THE WILD GOOSE. 365 



The swan makes its nest of grass, among reeds ; and in Feb- 

 ruary begins to lay, depositing an egg every other day till there 

 are six or eight. These occupy six weeks in hatching. Dr. 

 Latham says, he knows two females that for three or four years 

 past have agreed to associate ; and have had each a brood 

 yearly, bringing up together about eleven young : they sit by 

 turns, and never quarrel. When in danger, the old birds carry 

 off the young ones on their backs. 



THE WILD GOOSE. 



Wild geese inhabit the fens of England ; and are supposed 

 not to migrate, as they do in many countries on the continent. 

 They breed in Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire : they have 

 seven or eight young ; which are sometimes taken, and are easily 

 rendered tame. 



They are often seen in flocks of from fifty to a hundred, flying 

 at very great heights, and seldom resting by day. Their cry is 

 frequently heard while they are imperceptible from their distance 

 above. Whether this be their note of mutual encouragement, 

 or only the necessary consequence of respiration, seems some- 

 what doubtful ; but they seldom exert it when they alight in their 

 journeys. On the ground they always arrange themselves in a 

 line, and seem to descend rather for rest than refreshment; for, 

 having continued in this manner for an hour or two, one of them 

 with a long loud note sounds a kind of signal to which the rest 

 always punctually attend, and rising in a group they pursue their 



