ILLUSTRATED STOCK DOCTOR. 
471 
to need description ; when farm-bred it retains much of the game nature 
of the flesh of the wild bird. Their sagacity is superior to that of any 
other goose. It has a wide range of flight in its wild state, being found 
at proper seasons from the Arctic circle to the Torrid zone, and in Europe 
as well as in America ; specimens haviug been shot in England. It is 
certainly one of the most beautiful of water fowls. It breeds kindly 
with any of the common varieties, and is reputed in France to have inter- 
bred with swans. 
Management. 
There is but little care necessary in breeding geese. They require a 
dry place for passing the night ; are subject to but few diseases, and 
these only w'hen young. For diarrhoea, give a drop or two of laudanum 
in a little water, to be repeated if the first dose does not cure. For gid- 
diness, bleed them in the prominent vein which separates the claw . In- 
sects sometimes annoy them by getting into the nostrils and ears. It 
may be known by their hanging wings, and the shaking of their heads. 
Feed them corn. at the bottom of a vessel of water. For fattening, there 
is nothing better than corn-meal, steamed potatoes and skimmed milk, 
alternated with ground buckwheat, oat-meal or barley-meal. During the 
fattening process they should be kept closely confined. When fattening, 
the French pluck the feathers from the belly. They should be fed three 
times a day, and supplied with plenty of pure water, and when fat, which 
ehould be in two or three weeks from the commencement of feeding, they 
should be scld immediately, since they at once begin to lose flesh again* 
