60 
CANADA GOOSE. 
situated in a retired spot, they never leaving it for a moment un- 
guarded ; and during incubation the male sat in the absence of 
his mate. On the approach of any one they betrayed strong symp- 
toms of alarm ; and when the young were hatched, the gander 
would advance, in a threatening attitude, toward intruders upon 
their premises. They would seldom wander far from their favour- 
ite stream, on the grassy margin of which they delighted to re- 
pose and preen themselves, after the exercise of bathing, surveying, 
with looks of affectionate complacency, their interesting progeny. 
From some unknown cause the old goose has not laid the present 
year, 1824 ; and none of the young, even of the first year, although 
apparently full grown, have given evidence of an inclination to pro- 
duce : hence it is probable that this species does not breed until 
three years old. 
