414 FATTENING, KILLING, AND DRESSING 



them rapidly in large clusters, without tearing or injuring the 

 skin, can only be acquired by learning the principles involved 

 and by the constant application of these to the work until the 

 knack is acquired. 



The usual custom is to pluck the feathers first from the parts 

 of the body which tear the easiest, the order of plucking being 

 as follows: Breast, neck, shoulder, and thighs, these small feath- 

 ers being tossed into a barrel at the side of the picker; next the 

 large wing and tail feathers are removed, and usually thrown on 

 the floor and discarded, as they are of little commercial value. 

 The small or fluffy feathers are next removed, care being taken 

 when plucking not to bruise the skin with the fingers or nails. 

 The feathers are grasped between the thumb and forefinger with 

 just enough pressure to pull them out. The picker becomes 

 accustomed to holding feathers just tight enough to let them slip 

 through his fingers before the skin tears. 



After the feathers are removed the bird is said to be " roughed " 

 (Fig. 188, E). Next it must be gone over and the pinfeathers 

 extracted. This is usually accomplished with a knife, the small 

 pins and broken feathers being grasped between the knife blade 

 and the thumb, the knife being passed over the skin in a direction 

 opposite to that in which the pinfeathers grow. 



In large poultry-picking establishments the work of " rough- 

 ing " is usually done by one group of pickers, and the " pinning " 

 by another; thus a larger number can be turned out, for "pinning " 

 takes practically as long as picking, and yet does not require as 

 much practice and can be done by cheaper labor. On the average 

 farm where one man does all the work, one hundred birds is a 

 good, ten-hour day's work (Fig. 190). 



There are two modes of picking, standing and lap picking, 

 the former being more generally used. Lap picking is quite com- 

 mon in New England; the operator sits beside a box and holds 

 the bird in his lap with its head between the box and his right 

 leg, the fine feathers being thrown into the box while picking. 

 The greatest objection to this method is the danger of bruising 

 the bird's flesh by rubbing its skin against the legs. This can be 

 averted by suspending the bird. 



Scalding. This method of plucking fowls is quite generally 

 used on farms throughout the country, and especially for retail 

 trade. Undoubtedly it is the easiest way to remove feathers, 

 and, if properly done, does not materially injure the bird for 



