hatch their young if given a chance to do so. Not
infrequently individuals of the Toulouse breed will do this also but as
a rule they are not dependable for this purpose.
_Size of Mating._ In making the mating it is usual in order to secure
best results to use one gander with from two to four geese in the
Toulouse, Embden and African breeds. In fact, better results will be
secured in these breeds where not over 3 geese are used and in many
cases the geese are mated in trios or even in pairs. In the Chinese
geese a somewhat larger mating can be employed, one gander being used
with 4 to 6 geese. The Wild or Canadian and the Egyptian geese in most
cases pair only.
_Age of Breeders._ Geese can be retained and will give good results as
breeders for a longer period than most other classes of poultry. While
the young geese will often lay during their first year the results from
the eggs produced by them are not as a rule very satisfactory. It is
sometimes claimed that the eggs of young geese will not hatch but this
is untrue and goslings have been raised from such eggs. Canadian and
Egyptian geese do not lay until they are 3 years old. Females may be
kept for breeding purposes until they are 8 to 10 years old and should
give good results during this time. If they continue to lay longer than
this and are valuable breeding individuals they should of course be
retained just so long as they lay at a profitable rate. Instances are
reported where geese 15 to 20 years old were still giving good results
as breeders. As a rule ganders cannot be successfully kept for breeding
purposes as long as can the geese. Yearling ganders are often used but
they are at their best for breeding purposes when from 3 to 5 years old
and it is not generally wise to retain them after they are 6 or 7 years
old. Egyptian and Canadian ganders will not breed before they are 2
years old. In general it is good practice to mate young ganders to older
geese and to mate younger geese with older ganders as this seems to get
better results both in fertility and in hatching.
_Marking Young Geese._ It is often desirable to mark young geese in some
way so that their breeding can be told or so that a record can be kept
of their age. This can be readily accomplished by punching various
combinations of holes in the webs between the toes at the time the
goslings are hatched.
_Considerations in Making the Mating._[4] In making the mating in
breeding geese it must be kept in mind that it is of primary impo