A GUIDE FOR KEEPERS OF POULTRY 177 
the larger part of the geese which appear in the markets 
have been gathered a few at a place from the farms of 
the country. Where wild geese can be procured to cross 
ou tame geese the progeny brings a good price in the 
market, but such progeny is not fertile and the parents 
must be obtained in the regular course of breeding on the 
one side and capture on the other, as wild geese rarely 
breed in captivity, and when they do they mate in pairs. 
The common gray goose is not a very profitable bird. In 
fact, geese are not as profitable as ducks, unless markets 
are near or there is a market for young geese, which is 
close at hand. Geese are grazers and will do very well 
if they have nothing but grass and water during the 
warm months. 
Laying geese should have a little grain but should not 
be allowed to get too fat. Geese should have plenty of 
water to drink and a place in which they can bathe fre- 
quently. They require very little in the way of housing, 
a dry shed to protect them from wind and rain being 
sufficient. The floor should be bedded with straw fre- 
quently renewed. The larger breeds lay from 15 to 20 
eggs and then become broody, but if removed from their 
mates for a few days they will forget their broodiness 
and soon begin to lay again. They will lay three litters 
or clutches in a season, the last two being from 10 to 15 
each. 
Goose eggs hatch in about 30 days, sometimes a day 
or two longer. It is best to hatch them under hens, 
giving a medium-sized hen about 5 eggs and a large one 
7. Some breeders dip the eggs in water about blood- 
warm two or three days before it is time for them to 
hatch, but it is doubtful whether this is of any help to the 
hatch. \When the goslings begin to hatch the hen should 
