186 AMERICAN SQUAB CULTURE 



at each end of the feed hopper, into which can he placed the 

 drinking cup. 



Care should be taken not to have any cracks near the bottom 

 of the shipping coop for birds to get their feet or wings out of, 

 and the coop should be high enough so the birds cannot stick 

 their heads out of the top, for they are apt to get their heads 

 knocked off by the expressmen pulling another crate or box 

 across the top of the coop they are in. It is also not a good plan 

 to have openings around the sides to cause drafts. Not over 

 15 or 20 birds should be shipped in a compartment, as they 

 are apt to pile up at one end of the coop on top of each other 

 and trample or smother the under birds. 



HOW TO COOK AND SERVE SQUABS 



If squabs are for home use it is just as well to cut or pull 

 their heads off as to bleed them to death, and the former is the 

 easiest and quickest. 



After a squab is picked, singe the hair or fuzzy feathers off 

 over a blaze, then wash in cold w^ater; cut off the feet at the 

 knees; cut off the end of the neck if it is bloodshot or extra long. 

 To remove the entrails split the squab open at the back. Be 

 sure and get the crop and its contents all removed; wash again 

 thoroughly and let it stand in salt water over night if you have 

 time. If not it can be cooked at once. 



Squabs can be stuffed and cooked or roasted as you would 

 a chicken or a turkey; broiled as you w-ould a spring chicken 

 or a quail. Stewed or fricasseed squabs are also good, but fried 

 squab is the most common and besides being the most simple 

 and easiest to prepare, will suit the taste of a majority of people. 



How To Fry Squabs 



The old fashioned southern way of frying a chicken is proba- 

 bly the best way to fry a squab. This method requires a lot of 

 grease and, therefore, is not often used unless there are a num- 

 ber of squabs to fry. Although by this method a lot of grease is 

 needed to fry the birds in, they are not at all greasy when 

 cooked if the grease is kept hot. 



Take a kettle of grease and let it get extra hot, then cut 



