6 Geese of Europe and Asia 



The flesh of geese in the majority of cases has a good flavour, and only very lean or 

 very old birds have tough and dry flesh. But the same thing happens at times with geese 

 as with ducks, namely, that from certain food their flesh becomes simply nauseous, owing 

 to a peculiar fishy smell. It is probably mainly certain kinds of molluscs which are the 

 cause of this unpleasant odour and taste. 



Many tribes of the far north dry the bodies of geese without salt, and regard them 

 prepared in this way as a great delicacy. 



The Lamuts consider the raw webs of geese very good eating, as is stated by Baron 

 E. Toll in the Memoirs of the Imp. Russ. Geogr. Soc. vol. xxxii. 1897. 



Of the different ways of cooking geese, I cannot, unfortunately, say anything, since 

 I have had little opportunity to hear, read, or learn much on the subject. 



Explanations. 



The measurements of the length of the bill given in this work were made along the 

 culmen (the straight line from the middle of the base of the upper mandible to the end of 

 its nail). 



By the expression " greatest depth of lower mandible" must be understood the 

 greatest visible thickness of the latter from the side, with the bill shut tight by pressing 

 together the nails of the mandibles with the fingers. 



Soft or naked areas include all the unfeathered parts of the bird, such as bill, inner 

 part of the eyelids, eyes, tarsus, and the feet with their webs. The hind toe, corresponding 

 to the great toe, is sometimes called the hallux. 



The sign 6 denotes the male, the sign ? the female. 



In the present work I attach very little importance to the measurements given by 

 authors of the tarsus and median digit. This is because, in the majority of cases, I have 

 been unable to establish any constant relation between these dimensions, or between these 

 and the other dimensions of the bird. It is very possible that, in time, with incomparably 

 more material, even these relations between the length of the tarsus and the median digit 

 will afford good distinctive characters, but so far this is not the case. 



