The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-12-03
GERMANS LIKE GEESE.
Take Great Care to Have Good
Birds.
Washington Correspondence Of New

washington Correspondence Of New
York Mail and Express.)
Consul General Mason sends from
Berlin some interesting information
about geese in the land Of the kaiser.
He says:
The domestic goose holds about the
same hOnOred place in the nutritive
economy of Germany that the more
delicately favored and patrician tur-
key does in that Of the United States.
1t is the standard luxury of the Ger
man people, and during nine months
Of the year forms the principal feature
Of the table at festive as well as every
day entertainments.
Although every German village has
its flock of geese. and Notwithstanding
the great numbers that are bred and
fattened at farms along the banks of
rivers, ponds and small lakes. the
homegrown supply falls far short of
the constant demand. leaving a large
annual deficit to be filled by fmporta-
tons, which come mainly from Russia.
The season for this traffic is now at
Its highest, and the receipts of Rus
sian geese at the johannesburg sta
ton. in the southeastern quarter of
Berlin, averages about 15,G00 daily. 4
special goose train of from fifteen cars
on ordinary days to thirty-hve or for
y on Mondays brings the birds from
ne Russian frontier. The cars are
specially built and rugged for this ser
vice, and carry each about 1900 geese.
Immediately after arrival, the whole
lrainload is inspected by a corps Of
sanitary officials. The fat ones are
hen distributed among the dealers and
narketm en-while the Others-and
-hese include the vast majOrity are
sent to be faTtened at farms and feed
ng establishments in the outlying
provinces
The inspection is exceedingly rig
q. If a single goose dies en- route. or is
Ound sick with any disease that can
e communicated 10 others the whole
'arlOad is placed IN quarantine for a
erlod of eight days. Should anOthe
oose die during this period the wh0le
ot is kept in quarantine eight days
Onger, at a cost of about 1900 marks
$3.50, whereby the loss to the owner
becomes so enormous that he is driven
o the most extreme care and precau-
ion in all future operations of the
'7me kind. This is the real object Of
The systemic make the penalty of
Introducing diseased birds so severe as
o render such practice rUinous to the
perpetual tors.
In certain cases where the evidences
II neglect or infectious disease is not
conclusive, the lot is taken to the city
7battoir and killed under supervision
u the sanitary police, after which
such Is are found to be free from dis
ease are released for sale at a special
auction held in the central market
hall, whence the trade name. auction
reese which applies to those which
ave been slaughtered under police SUI
peTViSlOn- Those which show no trace
Of disease, but have been unavoidabiy
injured in transit, and are otherwise in
GOOD condition, are called 'Bracken.'
ana are sold to certain dealers who
retail them for reduced prices at a spe-
'Iat market beside the great market |
lace, where the poorest and most fru-
5al Berliner can find something adapt
ID to his purse
The aggregate Wholesale traffic in /
geese at Berlin amounts annually 10 |
nearly $1,000. COO. To the ordinary OBJ
server, all geese are very much alike.
but the expert dealers here divide the 1
Russian birds into twenty-one different !
breeds and categories. which now
command in the Berlin market, ac-
cordlng to species, age. size and condf- /
ton, wholesale prices varying from a 4
TO 90 cents each, though the prices ad- 4
vance with those of other poultry as 4
the season lengthens from autumn into !
winter, the great climax of the trade /
being just before and during tho
Christmas holidays. when goose. in I
every form, from the plain 'Gansebra- /
ten Of the labOTing classes to the pate /
DC Iote gras of the epicure, dominates I
the tables of the festive season.