206 ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 



readily fly to the imitation of their call, when they fall 

 an easy prey. At their moulting time also, which 

 happens about August, they are taken with great 

 ease ; and the birds thus procured, together with their 

 young, are frequently domesticated. In captivity they 

 readily pair with the Common Gray Goose, and the 

 offspring are said to be larger than either. But on 

 the approach of spring these domesticated birds are 

 always observed to become restless and uneasy, fre- 

 quently looking up into the air, making attempts to fly 

 away, and hailing every flock of Wild Geese that passes 

 over their heads. As this salute is usually returned by 

 the flock, who fly towards the well-known sound, the 

 Tame Geese are commonly made use of as decoys to 

 seduce the wild ones to their destruction. 



The Canadian Goose has been for many years an 

 inhabitant of this country, but chiefly as an ornament 

 to our ponds and lakes. We are not aware that it has 

 hitherto been bred for the table, or for the other econo- 

 mical purposes to which it is applicable, although there 

 can be no doubt that it is equally valuable in these 

 respects with the common species. The limited number 

 of its young would, however, be a strong objection to 

 its introduction as a substitute for the latter. It is 

 unquestionably a much more ornamental species, and 

 seems to accustom itself readily to the climate. Our 

 cultivated variety is, as might naturally be expected, 

 considerably larger than those which are met with in 

 the wild state, of which the specimens in the Garden 

 are examples. 



