THE HISSING OF THE GOOSE. 243 



nearly to the end of the tail, the feathers of the fore part of the back 

 and wings close, broad, and abrupt ; the prevailing colour a bluish 

 grey. 



Geese in many respects resemble ducks and swans, but they are 

 Jess aquatic in their habits, keeping often at a distance from large 

 bodies of water, and frequenting, by preference, moist meadows and 

 marshes, where they find herbage and various kinds of seeds, on 

 which to feed. They swim very little, and seldom dive. They make 

 their nests on the ground, and lay from six to eight eggs, which are 

 hatched in rather more than one month. The young ones walk 

 about and find their own food almost as soon as they leave the egg. 

 Geese, especially the male birds, moult twice a year — in June and 

 November. 



The noise made by a flock of Geese seeking their food can be 

 heard at a great distance. Their call, which is repeated at regular 

 intervals, somewhat resembles the sound of a trumpet or clarion, and 

 is accompanied by a continuous muttering noise in shorter notes. 

 The hissing common to both Geese and .Ducks is produced by two 

 membranes placed in juxtaposition at the lower part of the trachea. 

 These two membranes are situated side by sic^e in the two bony and 

 elongated openings of the internal larynx, from which the two prin- 

 cipal bronchia have their origin. A dose examination of this 

 structure in the goose is supposed to have contributed to the invention 

 of certain wind instruments, such as the flute, bassoon, bagpipes, 

 clarionet, and even the organ. 



When attacked, the Goose makes a hissing noise similar to that of 

 some serpents. Endeavours have been made to express this sound 

 by the three Latin words strepit, gratitat, stridet. The slightest noise 

 wakes them up, when they at once give the signal of alarm, which 

 immediately warns the whole flock of approaching danger. Thus, 

 some authors have maintained that the Goose is more vigilant than 

 the dog ; and in proof of this, instance the story of the geese at the 

 Capitol, whose wakefulness saved the Romans from an attempted 

 assault on the part of the Gauls. The Roman people, till the fall oi 

 the Empire, were grateful enough to award an annual sum for the 

 maintenance of a certain number of these birds in their Capitol ; 

 and on the anniversary of the day when their services had been so 

 valuable, they were in the habit of whipping the dogs in front of 

 the building, as a retrospective punishment for their culpable care- 

 lessness. 



The Gauls, on the other hand, never pardoned the Goose, for' 

 having baffled their attack. Frenchmen, even in the present day, 



Q 2 



