314 Farm Poultry 



in order to make the bodies appear plump. The 

 legs are folded underneath the body, which gives 

 a plumper appearance. Before the fowls are placed 

 on the machine the breast bone is sometimes broken 

 down, though not always. The stern of the fowl 

 is pressed firmly against a smooth, hard object in 

 order to give it a flattened appearance. This appear- 

 ance is still further increased by the use of the ma- 

 chine on which the fowls are placed. They are left 

 on the shelves until cool. Sometimes, however, 

 they ard sent to a near-by market before the animal 

 heat has left the body. The English method of 

 preparing fowls for market has some advantages 

 over that in use in the United States. There is no 

 doubt that fowls will appear plumper when cooled 

 on a "forming machine," after the English fashion, 

 than when hung up by the feet to cool according 

 to the almost universal custom in America. 



The "forming machine,"* see Fig. 101, is made 

 by arranging conveniently a series of shelves so that 

 each shelf has a backboard placed at nearly a right 

 angle to it. The shelves slope backward somewhat, 

 which keeps the fowls which are placed upon them 

 snugly in the angle formed by the shelf and the 

 backboard. The width of the shelf is determined 

 somewhat by the size of the fowls to be placed upon 

 it. Those who are extensively engaged in fattening 

 fowls have different sizes of "forming machines." 



* "Fattening Fowls," E. Cobb. 



