DRESSING AND MARKETING 63 



How squabs are killed. — The picker inserts the 

 blade of the killing knife well back into the roof of 

 the mouth, thrusting it into the brain, and draws it 

 forward severing the arteries of the head. Each of the 

 four squabs is thus bled, when the feathers are re- 

 moved in the order in which the birds are killed. He 

 then dips the ends of his fingers and thumb in the basin 

 of water and to avoid tearing the skin begins at the 

 lower half of the breast, picking downward. When 

 these feathers are removed, he picks the upper half, 

 pulling the feathers upward. The back of the bird is 

 then picked and the feathers from both wings removed 

 at one time by holding the wings in the left hand and 

 pulling the quills with the right. As soon as the bird 

 is thus rough picked, it is handed to an assistant, who 

 removes all pin feathers with a small knife, as shown 

 in Fig. 24. When finished the squab is dropped into 

 a tub of cold water to remove the animal heat as 

 quickly as possible. When one becomes expert in pick- 

 ing, he can rough dress 20 squabs in an hour. 



Draining and sorting squabs. — When all the 

 squabs are picked, the filth from their feet and the 

 blood from their mouths are entirely washed off and 

 they are put into a second tub of water. After this 

 is done they are hung on a rack to drain, as illustrated 

 in Fig. 25. While thus hanging, all undersized squabs 

 are removed and disposed of separately. 



Packing. — Except during cold weather, it is neces- 

 sary to use ice in shipping birds. Select a box of 

 sufficient size to hold the shipment, put a layer of 

 cracked ice in the bottom, carefully place the squabs 

 on their backs with heads all turned one way, alternat- 

 ing ea,ch layer of squabs with a layer of cracked ice, 

 and top ofif with a generous supply of ice. The lid 



