Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1899-04-12
1.-THE STUFFED GOOSE" TRADE.
An Industry Which Flourishes Around
Watertewn and Furnishes Pate
de Fol Gras to the Hebraic
ConnOisseurs of New
York Cjtv
From The Sunday Sentinel !

York City.
! From The Sunday Sentinel ]
WATERFOWL, Wis, April S.-Pro-
badly few persons in Wisconsin are
aware of the enormous trade in
stuffed geese which is carried on in
this city each year near the Christ
mas holidays. The demand for this
article of diet is On the increase rather
than diminishing, and the country for
a radius of five miles around Water
town supplies to a great extent the
| demand in the United States, although
occasionally an order is received from
England.
A writer in The st. Louis Globe
| Democrat, recently, after telling of
edible dishes made from stuffed geese
/ in Germany and France, and the uses
| to which the goose liver is put in
| furnishing rich delicacies. went on
to say that a stuffed goose factory"
was in operation in this city, presided
over by Bohemian women, ard also
| went into details as to the manner of
| caring for the fowls. The article
| in question was misleading from the
| start to finish.
The country around Watertown is
| peopled mostly by Germans who own
| their own farms and who have brought
with them from the fatherland ideas
of thrift and economy, and they to
| large extent are the ones engaged in
raising stuffed geese for those who
have the means and inclination to
purchase their product. TO show the
extent to which this industry has
| grown it may be stated that within
two weeks of Christmas last year
1000 pounds of stuffed geese were
sold here upon orders from local deal
ers, who in turn supply the orders re-
| ceived earlier in the season from all
the large cities of this country.
The writer took occasion recently
to visit one of the farms where stuffed
| geese are raised and secured interest
ing information about the methods
employe /. To begin with, the per-
sons engaged in this business secure
fowl of certain strains which are best
adapted for those purposes. While
! growing they can be recognized by
the blush tint of the feathers, and di-
rectly after the goslings are Matched
the fowl receive the utmost care.
This duty devolves to a great extent
upon the women of the home, as usu-
ally the men are attending to the Gull
| tivation of their land. When the
fowl is young diet of wheat is given.
which is continued until the time
arrives for stufing, which is usually
about November Is. The food 10
then changed and consists of mix
ture of ground rye, corn and barley.
This mixture is made into a paste and
is rolled by hand into what is known
as noodles, about two inches in length
and almost the thickness of finger
The noodles are then placed in a
warm oven and dried, after which they
are laid away for use. When wishing
to feed the noodles are moistened in
warm water, and are forced down the
| gullet of the goose with the finger,
the usualrmeal for the first week be-
ing twelve noodles. This proceeding
is repeated every two hours night and
day. At the end of the first week the
food is only given every three hours
and continues for three weeks longer,
when the fowl is fit for sale. To di-
gest the food water and sand are fed
The fowl are usually kept in dark
barn, and of course have very little
exercise while feeding or rather stuff
ing; the goose is confined in small
box during the opera ton and re-
leased afterward. Occasionally the
fowl are allowed out of doors for a
brief time to aid in keeping their
feathers and bodies clean. During
the period of shipping great care must
be exercised, as the fowl are very
tender and require constant watching.
Stuffed geese attain large pro-
portions, the weight limit being from
fifteen pounds upward. Geese have
been marketed in this city weighing
thirty-seven pounds, and afterward
the liver has been found to weigh
four and a quarter pounds. One
goose liver sold here last fall brought
SIS. The main object in stuffing geese
is to get an abnormal liver, which al
"oy . Solhllo1u c1 lduCy price, dlGlOuS Ii
the fat of the fowl and the skin are mad e
up into other delicacies. In some
geese the stuffng process only induces
fat, while in others it induces a large
liver.
The only time when stuffed geese
are sold here is about two weeks be-
fore Christmas, and the whole pro-
duct is marketed in about one week
There is no regular market for them,
but all geese are stuffed upon orders
received sometimes months in advance
Of the time when they are wanted
The price paid is generally trife less
per pound than what the goose weighs.
For instance, a goose weighing thirty
pounds would bring about % cents a
pound, while those of lighter weight
would bring little less per pound
than their weight indicates.
The story told in the st. Louis
paper about tying or mailing their
wings to their feet is all bosh, as the
only cruelty, so far as known, is in
c&,, IL, L..