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Show ODD BELIEF ABOUT GEESE Long Ago It Waa Universally Thought That They Originated From the Barnacle. The popular sixteenth century belief be-lief that geese originated from the barnacle was not confined to the uneducated, un-educated, but was shared even by naturalists. nat-uralists. John Gerard, In his "Iler-ball "Iler-ball (or General Historle of Plantes" (printed In London In 1597), In giving a description of this marvel, says he only telJs "what our eles have seene and hands have touched." "On the . Pile of Foulders," he goes on to say"" "are founde certalne shels. wherein Is conteined a thing in forme like a lace finely woven ; one end whereof Is fnstned unto the inclde of the shell; the other end is made fast unto a rude mass, which In time eommeth to the shape of a bird. In short space nfter it eommeth to maturltle. and falleth Into the sen, where It gnthereth fen'th-ers fen'th-ers and growerh to a foule which the people of Lancashire call by no other 4 name then a tree goose." . He goes on to testify to their abundance abun-dance by saying that the best of them could be bought for three-pence, and challenges the Incredulous to "repalre unto me and I shall sallsde them by the testlmonie of pood witnesses." The Pile of Foulders Is the small Island now known as Plel Island, near Barrow-in-Furness. |