258 Farm Poultry 



turbance of the flock. Corn meal may form 

 the larger portion of the daily ration for fatten- 

 ing geese. Meat scrap may enter into the ration 

 up to one -fifth of the total amount, for immature 

 fowls. 



Pate de foie gras.In. districts where the pro- 

 duction of "pate de foie gras" has developed 

 into an industry, particularly about Strasburg, 

 Germany, the geese are confined in individual 

 stalls so closely that they are compelled to re- 

 main in a sitting or standing posture. The stalls 

 are narrow, so that the birds are not even per- 

 mitted to turn around. They are removed from 

 this stall twice each day and fed, by the cram- 

 ming process, whole Indian corn that has been 

 thoroughly soaked. The corn is forced into the 

 mouth by hand and pushed into the throat by 

 the finger and is worked down the neck by rub- 

 bing externally. The geese are given plenty of 

 pure water and grit in the form of fine gravel. 

 The close confinement and abundance of corn 

 cause the livers to grow abnormally large, some- 

 times weighing as much as three pounds each. 



It is said that expert feeders will produce 

 large livers in over 80 per cent of the geese fed. 

 The livers when prepared are known commer- 

 gially as "pate de foie gras," and are esteemed 

 a great delicacy. The feeders who sell livers to 

 those who prepare them for the trade sometimes 



