56 w. cook's turkey, goose, and pheasant book. 



When they first came over, years ago, I saw nothing but a 

 white goose with a grey head and a grey mark upon the thighs 

 and middle of the back. The marking was quite even as 

 though they had been painted. A few years after quite 

 white geese were imported into England, but I could not 

 say they were pure, and as I have never been to Italy to see 

 how they were bred, I am obliged to go by what are 

 produced in England. 



I find many breeders have bred from coloured geese and 

 have produced many white ones, but I have an idea that 

 the Italian are not pure because they do not all breed the 

 same colour, and it would be very difficult to detect pure 

 Italian. 



For instance, very often a cross between the Embden and 

 Toulouse are exactly the same stamp and colour as the 

 Italian, only larger, while others come with grey heads and 

 just a patch on the thighs and middle of the back. This 

 makes me think Italian geese are merely a cross and cannot 

 be depended upon for breeding true. 



As geese are bred more for domestic purposes than for 

 exhibition, it matters but little even if they are not pure, as 

 long as they produce a good number of eggs and breed fine 

 healthy stock. 



I recommend those who keep Italians to use an 

 Embden or Toulouse gander, then they get a good number 

 of eggs and the goslings come to a larger size and are better 

 for market. 



Italian, or rather geese which go by that name, are not so 

 large as Embden, in fact the largest of the Italian are about 

 the size of the smallest Embden, when they are put together 



