FOOD VALUE AND USES OP POULTRY. 3 



American poultry experts designate as "meat" or "table" breeds 

 the Asiatic class, which includes Light and Dark Brahmas ; Buff, Par- 

 tridge, White, and Black Cochins; and Black and White Langshans. 

 Almost any of the heavy breeds can, however, be made into good 

 table birds if given proper feeding and care. 



Ordinarily, the poultry raiser depends on eggs as well as on table 

 birds for his profit, and selects free-laying, well-shaped, hardy varie- 

 ties, relying on care and feeding to develop the quality. and flavor of 

 the flesh. Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, Rhode Island Reds, and 

 Orpingtons are probably the most satisfactory of the common breeds 

 used in this country for "general purpose" birds. 



Hens lay most abundantly in the early spring and summer, and 

 hence the best season for "spring" chickens and broilers — i. e., 

 chickens from 2 to 6 months old — is from May to September or 

 October. Fowls or hens are, of course, to be had at all times of 

 year, but they are most frequently sent to market in the winter 

 months, when they are laying poorly. The retail market terms for 

 poultry, as for other commodities, vary somewhat with the locality, 

 but, according to well-established commercial usage in the United 

 States, "broilers" is the technical term for the youngest chickens; 

 then come " frying chickens ; " then "roasting chickens;" and finally, 

 "hens" or "fowls." 



The flesh of the mature cock is usually too tough and highly fla- 

 vored and requires too much care in cookery to be satisfactory, so' 

 caponizing of the young males is often resorted to. Capons rightly 

 fed and handled are considered exceptionally fine for table use. 

 Their flesh has the tenderness of the pullet, with a much better flavor. 

 Moreover, the tender parts of the body develop more than in ordinary 

 chickens, giving a larger proportion of white meat. They are usually 

 higher in price than other forms of chicken, but because their tender 

 flesh is better distributed over the carcass they may be carved and 

 served more economically than chickens of equal weight, and thus be 

 worth a higher price than ordinary chickens, irrespective of their 

 texture and flavor. 



Poulards, as the spayed females are called, are seldom found in 

 American markets, though they are often marketed and are highly 

 esteemed in Europe. 



TURKEYS. 



The name of these birds is rather misleading and does not suggest 

 that they were originally native in America. They were, nevertheless, 

 introduced into Europe from this continent soon after its discovery. 

 The confusion may have been due to the fact that at that time Turkey 

 was vaguely supposed to be the source of all sorts of strange impor- 

 tations; and these new birds were called "Turkey fowl" in the same 

 loose way that maize was called "Turkey corn." The French name 



