48 
with the knee. Pick the feathers from the body of the bird, then 
dampen the right hand and brush the body to remove the down. Leave 
about 2 inches of feathers on the neck, and also leave feathers on the 
wings at the first joint. Lay the wings against the body of the birds 
and tie a string around to hold in position. 1 lace the birds, when 
picked, in cold water for an hour or so to plump them; if they are in 
the water too long they are liable to bleach and become water-soaked. 
They are then iced up in barrels already to ship to market. 
Young geese should be marketed in October. It is best to market all 
possible before cold weather sets in. It is much harder to dress a gos¬ 
ling in cold weather. The feathers set tighter, and in picking them 
the flesh is torn. 
CROSS BREEDING. 
The most satisfactory results are to be had by breeding pure stand¬ 
ard-bred stock without crossing. But to those who are partial to 
crosses the following are considered the best to make: (1) Wild gander 
on African goose (fig. 35); (2) Embden gander on Toulouse goose (fig. 
36); (3) Embden gander on African goose (fig. 37), and (4) Embden 
gander on White China goose. These crosses will give good growth 
and the young birds will dress well for market. Crosses should only 
be made for market purposes, and should always be bred from original 
stock. 
FARMERS’ BULLETINS. 
These bulletins are sent free of charge to any address upon application to the 
Secretary of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Only the following are available: 
No. 15.—Some Destructive Potato Diseases: What They Are and How to Prevent Them. No. 16.— 
Leguminous Plants for Green Manuring and for Feeding. No. 18.—Forage Plants for the South. 
No. 19.—Important Insecticides: Directions for their Preparation and Use. No. 21_Barnyard 
Manure. No. 22.—Feeding Farm Animals. No. 23.—Foods: Nutritive Value and Cost. No. 24.— 
Hog Cholera and Swine Plague. No. 25.—Peanuts: Culture and Uses. No. 26.—Sweet Potatoes: Cul¬ 
ture and Uses. No. 27.—Flax for Seed and Fiber. No. 28.—Weeds; and How to Kill Them. No. 29.— 
Souring of Milk and Other Changes in Milk Products. No. 30.—Grape Diseases on the Pacific Coast. 
No. 31.—Alfalfa, or Lucern. No. 32.—Silos and Silage. No. 33.—Peach Growing for Market. No. 
34.—Meats: Composition and Cooking. No. 35.—Potato Culture. No. 36.—Cotton Seed and Its 
Products. No. 37.—Katir Corn: Characteristics, Culture, and Uses. No. 38.—Spraying for Fruit 
Diseases. No. 39.—Onion Culture. No. 40.—Farm Drainage. No. 41.—Fowls: Care and Feeding. 
No. 42.—Facts About Milk. No. 43.—Sewage Disposal on the Farm. No. 44.—Commercial Fertilizers. 
No. 45.—Some Insects Injurious to Stored Grain. No. 46.—Irrigation in Humid Climates. No. 47.— 
Insects Affecting the Cotton Plant. No. 48.—The Manuring of Cotton. No. 49.—Sheep Feeding. 
No. 50.—Sorghum as a Forage Crop. No. 51.—Standard Varieties of Chickens. No. 52.—The Sugar 
Beet. No. 53.—How to Grow Mushrooms. No. 54.—Some Common Birds in Their Kelation to Agri¬ 
culture. No. 55.—The Dairy Herd: Its Formation and Management. No. 56.—Experiment Station 
Work—I. No. 57.—Butter Making on the Farm. No. 58.—The Soy Bean as a Forage Crop. No. 59.— 
Bee Keeping. No. 60.—Methods of Curing Tobacco. No. 61.—Asparagus Culture. No. 62.—.Mar¬ 
keting Farm Produce. No. 63.—Care of Milk on the Farm. No. 64.— Ducks and Geese. No. 65.— 
Experiment Station Work—II. No. 66.—Meadows and Pastures. No. 67.—Forestry for Farmers. 
No. 68.—The Black Pot of the Cabbage. No. 69.—Experiment Station Work—III. No. 70. —The 
Principal Insect Enemies of the Grape. No. 71. —Some Essentials of Beef Production. No. 72.— 
Cattle Kanges of the Southwest. No. 73.—Experiment Station Work—IV. No. 74.—Milk as Food. 
No. 75.—The Grain Smuts. No. 76.—Tomato Growing. No. 77.—The Liming of Soils. No. 78.— 
Experiment Station Work—V. No. 79.—Experiment Station Work—VI. No. 80.—The Peach Twig- 
borer—an Important Enemy of Stone Fruits. No. 81.—Corn Culture in the South. No. 82.^—The 
Culture of Tobacco. No. 83.—Tobacco Soils. No. 84.—Experiment Station Work—VII. No. 85.— 
Fish as Food. No. 86.—Thirty Poisonous Plants. No. 87.—Experiment Station Work—VIII. No. 
88.—Alkali Lands. No. 89.—Cowpeas. 
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