This bird figures under a variety of aliases: Knob goose, Hong Kong goose, Asiatic goose, Swan goose, Chinese Swan Guinea goose, Polish goose, Muscovy goose, and, probably, others.
CHINA OR HONG KONG GOOSE.
There is something in the aspect of this creature—in the dark-brown stripe down its neck, its small, bright eye, its harsh voice, its ceremonious strut, and its affectation of seldom being in a hurry—which seems to say that it came from China. If so, it has no doubt been domesticated for many hundred years, perhaps as long as the pea fowl or the common fowl. They may be made to lay a large number of eggs by an increased supply of nourishing food. If liberally furnished with oats, boiled rice, etc., the China goose will, in the spring, lay from twenty to thirty eggs before she begins to sit, and again in the autumn, after her moult, from ten to fifteen more. Another peculiarity is their deficient power of flight, compared with other geese, owing to the larger proportionate size of their bodies. Indeed, of all geese, this is the worst flyer; there is no occasion to pinion them; the common domestic goose flies much more strongly.
The prevailing color of their plumage is brown, comparable to the color of wheat. The different shades are very harmoniously blended, and are well relieved by the black tuberculated bill, and the pure white of the abdomen. Their movements on the water are graceful and swan-like. Slight variations occur in the color of the feet and legs, some having them of a dull orange, others black; a delicate fringe of minute white feathers is occasionally seen at the base of the bill. These peculiarities are hereditarily transmitted.
The male is almost as much disproportionately larger than the female as the Musk drake is in comparison with his mate. He is much inclined to libertine wanderings, without, however, neglecting proper attention at home. If there is any other gander on the premises, a disagreement is sure to result. Both male and female are, perhaps, the noisiest of all geese; at night, the least footfall or motion in their neighborhood is sufficient to call forth their clangor and resonant trumpetings.
The eggs are somewhat less than those of the domestic kind, of a short oval, with a smooth, thick shell, white, but slightly tinged with yellow at the smaller end. The goslings, when first hatched, are usually very strong. They are of a dirty green, like the color produced by mixing India-ink and yellow ochre, with darker patches here and there. The legs and feet are lead-color, but afterward change to a dull red. With good pasturage, they require no farther attention than that bestowed by their parents. After a time, a little grain will strengthen and forward them. If well fed, they come to maturity very rapidly; in between three and four months from the time of leaving the shell, they will be full-grown and ready for food. They do not bear being shut up to fatten so well as common geese, and, therefore, those destined for the table are the better for profuse hand-feeding. Their flesh is well-flavored, short, and tender; their eggs, excellent for cooking purposes.
They are said to be a short-lived species; the ganders, at least, not lasting more than ten or a dozen years. Hybrids between them and the common goose are prolific with the latter; the second and third cross is much prized by some farmers, particularly for their ganders; and in many flocks the blood of the China goose may be traced oftentimes by the more erect gait of the birds, accompanied by a faint stripe down the back of the neck. With the White-fronted goose they also breed freely.
The White-China. These are larger than the preceding, and apparently more terrestrial in their habits; the knob on the head is not only of greater proportion, but of a different shape. It is of a spotless, pure white—though a very few gray feathers occasionally appear—more swan-like than the brown, with a bright orange-colored bill, and a large knot of the same color at its base. It is particularly beautiful, either in or out of the water, its neck being long, slender, and gracefully arched when swimming. It breeds three or four times in the season; the egg is quite small for the size of the bird, being not more than half the size of that of the common goose.
In many instances, efforts to obtain young from their eggs have been unsuccessful; but if the female is supplied with the eggs of the common goose, she invariably hatches and rears the goslings. They sit remarkably well, never showing themselves out of the nest by day; but, possibly, they may leave the nest too long in the cold of the night. Some think that a quiet lake is more to their taste than a rapid running stream, and more conducive to the fecundity of their eggs. It is also believed by many that, under favorable circumstances, they would be very prolific.