THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 221 



time given to the geese to drink, and must always be 

 left near them, as the cramming renders them very 

 thirsty. A woman who is dexterous will cram ten 

 geese in an hour. In less than a month, a goose may, 

 in this way, be fattened to an enormous bulk. 



In Belgium, a lean goose is confined in a small coop 

 made of fir, narrow enough to prevent it from turning, 

 while there is a place behind for passing the dung, and 

 another in front to let out the head. Water is supplied 

 in a trough in front, having some bits of charcoal in it 

 to sweeten it. A bushel of maize is considered enough 

 of food for a month. It is soaked in water the day 

 before it is used ; and the goose is crammed morning 

 and evening, while it is allowed, during the day, to eat 

 and drink as much as it chooses. About the twenty- 

 second day, a quantity of poppy oil is mixed with the 

 maize. In a month, it is seized with difficulty of 

 breathing, and a lump of fat under each wing indicates 

 that it is time to kill it, lest it should bechoaked with 

 fat, and die. 



By this process, the liver of the goose is increased so 

 much, that it will weigh from one to two pounds, and 

 will besides yield about three ounces of fat, which 

 is much employed in French cookery for dressing 

 legumes, &c. 



Among six geese, the fatteners commonly succeed 

 with no more than four, and these generally the young- 

 est. The Romans, who were fond of enlarged goose 

 livers, were very careful to keep them quiet and in the 

 dark. In some places on the continent, they nailed 

 their feet to a board, burnt out their eyes with a hot 

 iron, and kept them before a large fire, allowing them, 

 however, as much water as they chose to drink ; but 

 these barbarous practices are now seldom resorted to. 



M. Yiele, of France, found, by experiment, that 

 geese fattened without cramming, cannot be brought 

 to weigh above 12 or 13 Ibs., while by cramming, they 

 can be made to weigh at least a third more. 



