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.