Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1907-12-10
STUFFED GOOSE TRADE
WATERFOWL, Wis., CENTER or.
INDUSTRY IN AMERICA.
Product Finds q Ready Market All
Over United Substituting Done
by Hand-custom Brought
from Germany.

Over United Substituting Done
by Hand-custom Brought
from Germany.
Watertown, Wis.--The season for
! stufing geese Is near at hand, and
many farmers around WATERFOWL will
be busy between now and Christmas
looking after this much-sought-after
article Of food, which requires time
and patience on the part Of the family
household to produce. The importance
of this industry in this section Of the
state is little understood, but thou
sands of dollars are paid out annually
for stuffed geese, which in turn find q
ready market all over the United
States. Orders for hundreds OF thou
sands of pounds Of stuffed geese have
already been received In Watertown,
and the order for the stufhng Of tho
same has already been given out to
the farmers who understand this line
OF poultry production. It is a science
in itself, and requires judgment, skill
and aptitude to make the undertaking
successful.
The old notion and theory that the
geese were nailed to the floor by their
web feet to keep them quiet was ex-
ploded long ago. No such practice
ever prevailed here so far as known.
In fact, during portion of the stunning
process the goose is allowed some
freedom and plenty of water, but to.
ward the close of the stuffing season
they are confined In smaller pens. The
time OF stunning varies from three to
four weeks, and under favorable condi.
lions the latter period gives the best
results.
The stufiing Is first begun at inter-
walls OF six OF seven hours and during
the last week this is kept up three
hours, both day and night. turns being
taken by members of the family IN
this work. During the last week tho
goose becomes heavy and In conse-
quence Of the stufang and the small
exercise the liver becomes quite large.
in some cases being known TO weigh
four pounds. Great care must be ex-
ercised or the goose may -suifocate
and die. The work OF stufing is done
by hand, the noodles being actually
pushed down the throat OF the goose.
In doing this each goose must be taken
| separately and given as much food as
the person deems sufficient. Tho
noodles are generally prepared from
a mixture Of wheat and rye hour.
which is mixed into dough and cut
into strips or noodles, which in turn
are baked in the oven ready to be
used. When the time comes they are
moistened in water and forced down
the throat Of the goose with the aid Of
the finger.
The dressing Of the goose after kill.
ing is one Of the main considerations,
az much depends upon the way the
geese are put up for market, and this
generally means that the farmer has
a gathering to help In the work SO
that it can be done expeditiouslY.
When the work of dressing Is done the
fatted fowls have the appearance Of
huge rolls Of butter. as the legs. neck
and head are tied up in such manner
as to give the fowl that appearance.
The prices vary somewhat with re-
spect to the law of supply and demand.
but the farmer each year knows in ad-
| vance pretty near the price he Is to
receive for a certain quality Of fowl.
The usual price for good stock is the
price a pound that the fowl will aver
| age. II a lot Of geese will average %
pounds in weight then the price is %
cents a pound and so on. The writer
has seen stuffed geese marketed in
Watertown which weighed "a pounds,
and the liver Of which weighed in the
neighborhood Of four or five pounds,
They are certainly sight, and during
the season hundreds Of people watch
the marketing of this class OF fowl. AS
said before, they are shipped all over
the country. The custom is one which
came to this country with the Ger
mans from certain sections of that en-.
| pire. At Strassburg the industry Is q
i large one, the livers being used to
make pie called pate de foie gras,
much eaten and greatly relished by
the French. The liver is used as a
dainty edible in this country, while tho
lard is fried out and put away for
table use. The skin of the goose is
toasted and makes dish called Jew,
ish crackers. greatly relished. There
is but little lean meat on the fowl, the
most of the carcass being converted
into goose lard.
| The amount Of money paid out for
stuffed geese about Watertown may be
inferred from the fact that one farm
or in the town Of Milford got q check
for almost $1,000 for the stuffed geese
he marketed in one season. OF course
this is not all profit, and care must be
exercised In the selection OF the
geese, but the poultry pays remark
ably well, especially in years when
other poultry brought low prices. Be
sides the stuffed goose industry, Wa
tertown is noted as one of the largest
poultry markets in the northwest.
Novel Use for Fox Terrier.
Paris.-Yet another vocation has