322 THE BEGINNER IN POULTRY 



production. The goose produces through such an ex- 

 tended period that one can afford to have her take more 

 time to become well matured, but if one would be sure 

 of the training of his geese he must raise them from the 

 egg under his own supervision. 



It is not possible to buy geese in the spring, in many 

 localities. Winter market prices are high and winter 

 feed more expensive than summer feed, while production 

 is limited. This means that all that are for sale will be 

 sold in early autumn, if possible, although as breeders 

 they cannot be sold until the sex shows itself and they 

 are matured. The expert will ascertain the sex by 

 physical examination, using a hand magnifier. 



Since the goose is a cheap fowl to keep, it is better 

 for those who contemplate what may be called " goose 

 farming " to buy either the big Toulouse or the Embden. 

 By goose farming I mean raising geese chiefly for mar- 

 ket in rather large numbers. I have before me the 

 figures from a goose farm in Ireland consisting of twenty 

 well-watered acres on which thirty geese were kept, 

 from which the gross income was nearly two thousand 

 dollars. Some eggs from this farm were sold for hatch- 

 ing ; but inasmuch as the income would have been 

 larger had they been turned into geese at home, this need 

 not count against the figures. The average output of 

 eggs from this farm, which carried four varieties, was 

 about forty-one per goose. This is higher than the 

 general average, although the Chinese geese may lay as 

 high as sixty and in rarer cases seventy or above. Tou- 

 louse and Embden geese on the average probably lay 

 somewhere near twenty to twenty-five under common 

 handling. As all signs fail in a dry time, so all prophe- 



