great extent on 

 grass and young growing corn, must, where they are 

 in considerable numbers, do a certain amount of 

 mischief; many also, especially of the diving ones, 

 destroy a good deal of fish-spawn ; a few fish also 

 fall a prey to them, but not in sufficient numbers to 

 be worth consideration : on the other hand, slugs, 

 snails, caterpillars, flies, beetles, and other insects 

 and larvse, inhabiting both land and water, constantly 

 fall a prey to them, and form a very considerable 

 portion of their food. The greater part of these 

 birds are also themselves useful as food, the flesh of 

 many of them being excessively good, and much 

 esteemed for the table : others, especially the more 

 sea* going ones, are not so good, the flesh being 

 rank and oily, and having " an ancient and fish-like 

 smell," indeed, so fish-like in some of the species 

 that, as I mentioned in the case of the Common 

 Scoter, it is considered by the Eoman Catholics as 

 fish, and allowed by them to be eaten on fast-days. 



