Have you not often heard people say "as silly as a goose"? Now I am
going to tell you that the goose is one of the most sensible birds we
know, and not only sensible, but very affectionate, and exceedingly
useful to man. I will tell you some stories of Mrs. Goose presently,
which will show you her real character. But I must begin with her uses.
The goose is to be found in almost every country, and its flesh is very
good eating; but it is principally for its feathers and quills that it
is valued here. The quills, from which our pens, and in part our paint
brushes, are made, are plucked from the pinions of the goose, and the
best featherbeds and pillows are stuffed with her feathers. Geese
love water and marshy places, and Lincolnshire, which is a fenny place,
is famous for breeding them. People there make it their business to keep
perhaps as many as a thousand geese, which, in the course of a year,
will increase seven-fold, the geese being kept in the houses, and even
bedrooms, of their owners whilst hatching, and a person called a gozzard
having the charge of them. They are plucked, poor things, for their
feathers as often as five times a year, and for their quills once. Even
the young goslings of six weeks' old are deprived of their tail
feathers, in order, as it is said, to accustom them to this cruel
operation. When ready for the London market, the geese are marched
slowly up from Lincolnshire to London, in flocks of from two to nine
thousand. Being slow travellers, they are on foot from three in the
morning to nine in the evening, and during that time get through about
nine miles.
[Illustration: THE GOOSE.]
Amongst the Romans this bird was held sacred to Juno, their supreme
heathen goddess; indeed, it appears to have been looked upon with
reverence by all ancient nations, and not longer ago than the time of
the Crusades, a goose was carried as a standard from our own country by
an irregular band of crusaders. Possibly in former times the good
qualities of the goose were better known than now; for the sagacity and
affection of this bird have been proved by so many well authenticated
instances, that I am at a loss which to select for your entertainment,
and must try to choose those you are least likely to have met with
already. As a proof of the goose's sagacity, is the following. A goose
begun to sit on six or eight eggs, when the dairy maid, thinking she
could hatch a larger number, put in as many duck eggs, which could
scarcely be distinguished from the others. On visiting the nest next
morning, all the duck eggs were found put out of the nest on the ground.
They were replaced, but the next morning were again found picked out and
laid outside, whilst the goose remained sitting on the whole of her own
eggs. Lest she should abandon the nest altogether, she was not troubled
with the strange eggs again, but allowed to rear her own children in
peace. There are a vast number of stories told of singular and strong
attachments formed by geese to people. We hear of one old gander who
used to lead his old blind mistress to church, graze in the churchyard
during the service (for I ought to have told you that geese eat grass
like oxen), and then lead her home again. A goose attached itself so
strongly to its master that it forsook for him the society of its
fellows, followed him wherever he went, even through the crowded
streets, sat, if allowed, upon his lap, and responded with a cry of
delight to every sound of his voice. Even to other animals the goose has
been known to show strong affection. There was once a goose who had been
saved by a dog from the ravenous jaws of a fox. She seemed from that
time to centre all her affection on her preserver, left the poultry yard
for his side, tried to bite any one at whom she heard him bark, and, if
driven away into the field, would sit all day at the gate from which she
could gaze on her friend. The dog at last fell ill, but the faithful
goose would not leave him, and would have died, for want of food, at his
side had not corn been put near the kennel. The dog died, but she would
not leave the kennel, and I am sorry to tell you that when a new dog
was brought, very much like the old one, as she ran to greet him,
hoping it was her old friend restored, he seized her by the neck and put
an end to her faithful life. One more story I must tell you, though I
have already said so much. A game cock had cruelly attacked a goose on
her nest, and even pecked out one of her eyes. The gander took his
mate's part, and fought over and over again with the enemy. One day,
during his absence, the game cock attacked the goose again, when the
gander, hearing a noise, ran up, and, seizing the cock, dragged him into
the pond where he ducked him repeatedly until he had made an end of him.
In Russia, ganders are taught to fight each other, and a trained gander
has been known to sell for twenty pounds.
There is a very beautiful goose called the Egyptian Goose, or goose of
the Nile. Its feathers are very handsomely marked with black, brown,
green, and white. It is the goose so often represented, in old fresco
paintings of heathen temples, by the ancients. This goose is famous for
its devotion to its young. The old birds will remain with their
offspring during times of most imminent danger, refusing to save
themselves and leave their young in peril.
The Canada Goose is also another prettily-marked variety of goose. And
although not a native of this country, its migratory habits often bring
it to this shore.
[Illustration: THE MAGPIE.]