1868.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
•445 
The Wild Goose. 
We have the pleasure of presenting in illus- 
tration of this article an unusually fine repre- 
sentation of the Willi Goose, which is the most 
widely disseminated and hest known, perhaps, 
of our large water — 
fowls It is a bird 
of striking beauty, 
both on account of 
its brilliancy of 
plumage and its 
grace upon the wa- 
ter. On land it is, 
like the common 
goose, dignifiedly 
awkward ; but this 
awkwardness never 
degenerates into 
that blundering un- 
gainliness which 
makes the domestic 
species a by-word. 
The common goose 
is no fool, but only 
a blunderer. The 
wild goose is not 
only intelligent be- 
yond what we 
should expect, but 
apparently philo- 
sophical ; this is 
shown in many 
ways. Almost eveiy one is familiar with the order 
in which a flock arrange themselves for a long 
flight. The most powerful gander is the leader, 
and cleaves the air, while the others follow in 
his wake, usually in two files like a >, one leg 
being frequently longer than the other; and 
frequently, also, the whole flock, if it be a small 
one, arrange themselves in a single file. When 
a change of level, fright, weariness, or any cause, 
effects an irregular- 
ity in their flight, ut- 
tering a few warn- 
ings and answer- 
ing "honks," they 
rearrange them- 
selves and dress 
their ranks, like a 
platoon of soldiers 
by the elbow touch. 
It is thus that the 
wild geese make 
their semi-annual 
migrations to and 
from the northern 
portions of the Con- 
tinent, where they 
spend the summer 
and breed, and the 
swamps and la- 
goons of the South- 
ern States, where 
they winter. These 
migrations are 
made earlier or 
later each year, 
according to the 
prevailing temperature of the season. The 
flight of wild geese northward, in consider- 
able numbers, is regarded by the weather- 
wise ones as an infallible harbinger of settled 
warm or warmer weather ; and their southward 
flight is soon followed by wintry weather. 
Sometimes they are caught in the spring mak- 
ing a mistake, and by some means they becoine- 
aware of it hours before a cold storm, and re- 
treat. When they are seen flying South in good 
order in the spring, look out for a cold snap. The 
wild geese which follow up the Atlantic coast 
in the spring and return by the same route are 
rather shyer than those of the Interior. They 
are, besides, rarely so fine and fat in the autumn. 
weld geese. — {Hcrnkula Canadensis.) 
Their flavor is different, also, from the peculiar 
kinds of food they get. A Western wild gos- 
ling is one of the most delicious game birds im- 
aginable. It is esteemed by amateurs superior 
to the Canvas-back duck, and it is, of course, 
much larger. The markings are exceedingly 
uniform, and the ganders are distinguishable 
from the geese only by a little greater brilliancy 
of plumage. The head, neck, bill, legs, and 
MCSK duck. — {Cairina moschata.) — See next page. 
feet, of the wild goose are black ; a triangular 
patch of pure white extends from under the 
throat and upon the cheeks, ending in a point 
on a line with and back of the eye on each side ; 
a few white feathers, more or less, may be seen 
under the eye. The under parts of the body 
are light gray, witii a tinge of purple, (especially 
on the breast.) passing into white towards the 
tail, and under the wings ; upper parts of the 
body smoky brown, the edges of the feathers 
being lighter, shading off rather abruptly from 
the back, and growing grayish towards the 
belly; tail feathers black; flight feathers dark, 
blackish-brown. Length of the bird about 35 
inches. Total length to end of tail -10 inches j 
widest extent of 
wings 65 inches. 
The naturalist Wil- 
son says, and most 
writers follow him, 
that " the flight of 
the wild - goose is 
heavy and labo- 
rious." We think, 
on the contrary, it 
is easy and rapid. 
If a flock passes 
over very near an 
observer, he will be 
convinced of the 
great speed at 
which they fly. 
Seen at a distance, 
we judge of their 
rapidity and ease of 
flight by the time it 
takes them to pass 
their own length, 
and forget that a 
wherry will go Its 
length a dozen 
times, perhaps, 
while a great ship moves its own, and yet the 
ship may go twelve times as fast as the row- 
boat. The power of the wild goose ma}' be 
judged by the ease with which it will lift its 
ponderous body, weighing 8 to 12 pounds, and 
often more, from either the earth or the wa 
The nest of this goose is usually somewlnu 
concealed, or protected from the winds, and 
from sight, by rUslies or other plants. It is built 
. ^ up several inches 
high, of leaves, 
grass, rushes, etc. ; 
it is large and flat, 
and located near 
the water. They 
are occasionally 
found within the 
limits of the United 
States, but this is 
probably rather ac- 
cidental than nat- 
ural. The perfect 
domestication of 
the wild goose has, 
we believe, never 
been accomplished, 
certainly not in this 
country. The in- 
stinct to migrate 
is so strong that 
though perfectly 
tame, and having 
been for mouths 
" J_ quiet, orderly ten- 
' -'" ants of the poultry 
yard, they either 
take flight of themselves, or will join a flock of 
wild geese that are flying over. These are often 
called down by the tame ones, and captured 
or shot. It is necessary to "pinion" the lat- 
ter ; that is, to remove the end of one wing 
at the last joint. Being therefore unable to fly, 
they become quiet and domestic, but their young 
require the same treatment from generation to 
generation. Audubon says that in the wild 
