POINTS OF EMBDEN GEESE. 



5S9 



March-hatched goslings are generally found to 

 be the strongest. 



" Grown-up birds hardly ever ail anything, 

 but if they do become ill they rarely recover. 

 They are sometimes seen to ' droop,' their 

 feathers looking draggled and damp. This state 

 of health is caused by cold clay soil, and a 

 change at once on to dry gravel soil, as a rule, 

 sets them right again. There is probably a 

 want of oily secretions to supply the feathers. 

 By some this appearance is said to be caused 

 by an irritating insect on the birds. Diluted 

 paraffin is said to be a cure. The defect of a 

 twisted or hanging wing in Embdens can some- 

 times be remedied by tying the wing into the 

 right position. Owing to their white plumage, 

 though not absolutely a necessity to Embden 

 geese, a pond is an advantage ; and essential 

 with show birds. Embdens can sleep out at 

 night (where there is no fear of foxes) even 

 in the severest weather. 



" The prize points of an Embden gander and 

 goose are the same. Any signs of a Toulouse 

 cross, such as a throat-gullet, breast-keel, or 

 looseness of feather, must be avoided. Judges 

 agree that these defects ought not to be allowed. 

 The contrast of the two breeds with regard 

 to type has been described as that shown 

 between a typical hunter and a Shire cart-horse. 

 It is a question whether the cross with the 

 Toulouse gave size to the Embden, or only 

 semblance of size from loose feathering. The 

 compact feathering of the true Embden often 

 deceives the eye as to actual size and weight. 

 The judges discourage Toulouse points in the 

 Embden, in order that Embdens may stand on 

 their own merits, and thus develop their own 

 good qualities. 



" At about two years old Embden geese and 

 ganders attain their full weight, and do not as 

 a rule increase very much after that. The 

 standard gives weights up to 34 lbs. for a gander 

 and 22 lbs. for a goose, and the weight of prize 

 birds should be from 24 to 34 lbs. for ganders, 

 and 20 to 26 lbs. for geese. The weight of a 

 fine Embden, in proportion to its size, is some- 

 times deceiving. A few weights which were 

 taken of young birds may roughly serve as 

 average specimens. A goose eight weeks old 

 weighing 15I lbs., by Christmas would be 22 lbs. 

 A gander at eleven weeks i6i lbs., would be by 

 Christmas 24 lbs. or more. A gander at si.xteen 

 weeks weighing 20 lbs., would probably scale 

 more than 24 lbs. by Christmas. Twenty is a 

 good average weight for birds hatched in April 

 to attain at Christmas. The following weights, 

 given by two fanciers, may be quoted as 

 examples of fine birds. A gander (in store 



condition) 26i lbs. A pair, exhibited, 55 lbs 

 The weights however, are very variable. A 

 good deal of the weight, of course, depends on 

 ' feeding,' and extra food will soon add a pcund 

 or two. Birds also lose weight quickly, even in 

 going to and from a show. Prize geese should 

 always be well fed, and very little extra food 

 will then bring them into condition for exhibition. 



" Shows under the Waterfowl Club rules 

 require geese to have a ring on one leg, to 

 show the year of hatching. They should be 

 put on at about three weeks old, as soon as the 

 gosling's feet are large enough to prevent their 

 falling off, for if forgotten at the right age, it is 

 impossible to put them on afterwards. The 

 plumage of Embdens should be spotless white 

 throughout, and condition requires hard feather- 

 ing. The description of an unsophisticated 

 visitor at a Royal Agricultural show, when look- 

 ing at a champion Embden gander, was singu- 

 larly appropriate : ' He looks as if he was 

 carved out of marble.' The bill is longer than 

 that of the Toulouse. It should be bright 

 orange, the nut at the end being paler, and the 

 nostrils and softer parts of the bill shading into 

 red. This colour becomes brighter in the spring. 

 The feet and legs should be bright orange. The 

 eye is blue, with an orange rim. The blue eye 

 is probably a form of albinism, and the brighter 

 the blue, the stronger indication of the genuine- 

 ness of the white breed. In breeds of geese 

 that vary between the white and grey, the 

 blueness of the eye is variable. Preserving, 

 therefore, the point of blue eyes is a means of 

 helping to ensure the reliability and pure white- 

 ness of the race. The twisted or curled neck 

 feathers, which are also seen in the Toulouse 

 and other European geese, is a characteristic 

 of their ancestor the Grey-lag. 



" Geese should have a good swim in a clean 

 pond the day before they are to be sent off to a 

 show, and should then be shut up for the night on 

 clean straw. They should not be frightened 

 when caught, and be handled gently by whoever 

 is accustomed to look after them. The way to 

 hold a goose is to take the neck in one hand, 

 the bird's back towards you, putting the other 

 arm right round the goose, keeping the wings 

 quite firmly down. - "The bird should be put 

 head foremost into the basket, so if the feather.s 

 are touched they are rubbed the right way. 

 The best basket is a round wicker one, covered 

 with canvas, about 30 inches high and 30 inches 

 diameter. The only drawback to exhibiting 

 geese is their weight for carriage. 



" The best proof of the value of this breed in 

 the United Kingdom is the great increase in the 

 numbers kept. In Norfolk about twenty years 



