_Killing._ Where geese are killed on the farm for shipment to market they are usually hung up by means of a cord about the legs. When geese are to be dry picked the veins in the throat just beyond the skull are first severed with a long bladed knife such as used for killing turkeys to cause good bleeding and the point of the knife is then plunged through the roof of the mouth to the brain performing the stick which serves to make the feathers come out more easily as with other classes of poultry. Since it is rather difficult to dry pick geese, they are usually scalded or steamed and where this is done, the stick is not made but after the veins in the throat are cut, the goose is stunned by a blow on the back of the head with a short club. A blood can or weight is then hooked through the lower bill which keeps the neck straightened out and prevents the blood from being thrown about the room or on the birds. The birds are allowed to hang until they are dead and thoroughly bled out. _Picking._ When geese are dry picked, the feathers are removed just as soon as the birds are stuck for the longer the delay the harder the feathers pull. The wings are picked to the first joint and the feathers of the neck half-way to the head. The soft pin feathers and fine down may be removed by shaving the skin or rubbing the body with moistened hands will partially remove them. Usually geese are scalded or steamed for picking. For steaming a wash boiler three-quarters full of boiling water and with a burlap sack tightly stretched over its top can be used. The goose is simply laid on the sack and the steam coming through the burlap steams the feathers and makes them easy to remove. The breast should be steamed first, then the back and then each side. Two or three minutes will be time enough to complete the steaming. The feathers are steamed until they pull out easily. The goose must be kept moving to prevent the flesh from becoming scalded and since the breast is especially tender it is usual to lay the head under the breast to prevent the latter from scalding. After steaming the body feathers are removed and the bird is then singed over a flame furnished by alcohol burned in shallow tin plates, in order to remove the down. The down may also be removed by sprinkling powdered rosin over the goose's body which is then dipped into hot water. The hot water melts the rosin which sticks to the down and the down and rosin can then be rubbed off together. Geese may also be steamed by scalding slightly in hot water and then wrapping tightly in burlap or some other cloth. They are kept wrapped for about five minutes which allows the steam to work thoroughly through the feathers which can then be plucked easily. Exactly the same methods can and often are employed in dressing geese as are used with ducks. The reader is therefore also referred to the material in Chapter VII.