64 W. cook's turkey, goose, 4ND PHEASANT BOOK. 



I will give my reasons why the Chinese or Italian geese 

 are the best to use for crossing. To begin with both varieties 

 are splendid layers, especially the Chinese, and these also 

 lay later in the season, so that more young geese can be 

 hatched. This is a very important feature. Ifthey are crossed 

 the other way, viz., with a Chinese or Italian gander, I 

 should recommend Toulouse geese in preference to Embden. 



Some people may ask the question, " Why cross geese at 

 all, as they are very hardy in their pure state ? " 



Why I recommend crossing geese occasionally is, because 

 it often comes cheaper to buy in a stock for crossing. 

 Then again they mature quickly and are ready for the table 

 at an earlier age, and the eggs are more fertile. Not only 

 that, the goslings hatch out better when there is entirely 

 fresh blood. 



When the young ones are not hatching out well it is 

 always better to get another gander. 



The eggs from young geese are not quite so fertile as 

 from birds over a year old ; at the same time it is better for 

 people to start with young geese, then they know the age of 

 them, but if they start with old ones they cannot tell 

 whether they are two years old or twenty. 



When a person has a nice piece of cheap land for their 

 geese to run over, there is a great deal of profit obtained 

 from rearing geese for the markets. 



Goose eggs take 27 or 28 days to hatch out, but it is 

 always better to test them after they have been sat upon 

 eight or ten days. 



This'should be done with a lamp or candle. If they are 

 unfertile they are quite clear. . 



