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ice-cold water." This makes the meat look plump and fat t con- 

 siderably improving its appearance. 



10. "The laws of Massachusetts and New York do not 

 require poultry to be drawn. In the former State however the 

 crop must be drawn if there is food in it at the time of killing. 

 Custom, which is quite as potent as statute law, requires that 

 poultry marketed in Massachusetts be drawn; and carefully drawn 

 poultry will sell so much more readily and for so much better 

 prices, that it pays well to comply with this demand." 



TO SCALD A FOWL. 



Where the fowl is to be eaten at home, or where it is sold for 

 immediate consumption, many prefer to remove the feathers by 

 scalding. There is a right and a wrong way to do this. The 

 right way is as follows : Kill in the manner described in preceding 

 section. After the blood has stopped dripping from the wound 

 take a wooden pail, or some other receptacle, fill it three-fourths 

 full of boiling water, and into this pour a pint of cold water to 

 reduce the temperature a little below the boiling point. Take the 

 fowl by the neck and legs and dip it into the water twice, once 

 with the breast downward and once with the back, getting it in 

 and out of the water as quickly as possible. Hang the fowl up 

 again, and begin to pluck. When the feathers have been removed 

 and the intestines drawn, dip out two quarts of water from the 

 pail, putting two quarts of boiling water in its place. Put the 

 carcass into this, and let it stay 10 seconds, then take it out and 

 put it in water nearly if not quite ice cold, letting it stay 10 min- 

 utes. This, as has been explained, is "plumping," and gives the 

 carcass a very plump and inviting appearance. Put a tablespoon- 

 ful of salt into the cold water at the same time the fowl is put in. 

 Hang up the fowl in a cool place until it is to be cooked or sold. 

 Fowls treated in this way present an excellent appearance, and 

 will keep several days without discoloration. 



PACKING AND SHIPPING. 



''Carefully sew up all rents or torn places on the skin, wash 

 clean in cool water, wipe dry and hang in a cool place until the 

 animal heat is entirely out, before packing. Pack in clean barrels 

 or boxes with clean straw, as follows : first a thin layer of straw 

 and then a layer of poultry in the same posture in which they roost, 



