The morning news., 1892-03-14
White Chinese Geese.

OF all the breeds Of domestic geese, says
the American Agricultural, the most
graceful is the Chinese. and in this respect it
has but one rival, the Cslada or, IS it is
popularity called, the Wild Goose. The
head of the white Chinese goose is rather
small: the bill is orange colored with a
large knob of the same hue at its base; the
neck is long slender and gracefully curved !;
the back sho s q slight convexity along its
upper surface; the breast is round and mod
erately full; the body is small, round, but
very plump; the wings are large, well-de-
veloped, and folded smoothly against the
body; the feathers of the tail are stiff and
hard; the thighs are short and well-filled
out; the shanks are shortish, rather longer
in proportion to The size of the fowl than
those of the Toulouse or Embden; aud the
carriage is exceedingly graceful and swan
ike. The plumage throughout is spotless
white. the beak. knob, shanks and
feet are orange in color, and the eyes are
US ually of blush cast.
OF the two varieties Of Chinese geese, the
white and the brown the former IL generally
regarded the more beautiful, for a plumage
Of Immaculate white always looks attract
i've upon the water, or upon the grassy
edges of lake or stream. The contrast
between the blue of the water or the green
OF the grass and the white of the plumAge
is exceedingly pleasant to the eye Geese,
by their frequent bathing keep their plum
age clean, and the objections which apply to
the ordinary domestic fowl With a white
plumage have no bearing upon white geese.
In size the Chinese are the smallest of the
domesticated breeds of geese. not exactly
Bantams among geese for their Weights too
great TO be 80 considered, but very much
smaller than the numbering Toulouse, or
the heavy Embden. The keel of the Chi
nese goose does not drop down so low as
that OF the heavy breeds, and the gait is,
therefore. less waddling and awkward. But
though smaller than the other breeds, the
Chinese are none the less profitable to keep.
Size and profit, even in fowls like the goose,
are not convertible terms, Their smaller
size makes less demands upon the grain bin
for growth or fattening, and from the same
amount OF food an equal or nearly equal
weight Of Chinese and Toulouse goslings can
be produced And, inasmuch as the Chi
nese geese will bring the same or nearly the
same price per pound in the market as other
breeds, the profit to be realized from the
dressed poultry is about the same in all
breeds, large or small. But even granting
that the Toulouse or Embden geese will
make more weight for the same amount Of
food, and bring more per pound for the
weight made, it does not necessarily follow
that they are more profitable breeds to
keep than the Chinese. for the latter are
vastly better layers. and will produce nearly
or quite twice as many eggs in a season as
their heavier competitors. The feathers of
the Chinese e equally valuable, the white
fea theirs bringing something more per
pound than the colored. For those who
have suitable accommodations & nod
pasture aud clean water-geese are profta-
ole fowls to keep. In the summer they
gather the greater part of their living and
require but little grain until ready to be
fattened. The fattening process is a short
one, two weeks of liberal feeding usually
being sufficient The income from feathers,
eggs and flesh will show handsome bal
ance on the credit side of the account. But
it is not desirable that thev should have free
access to meadows. for flock Of geese will
trample down and otherwise injure enough
grass to seriously diminish the profit that
should be derived from their keeping. For
this reason not a few farmer who have
kept geese believe them to be very unprofit-
able poultry, whereas the lack of profit was
due not to the geese but to the mismanage-
ment. Properly managed, there are few
kinds OF poultry more profitable than geese,
and among geese there are few, il any, va
rieties more profitable than the white Chi
ueSe