204 AiVIMALS IN MENAGERIES, 



through sucli destructive fires ; no wonder, says Wilson, 

 they should have become more scarce, as well as shy, by 

 the time they reach the shores and marshes of the 

 United States. 



The autumnal flight lasts from the middle of August 

 to the middle of October : those which are taken in this 

 season, when the frost begins, are preserved in their 

 feathers, and left to be frozen, for the fresh provisions 

 of the winter stock ; the feathers being sent to England. 

 Their first appearance coincides with the thawing of the 

 swamps, when they are very lean. But their arrival 

 from the south is impatiently looked for, as it is the 

 harbinger of spring, and this period is called the Goose 

 moon by the Indians. They appear usually at their 

 (the Hudson's Bay?) settlements about St. George's day, 

 O. S., and fly northward to nestle in security. Thus far 

 is the substance of the account given by Mr. Hutchins, 

 who, as an officer of the Hudson's Bay company, con- 

 fined his information, no doubt, to what he had ac- 

 tually witnessed in. that district. 



The first arrival of the geese at New Jersey, accord- 

 ing to Wilson, is early in October ; and their first nu- 

 merous appearance is the sure prognostic of severe 

 weather.* Those which continue all winter, frequent 

 the shallow bays and marsh islands, and feed on the 

 roots and leaves of aquatic plants, which they tear up 

 with their bills : but, at intervals of a few days, they re- 

 gularly make an excursion to the inlets on the sea beach 

 for gravel. They cross, indiscriminately, over land or 

 water, generally taking the nearest course to their object. 

 They swim well ; and if wounded on the wing, dive 

 and swim a gi'eat way under water, to the no small fa- 

 tigue and perplexity of the sportsman. Except in very 

 calm weather, they rarely sleep on the water, but roost 

 all night in the marshes. When the shallow bays are 

 frozen, they seek the mouths of inlets near the sea. 



The flight of the Canadian goose is heavy and labo- 



* The birds are then evidently returning southward, after their breeding, 

 to avoid the excessive cold of the north, which must then be fast increasing. 



