Plumping and Packing 309 



cold water for several hours, when they will be ready 

 to pack. It is not necessary to dry the fowls when 

 they are to be packed in ice. 



In scalding fowls, care should be taken not to 

 leave them in the water too long. Over-scald- 

 ing will cause the outer surface of the skin to peel 

 off, and consequently, they will not present a good 

 appearance. If they are under-scalded, the feathers 

 cannot be removed so readily, and salesmen find 

 that they do not appear so well when exposed for sale. 



PACKING AND SHIPPING 



If the fowls are to be packed dry for cool-weather 

 shipment, neat packages that are clean, and as 

 light as will carry the contents safely, are to be 

 preferred. Uniform packages are preferred to 

 various kinds of rough boxes. Clean barrels or 

 neatly prepared cases should be used. It is recom- 

 mended to use cases or boxes for turkeys and geese, 

 and barrels for chickens. In packing poultry, it is 

 customary to use clean, dry wheat or rye straw. 

 The straw should be free from chaff, and hand- 

 threshed is preferred to that which has been threshed 

 by a machine. A layer of straw should be placed 

 in the bottom of the package, and then alternate 

 layers of poultry and straw until the package is full. 

 Heavy paper is placed by some .poultry shippers 

 between the poultry and the sides of the package. 



