tween his knee and the outside of the
box. He proceeds to pluck the feathers as rapidly as possible, removing
all the feathers except the main wing feathers or those of the first
joint of the wing and the feathers of the neck half way from the head to
the body. All the soft body feathers are thrown in the box and saved.
The coarser feathers are thrown on the floor. The down is removed by
rubbing the moistened hand over the skin. To save the hands, ordinary
rubber heels dipped in water are often used. Sharp knives are also used
to shave off the pin feathers which cannot be plucked and any down not
removed by rubbing.
The dry picked goose presents a much better appearance than a scalded
goose and the feathers are more valuable. The skin of a dry picked bird
is not so likely to be rubbed off in removing the down.
_The Value of the Feathers_ is sufficient to pay for the cost of the
picking or perhaps a little more. The cost of picking in the fall of
1920 ranged from 15 to 20 cents per goose where the picker was boarded
and 24 cents without board. A good man can pick about 40 geese in a day.
Women are not employed for this work as the geese are too big and too
strong for them to handle.
After the geese are picked, the blood is washed from the head and the
feet washed if that is necessary. They are then thrown into barrels of
cold water to cool and must be left there until the body heat is
entirely removed. The wings are tied in place by means of a string or
tape tied around the body and wings and the legs may also be crossed
over the back and tied. The geese when ready for market are either
shipped in by express or are taken in by automobile truck.
_Gain in Weight._ In fattening according to the methods described above
a gain in weight is secured of from 6 to 8 pounds per goose. This does
not represent the total gain in value, however, for the fattened geese
will bring more per pound as a result of their finished condition. The
fattened geese when ready for market will weigh from 12 to 20 pounds.
Weights taken on two carloads of fattened geese showed an average weight
of 14 pounds. On December 2, 1920, fattened geese from these farms were
bringing 42 cents per pound on the Boston market while the mongrel geese
were worth 50 cents or a little better.
The question may arise as to the size of farm necessary to carry on a
business of this sort. Using the methods employed about Boston a farm of
30 acres would be sufficient to handle 20,000 geese in a season. In