128 THE POULTRY-BOOK. 



being wetted ; nor have they room to move about so as to keep 

 themselves warm. There should be three troughs in the pen, 

 one for dry oats, another for vegetables which ought always 

 to be cut down and a third for clean water, of which they 

 must always have a plentiful supply. It must be remembered 

 that the riper the cabbages and lettuces which they are supplied 

 with, the better. In the neighborhood of large towns, the 

 most profitable way of disposing of geese is 'in a dead state ; 

 as nearly the same sum can be obtained for them as if they 

 were alive, and then you have the feathers, which are valua- 

 ble, and may be sold to much advantage by themselves, when 

 you have collected a sufficient weight. 



Geese are kept in vast quantities in the fens of Lincoln- 

 shire, several persons there having as many as a thousand 

 breeders. They are bred for the sake of their quills and 

 feathers, as well as for their carcass ; it is therefore customary 

 to strip them partially of the fine downy feathers, and leave 

 them to grow afresh, and also to take quills from their wings, 

 both practices barbarous in the extreme, however they may 

 be attempted to be justified. Geese breed in general only 

 once a year ; but if well kept, they sometimes hatch twice a 

 season. The best method for promoting this is to feed them 

 with corn, barley, malt, fresh grains, and, as a stimulant, they 

 should get a mixture of pollard and ale. During their sitting, 

 each bird has a space allotted to it, in rows of wicker pens 

 placed one above another, and the goose-herd who has the care 

 of them drives the whole flock to water thrice a day, and, 

 bringing them back to their habitation/ places every bird 

 (without missing one) in its own nest. One^ander is gener- 

 ally put to five geese. The time of incubation varies from 

 twenty-seven to thirty days. The goose begins to lay in 

 March, but the time of the month depends upon the state of 

 the atmosphere. When goslings are first allowed to go at 



