The Wild Goose.
English Synonyms.—Grey Lag Goose: Montagu, Selby. Wild Goose: Jenyns. Marsh Goose, Grey Lag, Grey Goose, Fen Goose.
Latin Synonyms.—Anas anser: Linn., Latham. Anser ferus: Temminck, Jenyns, McGillivray. Anser palustris: Selby. Anser cinereus: Bonaparte.
French Synonym.—Oie Cendrée: Temminck.
The Wild Goose, though by no means elegant in form, has none of the awkwardness of the Domestic Goose, which is generally supposed to be descended from it. The body of Anser ferus is large and full; the neck long, at its upper part slender; the head proportionately small, ovate, oblong, and rather compressed; the feathers of the head are small, short, rounded and blended, of a greyish brown; those of the upper part of the neck small and oblong, and arranged in ridges with deep intervening grooves, gradually getting paler until it fades into greyish white; the wings are long, reaching nearly to the end of the tail, the feathers of the fore part of the back and wings close, broad, and abrupt; the prevailing colour a bluish grey.
The Geese in many respects resemble the Ducks and Swans, but they are less aquatic in their habits, keeping at a distance from large bodies of water, and frequenting, by preference, moist meadows and marshes, where they find herbage and various kinds of seeds, on which they principally feed. They swim very little, and seldom dive. They make their nests on the ground, and lay from six to eight eggs, which are hatched in rather more than one month. The young ones walk about and find their own food almost as soon as they are hatched. Geese, especially the male birds, moult twice a year—in June and November.
The noise made by a flock of Geese seeking their food can be heard at a great distance. Their call, which is repeated at regular intervals, somewhat resembles the sound of a trumpet or clarion, and is accompanied by a continuous muttering noise in shorter notes. The hissing common to both Geese and Ducks is produced by two membranes placed in juxtaposition at the lower part of the trachea. These two membranes are situated side by side in the two bony and elongated openings of the internal larynx, from which the two principal bronchia have their origin. A close examination of this organ in the Goose is supposed to have contributed to the invention of certain wind instruments, such as the flute, bassoon, bagpipes, clarionet, and even the organ.
When attacked, the Goose makes a hissing noise similar to that of some serpents. Endeavours have been made to express this sound by the three Latin words strepit, gratitat, stridet. The slightest noise wakes them up, when they at once give the signal of alarm, which immediately warns the whole flock of approaching danger. Thus, some authors have maintained that the Goose is more vigilant than the Dog; and in proof of this, instance the story of the Geese of the Capitol, whose wakefulness saved the Romans from an attempted assault on the part of the Gauls. The Roman people were grateful enough to award an annual sum for the maintenance of a certain number of Geese in the Capitol; and on the anniversary of the day when their services had been so valuable, they were in the habit of whipping the Dogs in front of the building, as a retrospective punishment for their culpable carelessness.
Fig. 97.—Wild Goose (Anser ferus).
The Gauls, on the other hand, never pardoned the Goose for having baffled their attack. Frenchmen, even in the present day, possibly the descendants of the proud companions of Brennus, or of the conquerors of Northern Italy, appear still to inherit this ancestral hatred. At some of the French village fêtes they are in the habit of hanging up Geese by the feet in order to cut through their necks with a sword, or to beat them to death by hurling stones and sticks at their heads. At every blow the poor creature must suffer dreadful agony, but it is left in its pain until it dies a lingering death. It is then borne away in triumph by the conqueror, and its mutilated carcass afterwards appears at his table to be devoured by him and his companions. Happily, the Assemblée Nationale has now forbidden this brutal and sanguinary amusement as being dishonourable to a civilised nation.
It is difficult to say why the Goose should have been considered, from the earliest ages, as the symbol of stupidity. Their sight is sharp and piercing, and they enjoy a remarkable delicacy of hearing. Their sense of smell, moreover, may be compared to that of the Crow. Their watchfulness seems never at fault. When they either sleep or eat, one of their number is placed as a sentinel. With neck stretched out and head in the air, it scrutinises the distant horizon in every direction, ready, at the slightest alarm, to give a signal of danger to the rest of the flock.
The flight of Wild Geese indicates no slight degree of intelligence. They place themselves in two slanting lines, forming a < shaped angle, or sometimes in a single line, if the flock is not very numerous. This arrangement allows each bird to follow the main body with the least possible amount of resistance, and at the same time to keep its rank. When the individual which leads the flight begins to be fatigued, it takes its place in the rear, each bird in its turn leading the flock.
These birds are too numerous to travel in large flocks; it would appear, therefore, as if they fixed upon some points where they separate in order to distribute themselves over various countries. In Europe Wild Geese come principally from Asia. On their arrival here, the flocks disperse themselves over different districts. In our land they make their appearance towards the beginning of winter, and depart towards the end of April. Formerly they are said to have been abundant, and to have been even permanently resident; now they are rare, and are seldom known to breed with us. On their arrival they resort to open pastures and cultivated fields, feeding on the roots of aquatic grasses, young corn, clover, and other green herbage. On an alarm being given by the sentinel on watch, they all erect their necks, run forward, and, uttering their loud, grating cry, spring into the air, departing with a heavy, measured, and lofty flight. According to Temminck, "the Wild Goose inhabits the seas, coasts, and marshes of eastern countries, seldom advancing northward beyond the fifty-third degree; it is abundant in Germany and in Central Europe; occasionally, in its migrations, it halts in small numbers in Holland." Those which visit France are the harbingers of the frost; and when they make an early appearance, it is well known that the winter will be a severe one.
Although they live little in the water, Wild Geese repair every evening to the ponds and rivers in their neighbourhoods to pass the night; so that the Wild Goose only takes to the water when the Wild Duck is leaving it. These birds are very difficult to shoot in consequence of their lofty flight, from which they only descend when they see the water on which they are to pass the night. Even then their excessive caution renders nearly useless all the stratagems of the sportsman. The attempt is sometimes made to take them in the evening with nets, the wild ones being attracted by means of tame Geese, which are trained to act as decoys.
The Ostiacs, on the banks of the Obi, in Siberia, pile up the snow, and, with the addition of branches, construct small huts. Near these they place some stuffed birds in the water; the Wild Geese dart on these and peck them to pieces. While thus busily occupied, they can easily be shot or taken with nets.
But the most curious and difficult mode of capturing them is that followed by the adventurous inhabitants of St. Kilda, a little islet on the west coast of Scotland. Wild Geese of several species make their nests there in large flocks at the foot of the sea-washed rocks which surround the island. It is very doubtful if the Wild Goose, Anser ferus, is found among these. Both for strength and economy, the inhabitants use a cord made of thongs of twisted cow-hide covered with sheep-skin. With a rope of this description, two men climb to the top of a cliff; there they fasten themselves to either end of the cord; then one lets himself down over the face of the cliff, and the other clings to the rugged points above. The first man fills a sack with the eggs, and suspends by their claws as many goslings as he can hang to various parts of his person. When he has made his collection, his companion hoists him up by main force, twisting the cord round his own body after the manner of a windlass.
This aërial and dangerous sport is very productive. A cow-hide rope forms a large portion of the dowry of a St. Kilda girl, and very often it is the sole dependence of a household. The hardy sportsmen have so much coolness and nerve, that accidents very rarely happen.
The Bean Goose (Anas segetum) of most authors differs from the preceding in being somewhat smaller, and having the bill more slender, although not much shorter; the hind part of the back is also dark brown. In its habits it closely resembles the Wild Goose, for which it has probably been frequently mistaken. Vast flocks of this species frequent the northern waters, such as Montrose Bay, the mouth of the Findhorn, and especially the inland waters of Ross and Sutherland—thirty or forty pairs having their nests annually on Lake Laighal.
The Domestic or Common Goose (Anser sylvestris) has been made the source of great utility and profit. It appears to be the civilised offspring of the Wild Goose, to which it bears the same proportions as other tame animals bear to their prototypes. Mr. Yarrell was of opinion that the White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) has concurred, with the Anser ferus, in producing our domestic race.
In our poultry-yards the Domestic Goose begins, in the month of March, to lay from eight to twelve eggs. When they remain on the nest longer than usual, they are about to "sit." Incubation lasts for a month. No birds are more easily reared than goslings; they issue from the shell full of life, and covered with a delicate down. It is, however, necessary to keep them shut up for the first few days; if the weather permits, they may soon be released. Their first food is a paste formed of barley roughly ground, mixed with bran, moistened, and boiled in milk, with the addition of a few chopped-up lettuce leaves. When at large, it is necessary to keep them carefully from hemlock and other poisonous plants.
Our ancestors, the Celts, the Gauls, and the Franks, reared a large number of these birds, and carried on a considerable trade in them, especially with Italy. Pliny, in his "Natural History," relates that he has seen immense droves of Geese, which were making their way towards Rome from different districts of Gaul, but especially from the country of the Morini (now forming the departments of the Nord and Pas-de-Calais). The conductors of these feathered flocks were in the habit of placing the tired ones in front, so that, being pushed forward by the whole column behind them, they were forced to move on in spite of themselves. In the present day, numerous flocks of Geese are driven in the same manner into Spain from the French departments of Lot, Dordogne, Lot-et-Garonne, Gers, Tarn, &c.
The Goose, in its coarse and somewhat democratic condition, was good enough food for the Romans of the republic; but at a later period, when the people became more refined in their tastes, they invented a barbarous method of fattening it. By depriving them of water, movement, and light, an extraordinary development of the liver was produced, which gave them a particularly savoury flavour. This invention—the triumph of modern gastronomy—dates as far back as the days of Augustus and Varro; indeed, two persons of consular dignity disputed the honour of being its originator.
In order to fatten Geese in this way, an abundant supply of food is administered, at the same time depriving them of light and exercise. This food consists of balls made up of maize and wheat, with which the poor creatures are crammed three times a day. In some countries they force whole grains of maize down their throats. At the end of about four or five weeks the fattening process is perfect. This is at all events considered to be the case when the wretched Palmipede exhibits signs of suffocation. This is certainly a cruel method of feeding; nevertheless, it is only by this plan that the delicious fat and plump livers so much appreciated by epicures can be obtained. The liver undergoes an alteration which in the end must prove fatal to the bird; in fact, it assumes enormous development; and the epicures, who hold it in such high favour, regard as a dainty this diseased liver!
The introduction of the Turkey has led to the culture of the Goose being more neglected in Europe; nevertheless, the latter bird is a source of prosperity at the present day in many parts of France, and in many a rural district in England. In ancient times there was no entertainment or family festival without the traditional Goose smoking on the board. In England the Goose is still considered a festival bird. A custom intimately associated with their national history still dictates that every true Englishman should partake of Goose on Michaelmas Day.
The flesh, and especially the fat of the Goose, keeps perfectly when salted down. In parts of the world, in this state it is much employed for culinary purposes. The enormous succulent livers which are found in these precious birds after their forcible fattening are used to make the delicious Strasbourg pies. Those of Nérac, as well as those of Toulouse, are made more of Ducks' livers, for the latter birds can be fattened in very nearly the same way as the Goose.
The down and feathers of Geese are objects of considerable trade. Before the invention of steel pens, the only implement that was used for writing was the quill plucked from the wing of the Goose. Great care was necessary in dressing them. This was done by passing the barrel of the quill through hot ashes, or plunging it into boiling water, with other clarifying processes.
From under the neck, the wings, and the breast of the birds, the down is taken. This operation takes place every two months, from March until autumn.
Geese are certainly not so stupid as they are usually said to be. The following facts will perhaps enable us to appreciate the moral qualities which distinguish them:—
In Scotland a Goose became so attached to its master, that it followed him about everywhere, just like a dog. One day this gentleman, after mixing with the crowd which was moving about the town he resided in, went into a barber's shop to get shaved. The faithful bird had followed him, and waited at the door until his master came out, in order to attend him in his subsequent movements, and then accompanied him back to his home. This intelligent creature could recognise its master's voice, although clothed in any disguise.
In Germany a Gander was in the habit of leading an old blind woman to church every Sunday. It guided her by the skirt of her dress, always conducting her to the seat in the church which she usually occupied. Afterwards it returned into the churchyard to browse upon the grass. When the service was over, it waited, just like a faithful dog, to take charge of its mistress. One day, when the minister called upon her and found her from home, he expressed his astonishment that the poor blind woman should venture out alone. "Ah, sir," replied her daughter, "we have no fears about her—the Gander is with her." Our blind people would make their fortune if they could replace their traditional dog by a guide of this novel kind.
The Bernicle, or Tree Geese, are so called from a foolish tradition of the Middle Ages of their being produced from the barnacle shell which attaches itself to ships' bottoms and timber floating in the sea. They differ from the true Geese in having the head smaller, the bill shorter and more conical, the breast-feathers much larger, and in the predominance of black in their plumage, bills, and feet. The plumage is full, very soft, and close. There are several species of Bernicla, which some recent writers have formed into a genus under that somewhat inappropriate name, the best-known species being the White-faced or Bernicle Goose, Anser leucopsis, Temminck, and the Black-faced or Brent Goose, Anser bernicla, of the same author.