GEESE. 123 



the boiling water, meal and twenty-five pounds of 

 meat scraps to the barrel. Mix till as thick as can be 

 stirred. Season with a little salt. Feed all they will 

 eat of this and give only enough water to drink. 

 Furnish gravel and put in the enclosure some rotten 

 wood. In seventeen to twenty days they will be 

 ready to slaughter. They should be in market before 

 the fourth of July. 



One source of profit from geese is the feathers, 

 which are always in demand at good prices. These 

 are obtained not only from the slaughtered birds but 

 also from the live ones. When done with discretion the 

 practice of plucking is not so cruel as it might at first 

 sight appear. Four times a year is often enough to per- 

 form this operation. Never pick when laying, nor in 

 cold weather, and pick only when the feathers are 

 ' ' ripe. ' ' This ripeness is detected by the experienced 

 eye by the dull, dead color of the plumage, and in 

 Pekin ducks by the absence of the yellowish tinge. To 

 test them pluck a few from the breast. If they come 

 easy and are dry at the quill end they are "ripe," if the 

 least bit moist or bloody do not pick any more. In 

 picking, take only a small pinch of feathers in the 

 fingers at a time, and make a quick downward jerk 

 from tail to neck. Remove only a little of the down. 

 Never remove from a live bird the cushion or bolster 

 of coarse feathers along the side, that supports the wing. 



The goslings may be picked as soon as they are 

 full feathered. An experienced geese breeder thus 

 describes his plan of making the most out of the 

 feather crop : I like my geese to hatch out about the 

 last of April. At that time I pick the ganders of the 



