In roasting birds the great point is to avoid dryness.
Butter should be put into the bird as well as outside.
The fowl should never be washed with water after being trussed but wiped with a damp cloth.
On no account should a fowl intended for roasting be floured on the outside. It is an abominable practice, causing the skin to become leathery and thick.
Fowls or any birds already plucked and trussed cannot be kept for more than two days. But before trussing they may be kept hanging for three or four days providing the weather is not thundery or hot.
121. Roast Goose
Have a goose of seven or eight pounds trussed for roasting. Stuff with sage and onion stuffing (rec: [40]), butter the breast well and cook in a quick but not fierce oven for three and a half hours. Garnish with sausages.
122. Roast Duck
If not stuffed put a piece of butter inside and butter the breast liberally. Cook in a quick oven for one and a half hours. Dish as for roast fowl and serve with green peas as per recipe. If stuffed it must be cooked for one and three quarters hours.