590 
the attendant, at least once each day after the third 
day and up to the fwenty-lifth. It requires four 
weeks to hatch them. They should he kept quite 
Avet after they are pipped, whether they are under 
u hen or in an incubator.” 
Iiow many eggs will a goose lay in one year? 
“They should start to lay in the month of Feb¬ 
ruary. The Toulouse and Embden will lay from .‘>0 
to 40 eggs during the hatching season. The Chinese 
will continue until late in the Fall sind often lay 
Helping the Country by Keeping Bees at 86. Fig. 152 
more than 100 eggs each year; in fact, the Chinese 
are the Leghorns of the goose family.” 
What is the matter when eggs fail to hatch? 
“If infertile, the birds may not be well mated, 
kept in too restricted quarters, or have no pond for 
swimming. If goslings die in shell, it may be the 
eggs were not turned often enough, they are so large 
that a hen cannot shuffle them about as she does 
her own.” 
Is the fertility of goose eggs controlled through 
feeding? 
“Yes and no. When breeders are not laying it is 
best not to feed them animal food. As soon as eggs 
are expected they should be given from 10 to 15 per 
cent of beef scraps in their ration.” 
WliaUis the best feed for adult geese? 
“Geese are grazing animals, and need very little 
grain, excepting when laying and growing. A dozen 
geese will consume nearfy as much succulence, pre¬ 
ferably growing grass, as Avill a cow, and suffer 
daily when deprived of it. A mash composed of 
equal parts of bran, cornmeal, middlings and ground 
oats, with 15 per cent beef scraps, should be fed 
during the laying season, once daily, in the form 
of a moist, not sloppy, dough, given in shallow boxes 
or troughs. During the Winter, when snow is on 
the ground, they will thrive if fed twice daily with 
the above mentioned dough, minus beef scraps, but 
including some cooked vegetables, such as potatoes, 
pumpkins and turnips. They will also relish cull 
apples, cabbage and mangel beets as raw green 
food.” 
Will being over fat keep a goose from becoming 
broody? 
“Being over fat will keep a goose from laying 
steadily, and laying always precedes broodiness. 
Geese not laying should be fed for maintenance 
only, and when they a re laying there is no danger 
of becoming too fat if fed a balanced ration and 
allowed sullicient exercise.” 
Does it pay to keep geese for their feathers? 
“No. The old time live goose featherbed has been 
replaced with soft mattresses, and geese are no 
longer plucked periodically of their soft, downy 
coats. The demand for soft feathers is now con- 
lined almost exclusively to pillows and cushions, 
and dry-picked hen feathers make a cheap, satis¬ 
factory tiller. The old-time method of periodiciilly 
picking was to watch the geese and note Avhen 
feathers were ripe, just before the molt, confine the 
goose, slip a stocking over its head and neck and 
remove a large part of the soft feathers on the 
under parr of the body, leaving those on the sides 
as a support for the Avings as Avell as protection for 
the body.” 
TIow soon should newly-hatched goslings be fed? 
“When they are 30 to 48 hours old. Stale white 
bread moistened with milk, sweet or sour, make a 
good starting food. This should be continued for 
The RURAL NEW-YORKER 
around two weeks. Unlike chickens, goslings thrive~ 
best on a soft food diet rather than Avlmle and 
cracked grains. This soft food digests quickly and 
sustains the rapid growth of the birds.” 
What shall eve feed after two weeks of age? 
“Hominy chop and bran or cornmeal and bran 
moistened with milk make an excellent feed from 
tAVO weeks up, provided, of course, they get the green 
food necessary. The idea is to build the frame up to 
10 Aveeks, and then put on flesh and fat if they are 
(<> he sold for green geese during the late Summer 
or early Fall. Goslings around 10 or 12 Aveeks of 
age have been knoAvn to gain nine ounces of Aveight 
each day for several days Avhen forced feeding 
methods were used.” 
When is the best time to sell goslings? 
"In former years there has been a demand for 
green geese during July and August, at prices on a 
level Avith chickens. Aside from this, prime geese 
ahvays sell around the Christmas holidays, and 
should not be held for market after that date.” 
What is the best Avay to kill and pick a goose? 
“Using a sharp, narrow-blade knift, stick in the 
roof of the month, dnnving the knife well across 
and Avell back of the jaws, so as to sever the arteries 
or veins. The bird may be suspended by its shanks, 
tied Avitli stout cord or held betAveen the knees on 
one's lap. The principal thing is to get a good stick 
so that the blood runs freely. When this is thor¬ 
oughly done, the feathers may be removed quickly 
Avithout tearing the skin. Some scald the bird after 
killing, Avrap in a bag or blanket for steaming before 
Fourteen Potatoes Cailed in One. Fig. 158 
removing the feathers. The operation is easier when 
the fingers are moistened occasionally Avhile at 
Avork." - 
A Freak Potato 
HE freak potato shown at Fig. 153 was grown 
by o. P. Kingsbury of Cattaraugus Co., N. Y. 
Mr. Kingsbury says: 
The freak potato Avas grown on a hill, but not very 
strong or hard ground. The rest of the piece Avas 
smooth and nice, one acre in all. It was planted three 
foot one way and two the other. Variety is Sir Walter 
Raleigh. There were 14 potatoes in one, and it Avas the 
only one in the hill. O. J\ ki.ngsbuky. 
We have heard various explanations as to Avhy 
potatoes act. in this Avay. Someone has said that 
Avhat goes on inside of the hen is the greatest mys¬ 
tery of nature. We often think that the proceedings 
of roots and tubers down >inder ground are more 
mysterious than the formation of an egg. The 
peculiar shapes or strange growth of potatoes are 
usually attributed to stones, hard soil or drought fol¬ 
lowed by heavy rains at the last end of the growing 
season. Just Avhy these 14 potatoes should giwv 
into one shapeless mass is too large a question for us. 
Do Your Bees Need Feeding? 
Part I. 
ANDY OR SYRUP.—Although bees have suf¬ 
fered little its ;t result of the cold Avcather the 
past Winter, there is danger of considerable loss 
this Spring unless feeding is done promptly. An 
examination of many hives sIioavs that stores arc 
very short. Probably this is because the bees have 
been unusually active all Winter, and for that reason 
have consumed an extra large amount of honey. It 
Avill be a Arise plan to go through the hives on the 
April o, 1919 
first Avarm day, and to note the condition of the bees. 
If the insects are found crawling OA’er the tops of 
the frames, or clustering on the combs near the top, 
that fact may be taken as an indication of ex¬ 
hausted stores. It may be Avell to make a little 
further examination, but the simplest plan Avill be 
to give each colony a plate of bee candy, or to start 
feeding syrup. Something Avill depend upon the 
Aveather and the location. The most practical Avay 
to keep the bees from starving Avhile the weather 
remains cool is to use this bee candy, but if it is 
time for brood rearing to begin, the use of a syrup, 
half sugar and half Avater, Avill stimulate the queen 
and give the colony a good send-off. There is some 
danger in feeding this syrup too early, as it may 
induce the bees to break the cluster and scatter 
over the combs, which Avould mean loss if an un¬ 
usually cold snap should follOAV. The principal thing 
just now is to see that the bees have enough stores 
to last them until fruit blossoms come. A plate of 
candy Avill supply nourishment for three or four 
Aveeks, but when the feeding of syrup is begun it 
must be kept up Avithout a break. 
FEEDING METHODS.—The best plan is to use 
an overhead feeder, or one that can be substituted 
for a frame in the hive body. An overhead feeder, 
used in a super, and with a covering of burlap over 
it. is si very practical arrangement. The bees enter 
from below, and are not in danger of being chilled, 
in this part of the country there seems to be little 
necessity of providing meal for the bees in the 
Spring. They usually collect enough pollen from 
golden rod and other flowers in the Fall to meet 
their Spring needs. Before this is gone, pollen may 
be obtained from elms and other early flowering 
trees. It may he necessary to furnish water, though. 
In some sections it is believed than many bees have 
been lost in the past because they have sought the 
foliage on shade trees for the morning dew, in that 
way obtaining poison from arsenate with Avhich the 
trees had been sprayed. If a pan of Avater is avail¬ 
able near the hives the bees are likely to use it. but 
there should be a feAv sticks floating on the Avater so 
that the bees Avill not be drowned. 
SPRAY POISONING.—In NcAvton, Mass., and 
other places, experiments seem to sIioav that the 
poisoning of bees as a result of spraying may He 
avoided to a large extent by the use of some kind of 
repellent in the spray material, cheap, but ill-smell¬ 
ing, deodorizers being used. The bees dislike the 
odor to such an extent that they stay away from 
the sprayed trees or shrubs. 
DEMAND FOR BEES.—The number of bees in the 
Northern States lias not yet returned to normal, al¬ 
though much increase Avas obtained last season. A 
Chaff Hives Arc Warm in Winter, Cool in Summer 
Fig. 15.'t 
tremendous demand for bees is reported from the 
South, a demand Avhich is larger by far than can he 
met. Since the Postoffice Department opened the 
mail to the transmission of live bees in one, two and 
three-pound packages from the South, this method of 
building up Aveak colonies in the North has become 
high in favor. The plan is an excellent one if the 
bees can be obtained early, say in April or May. 
Some Southern shippers kept tlieir orders hist season, 
but did not deliver the bees until July, Avlien they 
had lost much of their value. k. i. Farrington. 
