1904.] Fattening Geese for Market. 461 



yard. If the geese are kept on rich pastures, it will not be 

 necessary to give them even one meal a day, since they thrive 

 very well on rich grass, and for this reason it is most economical 

 to raise them on the best class of grazing land. Geese may, 

 however, be profitably raised even on poor land, swamps and 

 marshes, but when kept in such places it is nearly always 

 necessary to supplement their pickings by hand-feeding. A 

 good deal depends upon the breed of geese kept, as the Chinese 

 or other hardy breed might do well upon land that would not 

 support the Embden or Toulouse. It is generally advisable to 

 raise one or two flocks of geese on a tillage farm, for although 

 the grass may be poor, there is usually an abundance of roots, 

 potatoes, and corn upon which the birds can be fed. 



There is no branch of poultry culture more profitable than 

 the raising and fattening of geese for market, when properly 

 carried out, but goose rearing, probably, hardly pays when 

 carried out in a haphazard and unsystematic way. There is 

 a substantial profit if the birds are treated rationally before 

 killing, but if they are taken off the grass or stubbles and killed 

 without any special fattening they are likely to be a source of 

 loss rather than profit. 



The same rule applies to the fattening of geese as to the 

 fattening of any other stock — that is to say, they must be ready 

 at the exact time when demand is likely to be greatest. It is 

 not a difficult matter to arrange this if the dates when the best 

 markets open and the length of time which it will take to fatten 

 the birds are known. The seasons of greatest demand for geese 

 are Michaelmas and Christmas, and a certain portion of our 

 flocks should be ready for each of these settled markets. I may 

 say that at Michaelmas tender, plump birds of medium size are 

 most sought after, and it is a good plan to select any small- 

 framed birds, which are not likely to make any great growth, 

 and to fatten these for Michaelmas. It is probable that it will 

 pay better to fatten such birds in September than to keep them 

 on hand until Christmas. 



Preparation for Christmas Markets. 



Provided that the geese are of a large breed, there is little 

 difficulty about getting them up to a good weight at Christmas. 



