A SELF-SUPPORTING HOME 



process. Birds capons and turkeys princi- 

 pally are confined in small individual coops 

 and fed heavily on moderately soft mash for 

 two weeks, by which time the appetite com- 

 mences to fail and artificial stuffing is re- 

 sorted to. A funnel-like appliance is inserted 

 in the bird's mouth and pushed down into 

 its throat ; then a liquid food is poured in the 

 crop until it is filled. The very large com- 

 mercial fattening establishments use an ap- 

 paratus which looks something like a street 

 knife-grinder's machine, and is worked in 

 the same way by the attendant's foot, only 

 instead of turning the wheel the treadle 

 action controls a pump which forces the 

 feed out of a tank down a tube into the bird's 

 crop. Both excellent methods, possibly, but 

 after seeing them in operation, I confessed to 

 preferring a little more humane and whole- 

 somely old-fashioned way of providing deli- 

 cacies for our table. 



We have coops six feet long by two and a 

 half wide, with yards six by ten, into which 



231 



