Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/59

* GOOSE. 39 with outstretched neck. They utter characteristic notes called honking when on the wing. They generally fl.v in companies, each led by an old gander, which they follow in a wedge-like forma- tion. Wild Geese. Of the ten or twelve species of geese occurring in the United States, all but two or three breed in the far north, and are migrants and winter visitants south of Canada. The com- r.ion wild goose (Brnnta Canadensis) is aburdant througliout North America. It is about three or three and one-half feet long and five feet across the wings. The head and neck are black, with a white patch on the chin; general color brownish- gray, paler below. The nest is usually on the ground, but sometimes in trees. The eggs are usually five or six, plain bufty white. A remark- able Arctic goose is the emperor goose (Pliilacte canarjica), about two-thirds as large as the com- mon goose, abundant on the shores of Bering Sea ; the flesh is said to be rank and unfit for food. The snow-goose {Chen hyperhorea) is a pure white one fovind throughout America, but rather rare in eastern parts. The so-called 'tree-ducks' ( Dendrocygna ) are tropical American geese oc- curring as far north as Texas in the summer. The,v are only about twenty inches long and are colored with various shades of yellowish and reddish brown. They make their nests in hol- low trees, often some distance from water. Among the notable geese of the Old World must be mentioned the graylag goose (Anser fcrus) . which is thought to be the ancestral stock of the common domesticated goose. ( See Colored I'late with W.VTER-BlBDS.) It is found in Cen- tral Europe and Asia, and in North Africa. An- other, common in Great Britain, is the bean-goose {Anser sergetum). small and brownish, with a black 'nail' on the beak. The spur-winged goose {Plcctroplerus Gnnihcnsis) is a purplish-black bird with prominent spurs on the wings, found in Africa. In Australia there are two very remark- able geese, one {Anseranns melanolrnca) with the feet little more than half webbed, and the. other {Cereopsis Jvovce-Hollandice), a scarcely aquatic bird, with long legs having the tibia part- ly bare, and the bill small and membranous. Among the best-known of the geese are the brants ar.d barnacle-geese (qq.v.). See Plate of Wild Dicks. Domestic Geese. The domestication of the goose was very easy, and doubtless began as soon as men began to remain in fixed settlements. They are among the animals figured on the oldest Eg^'ptian and Asiatic monuments, and the Orien- tal breeds were no doubt derived from local wild species, especially the great Chinese swan or 'guinea' goose {Cggnopsis riignoides). whose true home is in the valley of the Amur River. This is the largest of living geese, and wild and do- mesticated specimens are freely crossed to this day with ot<ier breeds. The basis of the domestic geese of Europe, however, is the graylag above described; and this kind was imported by the early colonists to America, where some admix- ture has taken place with local wild geese. For- merly the cultivation of geese was more exten- sive and important than at present. Great herds of geese were annually driven slowly from West- ern Europe to Rome, where both flesh and feath- ers (down) were in great demand. Previous to the invention of metallic pens goose-quills sup- plied all the pens used, and formed a large GOOSE. article of trade now almost obsolete. In South- ern England goose culture was formerly far more c.tensie than at present, many thousands being driven to market every fall ; and goose-fattening in Holland and Germany is still a great industry, especially in tlie neighborhood of Strassburg. The long domestication of .geese, however, has brought about remarkably little variation. As is pointed out by Darwin in his Animals and Plants Under Doniesitiea'ion, the change has been little more than a considerable increase in size and fecun- dity, and a tendency to lose the brownish tints of the wild stock and become spotted with white or altogether white. The last feature has resulted not only from a preference for pure white which has prevailed ever since the time of the Romans, but from the former cruel practice of plucking geese alive, the new feather produced Ijy the injured skin being usually white. The standard breeds commonly raised in the United States are Gra.y Toulouse, White Embden, Gra.y African, Brown Chinese, White Chinese, Gray Wild, and Colored Egyptian. A number of cross-bred geese have also given good results. In general Toulouse geese are more compact in form than are other breeds, and for this reason are pre- ferred by many. The head is rather large and short and the bill comparatively short. The neck is carried well up and is of medium length. The breast is broad and deep. The body of the Tou- louse goose is moderate in length, broad, deep, and compact. In birds of good condition the belly almost touches the ground. The wings are large and strong; the tail comparatively short; the thighs and shanks stout. In color the plumage is gray. The standard weight of the adult gander is 20 pounds; adult goose, '20; young gander, 18; and young goose, 15 pounds. The,v are termed Christmas geese, since they mature later than others and are in season at the holiday time. They are fairly good layers, averaging 40 eggs in a season. See Colored Plate of DwcKS. White Embden geese are beautiful birds of large size, tall and erect carriage, snow-white lihimage, and are about as hea'y as the gray Toulouse goose. They originally came from Emb- den, in Westphalia, and have been bred in the United States for many years. They are con- sidered a very satisfactory breed to raise. Gray African geese are by many considered the most profitable of all. They grow very rapidly, and are ready for market in ten weeks, weighing at that a,ge between eight and ten pounds. Accord- ing to standard weights they are as heavy as Toulouse and Embden, but heavier specimens are not uncommon. The brown and white Chinese geese are smaller than those previously mentioned, and probably for this reason less popular. The domesticated gray wild geese are satisfactory, and are gen- erally bred throughout the United States. They are very highly prized for table purposes, are good layers, hardy, and easy to raise. The stand- ard weight of the adult gander is 16 pounds; adult goose, 14 poiinds: young gander, 12 pounds; and young goose., 10 pounds. The colored Egyptian geese are purely orna- mental, being seldom bred for other purposes than the .show-room. Tlipy are sometimes called Nile .geese. They are tall and slender. The color of the head is black and grav; the bill is purple or bluish-red and the eves orange. The neck and back are grav and black; the centre of the breast