242 



THE AMERICAN POULTERER'S COMPANION. 



term it, the goose is a popular dish on the table 

 of those who can afford it. 



How is it, then, that the goose is not more 

 popular with poultry-fanciers ? It can only be 

 accounted for by the fact, for fact it is, by rea- 

 son of its not being in every one's power to 

 keep them. 



The chief requisites for goose-keeping are a 

 pool of water and a pasture for grazing. The 

 latter is essential, as the bird is graminivorous 

 as well as granivorous. An occasional cabbage- 

 leaf will form an acceptable variety of food ; 

 and during the winter any spare garden-stuff 

 will help to supply the deficiencies of the pas- 

 ture. If fed high, some varieties of geese will 

 often lay in autumn, but the advantage of a 

 brood of goslings in November is questionable. 



" All men," says Markham, an ancient writer, 

 "must understand that, except he have either 

 pond or stream, he can never keep geese well." 

 Yet if we are to believe M. Parmentier, the vi- 

 cinity of rivers and ponds is not absolutely nec- 

 essary to the most successful rearing of geese ; 

 for in districts destitute of these advantages, a 

 small reservoir, where they can bathe, will be 

 quite sufficient. 



Columella advises to pasture geese in marshy 

 or moist grounds, and to sow for them vitches 

 or tares, clover, mellilot, and fenugreek, but 

 more particularly chicory and lettuce, of which, 

 he says, they are very fond. 



" Grass," says Markham, " they must neces- 

 sarily have, and the worst and that which is 

 most useless is the best, as that which is moor- 

 ish and unsavory for cattle." 



In allowing geese to range at large, it is req- 

 uisite to be aware that they are very destruc- 

 tive to all garden and farm crops as well as to 

 young trees, and must, therefore, be carefully 

 excluded from orchards and cultivated fields. 

 It is usual to prevent them getting through the 

 gaps in fences by hanging a stick or "yoke" 

 across their breasts. 



They are accused by some of poisoning the 

 grass, and of rendering the spots where they 

 feed offensive to other stock ; but the secret of 

 this is very simple. A horse bites closer than 

 an ox, a sheep goes nearer to the ground than 

 a horse; but after the sharpest shaving by sheep, 



the goose will polish up the turf, and grow fat 

 upon the remnants of others. Consequently, 

 where geese are kept in great numbers on a 

 small area, little will be left to maintain any 

 other grass-eating creature. But if the com- 

 mons are not short, it will not be found that 

 other grazing animals object to feed either to- 

 gether with, or immediately after, a flock of 

 geese. 



Although water be the natural element of 

 geese, yet it is a curious fact, that they feed 

 much faster in situations remote from rivers or 

 ponds. They should not be allowed to run at 

 large when they are fattening, as they do not 

 acquire flesh nearly so fast when allowed to take 

 much exercise. 



The domestic gander is polygamous, but he 

 is not an indiscriminate libertine ; he will rare- 

 ly couple with females of any other species. 

 Hybrid common geese are almost always pro- 

 duced by the union of a wild gander with a do- 

 mestic goose. Three, or, at the very utmost, 

 four geese, are as many as we should place with 

 one gander ; if the latter, indeed, were a young 

 bird in his second or third year only, it would 

 be prudent still farther to diminish the number. 

 But the older the stock-birds, the better the 

 chances of success; for the eggs of a young 

 goose, in her second year of existence, produce 

 but few goslings, and these, as might be antici- 

 pated, are often delicate in rearing. 



Two geese we consider sufficient for one gan- 

 der, and it is generally admitted that more gos- 

 lings are produced from such a proportion of 

 the sexes than if more are kept with one gan- 

 der. Many experienced breeders will, perhaps, 

 differ from this opinion, but we would rather 

 err with the smaller number than hazard the 

 risk of unfertilized eggs. If we admit the prob- 

 ability of descent from the Gray-legged goose 

 a strictly monogamous bird the produce of 

 such limitation must be apparent. Occasion- 

 ally, as happens with other poultry, an aversion 

 will be shown by the gander to one or other of 

 the geese placed with him ; this dislike, from 

 whatever cause proceeding, is usually perma- 

 nent, and the rejected one should therefore be 

 at once removed. 



It was ascertained by St. Genis of France. 



