FOOD VALUE AND USES OF POULTRY. 11 



KILLING, PLUCKING, AND COOLING. 



According to recommendations made by the Department of Agri- 

 culture, 1 it is well to make the bird fast for 12 hours or more before it 

 is killed in order that its crop may be empty and the other organs as 

 free as possible of fecal substances. One of the most satisfactory and 

 humane ways to kill a bird is to hang it head downward and cut the 

 main veins in the neck at the base of the skull, so that quick bleeding 

 is assured. Just as soon as the veins are cut the brain should be 

 pierced with a sharp, stiff, slender knife, to kill the bird and cause the 

 feathers to loosen. If the proper areas in the brain are destroyed by 

 the knife thrust, the feathers may be plucked easily and without 

 tearing the skin. A common way of loosening them is to plunge the 

 carcass into water heated nearly to the boiling point, but this de- 

 stroys the natural appearance of the skin and also hicreases the 

 chances of decomposition. 



Unless a bird is to be cooked at once it should be put in a cool place 

 where it will lose its animal heat rapidly. Sometimes freshly plucked 

 birds are put into cold water for a short time, with the double purpose 

 of cooling them and making them look plumper. However, such 

 soaking injures the keeping qualities, and if the birds are kept in water 

 until they swell beyond their natural size and weight the practice 

 is fraudulent as well as injurious. A still more objectionable way of 

 plumping birds is by blowing them out. This is bad enough when a 

 bellows is used, but when, as is sometimes the case, the dresser blows 

 directly from his mouth, it is disgusting and dangerous. 



DRAWN AND UNDRAWN POULTRY. 



One of the much-debated questions among poultry dealers and con- 

 sumers is whether or not birds keep better when marketed drawn 

 (i. e., with the internal organs removed) or undrawn. Practice varies 

 in different localities. Opening the body and removing the viscera 

 undoubtedly exposes the internal surface to the air, which always 

 contains microorganisms, and thus may hasten decomposition; but, 

 on the other hand, it must be remembered that the viscera decompose 

 more rapidly than other parts of the body, and if left in it may taint 

 or infect the rest of the bird. It is sometimes argued that the con- 

 tents of the intestines of undrawn poultry may injure the flesh, be- 

 cause dissolved bodies of undesirable flavor can pass through the 

 intestinal walls into the surrounding tissue, but this danger is largely 

 avoided if the bird is starved for a day before killing. 



In elaborate experiments with drawn, partially drawn, and un- 

 drawn poultry, conducted by the Bureau of Chemistry of this de- 

 partment, 2 it was fomid that undrawn birds spoil least quickly, and 



i U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Chem. Circ. 61 (1915), rev. 

 2 TJ. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Chem. Circ. 70 (1911). 



