1'2G POULTKY l-'EEDING AND PATTENIXG 



neck; hang b_y the feet until properlj^ bled. Leave 

 head and feet on and do not remove intestines nor crop. 

 Scalded chickens sell best to home trade, and dry-picked 

 best to shi])]")ers, so that either manner of dressing "will 

 do if properly executed. For scalding chickens the 

 water should be as near the boiling point as possible 

 without boiling; pick the legs dry before scalding; hold 

 b}^ the head and legs and immerse and lift up and down 

 three times; if the head is immersed it turns the color 

 of tlie coml] and gives the eyes a shrunken appearance, 

 which leads buyers to think the fowl has been sick; the 

 feathers and j)infeathers should then be removed imme- 

 diately very cleanly, and witheiut breaking the skin; 

 then "pluTup" Ijy dipping ten seconds in water nearly 

 or quite boiling hot, and then immediately into cold 

 water; hang in a cool place until the animal heat is 

 entirely out of the bod}'. To dry pick chickens prop- 

 erly, the work should be done while the chickens are 

 bleeding; do not wait and let the bodies get cold. Dry 

 picking is much more easily done while the Ijodies are 

 warm. Be careful and do not break and tear the skin. 



Pacl-'uig and SJiipping — Before packing and ship- 

 ping, poultry should be thoroughly dry and cold, but 

 not frozen; the animal heat should be entirely out of 

 the Ijody ; pack in boxes or barrels; boxes holding 100 

 to 200 pounds are preferable, and pack snugly; 

 straigliten out the l)ody and legs, so that they will not 

 arrive very much bent and twisted out of shape ; fill 

 the packages as full as possil)le to prevent moving ahout 

 on the way ; barrels answer better for chickens and ducks 

 than for turkeys or geese ; "\^dlen convenient, avoid 

 putting more than one kind in a package, mark kind 

 and weiglit of each description on the package and mark 

 shipping directions plainly on the cover. 



Icing Poultry for l^hipmpiit — On this subject a 

 Chicago commission dealer writes : "There is but one 



