588 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



look very superior to coloured geese. A large 

 dealer states that if other qualities are equal, 

 he would give preference to white geese. The 

 flesh is of finer quality, and lighter in colour. 

 When cleaned and dressed and cooked, the 

 Embden loses less weight in proportion than 

 the Toulouse. The marketable value of white 

 feathers is also a consideration, the value being 

 certainly 2d. or 3d. per lb. more than the 

 coloured ones, and white down is worth 2s. 6d. 

 per lb. The five first wing feathers are quills, 

 and have a certain value, though not so much 

 as formerly. For utility purposes and quick 

 fattening, however, a cross between an Embden 

 gander and a Toulouse goose is often found 

 most valuable. 



"Ganders and geese are at their best for 

 stock from two to ten years old. They live 

 to a great age — it is stated to thirty or more 

 years — but after ten years they cannot be 

 reckoned upon as reliable assets on a farm. 

 Two years old is the best age to mate them, 

 making up pens of a gander and two or 

 three geese at the New Year. It is difficult 

 sometimes to distinguish ganders from geese. 

 A practical man is, however, rarely mistaken. 

 Some say they make a different noise. The 

 size and thickness of the neck is some indica- 

 tion. You can generally distinguish the young 

 birds about Christmas time. A curious plan 

 is said to be adopted in Cambridgeshire : all 

 the geese are shut up in a shed, and a small 

 dog is put in. The geese, it is stated, will 

 lift their heads up, and go to the back of the 

 shed, while the ganders will lower and stretch 

 out their necks, hissing all the time. 



" Embdens are of a quiet, tractable dis- 

 position. As layers, they are not considered 

 so good as the Toulouse, an ordinary farm bird 

 laying about twenty to twenty-four eggs in 

 a season, the larger show birds about sixteen to 

 eighteen. Embden geese lay two sets of eggs 

 in the season. They lay in February and leave 

 off in April. The egg is larger than that of a 

 Toulouse, or of an ordinary goose, with a hard 

 white shell. Young geese, as a rule, begin 

 to lay in their first February, but it is not 

 advisable to set the eggs of young birds. A 

 prize-bred goose will lay eight to nine eggs 

 before she wants to sit, ordinary ones perhaps 

 more. It is, however, better not to let her sit 

 the first time, as she may fail to have a second 

 brood if allowed to do so. Her eggs should 

 be put under hens. A hen can cover from three 

 to six eggs according to size. Eggs should 

 be gathered each day the geese lay, and be set 

 as fresh as possible. A goose broken off the first 

 time she wants to sit will, after fourteen to 



sixteen days, begin laying again, and when she 

 has laid her second complement of eggs, can 

 be allowed to sit, as convenience admits. She 

 generally sits on about ten up to fifteen eggs. 



" The eggs take twenty-eight to thirty days 

 to hatch. They are very hard and tough, and 

 sprinkling them with water, especially if laid in 

 boxes, is a good precaution to assist the hatch- 

 ing. In all rearing, however, individuals must 

 be guided by their experience. One breeder of 

 Embdens, when he lets a goose sit, as a rule 

 leaves her entirely alone, to make her nest 

 where she likes, and allows her to hatch off" her 

 own brood. Under this arrangement, a prize 

 goose appeared on one occasion with twelve 

 splendid goslings. Many approve of this natural 

 treatment. But another breeder has tried this 

 plan of leaving the goose to nature, to find 

 invariably, when hatching, the eggs broken and 

 the goslings squashed, as if she was too heavy 

 to hatch them properly. 



" A sitting goose will come off to be fed 

 with the rest of the poultry. She carefully 

 covers her eggs with down, and straw, or what- 

 ever is available, before leaving them. She 

 will often choose a place for her nest near a 

 stack yard or where there is litter, giving 

 preference to a situation near a pond, instinct 

 telling her that the result of a good bath 

 helps to moisten the eggs. The other geese 

 will not disturb her on her nest, and the 

 gander always takes a special interest in the 

 sitting goose. 



" Embden goslings when hatched are yellow, 

 some, however, with a grey tinge on their down. 

 Observation has proved that the grey ones 

 are geese, and the bright yellow ones invariably 

 ganders. It is said that Pfannenschmidt, who 

 was a well-known merchant and connoisseur of 

 geese at Embden, also certifies this ; but this 

 theory is not accepted by all. 



" Embdens can be brought up like ordinary 

 geese, and are hardy ; but prize birds, like all 

 highly-bred exhibition stock, are more difficult 

 to rear than the ordinary ones. For goslings at 

 twenty-four hours old, little rolls of dough, 

 sometimes mi.xed with raw or boiled eggs, put 

 down their throats, form the most suitable food. 

 At about two or three days old they will be 

 able to eat meal, or whole corn, which is better 

 when soaked. As with all goslings, care must 

 be taken to avoid damp, or very hot sun, where 

 they cannot get shade. Where there are ten or 

 twelve goslings together, they can be left without 

 a hen at a week old, but where there are only 

 two or three, the hen should have charge of 

 them for two or three weeks. They can be 

 allowed as a rule to sleep out at a month old 



