The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-02-11
MEN, WOMEN
 AND THINGS

Beneath their northWard flight
 John Burroughs, the nature lover has put in. this verse what many of us have felt. How their mellow honk. honk thrills one when the birds pass like ships in the night Such big, strong, rapid flyers have little to fear in travelling by daylight, too, but gun ners have taught them the wisdom of keeping up so high that they look like mere specks.
 l November fields are brown below,
 the tatterea clouds are gray,
 A stream of sunlight rifting, as #
 affrighted fails;
 From high above, a leader calls,
 that thrills the heart this day,
 A wild goose W. unequal armed,
 across the wild sky trails"
 1
 Usually geese travel in a wedge shaped flock, headed by some old ex- perienced leader, and in spite of their height. which never seems as great as it actually is because of the gooses large size, one can distinctly hear the honk of the temporary captain, an swered in clearer, deper tones, as the birds pass above, by the rear guards men in the long array that moves with 1 impressive unison, gliding along with measured wing beats. sending a thrill through every one who is capable of being stirred by the sights and the sounds of the wild
 The old veteran knows his way on his thousand or more mile journey by the looks of the country. If fog or storm hides the earth from his view. he is likely to become confused and the flock will drop to the ground with many distressful cries. The journey is made with stops for rest and refresh ment, usually in secluded ponds or lakes. The food of wild geese consists | of water-plants, seeds and corn, and | some small animals living in water. The geese nest far in the north and only spend their winters in the south
 Geese spend much more time on land than ducks do, You may not be able to study the habits of the wild 1 whirling ones overhead, but you can 1 enjoy them and get an inspiration to know more about their migrations Only a short while ago all the boys on Forest Hill were tremendously agitat- ed because they had heard the honking and seen the flying wedges as they passed over Red Mountain going southward. By studying the common yard goose it is possible to learn much of the ways of it's wild relations.
 Canada geese that have been wound ed by sportsmen in the fall, can be kept on a farm perfectly contented all winter; but when the honking flocks return from the south in March or April, they rarely resist "the call of the wild' and away they go toward their kin and freedom. Personally I have never known but one instance of one of the Canada geese becoming domesticated and that was on a farm near the beautiful Wautauga. It was lit to feed on an island out in the river near his home.
 l saw it stated by reputable au- thority on the domestication of wild birds that the Canada goose is easily reared in captivity. and is easily tanned, even more readily than ducks. MT. w. J. Wheaton, on Chincoteague Is- land, Virginia, has raised Canada geese | fAr accounts reported by him about ten years ago credited him with having four hundred and fifty birds. About seventy-five pairs breed and he raised from them annually from two hundred to three hundred young birds. Some of these birds were over fifty years of age and have come back after spring to nest for nearly half century.
 Now, this last statement would have staggered me had I not read in other bird books about the age to which geese live. A. B. Comstock, in. The Pet Book, says: There are recorded instances of geese having reached the age of twoscore years and ten, and oHG dulHenllC instance IS gwen or ( goose which was the property of one family for 101 years. do, however ask any one who tells this to be sure and not give me as their authority. Ii 7 is hard enough to swallow the tale oi a centenarian goose, but when it is added that it did not die natura death but was kicked by horse ii almost passes beyond belief. Breeders however. know that the goose is long lived, it often being profitably kept until twenty-five years old. The books record some other long lived geese but I think the ones cited are enough tc produce incredulity.
 I have spoken here about the Canads geese for several reasons. They are the !, are rapidly domesticated. Then the birc is a superb creature brown above ant } gray underneath, with head, neck, tail bill and feet of black and as if to em, phasize this black ornamentation there l is a white crescent shaped bib" ex, tending from just back of the eyes un- . derneath the head. I have before m, the picture of one in colors and believe me he is some bird"
 I hate to destroy any old saying, fol 7, | this is a day of the iconoclast ane yet having written so much into thi, story about the magic in their honk.