POULTEY-. Ul 



Rome from the Gauls, B.C. 388. Their wild original is unknown, 

 the wild geese of the present day being of a different species. 



Of the common domestic goose there is really but one vari- 

 ety divided into several sub-varieties, marked by more or less 

 permanent distinctive characteristics of these the Toulouse 

 goose and the Bremen goose are probably the best. The for- 

 mer is gray and the latter white. The White China goose prob- 

 ably belongs to a distinct species. It is a beautiful bird, but 

 comes properly under the head of ornamental poultry, of which 

 we have little to say. It can be kept with advantage only i ;i 

 a warm climate. 



Where there are facilities for keeping them, geese are consid- 

 ered the most profitable of all our domestic birds. The chief 

 requisites for goose keeping are a pond or pool of water and a 

 pasture for grazing. 



The domestic gander is polygamous, but should not, Mormon- 

 like, be allowed an unlimited number of wives. Three is suf- 

 ficient, and some recommend to allow only two geese to each 

 gander. Comfortable and well-ventilated apartments should 

 be provided for geese, so constructed as to secure them against 

 rats, weasels, skunks, etc. A separate room for the sitting 

 goose is desirable. Her period of incubation is about thirty 

 days. Thirteen eggs are the usual number given to the goose. 

 She always covers them when absent from the nest. 



" On the first day after the goslings are hatched," Mr. Bement 

 says, "they may be let out, if the weather be warm, care being 

 taken not to let them be exposed to the unshaded heat of the 

 sun, which might kill them. The food given them is prepared 

 with some barley or Indian meal coarsely ground, bran, and 

 raspings of bread, which are still better if soaked and boiled in 

 milk, or lettuce leaves and crusts of bread boiled in milk. On 

 the second day a fresh-cut turf is placed before them, and its 

 fine blades of grass or clover are the first objects which seem 

 to tempt their appetites. A little boiled hominy and rice, with 

 bread crumbs, form their food for the first few days, fresh 

 water in a shallow vessel, which they can dabble in and out 



