CHAPTER XVI. Palmipedes, Web-footed.-Serrated or Tooth-billed.-Geese.-Flocks of. -How managed.—Plucking.—Singular Attachment. — Sagacity.— Courage of.-Tree-geese.-Swans.-Muscular Strength.-Courage.— -Black Swans.-Trade in Swan-quills. WE TABLE XXVI. (See page 21.) ORDER 6. PALMIPEDES (Web-footed).-TRIBE I. SERRIROSTRES E now come to the last order, consisting of those birds which are evidently calculated for swimming; having their toes connected with a web, extending nearly to the nails. There are, however, some few not classed here, although they are undoubtedly web-footed-for instance, the Avosets and Flamingoes; but these, as has been already noticed, are not swimmers, their webs being of use only in supporting them as they tread lightly over marshy grounds. The first genus is that of the Geese and Ducks, whose beaks all, more or less, partake of the toothed or serrated character, represented in the plate of the Shoveler-Duck's bill (page 30), for the obvious purpose of feeding in the manner there mentioned. Notwithstanding certain points of resemblance connecting Swans, Geese, and Ducks under one head, there are, nevertheless, some peculiarities in each fully justifying the various subdivisions adopted by modern naturalists; by whom they have been accordingly separated into four sections-Geese, Swans, and Ducks of two sorts-one of which has the hindtoe furnished with a loose membrane; these latter chiefly frequent sea-shores or salt-marshes. At the head of this list stands the Goose, and with reason, considering how valuable a bird it is, and how many benefits we derive from it in divers ways. Those who live in the fen countries of Lincolnshire look to the produce of their flocks, in the shape of quills and feathers, exclusive of the body, considered as an article of food, as a source of profit to them almost as great as the shepherd derives from his flocks and herds. These Geese are reared and protected with a care and attention of which those who have not witnessed it can form no conception. It may, indeed, be doubted whether, under certain circumstances, Geese, in a profitable point of view, may not be considered as nearly equal to sheep. The latter, it is true, furnish a lucrative trade to weavers and manufacturers, as well as the farmer who feeds them. But the Goose affords no small item in the ledger of the upholsterer and the stationer, as well as the poulterer, in addition to thousands of acres of marsh land, which, but for this useful bird, would remain for ever worthless, or, at best, supply a scanty and precarious pittance. A slight sketch of the mode of managing a flock in Lincolnshire may not be uninteresting. A single person will keep a thousand old Geese, each of which will rear seven; so that, at the end of the year, if fortunate in rearing, he will be possessed of seven thousand. During the breeding season, these birds are lodged in the same houses with their owners, and even in their bed-chambers; three rows of wicker pens are placed one above another in every department; each Goose having its separate lodge divided from the others, of which it keeps possession during the time of sitting. A person called a gozzard attends the flock, and twice a day drives the whole to water, then brings them back to their habitations, helping those that live in the upper stories to their nests, without ever misplacing a single bird. They are, as we have observed in treating of Feathers (p. 66), plucked frequently, we believe not less than five times a year; the first plucking being on Lady-day, for feathers and quills; the remaining pluckings, between that time and Michaelmas, being for feathers only. The old Geese submit with tolerable patience to this barbarous operation, but the young ones are noisy and unruly. Even Goslings of six weeks old are not spared; their tails being plucked, as it is said, to habituate them to future plucking. When ready for the London market, flocks, from two to nine thousand in number, are sent off, travelling slowly from three in the morning until nine at night, during which time they will accomplish, on an average, about eight or ten miles. Those who live near commons can turn the rearing of a few Geese to good account, and might reap still greater advantages if they paid due attention. If well kept, a Goose will lay not far short of one hundred eggs a year. The French, who understand the management of poultry much better than we do, put their Goose-eggs under large hens of common fowls, in the proportion of from four to five eggs to each; and under Turkeys, to which they give nine or ten. When the Goslings are hatched, they are kept in a warm place for about four or five days, and fed on barley-meal, mixed, if possible, with milk, and then they will begin to graze. Thus much for the attention due to the Goose for its pecuniary worth; but beyond this, it has qualities, we might almost say, of the mind, of a very singular character: we mean, the unaccountable constancy and affection which it has been known to show not only to its own species, and to other birds and animals, but more particularly to man. And it is not improbable that these qualities, which, as we shall soon show, were known to the ancients, might have rendered it an object of high esteem, and, even in some cases, sacred, as, for instance, it was to Juno, the queen of their idol gods. In addition to which it has other qualifications, proving the fallacy of the proverbial libel, "as silly as a Goose." Thus, its watchfulness at night-time has always been noted, and it certainly is endowed with a strong organ of self-preservation, for, as it has been well observed, you may drive over cat, dog, hen, pig, or even pigeon, but few, if any, can record an instance of driving over a tame Goose; and as for wild Geese, there are no animals, biped or quadruped, so difficult to deceive or approach, their sense of hearing, seeing, and smelling being so extremely acute; independently of which, they appear to act in so organised and cautious a manner, when feeding or roosting, as to defy all danger. Sportsmen could give instances without number of their utmost skill being of no avail in attempting to approach these birds; either a careless step on a piece of gravel, or an eddy of wind, however light, or letting them perceive the smallest portion of their persons, has rendered useless whole hours of manoeuvring. We shall briefly illustrate this part of our history, alluding to their instinct and affection, by examples drawn from various sources, ancient as well as modern, corroborating them with a case which occurred in our own neighbourhood. We have just mentioned that this bird was held sacred to Juno, and we have good reason for supposing that, by the Gauls, an ancient and barbarous people, inhabiting the northern and western parts of Europe, it was held in almost equal estimation. How long this continued we do not know; but, at the time of the Crusades, that famous expedition undertaken by our ancestors in the reign of Henry the Second, about seven hundred years ago, a Goose was carried as a standard at the head of one of those irregular bands proceeding from. Europe to Asia with the design of rescuing the city of Jerusalem from the hands of the Saracens. Of its attachment to the human race, Pliny, an ancient Roman writer, gives several instances; one only we select, as closely resembling that with which we shall conclude. A person named Lacydes, a philo Y sopher, had a Goose which took so strong a fancy to him, that it would never willingly leave him by night or day—wherever he went the Goose was his companion; if he went abroad and walked in the public streets, the bird followed him, and, in his own house, always forced itself into his presence. The philosopher, struck with this constant and strange attachment, seems to have considered it as in some way or other connected with religious feelings, and accordingly, when at last it died, he was at the expense of bestowing upon it a magnificent funeral. Our next instance occurred in Scotland; a Goose, a year old, formed a similar attachment to a person in Elgin, and would follow him any distance, even through the crowd and bustle of the main street. One day, when going down this street, its master went into a hair-dresser's shop to be shaved, whereupon the bird waited patiently till the operation was finished, and then accompanied him to the house of a friend, after which it proceeded home with him. Change of dress seemed to make no difference in the bird's powers of distinguishing its master, for in whatever dress he appeared, the Goose recognised him, and whenever he spoke, it responded by a cry expressive of satisfaction. Another similar case is on record in Germany: an aged blind woman, who probably might have been in the habit of feeding it, used to be led every Sunday to church by a Gander taking hold of her gown with its bill; when she had seated herself, it retired to graze in the churchyard till she came out again, when it led her home. One day, the clergyman called at her house, and, expressing his surprise to her daughter, that her mother should venture abroad, she replied-" Oh, sir! we are not afraid of trusting her out of sight, for the Gander is with her." We frankly own, that so strange and improbable do the above stories appear, that we should neither have inserted nor paid them the slightest attention, had we not the following testimony to their credibility, for the accuracy of which we can vouch; and deeply do we regret, that a better fate did not await so extraordinary a bird, which, under more intelligent observers, might have afforded opportunities of ascertaining the extent of so unusual a development of affection. |