The goose is not mentioned in the Bible, but it was known to the ancient
Egyptians, and is represented in numerous instances on their monuments,
showing that it was anciently used for food, as in our own times. It was
held sacred by the Romans, because it was said to have alarmed, by its
cackling at night, the sentinels of the capitol, at the invasion of the
Gauls, and thus to have saved the city. This was attributed by one of
the Roman writers to its fine sense of smell, which enables them to
perceive at a great distance the odor of the human race. The liver of
this bird seems to have been a favorite morsel with epicures in all
ages; and invention appears to have been active in exercising the means
of increasing the volume of that organ. It is generally esteemed a
foolish bird; yet it displays courage in defending its young, and
instances of attachment and gratitude have shown that it is not
deficient in sentiment. The value and usefulness of geese are scarcely
calculable. The only damage which they do lies in the quantity of food
which they consume; the only care they require is to be saved from
starvation. All the fears and anxieties requisite to educate the turkey
and prepare it for making a proper appearance at the table are with them
unnecessary; grass by day, a dry bed at night, and a tolerably attentive
mother, are all that is required. Roast goose, fatted to the point of
repletion, is almost the only luxury that is not deemed an extravagance
in an economical farm-house; for there are the feathers, to swell the
stock of beds; there is the dripping, to enrich the dumpling or pudding;
there are the giblets, for market or a pie; and there is the wholesome,
solid, savory flesh for all parties interested.
They are accused by some of rendering the spots where they feed
offensive to other stock; but the explanation is simple. A horse bites
closer than an ox; a sheep goes nearer to the ground than a horse; but,
after the sharpest shearing by sheep, the goose will polish up the tuft,
and grow fat upon the remnants of others. Consequently, where geese are
kept in great numbers on a small area, little will be left to maintain
any other grass-eating creature. If, however, the pastures are not
short, it will not be found that other grazing animals object to feeding
either together with, or immediately after, a flock of geese.
The goose has the merit of being the earliest of poultry. In three
months, or, about four, from leaving the egg, the birds ought to be fit
for the feather-bed, the spit, and the fire. It is not only very early
in its laying, but also very late. It often anticipates the spring in
November, and, afterward, when spring really comes in March, it cannot
resist its general influence. The autumnal eggs afford useful employment
to turkeys and hens that choose to sit at unseasonable times; and the
period of incubation is less tedious than that required for the eggs of
some other birds.
The flight of the domestic goose is quite powerful enough, especially in
young birds, to allow them to escape in that way, where they are so
inclined. In the autumn, whole broods may be seen by early risers taking
their morning flight, and circling in the air for matutinal exercise,
just like pigeons, when first let out of their locker. The bird lives to
a very great age, sometimes seventy years or more.
As to the origin of our domestic species, opinions differ. By some, as
already remarked, the gray-leg is regarded as the parent stock; others
consider it a mongrel, like the dunghill fowl, made up of several
varieties, to each of which it occasionally shows more or less affinity;
and yet others contend that it is not to be referred to any existing
species. The latter assert that there is really but one variety of the
domestic goose, individuals of which are found from entirely white
plumage, through different degrees of patchedness with gray, to entirely
gray coloring, except on the abdomen.
The domestic gander is polygamous, but he is not an indiscriminate
libertine; he will rarely couple with females of any other species.
Hybrid common geese are almost always produced by the union of a wild
gander with a domestic goose, and not by the opposite. The ganders are
generally, though not invariably, white, and are sometimes called Embden
geese, from a town of Hanover. High feeding, care, and moderate warmth
will induce a prolific habit, which becomes, in some measure,
hereditary. The season of the year at which the young are hatched--and
they may be reared at any season--influences their future size and
development. After allowing for these causes of diversity, it is claimed
that the domestic goose constitutes only one species or permanent
variety.