Evening star., 1926-04-11

| hatch out even with the best of care
and attention.
ported setting of blue goose eggs
some years ago from which much was
| hoped. but it finally came to nothing.
In raising this goose it is essential
first to catch your egg. This is no
over night affair, as may be deduced
from the fact that the National Zoo
Park had to wait seven years to
gather one from its set of captive wild
blue geese.
AS most wild fowls are apt to be
shy, and this breed especially, the
acreage that forms the home for the
water fowl in this zoo is of especial
value. The creek has been diverted to
form a stream OF fresh. pure water.
which has in il a certain amount Of
Importance. Every few years the
place is thoroughly cleaned out and
raked over and thus disinfected.
A dense tangle and thicket Of bushes
and shrubs affords screen from the
throng of spectators so that the wild
| est feathered stranger is protected
| while nesting. However, as far as rare
eggs are concerned, the park finds 1t
safer to raise them under hens, as the
parent birds get to fighting and thus
rare eggs are smashed or lost.
Having thus captured a set Of fer
| tile eggs, Lambert's method OF caring
| for them is of interest. He dampens
them each day as he turns over each
| egg. since the shell must be softened.
He has found that the Yokohama or
Japanese" hen is especially light on
| it's feet and rarely crushes eggs or
nestlings in its care.
The Jap" Is an especially good
| mother. and In the case Of the first
| set Of wild blue geese. Lambert says
| the hen selected was the slave to her
| foster children. They plucked out her
| head feathers, led her about by the
nose generally, and when at three
weeks they took to the little concrete
pond, her horror was only too plain ae
she flew anxiously around and around
their small ocean.
| The exact time OF Incubation was
not known. but was in the neighbor-
| hood of 2S days. For the first few
days they took only kale and lettuce
and then began a diet of the weeds
and grass growing near the barn. This
included plantain and its seed. blue
grass. rarrow-leaf dock, smartweed
and. in particular, its blossom.
They refused grain such as furnished
| the other young mallards and wild
fowls that hatched at that time, nor
would they associate with these plehe-
I ians in any way.
| Their down grew from an original
yellowish green to a darker greenish
| brown. and their size increased almost
| by inches each day. When they were
| only day or SO old one OF the nest
lings was taken down to the Smith
sonian Institution to be kept as an ex-
| hibit, since none was on record. 1t
| was allowed to walk about for some
time and at once began to peck at a
green blotter. evidently under the de-
fusion that it was new form Of grass.
| The pair that remained grew up
safely and they were delightful pets,
answering calls with soft little quacks.
| Some months afterward they were
placed in the main part Of the zoo with
| the rest of the wild fowls, but the
latter resented the two strangers and
at once killed one of the little wild
blue geese.
| The survivor, Sister" was I'm.
mediately returned to the care OF
Keeper Lambert. and roams about
| with the air OF owning the place. She
| is somewhat less tame than the pair
raised last summer but the three fire.
| quently form a feathered escort to
| Dr. Mann or the other officials as far
| as the gate. and on one occasion not
long since were chased back eight
times and finally Lambert had to hold
| them to let the superintendent escape.
They all answer with loud Quacks
whenever the keeper whistles to them
and may easily be termed the pride OF
| the ZOO. If the California condor egg
proves to be fertile and Is successfully
! Matched out, q condor nesting would
| make a valuable companion to these
rt-looking gray and white exhibits
known as wild" blue geese, and their
united presence make the National
Park Zoo the envy Of all the Zoos In
l,the world.
Meantime. Officer Cooke is on duty
with a reliable truncheon, and all visit
ors are being observed with close at
! tention, for, after all, $3.50 eggs are
| not to be lightly guarded.