to ascertain. They were seen by Hearne in large flocks within the arctic circle, and were then pursuing their way still farther north. They have been seen also on the dreary coast of Spitsbergen, feeding on the water's edge.

It is highly probable that they extend their migrations under the very pole itself, amid the silent desolation of unknown countries, shut out from the eye of man by everlasting barriers of ice. That such places abound with suitable food we cannot for a moment doubt.

The flight of the Wild Geese is heavy and laborious, generally in a straight line or in two lines approximating to a point. In both cases, the van is led by an old gander, who every now and then pipes his well known houk, as if to ask how they come on; and the houk of "all's well" is generally returned by some of the party. When bewilder

ed in foggy weather, they appear sometimes to be in great distress, flying about in an irregular manner, making a great clamour. On these occasions, should they alight on the earth, as they sometimes do, they meet with speedy death and destruction. The autumnal flight lasts from the middle of August to the middle of October; the vernal flight from the middle of April to the middle of May.

hail

every

Wounded Geese have frequently been domesticated, and readily pair with tame geese. On the approach of spring, however, they discover symptoms of great uneasiness, frequently looking up in the air and attempting to go off. Some, whose wings have been closely cut, have travelled on foot in a northerly direction, and have been found at the distance of several miles from home. They flock that passes overhead, and the salute is sure to be returned by the voyagers, who are only prevented from alighting among them, by the presence and habitations of man. The gunners sometimes take one or two of these domesticated Geese with them to those places over which the wild ones are accustomed to fly; and concealing themselves, wait for a flight, which is no sooner perceived by the decoy Geese, than they begin calling aloud, until the flock approaches so near, that the gunners are enabled to make great havoc among them with their musket shot.

The English at Hudson's Bay depend greatly on Geese, and in favourable seasons kill three or four thousand, and barrel them up for use. They send out their servants as well as Indians to kill them on their passage. They mimic the cackle of the Geese so well, that many of them are allured to the spot where they are concealed, and are thus easily shot. When in good order, the Wild Goose weighs from ten to fourteen pounds, and is estimated to yield half a pound of feathers. It is domesticated in numerous quar

ters of the country, and is remarked for being extremely watchful, and more sensible of approaching changes in the atmosphere than the common Gray Goose. In England, France, and Germany, they have been long ago domesticated.

Mr. Platt, a respectable farmer on Long Island, being out shooting in one of the bays which in that part of the country abound in water-fowl, wounded a Wild Goose. Being unable to fly, he caught it, and brought it home alive. It proved to be a female, and turning it into his yard with a flock of tame Geese it soon became quite familiar, and in a little time its wounded wing entirely healed. In the following spring, when the Wild Geese migrate to the northward, a flock passed over Mr. Platt's barn-yard, and just at that moment, their leader, happening to sound his bugle note, our Goose, in whom its new habits and enjoyments had not quite extinguished the love of liberty, and remembering the well-known sound, spread its wings, mounted into the air, joined the travellers, and soon disappeared. In the succeeding autumn, the Wild Geese, as usual, returned from the northward, in great numbers, to pass the winter in our bays and rivers. Mr. Platt happened to be standing in his yard, when a flock passed directly over his barn. At that instant, he observed three Geese detach themselves from the rest, and after wheeling round several times, alight in the middle of the yard. Imagine his surprise and pleasure, when, by certain well remembered signs, he recognised in one of the three his long lost fugitive. It was she indeed! She had travelled many hundred miles to the lakes; had there hatched and reared her offspring; and had now returned with her little family, to share with them the sweets of civilized life. The birds were all living, and in Mr. Platt's possession, a year ago, and had shown no disposition whatever to leave him.-Wilson. ·

Is the most easily reared of all our domestic animals. The WILD DUCK, OF MALLARD, differs, in many respects, from the tame; and in them there is a still greater variety than among the domestic kinds.

The most obvious distinction between wild and tame Ducks is in the colour of their feet; those of the tame Duck being black; those of the wild Duck yellow. The difference between wild Ducks among each other, arises as well from their size, as the nature of the place they feed in. Sea Ducks, which feed in the salt water, and dive much, have a broad bill, bending upwards, a large hind toe, and a long blunt tail. Pond Ducks, which feed in plashes, have a straight and narrow bill, a small hind toe, and a sharp-pointed train. The former are called in England by the decoy-men foreign Ducks; the latter are supposed to be natives of England. In this tribe, we may rank, as natives of Europe, the EIDER DUCK, which is double the size of a common Duck, with a black bill; the VELVET DUCK, not so large, and with a yellow bill; the SCOTER DUCK, or BLACK DIVER, with a knob at the base of a yellow bill; the TUFTED DUCK, adorned with a thick crest; the SCAUP DUCK, less than the common Duck, with the bill of a grayish blue colour; the GOLDEN EYE, with a large white spot at the corners of the mouth, re

sembling an eye; the SHELDRAKE, with the bill of a bright red, and swelling into a knob; the MALLARD, which is the stock whence the tame breed has probably been produced; the SHOVELLER, which has a bill three inches long, and remarkably broad at the end; the PINTAIL, with the two middle feathers of the tail three inches longer than the rest; the POCHARD, with the head and neck of a bright bay; the LONG-TAILED Duck, the general colour of whose plumage is deep chocolate, and the outer feathers of the tail, which are white, four inches longer than the rest; the WIDGEON, and lastly, the TEAL. Of these we shall describe more particularly the Eider Duck, the Widgeon, and the Teal.

Has a black cylindrical bill, and the feathers of the forehead and cheeks advance far into the base. In the male, the feathers of part of the head, the lower part of the breast, the belly, and the tail, are black, as are also the quill feathers of the wings; and nearly all the rest of the body is white. The legs are green. The female is of a reddish brown, variously marked with black and dusky streaks. It is principally found in the western isles of Scotland, on the coasts of Norway, Iceland, and Greenland, and in many parts of North America.