564 S N O W GOOSE.
hut, ;®Mthe Bomraencemenst of. next spring, the .Goose was a Snow
Goose, and the change had taken place in less than «month.
Dr JticjiAKDsoN inform* u> thai this species breeds in the barr
0 n rounds of Aastic America, in «¿-flit numbers. The eggs, of a
yellowish-white colour, and regularly ovate form, are a little larger
than those of the Eider Duck, their length being three inches, and
their greatest breadth two. > S h e young,.fly in August, and- by the
middle ¡September all have departed to the southward. The Snow
Goose-feeds on rushes, insects, and in.autmmi on berries, particularly
those of (the Empebrm nigrum. When well fed it is a very excellent •
bird, far superior to the Canada Goose in juiciness; and flavour. It|j
said that the young do. dot attain the full plumage before their fourth
year. ami until that period they appear to keep in separate flocks. They
are numerous at Albany Kort in the. southern part of Hudson's Iky,
where the old birds, are.rarely seen; and, on the other hand, the old
birds in their (migrations visit York Factory m great abundance^ but
are seldom accompanied by the young' TheJJsnow Geese W | l » -their
appearance, in spring a few days later than the Canada Gee«,, and pass
in large flocks both through the interior and ou the coast." •
The young birds of this, species begin to acquire their whiteness
about the licail and nec-k after the first year, but the,upper parts.romain
of a dark bluish colour until the bird suddenly becsmies white all
over; at least this i» t h e p j p with such as are kept in captivity., Although
j^is allied Wliiu-front.«! or Laughing (loose, At.mir ate
Ufrm, I was surprised' to find that WILSON L:a<L otrofoui.ded the two
species together, and been of,opinion that the Beaji,Goose.also was the
same bird in an imperfect state of plumage. That excellent ornithologist
tells us that " this specWsjealled on the sea-coast, the Hed Goose,
arrives in the river Delaware, from the north,. early in November,
sometimes in considerable flocks, and is extremely noisy, their notes
being shriller and more squeaking than those of the Canada, or common
Wild Goose. On their first arrival, they make but a short stay,
proceeding, as the depth of winter approaches, farther south ; but from
the -middle of February, until the breaking up of the ice in March,
they are frequently numerous along both shore's of the Delaware, about
.and bdow Keedy Island, particularly near Old Duck Creek, in the
• .State af Delaware. They feed,on roots..Of the reeds there, which they
tear up like hogs.*1
S N O W GOOSE. 565
. I E H •species is rare both in Massachusetts and South Carolina, although
it passes over both these States5 in considerable numbers, and
in the latter some have been known to alight among the common domestic
Geese, and to have: remained, several days with them. My friend
Dr BAGHMAN, of Charleston, South, Carolina, kept a male Snow Goose
several years along with his tame Geese. He had received it from a
friend while it was in its grey plumage, and the following spring it became
white. It had been procured in the autumn, and proved to be a
male. In at. few days it became very gentle, and for several years it.
Plated with a Common Goose; but the eggs produced by the latter
never hatched. The Show Goose wa* i" tin: luil.it of daily frequenting
a mill-pond in th* vicinity; and returning regularly at night along
with the rest; but in the beginning of each spring it occasioned much
trouble. It then continually raised its head and wings, and attempted
to fly off ; but finding this impossible, it seemed anxious to perform its
long journey on foot., ¡11111 it was several times overtaken and brought
back, after it had proceeded more than a mile, having crossed fences and
plantations in a1 direct course northward. This propensity cost it its
lift,.: it had proceeded as far as the banks of the Cooper JRiver, when
i t was shot by a person who supposed i t to be a wild bird.
In the latter part of the autumn of 1832, whilst I was walking with
my wife,, in the neighbourhood of Boston in Massachusetts, I observed
on the road a ymmg Snow Goose in a beautiful state of plumage, and
after making some inquiries, found its owner, who was a gardener. He
would not part with it for any price offered. Some weeks after, a
friend called one morning,, and told me that this .gardener had sent his
Snow Goose to town,, and that; St would be sold by auction that day,
I desired my friend to attend, the sale, which he did; and before a few
hours had elapsed, the bird was in my possession, having been-obtained
for 75 cents ! We ,kept this Goose several months in a small yard at
the house where we boarded, along with the young of, the Sand-hill
Crane, Grus Americana. It was fed on leaves and thin sialics of cabbage,
bread, and other vegetable substances. When the spring approached1,
it exhibited great restlessness, seeming anxious, to remove
northward, as was the case with Dr BIACHMAN'S bird. Although the
gardener had kept it four years, it was not white, but had the lower
f,<§i of the neck and, the greater portion of the back, of a dark bluish
tint, as represented in the plate, It died before we. left Boston, to the