CANADA GOOSE. 
55 
thers, and left to be frozen for the fresh provisions of the winter 
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 men.^ 
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, 
* Arct. Zool. 
