Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1910-01-26
PluCK|Ne LIVE GEESE
An Operation Necessary to Pro-
cure Good Feathers.
LOCKING THE BIRDS, WINGS.

s"o tnetr Loos
es"ssssd Together. the H.,pl.,.
~ssse Are Ready. II Not Wilma. Vic.
Tins For the Expert Pieksrs.
Yes" said u manufacturer and deal,
er IN bed Furnishings. III Is necessary
tnat goose feathers should be take,
IIvm the i've goose II we are tn stndv
TIE health ana comfort OF p..o,,l,. u,ho
think they must have feather heds ora
pillows. Dead goose feathers mr.. no,
much better than husks 10 lie on a,d
nave not that great virtue of busks~
wholesomeness.
They say IL doesn't hurt N yooss 60
pluck IL. but II seems to me that ono
might rs well say that Il Wouldn't hurt
msn 10 nave bis 'whiskers yanked out
py the handful. The reason they give
Tor believing goose doesn't sufrer
when It's feathers are being plucked
out or IL In that IL never suuawks or
squeaks or makes fuss while tho
piucking is going ON.
NOW. i believe II hurts a goose like
the mischief tu have its feathers pulled
Out coiEli"S 49, they DO from the ten
oereSt siNtS Oh its body. aud the rea.
son TIE fowl doesn't utter any protest
prompted hy pain Is. according to the
way have sized geese up. because A.
sucn blame fool. A goose will
squawk and ciatier aud cackle as II Il
weFr suffering nure agony than n
morse wife the collie just at the mere
slight OF y'.U but II you corner II IN
AM peit A. With stones II seems 10 for
gel that IL has n voice aud will take
all the punishment you give II without
a further word.
The Pennsylvania Dutch farmers
pluck geese today just the same as
their forbears did time out OF mind.
and don't know MS there is any other
way. IL certainly couldn't be made
any pleasanter for the goose unless
the piucker held chloroform or some
thing like that TO Its nose while the
piucking was going on. The geese TO
be bereft OF their feathers are FIRST
got together In an Enclosure used for
the purpose. The perspicacity of
geese may be ssrikingly made known
10 you when they are being rounded
up In such an Enclosure IL there should
happen TO be knothole in one end OF
IL. the door being at the other. That
door may b~ siI feet high and three
broad. but goose after goose will L.
more IL and try it's best TO get through
the knothoie. Induced. though. to try
the door. every goose will bob it's head
down rs II passes through for fear OF
knocking II against the top OF the
door jamb. six feet above.
There is man or a boy In every
neighborbood where geese are plucked
who II an expert In getting the goose
ready for the process. Not every one
can do that. The wings OF the goose
have 10 be locked together by n pecul.
lar arrangement OF the two near the
shoulder. and. while they are not tied
or fastened In any other why. the lock
n such that no goose can unlock IL.
The goose's feet are tied together with
q broad band OF soft muslin. Then Il
Is ready for The plucker.
The pavkers. who are almost al
ways women. 40 among the geese with
their heads and faces entirely covered
with hoods fastened around the neck
with a shirr string. There are holes In
the hoods for the eyes and also at the
nose 20 supply fresh air for breathing
From the neck down the pickers are
covered with a glazed muslin garment
to which no feather or down will cling
The pluckers will sit on low stools
around q large and perfectly dry tub
Each takes In her lap n goose made
helpless by Its interlocked wings and
bound legs and with rapid plying OF
her fingers separates the feathers from
IL. This 10 done with such skill. though.
that the piucker rarely breaks the
goose's skin or causes blood TO follow
the plucking out OF feather. The air
IL constantly flled with the light feath-
ers during the plucking, but they set
tie into the tub at last.
But there isn't as much call for the
goose 10 undergo this raping OF its
feathers as there used 10 be. Not one
pound OF goose feathers Is used today
where there were fifty pounds twenJ, =
Eve years ago. Odd as 1t may seem.
asthma aud hay fever long ago began
TO have a good deal TO do with decreas-
ing the demand for feather beds and
pillows. 1t was discovered that asth-
ma and hay fever had an affinity for
such touches and head rests: that
nothing would start an asthmatic or
for cheerful nights wheeling so
quickly as a feather bed. This diScov-
cry spread. and the goose owes a great
asthma."-Detroit Free Press.