cj^o The Illustrated Book of Poultry. 



rather than the stem. Farther up these barbs often unite agahi to form a proper stem, thus 

 presenting a variation from tlie normal type of stem precisely opposite in character to that of tlie 

 Sonnerat Jungle Fowl. 



The engraving represents a beautiful pair of Sebastopol Geese kept some years ago in the 

 gardens of the Acclimatisation Society at Paris. The third is a Gambian or Spur-winged Goose. 



The average weight of Sebastopol Geese is about ten pounds each. The first specimens were 

 imported from the Black Sea, whence the name is perfectly appropriate. They breed freely with 

 common geese, the progeny generally showing the peculiar plumage in a modified or inferior 

 degree. It is worth notice, as showing the analogous character of the plumage to that of Frizzled 

 Fowls, that in some specimens the feathers on the neck also are actually recurved, though this is 

 not usually the case. 



THE CEREOPSIS GOOSE, a native of New Holland, is a handsome bird ; but the gander 



is even worse in temper than the Egyptian, which makes it almost impossible to keep this variety 

 in company with any other water- fowl. 



JUDGING GEESE. — Our attempts to frame a scale for judging geese from the awards at 

 various shows, have produced very similar results to those in the case of ducks. With regard to 

 Birmingham and most other shows, it is practically tt'«>/^^' which decides the prizes. It is quite 

 true that Embden Geese with coloured feathers, or birds grievously out of condition, would be 

 disqualified either nominally or practically ; but there are always birds so free from such faults as 

 these, that the rule practically holds good. And at other shows, where the scales are not employed, 

 but general appearance, symmetry, &c., are taken into consideration, still no rules can be given, 

 but the awards must be left to the " general impression " formed by an intelligent judge. Tlie 

 competition is not enough for reliable scales to be formed, and we have throughout this work 

 stedfastly refused to present any tables which should give simply our own views, empirical as 

 these or any other "views" must necessarily be. We will only state that comparison of the 

 awards at all the Crystal Palace Shows, at which the competition has been the keenest of any 

 where geese are thus judged as a whole, proves that size (measured by the eye) on the one hand, 

 and the points of colour, plumage, symmetiy, and condition taken together on the other, are given 

 as nearly as possible equal weight in judging ; from other shows we have found it quite impossibl-e 

 to obtain any reliable average ; but the above may probably be taken as a rule embodying as much 

 of accuracy as the case is capable of. In judging " fancy " geese, it is impossible to give any rule 

 at all, cases where these are shown being so comparatively rare. 



