72 THE IMPORTANCE OF BIRD LIFE 



treated will reach a weight of ten or twelve 

 pounds, while their flesh remains soft and tender. 



But capons are a specialty in the world of 

 poultry and, although attaining much popularity 

 in America, they still fall behind the birds known 

 as " roasters." These are individuals graduated 

 from the "broiler" stage, which have reached 

 five or more pounds in weight. ' * Hens ' ' are fowl 

 which have passed the one-year mark. They are 

 fricassee or boiling fowl. 



In case a young cockerel is intended to become 

 a " roaster " it undergoes a process of fattening 

 for ten days to a month before marketing. This 

 fattening, or " cramming, " of fowl has existed 

 as an art in Europe for two thousand years, but 

 only within the last generation has it been widely 

 undertaken in the United States. 



Cramming may if necessary be done by hand. 

 The fattening food then is made into a thick 

 paste, which is rolled into pellets and forced down 

 the bird's throat. The victim thereupon is re- 

 turned to a narrow fattening-pen to await a 

 repetition of the dose due in a few hours. In 

 place of pellets, however, a funnel may be intro- 

 duced into the throat and the food poured down 

 as a liquid. Again, a machine resembling a meat- 

 grinder is sometimes employed. In this case a 

 tube is fitted into the mouth of the caged cockerel, 

 a man turns the crank of the machine, and the 

 food is forced into the stomach. The first system 



