nary merchandise, no matter what the distance. Breeders- 

 having special customers who wish the squabs plucked 

 should pack them loose in a clean pine box (with ice in the 

 summer) and nail the box up tight. Such shipments go 

 through in splendid condition and if the breeder has a choice 

 article, with his trade mark stamped on the box, he gets the 

 fancy price. Squabs which reach the Boston market from 

 jobbers in Philadelphia and New York are plucked and 

 packed with ice in barrels. Breeders around Boston who 

 reach the Boston market with undressed squabs send them, 

 in wicker hampers or baskets on the morning of the day 

 after they are killed. 



BOOKKEEPING. 



If you wish to have a very accurate record of your breed- 

 ers, or if you are breeding pedigreed stock, you should mark 

 the squabs when they are four or five days old. The only 

 practical method is to place around one leg of the squab a 

 seamless metal band, itsually made of aluminum and having 

 stamped on it your initials and a designating number, to 

 correspond to the number of the card in your card index. 

 When the squab i^ young, the toes may be squeezed easily 

 through the band. As the squab grows, the growth of the 

 claws makes the removal of the band impossible. The squab 

 should be inspected occasionally for a day or two after you 

 have put on the band, to make sure that it has not worked 

 ofif (which sometimes happens). Having marked your breed- 

 ers, you know each by its number, and you may make dif- 



61 



