244 Life and Immortatty. 
is too great for her to assume. She leads them into pleas- 
ant pastures, teaches them to know good from bad foods, and 
acquaints them with all the devices and subterfuges practised 
for eluding man and other enemies. But it is not long that 
they are thus subservient to maternal wisdom and _fore- 
thought, for in fourteen days they are old enough to scratch 
for a living, and to seek shelter and security from lawless- 
ness and cruelty. Their sexu consists of wheat, berries, 
grasses, earth-worms, and all kinds of terrestrial insects. 
When summer is over, the different families of the same 
neighborhood come together, unite in one large flock, and 
travel over the country for food. The males emerge from 
their meeting-places and join the moving army, and parents 
and young have nothing to do but to feed vigorously and 
‘grow fat. Late in October, or early in November, they 
begin to attract the attention of gunners, and thousands are 
killed for the market, where they are in eager demand by all 
lovers of good living. 
