DUCKS AND GEESE 329 



good stock is the initial and the critical step. Exhibition 

 at a good show is the quickest way to make a reputation. 

 But the chief difficulty for a breeder with a conscience, 

 is to furnish hatchable eggs. If conditions of life on his 

 place are wholly favorable for the geese, the chief point 

 is not to try to ship eggs from stock less than two years 

 old. One who has worked up a satisfactory and grow- 

 ing trade often cannot be induced to sell eggs at all, for 

 he knows that even at fifty cents (a common price) to $1 

 each, the eggs are worth more to turn into geese. The 

 market price of a well-grown fifteen-pound goose in the 

 East will be near $2. I sold some for nearly $3 each in 

 1911. In a farm paper under date of January 21, 1911, 

 the price for live geese was fourteen cents, and for 

 dressed, up to fifteen cents. This would figure out $2. 10 

 and $2.25 for the best, alive and dressed, respectively. 



This gives reasonable ground for the poorest fancy 

 geese being priced at about $5 each, while from that 

 prices may grade up, possibly, to $50 a pair for winners in 

 large shows. This seems to me rather low, but I suppose 

 the great reason is that goose fanciers are comparatively 

 few in number and thus do not force prices higher. When 

 several hundreds of dollars sometimes change hands with 

 a single hen or cock, it seems scarcely fair to the geese 

 that the prices should be so far below this extreme. 



Just previous to this writing, I was studying the 

 hatching eggs price list of a poultry supply house in 

 New York City, for 191 1. The lowest price for " Stan- 

 dard-bred Utility " grade was $2 per thirteen (White 

 Leghorns) or $7 per hundred. In six breeds it was as 

 high as $5, and in one $6 was the price asked for thir- 

 teen eggs of this Utility grade. The lowest in " Exhi- 



