Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1874-04-15
Goose Trees.

g ..1H r GOOSe Trees. .I.t
Few of our readers are aware. prob
ably that many of our ancestors in
Great Britain thought that species of
goose was of q vegetable origin, and
grew Oh trees! But an article in the
Popular Science Monthly for March de-
monstrates this fact by quotations from
ancient authorities. There is, in Eng
land, a species of goose, called the bar
nacle-goose, and it was long believed,
not only that this goose had it's origin
in barnacle shells, but that these bar
nacles grew on trees. The Science
Monthly reproduces cut which illus
trated a scientific (?) work by Gerarde,
published in 1863, representing one of
these remarkable trees, bearing barna-
cles, from which proceed the young
barnacle-goslings, in all stages of infant
lie activity. But still more surprising
than this are quotations given in the
article from the so-called scientific
writer's Of that period. One Turner,
an ornithologist, wrote: "Nobody
has ever seen the nest or the egg of the
barnacle; nor is this marvellous, mas
much as it is without parents, and is
spontaneously generated in the follow
ing manner: When, at certain times, an
old ship, plank, or pine mast rots in
the sea, something like fungus first
breaks out thereupon, which at length
puts on the manifest form of birds.
Afterwards these are clothed in feathers
and become living and flying fowl.
Should this appear to anyone to be fab
ulOus. we might adduce the testimony
not only of the whole people who dwell
on the coast of England, Ireland, and
Scotland, but also that of the illustrious
historiographer, Gyraldus, who has writ
ten eloquently of the history of Ireland,
that barnacles are produced in no other
way. But since it is not very safe totrust
popular reports, and as was, consider
ing the singularity of the thing, rather
skeptical even with respect to the tes-
timony of Gyraldus, while was think
ing over the subject, consulted Octav-
ian, an Irish clergyman, whose strict in
tegrlty gave me the utmost conf
dence in him, as to whether he consid-
cred Gyraldus worthy to be trusted in
what he had written. This clergy then
protested himself ready to take his oath
upon the Gospels, that what Gyraldus
had recorded of the generation of this
bird was most true; for he himself had
seen with his eyes, had also handled
these half-formed birds; and he said
further, that if [ remained couple of
months longer in London, he would
have sent some to me-" But the writer
to whom we are indebted for the most
authentic information upon this inter-
esting subject is Gerarde, the father of
English botany, and the author of the
Herbal, a ponderous work of 1900
pages. He says: "What our eyes have
seen, and hands have touched, we shall
declare. There is small island in
Lancashire, called the Pile of Found
ers, wherein are found broken pieces of
old and bruised ships, some whereof
have been cast thither by ship-wreck,
and also the trunks and bodies, with
the branches, of old rotten trees, cast
up there likewise; whereon is found
acertain scum, orfroth that in time breed
tn unto shells, in shape Like those of the
mussel, but sharper pointed, and of a
whitish color, wherein is contained a
thing in form like lace of silk finely
woven, as it were, together, of whit
ish color; one end whereof is fastened
unto the inside of the shell even as the
fish of oysters and mussels are; the
other end is made fast unto the belly
of rude mass or lump, which in time
cometh to the shape and form of bird.
When it is perfectly formed the shell
gapeth wide open, and the first thing
that appeareth is the aforesaid lace or
string; next comes the legs hanging out,
and as it groweth larger it openeth the
shell by degrees, till at length it has
all come forth, and hanging only by the
bill. In short space after it cometh to
maturity, and falleth into the sea, where
it gathereth feathers, and groweth to
fowl bigger than a mallard and lesser
than a goose, having black legs, and
beak or bill, and feathers black and
white, spotted in such a manner as our
magpie, called in some places pie-annet,
which the people Of Lancashire call by
no other name than tree-goose; which
place aforesaid, and all of those places
adjoining, do so much abound there
with, that one of the best can be
bought for three-pence." We now
await with anxiety the coming of some
faithful observer, who with the ideal
love Of scientific truth, shall describe
the actual development of the oyster
man, which "his eyes have SEEM