THE BRENT GOOSE. This is a small species, twenty-one inches long, common in a wild state, in both Europe and America. On our coast, it is a favorite game-bird, and known by the name of _Brant_. It is easily tamed, and is said to have produced young in captivity, though no details have been furnished. This and the Sandwich Island goose are the smallest of their tribe yet introduced to our aquatic aviaries. Their almost uniform color of leaden black, and their compactness of form, make them a striking feature in the scene, though they cannot be compared in beauty with many other waterfowl. There is so little difference in the sexes that it is not easy to distinguish them. Their chief merit rests in their fondness for water-weeds, in which respect they appear to be second only to the swan. They are quiet, gentle and harmless in captivity. Some praise their flesh, while others pronounce it fishy, strong, and oily; they may, however, be converted into tolerable meat by being skinned and baked in a pie. THE CHINA GOOSE. [Illustration: CHINA OR HONG KONG GOOSE.] 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. 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.