The fact that geese are noisy creatures makes them undesirable to some persons. It is true that they make a good deal of noise and that their cry is of a very hoarse, rasping character and to a person with bad nerves they may be annoying but this is no valid or weighty objection to the normal, healthy farmer. The Chinese geese are the noisiest and consequently the greatest offenders in this particular. A more valid objection to geese lies in the fact of their rather ugly disposition. Ganders, especially as they grow older and during the breeding season, are decidedly pugnacious and will not hesitate to attack human beings. They strike heavy formidable blows with their wings and with their strong bills they inflict most painful bites. Where there are children about the house it may be necessary 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.