Home Production of Poultrij. 351 



that the smell of the excrements stimulated the fattening- ;" no 

 wonder, therefore, that distempers have made sad havoc among 

 the poultry-yards of France. In one place which Mr. Geyelin 

 visited, "the cottager had provision made for the excrements 

 to fall through the floor of the pen ; and on pointing out the 

 innovation, he prided himself on his invention, ' as,' said he, 

 ' I can now remove the manure, the feathers of the fowls get 

 less dirty, and the birds have also more air.'" 



Difference of opinion exists in various parts of France upon the 

 relative fattening propensities of capons and virgin cocks. " In 

 some localities they pretend that when cocks are not allowed to 

 associate with the opposite sex, they will attain, when fattened, 

 a greater weight, and be much finer as regards flavour of flesh. 

 Others, again, say that when a cock is castrated, it can be 

 kept till a more mature age without deteriorating its quality, 

 and by this attain an extraordinary weight when fattened, besides 

 making himself useful as a troop-leader of chickens." 



The killing and dressing also is a speciality, carried on by 

 men called Tueurs et Appreteurs, the factory system of division of 

 labour being thoroughlv applied to the whole of poultry-craft. 

 " They are astonishingly expert in their business, and unless 

 witnessed, as we have done, it would appear incredible that 

 one man can kill and pluck at the rate of one fowl per minute, 

 or sixty per hour. The price paid for this work is about one 

 farthing per head for lean, and one halfpenny for fat poultry. 

 The system of killing differs, however, in this, that whilst in 

 Paris they make a gash in the throat, in the country they stick 

 the poultry in the back of the roof of the beak ; both cause im- 

 mediate death, but the latter is the cleanest and most desirable 

 process. They deprecate our system of twisting the neck as 

 cruel, discolouring the flesh, and causing early putrefaction of 

 the coagulated blood. When a man kills, he has three baskets 

 near him, into which he drops the feathers, according to the 

 size ; and the reason for plucking the fowls immediately after 

 death is the great saving of time, and the prevention of tearing 

 the skin, which cannot well be avoided when the fowl once gets 

 cold. The lean fowls are immediately emptied of their intes- 

 tines ; but not so with the fat stock, which contain a large 

 quantity of valuable fat, used in basting, and to give flavour 

 to lean poultry. With chickens, they take care to leave the 

 down on, as an index of their age ; and in all fowls they leave 

 about half-a-dozen feathers in the rump, which gives a very 

 pretty appearance. As soon as the fowl is plucked, and before 

 cold, it is laid on its back on a bench, and wrapped round with 

 a wet linen cloth to mould its shape, and to give the skin a 

 finer appearance. However, they use no flour, as with us, to 



VOL. II.— S. S. 2 A 



