366 POULTRY BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 



is the split basket with handle. The basket with the lid 

 is the most convenient. A muslin cover is sewed on to the 

 basket that has no lid. The handles make the package con- 

 venient for lifting and at the same time prevent placing 

 other boxes on top. There are other satisfactory shipping 

 boxes. They should have some spring or resiliency to pre- 

 vent undue jarring of the eggs. Each egg should be 

 wrapped in excelsior or some other good packing material. 



MARKETING POULTRY 



At the present time the largest proportion of farm poul- 

 try is sold alive. The killing is done by the dealers in the 

 city. It is done by them more cheaply and better, as a rule, 

 than it can be done on the farm. The farmer and his help 

 have not usually the skill to do the work properly. Another 

 advantage of shipping the fowls alive is that the dealers 

 in the cities, being in close touch with the demands of the 

 market, can even up the supply to meet the demand. In 

 the case of a surplus coming in one day, they can hold part 

 of it over for several days and kill only sufficient to meet 

 the immediate needs. If the poultry all came to market 

 dressed there would frequently be a glut ; that would mean 

 often putting considerable quantities into cold storage or 

 losing it. On the other hand, there would frequently be a 

 dearth of fresh-killed stock. This would compel handlers 

 of poultry to provide large storage facilities, and the con- 

 sumers would be using storage stock a large part of the 

 *time instead of fresh stock. 



The evil of this system of live shipments is that in most 

 cases chickens are paid for on the basis of weight without 

 regard to quality, though one farmer may furnish chickens 

 with 25% more edible meat for the money received than 

 another farmer. While the great bulk of the poultry is 

 shipped alive, special markets may be worked up by farmers 



