CANADA GOOSE 



55 



stock. The feathers constitute an article of commerce, and are 

 sent to England. 



The vernal flight of the Geese lasts from the middle of April 

 until the middle of May. Their first appearance coincides with 

 the thawing of the swamps, when they are very lean. Their ar- 

 rival from the south is impatiently attended; it is the harbinger 

 of the spring, and the month named by the Indians the Goose 

 moon. They appear usually at their settlements about St. George's 

 day, O. S. and fly northward to nestle in security. They prefer 

 islands to the continent, as farther from the haunts of man.^ 



After such prodigious havoc as thus appears to be made 

 among these birds, and their running the gauntlet, if I may so 

 speak, for many hundreds of miles through such destructive fires, 

 no wonder they should have become more scarce, as well as shy, 

 by the time they reach the shores of the United States. 



Their first arrival on the coast of New Jersey is early in Oc- 

 tober, and their first numerous appearance is the sure prognostic 

 of severe weather. Those which continue all winter frequent the 

 shallow bays and marsh islands ; their principal food being the 

 broad tender green leaves of a marine plant which grows on stones 

 and shells, and is usually called sea cabbage; and also the roots 

 of the sedge, which they are frequently observed in the act of tear- 

 ing up. Every few days they make an excursion to the inlets on 

 the beach for gravel. They cross, indiscriminately, over land or 

 water, generally taking the nearest course to their object; differ- 

 ing in this respect from the Brant, which will often go a great way 

 round by water rather than cross over the land. They swim well; 

 and if wing-broken, dive and go a great way under water, causing 

 the sportsman a great deal of fatigue before he can kill them. 

 Except in very calm weather they rarely sleep on the water, but 

 roost all night in the marshes. When the shallow bays are frozen, 

 they seek the mouths of inlets near the sea, occasionally visiting 



* Aret. Zool. 



