Note 54 — THE THIRD VOYAGE NORTH-WARD TO THE KINGDOMES OF CATHAIA and China, in Anno 1596.

Those geese were of a perfit red coulor,54 such as come into Holland about Weiringen,55 and euery yeere are there taken Red geese breed their yong geese under 80 degrees in Green-land. in abundance, but till this time it was neuer knowne where they [laid and] hatcht their egges; so that some men haue taken vpon them to write that they sit vpon trees56 in Scotland, that hang ouer the water, and such egges as fall from them downe into the water57 become yong geese and swimme there out of the water;58 but those that fall vpon the land burst in sunnder and are lost:59 but this is now found to be contrary, and it is not to bee wondered at that no man could tell where they breed60 their egges, for that no man that euer we knew had euer beene vnder 80 degrees, nor that land vnder 80 degrees was neuer set downe in any card,61 much lesse the red geese that breed therein.