OF VIRGINIA Z| 
ridiculously low price of from ouc dollar to a dollar and a 
half each. I will admit though that an old bird is the 
toughest proposition teeth ever tackled, but one can soon 
learn to pick out a young bird by the dark purplish hue 
ot the feathers on the neck and back. Nearly all the 
gunning clubs along the lower coast have one or two for 
decoys, where a few pairs have been known to breed in 
captivity. During a tramp down the coast in 1908, in- 
specting the live decoys and breeding methods used by the 
various gun clubs, I was told by a keeper at one club of 
a female swan and tame white gander having mated, the 
offspring resembling the swan more than the goose. These 
birds I did not personally see,—the statement as told me 
I leave in the hands of my readers,—though I hope to 
verify this statement shortly. The birds arrive at their 
winter feeding grounds the latter part of October, and 
depart northward about the middle of March, these dates 
being judged by specimens seen. In confinement, as in 
their wild state, they only raise one brood, the eggs num- 
bering from four to five. The nest is rather a bulky 
affair of sticks, moss, grass, and rubbish, lined with 
feathers, and placed on the ground not far from the water. 
Size of eggs, 4.00x2.75. The above data was taken from a 
set of eggs in my collection taken June 5, 1882, on the 
Yukon Delta by a friend. The above data will apply 
as well to birds in captivity, though the breeding date is 
possibly somewhat earlier on account of our warm climate. 
Tt seems a pity they should be shot, and I would dearly 
love to see them taken off the game list, for they are 
becoming less plentiful each year. 
