258 



THE AMERICAN POULTERER'S COMPANION. 



Paterson, New Jersey, and were the centre of 

 attraction for the admiring multitude. 



Of the origin of this bird most absurd tales 

 have been told. All agree that it was produced 

 from a tree, but the latest and most approved 

 account was that of Gerard, who in 1636 wrote 

 as follows : " But what our eyes have seen, and 

 hands have touched, we shall declare. There 

 is a small island in Lancashire called the Pile 

 of Foulders, wherein are found broken pieces 

 of old broken ships, some whereof have been 

 cast thither by shipwrecks, and also the trunks 

 and bodies with the branches of old and rotten 

 trees, cast up there likewise, wherein is found 

 certain spume or froth, that in time breedeth 

 into certain shells, in shape like those of the 

 muscle, but sharper pointed, and of a whitish 

 color; one end whereof is fastened into the in- 

 side of the shell, even as the fish of oysters and 

 muscles ; the other end is made fast unto the 

 belly of a rude mass or lump, which in time 

 cometh to the shape and form of a bird. When 

 it is perfectly formed the shell gapeth open, and 

 the first thing that appeareth is the aforesaid 

 lace or string ; next come the legs of the bird 

 hanging out, and as it groweth greater it open- 

 eth the shell by degrees, till at length it is all 

 come forth and hangeth only by the bill ; in 

 short space after it cometh to full maturity, and 

 falleth into the sea, where it gathereth feath- 

 ers, and groweth to a fowl." 



Dixon remarks as follows: "Several orni- 

 thological writers have lamented, with expres- 

 sions of surprise, that so few of the larger water 

 birds have been domesticated, and made to 

 aft'ord us a ready supply of food, in return for 

 their board and lodging. But it should be re- 

 membered that there are two parties to the pro- 

 posed arrangement the master and the slave. 

 If the captive resolutely persists in saying, ' You 

 may bestow every care upon me, and lavish 

 every comfort, but I will not be the parent of a 

 race of slaves, although I may show a little per- 

 sonal thankfulness to yourself,' the move for us 

 to make is to procure young that are ignorant 

 of the fascinations of a wild life, and to endeavor 

 to subdue, by kindness, their stubborn nature. 

 If they remain indomitably independent, and 

 refuse to yield, we are checkmated, and can 



not proceed a step farther. It is not in our 

 power to increase the number of domestic birds. 

 ' The fear of you and the dread of you shall be 

 upon every beast of the earth, and upon every 

 fowl of the air, upon all that moveth upon the 

 earth,' is a promise which will be undoubtedly 

 fulfilled; and thus, as the dominion of man 

 over the earth daily and hourly extends itself, 

 those creatures that refuse to enter into his 

 train will be crushed, and perish beneath his 

 advancing footsteps ; for ' unto your hand are 

 they delivered. Every moving thing that liveth 

 shall be meat for you; even the green herb 

 have I given you." 



"The Barnacle goose is one of those spe- 

 cies in which the impulse of reproduction has 

 at length overcome the sullenness of captivity ; 

 and it is a curious fact, that instances of their 

 breeding have of late increased in frequency, 

 and we may therefore hope will go on increas- 

 ing. The young so reared should be pinioned 

 at the wrist as a precaution. The probability 

 is, that they would stay at home contentedly, 

 unpinioned, till hard weather came, when they 

 would be tempted to leave their usual haunts 

 in search of marshes, unfrozen springs, mud 

 banks left by the tide, and the open sea, where 

 they would be liable to be shot by sporting nat- 

 uralists a fate which has done more than any 

 thing else to check the propagation of interest- 

 ing birds in England or might be induced to 

 join a flock of wild birds, instead of returning 

 to their former quarters. 



"Broods of five, six, and seven Barnacle 

 geese have been reared ; not an inconsiderable 

 increase if we only kept them to eat; but they 

 have hitherto been chiefly valued as embellish- 

 ments to our ponds. Their small size renders 

 them suitable even for a very limited pleasure- 

 ground, and they are perhaps the very prettiest 

 geese that have yet appeared in our menageries. 

 The lively combination of black, white, gray, 

 and lavender, gives them the appearance of a 

 party of ladies robed in those becoming half- 

 mourning dresses that are worn from etiquette 

 rather than sorrow. The female differs little 

 from the male, being distinguished by voice 

 and deportment more than by plumage. Their 

 short bill, moderate-sized webs of their feet, and 



