208 PROFITS IN POULTRY. 



low figures in the cities. As it increases so much in bulk 

 in cooking, it is not an expensive food for young chicks, 

 even at the regular retail price, though it would not or- 

 dinarily pay to feed it to full-grown fowls very liberally 

 or very frequently. In the absence of worms, bugs, etc., 

 during early spring, cheap parts of fresh beef can be well 

 boiled and shredded up for the little chicks; but care 

 must be taken not to feed more frequently than once in 

 two days, and only then in moderation. This feeding 

 on meat shreds is very beneficial to young turkeys and 

 guinea chicks when they are " shooting" their first quill 

 feathers, as then they require extra nourishment to re- 

 pair the drain on immature and weakly bodies. 



LOSS OF WEIGHT IN DRESSING TURKEYS. 



Farmers frequently have occasion to sell turkeys by 

 live weight, and wish to know what is the fair relative 

 price between live and dead weight. In turkeys dressed 

 for the New York market, where the blood and feathers 

 only are removed, the loss is very small. For the East- 

 ern markets the head is cut off and the entrails are 

 taken out. This makes a loss of nearly one tenth in 

 the weight. A large gobbler was recently killed weigh- 

 ing alive 31-J Ibs. After bleeding and picking he 

 weighed 29-J Ibs., a loss of 2 Ibs., or about one-fifteenth. 

 When ready for the spit he weighed 2S Ibs. a loss of 

 3 Ibs., which is very nearly one-tenth of the weight. 

 Where the market requires the New York style of dress- 

 ing, and the price is 15 cents a pound, a farmer could 

 afford to sell at 14 cents live weight, or less, if he 

 counted the labor of dressing anything. In the other 

 style of dressing, if the price were 20 cents, he could sell 

 for 18 cents, or less, live weight, without loss. Farmers 



