236 DOMESTICATED ANIMALS AND PLANTS 
which suggests the fact that, as in many similar cases, we owe 
a lasting debt of gratitude to the ancient people of that far-off 
country for thus bringing into our service one of the most wary 
of all the wild birds, and making of it one of the most valuable 
of the domesticated races. 
Its nearest relatives are the pheasants, and many exceedingly 
closely related species are found wild in widely scattered regions 
of the East, their favorite haunts being the forests of Farther 
India. The prairie chicken of the West, though a true grouse, 
is, to all intents and purposes, the American equivalent of this 
Asiatic product, and, had it been necessary, would have afforded 
material for a valuable domestic bird. 
The goose. The wild goose yet lingers in many parts of the 
world, notably the gray lag goose (Awser cinereus), nesting 
in the northern British Islands, —the probable parent of the 
domesticated goose. Its American equivalent is represented by 
no less than three well-defined species, the snow goose of the 
far north (duser hyperboreus), the smaller Ross's goose of 
the northwest and the blue-winged goose (lzser cwrulescens), 
whose feeding and breeding places are along the great lakes of 
northern United States and Canada. Besides these there are 
many closely related species ; indeed, they breed everywhere in 
the subarctic regions. 
Here, again, it was a foreign strain that furnished the material 
for domestication, because the goose is an old-time favorite ; 
indeed, it is probable that he has already passed his period of 
greatness among us. He has always been prized for his feathers, 
but cannot be regarded as the equal of either the chicken, the 
turkey, or even the duck as a table delicacy. 
The duck. Here again the wild form is common, indeed so 
common as to be a favorite game bird. Of the numerous species 
the beautiful mallard (das boscas) is the typical game duck 
and is regarded as the parent and progenitor of the domesticated 
form. This species is said to inhabit the whole of the western 
hemisphere, wherever suitable feeding grounds can be found 
