766 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
November 21 
take a drink ! ” Then they would all toddle up to the 
water dish and drink, after which they would go back 
to their feeding. A flock of GO large geese consumed 
30 buckets of water every day. A goose thirst is, 
certainly, an uncomfortable thing to have on a hot 
day. 
This plan of close pasturing on special crops is new, 
and is likely to change the system employed on many 
Rhode Island farms. Heretofore, the geese have been 
pastured on ordinary grass lands. With these special 
grain crops, providing food on one acre for 200 geese, 
it is possible largely to increase the product from a 
single farm. In the large pastures, the goslings are 
sometimes lost by getting turned on their backs in 
some hollow place. They are unable to turn back, 
and will die if not relieved. A goose knows enough 
to turn them back, but a hen does not. 
Geese are peculiar among farm animals in the fact 
that they do not breed indiscriminately. It is neces¬ 
sary to mate them, and after geese and gander are 
happily married, each family is kept by itself in a 
good sized pen large enough to afford exercise, and 
with a tub or little pond for washing and swimming. 
Unless the breeders take plenty of exercise, a good 
share of the eggs will be infertile. The average pro¬ 
portion is, probably, one gander to four geese, though 
some of the best breeders use but two geese in the 
pen. A gander from five to eight years old bred to 
older geese, gives the best results. Young geese are 
not, as a rule, reliable breeders, as a good proportion 
of their eggs are likely to be infertile. Many persons 
have given up goose breeding in disgust because they 
started with young stock, and did not find the eggs 
reliable. It would be just as reasonable to start with 
young colts and expect to breed horses from them ! 
As the eggs are laid, they are usually taken from 
the goose nest and put under hens for 
hatching. Sometimes, after laying one 
litter, the goose proceeds to line her 
nest as an indication that she wants to 
sit. Then the owner shuts her up in 
a dark box for a few days, and the fool¬ 
ish (?) bird forgets about incubating 
and starts in to lay another litter of 
eggs. At the end of the second litter, 
she may be permitted to sit, but most of 
the hatching is done by hens which can 
cover six or seven of the big eggs, The 
goose is a wise parent; when she leaves 
her nest, she covers the eggs so that the 
warmth will be retained. 
It is noticed that goslings brooded 
under hens cannot stand storm and wet 
like those with a genuine goose nurse. 
The goose secretes an oil which covers 
the feathers of the goslings so that, 
when they run under the goose, they 
will dry off. This is not so with the 
hen, and her goslings suffer in conse¬ 
quence. After they leave the hen, the 
goslings spend a week in the incubator, 
and are then turned out to pasture. Left 
to themselves, the little things would stay 
out in rain and storms, but they must be driven under 
shelter during bad weather. When about two months 
old, the young geese are put into small, well-shaded 
pens, and fattened so that, when 10 weeks of age, 
they will average about nine pounds. 
The goose lives to a great age, and retains its vigor. 
One breeder tells a story of a goose 101 years old, 
that laid 15 eggs, and was sitting on them when a 
horse came near her. She ran out and caught hold 
of its tail and was killed—otherwise she might have 
rounded out another century ! Theie are recorded 
cases of geese that were laying in full vigor at 30 
years or older. The goose is, also, the hardiest bird 
known to the farmyard. She will stand out in cold 
and wet, and little short of a heavy snowstorm will 
drive her under cover. She is an exceedingly wise 
bird, and it is a most interesting sight to see a drove 
of geese marching about the pasture. 
The ganders can fight like demons when aroused. 
Their method of fighting is to get a firm hold with 
the bill, and then strike with the wings. A wild 
gander can strike in this way hard enough to break a 
man’s arm. Such a bird could make things lively for 
a man if it got a firm grip on his boots or trousers. 
With their regular attendants, however, the geese 
are quiet and peaceable. The geese are easily dis¬ 
turbed at night, and will make an awful noise when 
alarmed. Director Flagg tells of a man who said, 
when he came home late at night, that he could usu¬ 
ally get past the dog well enough, but the old gander 
was sure to arouse his wife and the rest of the 
family I 
Breeds of geese are almost as distinct as breeds of 
cattle. The Rhode Island Station has been making 
some elaborate experiments to determine which cross 
is best for producing fattening geese. The cross of 
Embden gander on Large African geese gives an 
excellent market bird. The Toulouse geese are very 
large, but they are slow and sluggish, and not the 
best for all purposes. Fig. 249 shows a mongrel ob¬ 
tained by crossing the wild gander on the African 
goose. The wild ganders are obtained by shooting 
into wild flocks, and thus obtaining a gander with a 
broken wing. This gander, after much trouble, is 
mated with a tame goose, and the product is a bird 
that will sell far above the average market price. It 
has been thought that these mongrels are sterile, but 
they will breed if kept long enough. 
Statements as to the profits in goose farming are 
hard to obtain. Mr. Wm. Rankin, a breeder of long 
experience, says that he once put a goose and gander 
in a pen by themselves as an experiment. The goose 
laid 51 eggs, of which 37 hatched. One gosling was 
killed and the remaining 36 sold for $81.47 ! Under the 
“ new method” of pasturing adopted by the Rhode 
Island Station, I should say that $60 of this would 
be clear profit. Of course there is no use saying that 
any man can 6tart with two geese and make $60 a year 
from them. It is a business that requires long and 
careful study. To succeed in it, a man must really 
make a goose of himself. That means that he must 
be patient, observing, gentle and untiring in his 
work, besides being a student of the wisest bird that 
ever walked the barnyard. If there were more such 
mental crosses between the goose and humans, the 
world would be better off. Many of these geese are 
sold to Jews who use the goose fat in place of lard 
and butter. 
One serious objection to the goose business is the 
awful noise a large flock can create when they sing 
in concert. One farmer in southern Rhode Island 
had, formerly, 10,000 geese on his farm at one time. 
It is said that their chorus could sometimes be heard 
eight miles away, when the wind was right. A good 
business for a deaf man, one would say 1 h. w. c. 
A FAT KANSAS STEER. 
The steer shown at Fig. 250 was one of a lot of 12 
fattened by L. L. Roby, of Topeka, Kansas. Some of 
our Eastern readers will be interested to know how 
the polish was put on this beef. 
Mr. Roby calls the steer a “ scrub” because it did 
not show strong markings of any particular breed. It 
was, evidently, a mixture of Galloway, Short-horn 
and “native.” He says that the black cattle do not 
take on fat as well as the red ones. The 12 steers 
were bought at the Kansas City stockyards. They 
were all dishorned, and were from 2% to 3% years 
old. Three years is young enough for such cattle. It 
is best to take them just as they finish their rapid 
growth, and then put the fat on them quickly. 
The steers were turned into an open yard, the only 
shelter being a sideless shed in one corner large 
enough to protect the feed troughs in stormy weather. 
Hay was fed in a small rack, and fresh water was 
supplied in an open trough. The grain fed consisted 
of a mixture of equal parts of crushed corn and lin¬ 
seed meal. Beginning with a small amount, this was 
increased till the steers finally received 23 pounds 
each per day. With this heavy feeding, the steers 
ate but little hay—seldom over three or four pounds 
each per day. In 75 days of such feeding, the 12 
steers gained 4,610 pounds, an average of 385 pounds 
per head, or over five pounds per day ! They were 
never sick, but were smooth and sleek all through 
the feeding. Hogs were put with the steers, and 
these made an excellent growth from what was left 
in the manure. 
This test was made several years ago, when bran 
and other foods were higher in price. We asked Mr. 
Roby if he would use the linseed this year. He replies : 
“Now, bran is lower in price, so are corn and lin¬ 
seed meal, so that the ratio is about the same now as 
when I made the test. Several of my neighbors are 
already feeding ; they use corn and linseed meal, 
mixed about five pounds of meal and 15 to 18 pounds 
of corn to a feed. I shall not begin feeding till next 
month, when I shall follow, practically, the same 
course as before. There is really nothing to compare 
with the linseed meal, for certain results, and I have 
never known it to be out of proportion in price, as 
compared with corn. The price of one always affects 
the price of the other, and they go up or go down 
about alike in price.” 
We think that the most successful feeders now gen¬ 
erally realize that, where one is feeding large quanti¬ 
ties of corn, it is an advantage to add a quantity of 
some food that is laxative in its effects. Ensilage 
tends to keep the bowels open, while dry corn and 
fodder are constipating. Bran, fed with crushed or 
cracked corn, will keep the system in order, so that 
more of the corn will be digested than would be the 
case if it were fed alone. Linseed meal is even better 
for this purpose, and while Mr. Roby’s ration of over 
11 pounds of the substance per day will appear re¬ 
markable to most of our readers, the results are, 
certainly, satisfactory. 
HOW TO MAKE A DAIRY COW. 
START EARLY AND STAY LATE. 
An eminent writer said that a child’s character was 
formed 100 years before the child was born, and this 
is about the case with the dairy cow. If we wish to 
raise a dairy cow, and be reasonably sure that she 
will be a good one, we should start with a calf from 
stock that has been bred in dairy lines 
for, at least, 100 years. Of course, a 
good cow, and perhaps, a remarkably 
good one, may come from the most in¬ 
different breeding ; but such a cow is a 
freak, and her offspring will be very 
likely to be just what her ancestors 
were. I should greatly prefer to raise a 
calf from a small-producing cow that 
was bred from great-producing ances¬ 
tors, because this cow would also be a 
freak, and her offspring would be likely 
to take back also ; but I think not so 
likely as in the first instance, for it 
seems a deplorable fact that it is easier 
for things to degenerate than for them 
to improve. 
As we are to raise a good calf, we will 
start with good, well-bred parents, and 
presume that the calf is to be dropped 
in the spring. We must see that the 
dam is in good condition during the 
period of gestation. She must not be 
allowed to become constipated or out 
of condition by too much coarse, dry 
feed ; neither mast her bowels be kept 
open by too liberal a supply of salt; but 
rather feed her a sufficient quantity of roots, or bran 
and oil meal to produce this result. Let the dam be 
milked well up to the time of dropping the calf, say 
six weeks, and as long as she does not become fat, do 
not be afraid of feeding her, but feed lightly of corn 
meal. 
I always try to be on hand when the calf arrives, 
and milk the cow before the calf sucks. The little 
one will, generally, get enough after the cow has 
been milked, and she will be likely to retain a portion 
of it. If the mother is nervous and her udder swollen, 
I sometimes leave the calf by her side for a day or 
two, but never longer, and I have about made up my 
mind that the sooner the calf is removed from the 
presence of the cow the better. 
In teaching the calf to drink, I never use any force. 
I do not try to hold her head in the pail, for this 
frightens the little thing, and diverts her attention 
from drinking. I handle her gently until she is not 
afraid of me, then dip my fingers in the milk, and 
place them in the calf’s mouth. Sometimes it is neces¬ 
sary to pour a little down her throat from the hollow 
of the hand, to make her taste it, but, generally she 
will begin to suck at once. I hold up the pail until 
her nose is in the milk, and when she begins to suck 
readily, withdraw the fingers very carefully, letting 
them simply rest on her nose. I may have to repeat 
this a few times; but the first I know the calf has 
learned to drink. 
I usually give them milk fresh from the mother 
for a few days ; but as Jersey milk is very rich, it is 
well to remove part of the cream and feed after 
warming it. When the calf is three or four weeks 
old, I put her on to whole skim-milk, to which is 
added a gruel made of oil meal. Of course, the change 
from new to skim-milk is gradually made. At first, 
I give the calf only a heaping tablespoonful of oil 
KANSAS STEER FATTENED ON LINSEED MEAL AND CORN. Fig. 250. 
