Compare the feathers of land-fowls and water-fowls. Probably one or more of our Junior Naturalists will have a goose for his Thanksgiving dinner. If so, I wish that the wing feathers might be brought to school. See whether you can find out why the wing feathers of a goose were preferred for making quill pens. Make a pen if you can and write a letter to Uncle John with it. The five outer wing feathers are most useful for writing, and of these the second and third are best. Why? Do you think that the Declaration of Independence was signed with a quill pen? Do goose quills make good holders for artists' brushes? [Illustration: _Fig. 334. A happy family._] What kind of food do geese like best? Is the tongue of a goose similar to that of a turkey or chicken? Is the old gander as cross as the turkey gobbler? Have you ever seen a flock of wild geese flying northward or southward? Which way are they going in the fall? Observe that nearly always they keep their V-shaped ranks unbroken. There is, of course, a leader whose call the flock follows. Whether the leader is some chosen member of the number or whether he takes his position by chance I do not know. What time of day do the wild geese fly? Do you like to hear them honking as they go on their way? I wish you would find out whether our farmyard geese are only these common wild geese tamed. CHICKENS AND DUCKS; AND THE STORY OF TWO MOTHER HENS. One mother hen had her own brood of fluffy little chicks (Fig. 334). When they were old enough they scratched for worms and ate gravel as obediently as any one could desire. How happy they were underneath the hemlocks in the long afternoons! [Illustration: _Fig. 335. Mother hen and baby ducks._] The other mother hen had to take care of ducks (Fig. 335). Pretty as any chicks they were, but troublesome as only little ducks can be with a nervous old hen for their adopted mother. The family in the picture looks very contented. Do you suppose that the photographer told them to look pleasant? When we come to know ducks and chickens better, we shall learn why the little ducks are often such a trial to the hen mother. It may be that when we ask boys and girls to study chickens and ducks they will say that there is nothing new to learn about them. I am not so sure. The freckled-faced boy thought he knew all about them, too. Let us see whether we can suggest some new things to think about, as you look over the fence into the poultry yard, or watch the cook preparing a hen or duck for the Thanksgiving dinner.