BREEDS AND VARIETIES 



with the rest of the neck color. White feathers in 

 the primaries or secondaries must be avoided. 



The White Chinese. The knob in this variety 

 should be orange and any tendency toward yellow 

 should be avoided. The plumage should be pure 

 white throughout. Occasional young females may 

 show slate in the back but this is not serious as it 

 almost invariably disappears with the first moult. 



The Wild or Canadian. Contrary to expectation 

 this breed when domesticated is very peaceable and 

 very tame. There is often, however, a tendency for 

 them to grow uneasy when the migratory season 

 comes. To keep the birds from flying away it is 

 necessary to clip the flight feathers of one wing or 

 what is safer still to pinion the bird. Pinioning con- 

 sists of cutting off the first joint of one wing. This 

 may be done when the birds are small or may be 

 done at any time and does not seem to bother them 

 much. One of the best ways to accomplish this is 

 to break the joint and then cut it off by using a 

 chisel and hammer. Not much bleeding will result 

 but it is well to put a little iodine on the cut. These 

 birds breed very true in type and color and progress 

 in the mating simply consists of continuing to select 

 those birds for breeders which show markings in the 

 greatest excellence. In type a Canadian goose is 

 quite different from that of the other breeds men- 

 tioned. It is smaller, set much higher on legs and its 

 body is neater and trimmer, and is oblong and car- 

 ried in a horizontal position. The neck is long and 



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