182 
THE CANADA GOOSE. 
now the flock glides gently along. What a beautiful sight! Close by the 
grassy margin, the mother slowly leads her innocent younglings ; to one she 
shews the seed of the floating grass, to another points out the crawling slug. 
Her careful eye watches the cruel turtle, the garfish, and the pike, that are 
lurking for their prey, and, with head inclined, she glances upwards to the 
Eagle or the Gull that are hovering over the water in search of food. A 
ferocious bird dashes at her young ones ; she instantly plunges beneath the 
surface, and, in the twinkling of an eye, her brood disappear after her ; now 
they are among the thick rushes, with nothing above water but their little 
bills. The mother is marching towards tire land, having lisped to her brood 
in accents so gentle that none but they and her mate can understand their 
import, and all are safely lodged under cover until the disappointed Eagle 
or Gull bears away. 
More than six weeks have now elapsed. The down of the goslings, which 
was at first soft and tufty, has become coarse and hairlike. Their wings 
are edged with quills, and their bodies bristled with feathers. They have 
increased in size, and, living in the midst of abundance, they have become 
fat, so that on shore they make their way with difficulty, and as they are yet 
unable to fly, the greatest care is required to save them from their numerous 
enemies. They grow apace, and now the burning days of August are over. 
They are able to fly with ease from one shore to another, and as each suc- 
cessive night the hoarfrosts cover the country, and the streams are closed 
over by the ice, the family joins that in their neighbourhood, which is also 
joined by others. At length they spy the advance of a snow-storm, when 
the ganders with one accord sound the order for their departure. 
After many wide circlings, the flock has risen high in the thin air, and an 
hour or more is spent in teaching the young the order in which they are to 
move. But now, the host has been marshalled, and off it starts, shewing, 
as it proceeds, at one time an extended front, at another a single lengthened 
file, and now arraying itself in an angular form. The old males advance in 
front, the females follow, the young come in succession according to their 
strength, the weakest forming the rear. Should one feel fatigued, his posi- 
tion is changed in the ranks, and he assumes a place in the wake of another, 
who cleaves the air before him ; perhaps the parent bird flies for awhile by 
his side to encourage him. Two, three, or more days elapse before they 
reach a secure resting-place. The fat with which they were loaded at their 
departure has rapidly wasted ; they are fatigued, and experience the keen 
gnawings of hunger ; but now they spy a wide estuary, towards which they 
direct their course. Alighting on the water, they swim to the beach, stand, 
and gaze around them ; the young full of joy, the old full of fear, for well are 
they aware that many foes have been waiting their arrival. Silent all night 
