Chap. VIII. DOMESTIC GOOSE. 287 



process of reduction, such birds might be expected to resemble 

 in the state of their organs of flight our domesticated ducks. 

 This is the case with the water-hen (Gallinula nesiotis) of Tristan 

 d'Acunha, which " can flutter a little, but obviously uses its legs, 

 and not its wings, as a mode of escape." Now Mr. Sclater 19 

 finds in this bird that the wings, sternum, and coracoids, are 

 all reduced in length, and the crest of the sternum in depth, 

 in comparison with the same bones in the European water-hen 

 (Gr. ehloropus). On the other hand, the thigh-bones and pelvis 

 are increased in length, the former by four lines, relatively to the 

 same bones in the common water-hen. Hence in the skeleton of 

 this natural species nearly the same changes have occurred, only 

 carried a little further, as with our domestic ducks, and in this 

 latter case I presume no one will dispute that they have resulted 

 from the lessened use of the wings and the increased use of the 

 legs. 



The Goose. 



This bird deserves some notice, as hardly any other anciently 

 domesticated bird or quadruped has varied so little. That geese 

 were anciently domesticated we know from certain verses in 

 Homer; and from these birds having been kept (388 B.C.) in 

 the Capitol at Rome as sacred to Juno, which sacredness implies 

 great antiquity. 20 That the goose has varied in some degree, 

 we may infer from naturalists not being unanimous with respect 

 to its wild parent-form ; though the difficulty is chiefly due 

 to the existence of three or four closely allied wild European 

 species. 21 A large majority of capable judges are convinced that 

 our geese are descended from the wild Grey-lag goose (A. ferus) ; 

 the young of which can easily be tamed, 22 and are domesticated 

 by the Laplanders. This species, when crossed with the domestic 

 goose, produced in the Zoological Gardens, as I was assured in 



19 ' Proc. Zoolog. Soo.,' 1861, p. 261. of Egypt. 



1Q r Q ' C£ 7 l0n '' by Sir J - E * Tennent . 21 MacgillivrayV British Birds,' vol. 



1859, vol. i. p. 485 ; also J. Crawford iv. p. 593 



on the < Eolation of Domest. Animals to 22 m \ strickland ( « Annals and 



Civilisation, read before Brit. Assoe. Mag. of Nat. Hist.,' 3rd Series, vol. iii. 



hit i e V£° ™ a f Q ental o P o oultr y»' 1859, p. 122) reared some young wild 



IS fl ' S , DlX °f,' 18 ^ 8 ' P ; 132 - ThG S eese ' and found them hi habits Ll in 



mZ ST'? T I E ^ tia \ monu - all characters identical with the domes- 



ments seems to have been the Bed goose tic goose. 



