45 
profiting by this and adding to their incomes annually. The care and 
attention necessary for raising geese are very small when compared 
with the returns, and the cost of food is also proportionately small in 
comparison with the cost of food used for other birds bred for market. 
A goose on range will gather the largest portion of its food, consisting 
of grasses, insects, and other animal and vegetable matter to be found 
in the fields and brooks. 
The simplest kinds of houses are used for shelter; these should be 
built after the plans of those given for ducks, but should be proportion¬ 
ately of larger size to accommodate comfortably the number of birds 
to be kept. Geese are long-lived birds, some having been known to 
attain the age of 40 years, while birds of 15 and 20 years of age are 
not uncommon. They retain their laying and hatching qualities through 
life. Ganders should not be kept for breeding after 3 years of age; 
young ganders are more active and insure greater fertility of the eggs 
than old ones do; besides, ganders become more quarrelsome as age 
advances. 
. t 
The feathers of geese are an important source of revenue and find a 
ready sale in the markets. A goose will average about 1 pound of 
feathers a year. The feathers should be plucked when there is no blood 
in the ends of the quills; this can be readily ascertained, as they will 
then leave the flesh without hard pulling. Almost all breeds of geese 
are good sitters and attentive mothers, and if left to themselves will 
make their nests, much as when wild, and hatch a large percentage of 
their eggs. But hens are now more frequently used for hatching goose 
eggs; as by taking the eggs from the goose when laid and giving them 
to hens to hatch, the goose will lay a greater number of eggs than if 
she were permitted to sit. 
All breeds of geese, except perhaps the Egyptian, are to be recom¬ 
mended to farmers who keep a limited number in addition to other 
poultry and allow them the freedom of the farm, but when goose rais¬ 
ing is to be more extensively engaged in, the African goose is to be 
especially commended. It is the quickest to mature, most prolific, and 
the easiest to handle of any of the varieties. 
MATING AND SETTING. 
A 
In breeding African geese, mate two geese to one gander, and it will 
be still better if pairs are used to secure better fertility of the eggs. 
Those who contemplate raising geese should secure their stock in the 
fall, so that the birds may become accustomed to the place before the 
breeding season begins. The breeding stock should be at least 2 years 
old, and fully matured birds. When stock is purchased in the fall 
they should be turned out in a pasture, and no other food than what 
they gather themselves will be needed until the grass goes down. 
Their rations should then consist of equal parts by measure, bran, 
middlings, and corn meal, with 5 per cent of this bulk of beef scraps. 
