DISTRIBUTION OF MARKET PRODUCTS 285 



was in very good condition ; but if he could see it when the re- 

 ceiver unpacks it, he would be surprised to find how many 

 blemishes there were on it and how poor it looked. Removing 

 the feathers without scalding is called dry picking. It is an 

 art which requires considerable 

 practice. The novice who tries 

 it usually tears the skin of the 

 birds badly. 



In order to reach the market 

 in good condition, poultry must 

 not only be properly killed and 

 picked, but each carcass must 

 be cooled as quickly as possible, 

 to remove the animal heat that 

 remains in it. This is done 

 either by hanging the carcasses 

 in a very cool place or by put- 

 ting them in cold water. Meat 

 of all kinds that is cooled im- 

 mediately after killing will keep 

 much longer than if cooling is 

 neglected. 



There are so many details 

 which must have attention in 

 dressing poultry for shipment, 



that it usually pays both pro- FIG. 231. A badly dressed and a well- 



ducers and small Collectors to dressed fowl. (Photograph from 



n v ^ -, Bureau of Chemistry, United States 



sell poultry alive to those who , \ . . 



Department of Agriculture) 



have better facilities for hand- 

 ling . it and whose operations are on such a scale that they 

 can employ experts for all parts of the work of preparation. 

 Cold storage of poultry products. So abundant are the sup- 

 plies of eggs in the spring, and of some kinds of dressed poultry 

 in the summer, fall, and early winter, that large quantities could 



