14 
farmers' BULLETIN 767. 
pinfeathers and fine down may be partly removed by rubbing the 
body with moistened hands or by shaving the skin. Geese may be 
steamed after killing by hanging on hooks in the top of a steam box 
or barrel, which can be made air-tight, and left there until the soft 
feathers on the breast come off easily. The length of time to leave 
them in the steam barrel depends on the flow of the steam, varying 
from one-half to two minutes. The wing and tail feathers are pulled 
before the geese are steamed. A good method for removing the 
down is to sprinkle powdered rosin over the body of the goose and 
dip it into hot water, which melts the rosin so that it and the down 
can be easily rubbed off, leaving the body clean. Geese may also be 
steamed by scalding slightly and wrapping the body tightly in bur¬ 
lap or cloth to allow the steam to work thoroughly through the 
feathers. Some markets prefer dry-picked geese, while in other 
markets no difference is made in the price of scalded or dry-picked 
geese. 
After the geese are picked they are usually washed and put into ice 
water for 1 to 2 hours to cool and become plump. Many farmers sell 
their geese alive. When dressed poultry is shipped from the farm 
it should be first cooled and then packed in clean containers, which 
can be packed in ice and shipped by express in such a way that the 
poultry does not come in contact with the ice or drippings. It costs 
about 11 cents each to pick geese. Goose feathers sell at from 30 
cents to $1 a pound and should be carefully saved and dried. White 
are worth considerably more than mixed-colored feathers. Scalded 
feathers are not usually considered of any value, but steamed ones 
are as good as the dry-picked. 
Nearly all breeders of geese in the South and many in the Middle 
West and the North pluck the feathers from the live geese at some 
time prior to molting. Some pick as often as every six weeks during 
the spring, summer, and early fall, while others pick only once or 
twice a year, either in the spring or both in the spring and in the 
fall. Feathers are considered ripe for picking when the quills appear 
dry and do not contain blood. The average yearly production of 
feathers per goose is about one and one-tenth pounds. This practice 
of plucking geese, however, is considered by many breeders to be cruel 
and injurious. Geese should not be picked during the breeding sea¬ 
son. The demand for goose feathers and the practice of plucking 
geese appear to be decreasing, while more attention is given to the 
production of young geese for market. 
REPORTS FROM BREEDERS. 
About 300 replies were received from a list of questions sent to 
breeders of geese in all parts of this country where geese are com¬ 
monly raised. These data have been divided into two sets, one 
