GETTING A START WITH GEESE. 37 



and hard to fatten, also to pick, but they are the earliest and most profitable layers and pro- 

 ducers of all. Their pure bred goslings are the least favored by fatteners and marketmen of all 

 varieties." 



Mr. Geo. H. Pollard, comparing the breeds of geese, says:—" There has been con6lderal)le 

 question as to which is the best breed for general purposes. The three breeds which have the 

 strongest following are the Toulouse, African, and Embden. Each of these has its special 

 virtues. The Toulouse is the largest of the three, and produces a very strong and quick grow- 

 ing gosling. Owing to its great size, however, it is longer in reaching maturity, and when fully 

 matured is too large to suit the best trade in the New England market. The female produces a 

 fair number of eggs, and, on the whole, the breed is easily managed and is profitable. 



" The African is a smaller bird, is darker in plumage, and enjoys the distinction of being the 

 hardest to dress of any of the breeds. The female is the best layer of the three breeds men- 

 tioned. The eggs are of a fair size, and under proper treatment are generally well fertilized. 

 The young are strong and hardy, and grow quickly to a size which is well suited to the market 

 demand. The principal olijection to the young of this variety comes from the fact that they 

 are at most stages liberally covered with colored pinfeathers and down, which serve to mar 

 the value of the carcass for high class family trade. 



" The Embden unites the good qualities of the Toulouse and the African, while it is without 

 their failings. The mature liirds are a beautiful clear white, with flesh colored bills and legs. 

 They are of medium size and weight. The females are good layers. The young are strong and 

 quick growers, and l)eing without dark pinfeathers and down, they dress clean and white at 

 any age. The carcass Is more tempting and sells more quickly to fastidious consumers. The 

 quality of the flesh is about the same in all three. Probably no one could detect any difference 

 in either tenderness or flavor. The Embden or Toulouse are more tractable and easy to man- 

 age than the African, which is the most pugnacious of the three breeds." 



From these opinions, which, though not strictly agreeing are not radically different, the 

 reader may judge something of what breed will be most satisfactory to him. Messrs. Cushman 

 and Pollard are, of course, considering the three breeds as producers of goslings to be sold at 

 periods of high prices or to an exacting trade. The reader who wishes to produce for himself, 

 or for a local market, and does not intend to go into geese extensively, may find faults that 

 were serious from their point of view of little importance from his. Mr. Cushman advocated 

 very strongly the use of crossbred goslings for market. It should be said, however, that, the 

 experiments made with crosses took account of too small numbers, to give force to the general 

 conclusions drawn from them, and that very few goose growers have done anything system- 

 atically in this line except those engaged in the production of the "mongrel" geese. In the 

 goose growing sections of Rhode Island where geese are bred for market more extensively than 

 anywhere else in this country, the geese used are generally grades produced by various mix- 

 tures of the blood of the three improved breeds we have under consideration with the old com- 

 mon goose. The goslings from this stock, while not equal to the best of the pure breeds or 

 their direct crosses, grow rapidly to a good size and seem to suit the requirements of the trade. 



Getting a Start With Qeese. 



If one wishes to grow more than a few goslings year after year the best plan is to begin with 

 adult birds three years old or over. Geese do not come to full maturity until about three years 

 of age, and rarely give at all satisfactory results until two years old. The young geese will lay 

 and some of the eggs may hatch, but the goslings are apt to be weakly and not thrifty. 



Good stock of any of the improved breeds usually costs f 3 to $5 per bird. It is better to 

 purchase some months in advance of the breeding season, as the geese will not breed well it 

 moved just prior to the laying period. If stock has not been purchased early It is usually 

 better either to let the matter go over for another season, or to buy eggs. In any case one 

 must expect it to take several seasons to get a flock of geese established in new quarters, 

 and breeding satisfactorily, for good breeders of mature age are not often offered for sale, and 

 the young geese require two years, and sometimes more, before they produce well. Once 

 established, however, a flock of breeding geese can be kept unchanged for quite a long period. 

 The females are said to be profitable up to ten or twelve years of age, and males to a little more 

 than half those ages, say, six or seven years. 



