WILD GEESE. 255 
try. The Canada goose, like the other species, has been 
ignored as a farm-yard pet, notwithstanding its fine form 
and the fact that it can be readily domesticated, and will 
breed in confinement, or pair with its barn-yard con- 
geners. The cross obtained by this admixture is consid- 
ered to be superior to either of its progenitors, as 1b has 
the plumpness and delicacy of the tame species, the flavor 
of the wild, and is hardier than either. The young of 
the Canada goose do not, it is said, lay any eggs in a 
state of domestication until they are three years old, and 
then they lay four or five; but after that time the num- 
ber increases gradually until it reaches the limit allowed 
by nature. There are two varieties of this brant, which 
differ from the typical species in a few minor details. The 
Hutchins variety is almost a perfect copy of the Can- 
ada goose, except that it is smaller, being only about 
thirty inches in length, and that its tail is composed of 
sixteen feathers. The other variety—B. canadensis var. 
leucopareva—differs only in having the black hue of the 
neck banded below by a white collar, and having the 
under parts darker, so that it is well defined against the 
white of the tail coverts and the lower portion of the neck. 
The geese described include eight species and four varie- 
ties. These may be readily distinguished from the swans 
by the strip of feathered skin between their eyes and bills, 
and from the ducks by their tarsi, which are entirely 
reticulate. 
It is such an easy matter to make a big bag of 
geese in the West during the autumn, and in the 
Southwest in winter, that the veriest tyro may become 
a great wild-fowler in a short time, if a large bag is 
to be the criterion of his skill; but where they are scarce 
and hunted much, it requires all the patience, caution, 
‘cunning, and devices of the most experienced sportsman 
to steal upon them unawares, or to decoy them within 
‘range of agun. ‘They learn to avoid blinds, ‘‘ gopher- 
