to dispose of ugly
ganders to safeguard the children from serious injury.

CHAPTER X
Breeds and Varieties--How to Mate to Produce Exhibition
Specimens--Preparing Geese for the Show--Catching and Handling

_Breeds of Geese._ There are six standard breeds of geese consisting of
the following: Toulouse, Embden, African, Chinese, Wild or Canadian and
Egyptian. All of these breeds consist of a single variety with the
exception of the Chinese which is composed of two. The Toulouse is known
as the Gray Toulouse, the Embden as the White Embden, the African as the
Gray African, the two varieties of the Chinese as the Brown Chinese and
the White Chinese, the Wild or Canadian as the Gray and the Egyptian as
the Colored.
The first four of these breeds are the ones which are commonly kept in
domestication. In a general way it may be said that these breeds are
meat breeds for the reason that they are kept mainly for the production
of meat. The Wild or Canadian and the Egyptian are more in the nature of
ornamental breeds since they are not so commonly kept and are
principally to be found where ornamental water-fowls are maintained. The
Chinese are sometimes classed as ornamental geese on account of their
smaller size but they are much more commonly kept than either the
Canadian or the Egyptian and make a good market fowl where the demand is
not for such a large carcass.
In addition to the standard breeds there are several other rare breeds
among which is the Sebastapol which is kept purely as an ornamental
breed by reason of its peculiar feathering. The Sebastapol is a white
goose in which the feathers of the upper part of the body show a twisted
or frizzled condition which gives it much the general effect of the
feathers being curled. In addition to the standard breeds of geese there
are kept on a great majority of farms ordinary common geese of no
definite breed or variety. These geese in general are of smaller size
than the larger standard breeds and have probably arisen as the result
of the crossing of the standard breeds and the subsequent deterioration
in size and color marking is due to careless breeding and selection.
In some sections and for certain special purposes definite crosses of
standard breeds are made for the production of table geese having
certain desired qualities. For this purpose the African ganders are very
popular used upon the Toulouse geese. To some extent there is produced
and marketed a goose known as the mongrel goose. This has exce