CHAPTER XIV. 

 GEESE. 



It is a silly goose that comes to a fox's sermon. 

 The goose that has a good gander cackles loudly. 



Danish Proverb. 



In some places on the European continent goose 

 culture is quite an industry with the peasants, who 

 fatten them in large numbers, making it profitable. 

 Farmers who have rough, marshy land may, with a 

 little extra expense and labor, add to their incomes by 

 stocking it with geese. 



Our domestic goose has descended, it is said, from 

 the wild greylag goose of Northern Europe. The 

 common gray and white geese of the American farm- 

 yard need no description, since they are well known 

 everywhere. The Toulouse, a large, gray variety, has 

 come to us by way of England. Their shape and color 

 are seen in the foreground of colored Plate XVI. The 

 difference of the sexes may be plainly seen by observ- 

 ing the head and neck of each bird. The gander has 

 a larger head and thicker neck than the goose. But 

 it will be noted that the abdomen of the latter is 

 heavier and closer to the ground. The standard 

 weight for adult Toulouse is forty pounds per pair. 

 They sometimes attain greater weights than this, but 

 not until three or more years of age. 



There is a large, white, pure-bred variety called the 

 Embden or Bremen, so named from two towns in 

 Hanover, in northeastern Germany, where they are 



