DUCKS AND GEESE 



occasionally until they are thoroughly dried out, 

 when they can be sacked and sold. Failure to dry 

 the feathers thoroughly will result in their heating 

 and molding with the result that they will arrive 

 at their destination in bad shape and will be worth 

 less money. The soft body feathers of geese are 

 practically all used in making beds and pillows 

 while the quills are sometimes utilized in making 

 toothpicks and cigarette holders. Prices for goose 

 feathers in June 1921 were as follows: 



Pure White dry picked 75c per lb. 



Good average white " " 65c " " 



Largely gray « " 55c " " 



Largely gray scalded 40c " " 



Long goose quills 5c " " 



These prices were for good dry feathers. 



Plucking Live Geese for their Feathers 



In the days of feather beds and home-made pil- 

 lows the practice of plucking live geese for their 

 feathers was very common. Now, however, with 

 the demand for goose feathers less and with the 

 opinion of some breeders that plucking geese is both 

 cruel and injurious, the practice seems to be de- 

 creasing. Many goose raisers in the South and a 

 less number in the Middle West and North however 

 still pluck the feathers from the live geese prior to 

 the time of moulting. The frequency with which 

 the picking is done varies greatly, some picking as 

 often as every six weeks during the spring, summer 



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