These fowls live to be very old, and for that reason great care is needed in selecting them. They are not good after they are three years old, and they are in perfection when from six months to a year old. A young goose has down on its legs, and the legs are soft and yellow. Like a turkey, as it grows old its legs change to a reddish color.

Roast Goose, With Potato Stuffing

Clean the goose as directed for any poultry, cutting off the neck and arranging the breast for stuffing, the same as for roast turkey. Geese, when properly dressed, are always filled with potato stuffing.

Potato Stuffing

Six potatoes.

One tea-spoonful of pepper.

One tea-spoonful of sage.

One table-spoonful of salt.

Two table-spoonfuls of butter.

Two table-spoonfuls of onion juice.

Pare and boil the potatoes, and mash them fine. ' Add the seasoning, and fill the breast and body with the stuffing, laying it in lightly. Sew and truss the same as directed for turkey, sprinkle with salt, pepper and flour, and cover the breast with slices of fat salt pork. The goose is not a favorite on account of the quantity of oil it contains and the disagreeable taste of the oil. The pork fat is quickly drawn out by the heat, flows over the goose and aids in drawing out the oil. When the goose has roasted forty-five minutes, take it from the oven, remove the pork, baste well with the oil in the pan, and pour off some of the oil if there should be a large quantity. Baste every fifteen minutes after the goose has roasted twenty-five or thirty minutes, the same as for turkey. Boil the giblets, and make the gravy as directed on page 205. If the oil is so much disliked that it cannot be used for the gravy, make the following gravy: Place two table-spoonfuls of butter in a frying-pan, and when hot, stir in two table-spoonfuls of flour. After the flour has cooked brown, add gradually the water in which the giblets were boiled, and lastly the chopped giblets, adding hot water also if the gravy should seem too thick. Season with salt and pepper. Apple sauce should always be served with roast goose. Goslings may be roasted in the same way, allowing, however, but fifteen minutes to a pound for cooking.

Deviled Goose

After cleaning the goose and wiping it well with a damp cloth, plunge it into a kettle of boiling water, and boil moderately for one hour. Take it from the kettle, drain well, and wipe it dry. Fill the body and neck with the potato stuffing described in the preceding recipe, truss and sew up the same as directed for roast turkey, and roast in a very hot oven, allowing fifteen minutes to a pound. Then mix together

Four table-spoonfuls of vinegar.

Two table-spoonfuls of pepper.

Two table-spoonfuls of made mustard.

Pour this over the goose as it is put in the oven, and baste frequently with the liquid at the bottom of the pan. Boil the giblets, and make the gravy as directed for roast turkey. This way of dressing is particularly nice for those who do not care for the flavor of the goose. An old goose that can be cooked in no other way may be so dressed, two hours being allowed for the boiling instead of one.