NATURAL LAWS. 



If you have a good market at home you need not ship 

 ^them east. But if you have not it pays to look up a good 

 market. Ducklings bring- fifteen to twenty-two cents per 

 pound from April to May 20th and the best prices are ob- 

 tained in Boston and Philadelphia, often twenty-eight cents 

 per pound in early May. 



Dry and Scalded Picking. 



This depends for which market. Some want dry picked, 

 others scalded ducks. Dry picking is very hard and it takes 

 a long time to pick them. An expert can dry pick a duck in 

 twenty to thirty minutes and it takes a good picker to dress 

 thirty ducks a day. On the other hand an exper can dress 

 seventy-five scalded ducks a day, so it pays best to scald 

 them. Dry picked ducks sell at two cents per pound more 

 than scalded, but it takes all the profits away, because a 

 man's time is worth more in picking. 



How to Kill and Pack. 



Catch them by the neck with a hook made of wire on the 

 -end of a pole. Use a sharp pointed killing kife. Cut a cross 

 in the back of the throat and then turn up the point and put 

 the knife into the brain. This will loosen the feathers. 

 Now if you are going to dry pick get at it before the duck 

 gets cold. Begin with the wings and tail, then the breast 

 and back. If you are going to scald them put them in hot 

 water just coming to a boil. Take them by the necks, two 

 at a time and dip in and out for a few minutes until all the 

 feathers are wet. By trying a few feathers on the breast 

 you will know when the feathers pull easily. Put them on a 

 bench and pull out as fast as possible without teaiing them. 

 Use the thumb and finger to pull feathers and by doing it 

 quickly and not taking too many feathers at a time, you can 

 dress one in ten minutes easily. When you have all the fine 

 down picked off, dip it in cold water, wash out blood from 



