THE MARKETS 85 



field and gathers up all the killed and mained birds he can 

 find, and sells them for two and three cents apiece, or for 

 anything he can get, and these find their way into the markets. 

 The cruel practice of pigeon shooting by miscalled "sports- 

 men " on Long Island is quite common, and the presence of 

 these birds in the New York butcher shops accounts for the 

 above quotation in the Tribune. It is unnecessary to add 

 that such birds do not compete with squabs. They can be 

 made palatable only by stewing for hours in a pie, which takes 

 out a little of their toughness. There is now a law in New 

 York forbidding pigeon shooting. 



As to squabs, the quotation, " Prime, large, white, per dozen 

 $3.50 and $3.75," is for the kind of squabs that are raised 

 from our Homers, namely, No. 1 grade. 



By the quotation, " Mixed, $2.75 and $3.00," is meant that 

 these amounts are paid for lots of birds composed of No. 1 

 and No. 2 grades, mixed. If you sort up your birds care- 

 fully you will be able to get the No. 1 prices for all. Some 

 people do not know how to sort them, and they have to be 

 satisfied with the price of a mixed lot. 



By the quotation, " Dark, $1.75 and $2.00," is meant the 

 dark-fleshed squabs, as you have learned by reading our 

 Manual. Squabs whose flesh is dark do not sell for as much 

 as the white-fleshed squabs. 



Pigeons are of all colors, i. <?., as you see their feathers, and 

 the squabs likewise, but when you pluck the feathers off the 

 flesh is either a pure white with a tinge of yellow, or dark like 

 a negro's skin. 



Quotations for squabs as found in the market reports in 

 the newspapers are always lower than they really are. The 

 writers of the market columns in the daily papers see only the 

 commission men and cater only to them; they smoke the 

 commission men's cigars and believe what the commission 

 men tell them. They do not see the producer at all. The 

 object of the commission men is to get the squabs as cheaply as 

 they can. When you are breeding squabs make up your mind 

 to get from twenty-five cents to one dollar or more per dozen 

 than you see quoted in the market reports. The only way to 

 find out the truth about the squab markets is to go into them 

 and offer to buy squabs, not to sell them. Then you will learn 

 the true prices. 



