Show army navy in in need of goose feathers plucking live geese will help farm income plucking live geese is one way farmers may be able to help their country in wartime and at the same time pick up some extra money geese leathers feathers are in considerable demand for use in making flying suits for aviators and in other ways to protect american soldiers and sailors against the cold the feathers are now bringing a good price poultry raisers usually pluck the feathers from live geese prior to m I 1 I 1 1 4 n in jefferson county wisconsin george was busy pitching alfalfa hay on the farm owned by the brothers there is seeing to it that the farms soil is getting the proper amount of nitrogen because of his previous alfalfa planting molting bolting mol ting A few pick as often as every six weeks during the spring summer and early fall while others pick only once or twice a year either in the spring or fall feathers are plucked only when the quills appear dry and do not contain blood both young and old geese are plucked about a pound of feathers may be plucked from a goose during a year feathers are never pulled after november 15 or the geese will not be in full feather for marketing neither are they picked during the breeding season in plucking a stocking is usually put over the head of the goose and vv fw v WS f aft W ao skag J hiam m k an excellent herd of cattle in pasture at clatsop county oregon the soft feathers on the breast back and abdomen are pulled not more than five quill feathers should be pulled from each wing enough short feathers to provide support underneath the wings are always left feathers are partly cured before they are shipped by placing them in sacks of loosely woven material hung in the loft of a building where there is good air circulation feathers in the bags are stirred occasionally sio nally during this curing period |