224 NATURALISTS CABINET. 



Numbers for sale Practice of cramming. 



great kindness; lodging them very often everi in 

 the same room with themselves. Should the 

 season prove cold, vast numbers die by this sa- 

 vage practice. 



These geese breed in general only once a-year, 

 but if well kept they sometimes hatch twice in a 

 season. During their sitting/ each bird has a 

 space allotted to it, in rows of wicker pens placed 

 One above another; and it is said that the goz- 

 zard, or goose-herd, who has the care of them, 

 drives the whole flock to water twice a day, 

 and, bringing them back to their habitations, 

 places every bird (without missing one) in its 

 own nest. 



It is scarcely credible what numbers of geese 

 are driven from the distant counties to London 

 for sale ; frequently two or three thousand in a 

 drove; and in the year 1783 one drove passed 

 through Chelmsford, in their way from Suffolk 

 to London, that contained about nine thousand. 

 Among these are several superannuated geese, 

 that in consequence of repeated pluckings, prove 

 remarkably tough and dry. 



A goose well fed in the common way, will 

 tveigh fifteen or sixteen pounds, but by the unna- 

 tural practice of cramming, may be increased to 

 almost double that weight. The creatures set 

 apart for this beastly and unwholesome gorge 

 are nailed to the floor, by the webs of their feet, 

 to keep them in a state of perfect inaction ; 



