448 MARKETING THE PRODUCTS 



for Sunday. It is well, therefore, so to plan shipments that they 

 will reach their destination on Thursday, or not later than Friday. 



Cold Storage of Dressed Poultry. Where dressed poultry is to 

 be shipped a considerable distance to market, it is usually sent in 

 refrigerator cars, in which the temperature is kept at or below 40 F. 

 by means of salt and ice crushed fine and packed in the bunkers. 

 In this way dressed poultry can be shipped thousands of miles, and 

 will go through in prime condition. Thorough chilling for about 

 forty-eight hours in a mechanical freezer before placing the poultry 

 in the car will help to put the shipment through in good shape. 



During periods of heavy production dressed poultry is often 

 placed in cold storage, but it should be held a much shorter time 

 than is the case with eggs. Cold-storage birds deteriorate consider- 

 ably, especially if not properly bled and dressed; and, owing to this, 

 the practice should be limited to holding for only short periods. 



OTHER PRODUCTS. 



Preparing and Marketing the Feathers. Feathers, after being 

 properly cured, find a ready market, prices varying materially 

 with the quality of feathers and the uniformity in color, as follows : 

 Geese feathers bring from forty to sixty cents, the highest price 

 being paid for pure white feathers free from quills; for duck feathers 

 from thirty to forty cents is realized, and for chicken feathers 

 from four to twenty cents per pound can be secured. Colored 

 feathers bring from four to six cents and white feathers sometimes 

 as high as twenty-five cents. 



Feathers are utilized for a great many purposes, the principal 

 one being the filling of pillows and cushions ; and, oftentimes, for 

 making millinery supplies. The feathers which are secured on 

 poultry farms, where many birds are dry picked for market, if 

 properly picked, separated, and dried, are considerable revenue. 



In some sections buyers of poultry and eggs collect feathers 

 also, but there is usually no local collector available for the small 

 producer, whose best course is to get the name of some special 

 feather buyer from trade papers, and communicate with him. 

 Such firms purchase feathers of all qualities, and on request will 

 quote prices and manner of shipping. Extensive shippers of 

 dressed poultry find it to their advantage to secure a regular 

 firm to handle their whole output of feathers at a regular price. 

 In this way the producer learns what quality and methods are 



