284 Agricultural Gazette of N.S. IF. \_Aprll. 'Z, \\M^, 



'Tin Kiiihili II has wliitc |]luiii,ii;(', tlcsli-cohjiire'l liill, "range sliaiiks, a siiuai'c, deep-set 

 body, and a tall, upstanding carriage. The average weight tor an adult gander is '20 Ih., 

 and for a goose 18 ih., Imt niiicli greater weights are attained. 



The. Toitloii.si' is of a dark grey eoloiii- on the upper jjurt and a lighter shadi^ on the 

 breast, which gradually merges into the white of the under jiarl ; the bill is of a red 

 flesh colour, and the legs orange-red ; the body is full and compact, with a convex back.. 

 The weight is geiici'ally greater than that of the iMiibdi'ii. 



Breeding. 



Geese will <(iiitiiuu' ti) ]Modnce eggs profitably until an ailvanced age, and several 

 geese which are now 19 years old have averaged Hfty-live eggs ea(di per year duiing the 

 last five years. Foi- hatching purposes tiie eggs of ni;tture birds are much inoi-e relialde 

 than those of young stock ; the risk of intertility is reduced, and the vigour and 

 hardiness of the goslings increased. Rearing, therefore, being easier, the profit is more 

 assured. Tlio breeding-pen shoidd consist of a gander and two or three geese ; the geese 

 will commence to lay in February, or not later than early March, j)roduciug (if not 

 permitted to sit) an average of from fifty to sixty eggs in a season. .\n ordinary hen will 

 cover foui' or rive goose eggs, ten being a suitable number for a goose ; the period of 

 incubation is thirty days. The stock birds may be housed in a roomy shed, well littered 

 and having a wire-netted open fiont ; w hen the laying season approaches, a rough iie.'-t- 

 shoulil be made in a convenient place, and provided with an ordinary nest egg. if this 

 is not done, the eggs may be dropped near the water to which it is necessary that the 

 geese sliould have access, not only for swimming, but also to ensure fertility in the eggs. 

 8tock l)irds should usually have a small allowance of soft food in the early morning, and 

 a little corn when the\' retuin from the (ields at night. 



Rearing and Fattening. 



When hatched, the goslings should be cooped out with the hens that ha\e hatched 

 them, in the same manner as chickens, and during the Hrst week o!' two they shouhl be 

 fed frecjuently. For the first few days tlu^}' may be fed on biscuit-meal, cr soaked bread, 

 mixed with a good projiortion of well-chopped dandelion leaves. This may be changed to> 

 Sussex ground oats and boiled rice at the third or fourth day. By the end of the first 

 week they will have made considerable progress as grazers, and their rations will conse- 

 quently not require increasing in the same proportion as those of other growing stock. 

 By about the tenth day they will be able to do without any brooding, and the hens may 

 be turned out and brought into condition foi' laying again. On a suitable grass range 

 they will then make lapid progress with a comjjaratively small allowance of bought food. 



Earli/ Mai-kefinij. — When goslings are reared for early marketing, their grass range 

 should not be too extended, ami they should not be allowed to enter swimming water ; 

 in addition to the grass, the food should consist of two moderate meals daily of a soft 

 mixture, in the making of which barley-meal, nnddlings, and a small proportion of 

 brewers' gi-ains may be used. (Joslings thus treated shoidd be in good killing rondition 

 before they are three months old. 



Au/ionii M(irk(tin(/. — Goslings ii'tended for the autumn market should be run free 

 during the earlier months, or may, during part of the time, be folded on turnips, being more 

 closely confined for the last month before killing, and fed on meal and brewers' grains. 



Mdrbfimj in Winter. — When kept for winter fattening, goslings should, from the time 

 they arc feathere<l, be allowed the same liberty and be treated in the same manner as 

 old birds, being contiiicd to a roomy, open-fronted shed for a month or live weeks before 

 killing, and allowed two full mtals daily. The meals should consist of soft food in the 

 morning and corn in the afternoon the grain being fed in the water troughs with a good 

 supply of grit. It is also necessary to keep the fattening birds w^ell supplied with green 

 food during the jierifjd of their confinement. 



'i'lir best fatted geese of late year.s at the Cliri.stiiias market in j^ondon fetch 

 but fid. or 7d. pf-r lb. deadweight, wliile be.st full-grown live goslings realise 

 but Is. (id. to ')s. (id. each. 



Geese, likf (hicks, have few ailnicnts. and witli ordinai-v care keoji in ^(>0(l 

 healtli. 'I'he hot sun affects the goslings as it does ducklings, and sometimes 

 they get leg weakness. In America of late, on some big goose-breeding: 

 establishments, a terrible disease, termed o(„,se cholera, broke out, causing 

 great mortality. JMirtunatcly, unlike the turkey disea.se, it has not reached 

 Australia, and as tlieiv! are no pro.spects of imports from that country, we 

 may be happy in tlie thought that of the few handicaps to profitable goose- 

 breeding, disease is not one of tlicin. 



