CHAPTER VIII 



APRIL 



TF only for the feathers, a few geese should be 

 -*- kept. Lots of pillows are such a comfort, 

 and a well-fed, well-cooked goose is a wel- 

 come change in midwinter. Moreover, green 

 geese (birds under ten months old) are always 

 in demand during the holiday season, being 

 as universally used by the Germans for 

 Christmas fare as are turkeys by Americans. 

 My first essay at goose rearing was made 

 with five eggs, bought for five cents apiece 

 from a Swede who was ploughing for us. 

 An old Brahma hen was intrusted to incu- 

 bate them, and faithfully performed the duty 

 until I lifted her off the nest on the thirtieth 

 day, to find only three eggs. The others, 

 evidently, had been broken or stolen. Of 

 those remaining, two were unmistakably bad ; 



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