THE BREMEN GOOSE. 433 



day, from the nests, and placed in a basket of cotton, which 

 was kept in a moderate temperature and free from damp. 

 When all the Geese had begun to sit steadily, each was fur- 

 nished with a nest composed of chopped straw, and care was 

 taken that the nest was sufficiently capacious. The Eggs were 

 then set, and the Geese allowed to sit upon them. 



Strict atte-ntion was enjoined upon the attendant, not to 

 allow more than one of the Geese to leave her Eggs at a time. 

 As soon as one leaves the nest, she makes a cackling noise, 

 which was to be the signal for the man in attendance to go 

 and shut up the boxes in which the remainder were sitting ; 

 consequently, when the Goose returned, she found only her 

 own box open. So soou as she had entered, the whole of the 

 doors were again opened, and the same rule observed through- 

 out the period of hatching. In following this style of manage- 

 ment, every Goose was kept to its own nest. There were one 

 hundred and twenty Eggs set altogether, twelve to each of the 

 ten breeding Geese before alluded; and at the end of four 

 weeks, which is the usual period of incubation, there were 

 eighty-eight Goslings produced, all in one day, and they formed 

 a beautiful sight. 



When first hatched, the Goslings are of a very delicate and 

 tender constitution. My father's general practice, is to let 

 them remain in the box in which they were hatched for twenty- 

 four hours after they leave the shell ; but he regulates this 

 by the weather, which, if fair and warm, may tolerate the let- 

 ting the Goslings out an hour or two in the middle of the day, 

 when they may wet their little bills, and' nibble at the grass. 

 They ought not to be out in the rain at any time during the 

 first month. A very shallow pool, dug in the yard, with a 

 bucket or two of water thrown into it, to suit the temporary 

 purpose of bathing, is sufficient during the period named. 



The practice of feeding my father follows, is not to give the 

 Goslings any grain whatever, after they are four days old, until 



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