148 



DOMESTIC AXMALS. 



[Chap. L 



■worth more to tliem than all we shall ever receive for preparhig this volume 

 of valuable information ? 



201. Preparing Poultry for Market. — "We have repeatedly published di- 

 rections for preparing poultry for market, and we can not make a more 

 valuable finish to this section npon poultry than by giving in brief such 

 directions as all must rigidly follow, who send such fiirni produce to the 

 great nuirket of New York. The professional poultry feeders and packers 

 need no instructions, but many farmers do. Many of them have already 

 saved a handsome per-centage ou the value of their poultry by giving it a 

 proper preparation, and others may. 



As a preliminary rule, and make it unalterable, never kill a bird unless 

 it is fat. Never cut olf the head of a turkey or goose, but hang them by the 

 heels where they can not bruise themselves in the death-struggle, and stick 

 them with a small knife and bleed them to death. Ducks and common 

 fowls, if decapitated, should be held or tied aud hung up to bleed to death. 

 Never kill your birds until quite f;it; yon will lose in price, in reputation, 

 and in wei<jlit. Never strangle them, so as to leave the blood in. The best 

 plan is to tie all kinds of birds to a line drawn from post to post or tree to 

 tree, and stick them just in the forward end of the neck, either with a broad- 

 bladed awl or a penknife. It is undoubtedly the best mode of killing. If 

 the head is cut off, the skiu recedes, and the neck-bone looks repulsive. To 

 obtain the best prices, the birds must look good as well as be good. 



There is an exception, however, to the above recommendation about stick- 

 ing, for some dealers prefer the birds with heads on, and some do not. In 

 some towns it is always customary to cut off all the heads. When this is to 

 be done, draw the skin back from the head as far as possible, so that when 

 you cut off the head, M'hich should be done close to it, there will be some 

 loose skin to draw over the end of the neck-bone, where it should be tied 

 close. We doubt whether it is not worth wliile to pay freight upon heads. 

 It is worth while to pay freight on the intestines, because the meat can not 

 be kept sweet long after they are drawn aud the air admitted inside of the 

 body. Therefore, never draw a bird. 



It is a practice of some of the best poultrymen, while the birds are bleed- 

 ing, to hold them firmly by one hand, and pluck the feathers with the other, 

 as they come out easily while the fowls are warm. This treatment is only 

 foi- turkeys and common fowls. They are then ready for scalding. Take 

 hold of the legs, and plunge the body in quick succession, two or three 

 times, in boiling water. This should be done in a warm room, and the birds 

 hung upon a line to pick clean, taking care not to tear the skin. Geese and 

 ducks are plunged two or three times in boiling water, drawing them out by 

 the head, and then wrapped in a woolen blanket to steam ten minutes. 

 Take them on your lap to pick. Do not scald the legs, nor heat the bodies 

 of birds against the sides of the kettle. After the birds are neatly picked, 

 they are put through the jilumping process. This gives them a finish, and 

 increases their value in market. 



