FARM ANIMALS 



377 



FIG. 229. Toulouse 

 Geese. 



are good layers and usually are good sitters. Quiet and 



peaceable, they bear confinement well. The Toulouse 



is gray in color and has a loose fold 



of skin in aged fowls that makes a 



pouch which hangs down between the 



legs almost touching the ground. 

 Embden. The Embden geese are 



pure white, resembling the Toulouse 



in form, but have no pouch. They 



lay fewer eggs, but are better sitters. 



The goslings develop early and in 10 



weeks may be fattened to from 8 to 



10 pounds weight. 

 The Africans are especially good 



as table fowls. Their flesh is not so 



coarse as that of other geese. They 



are good layers and the 

 young grow very rapidly. 

 Chinese. Geese of this 

 class may be considered as 

 the "Ban- 

 tams" of the 

 goose family, 

 for they are 

 much smaller 

 than other 

 breeds. They 



are not a profitable goose on the farm. 

 Turkeys. America is the natural home 



of the turkey. Our domesticated varieties 



have sprung from the wild turkey and still 



retain many of the characteristics of their 



wild progenitors. The wild turkey is 



FIG. 230. Embden Geese. 



