PLUCKING FOWLS ALIVE. 53 



not to be trusted for incubation, excepting in the 

 case of the imported eggs of rare birds. Another 

 method of preservation has lately been recommended 

 in print. To dip eggs in oil, and pack them in salt. 

 At any rate, they ought not to be deposited on their 

 sides. Our annual import of eggs from France, has, 

 of late years, been very considerable. A few years 

 since, the following successful experiment for their 

 preservation was made at Paris. A large number 

 of eggs was placed in a vessel, in which was some 

 water saturated with lime and a little salt. They 

 were kept in that state several years, and being 

 opened in the month of January, were found in ex- 

 cellent preservation without a single failure. This 

 account was forwarded to me by an English lady, 

 an experienced poultry breeder. The quantity of 

 turkeys and other poultry imported at Dover from 

 France, in the month of December, has often ex- 

 ceeded the weight of twelve tons in a week. 



FEATHERS or DOWN intended for use, should be 

 plucked as soon as possible after the bird is dead, 

 and before it is cold, otherwise they are defective 

 in that elasticity which is their most valuable pro- 

 perty, and are liable to decay. The bird should, 

 beside, be in good health, and not moulting, for the 

 feathers to be in perfection : and being plucked, and 

 a sufficient number collected, the sooner they are 

 dried in the oven, the better, since they are else apt 

 to heat and stick together. 



The practice of plucking the LIVING FOWL, (see 

 page 55,) if interest must sanction such a custom, 

 should be performed in the most tender and careful 



D3 



