HOW TO DETECT YOUNG FOWLS. 147 



of fowls may be formed by the appearance 

 of the legs and feet ; in aged fowls these are 

 rough and stiff, and the toes stout and worn ; 

 the skin on the body is also coarse and rough ; 

 but in regard to this latter circumstance, 

 there is a great difference even among fowls 

 of the same age. Yellow-legged fowls have 

 a smoother skin than others. In young 

 fowls, the lower part of the breast bone is 

 soft and bends easily, and the skin under the 

 wings yields readily to the pressure of the 

 fingers. In young geese and ducks, the 

 webs of the toes are very thin, and almost 

 transparent, and the skin may be ripped up 

 with a pin. These hints are worth attend- 

 ing to, for the marketmen are often in the 

 habit of putting up an old and a young one 

 in the same pair, and you may have on your 

 table a venerable, tough old chanticleer side 

 by side with his descendant in the eighth or 

 tenth generation. 



