49 



squabs among a number of good ones, for they will depre- 

 ciate the price of the whole package. If fine ones are put 

 by themselves and marked "Firsts" and the poorer ones sent 

 without aiiy particular mark, the price obtained for the whole 

 shipment will be larger than it would have been if good and 

 poor had been packed together. 



It is best to kill on a certain day in the week, the day 

 depending on the distance to market. In South Jersey they 

 kill on Monday or Tuesday, send the squabs to New York 

 and usually get a check for them by Saturday. Some kill 

 Thursday in order to catch the Saturday markets, but as 

 a rule it is best to reach the market Friday morning so as 

 to give the commission merchant two days in which to sell 

 the birds. Often an early shipment gets the best price. 



At the same time the squabs are sent to market, mail a 

 letter to the commission man, advising him of the number 

 of birds you send to him and by what express company or 

 freight line. Give him any particulars which may help him 

 to make a good sale, if you think of anything that might 

 interest him. 



In the Eastern market squabs are graded by weight and 

 quality. They are called lo-pound, g-pound, 8-pound, 

 7-pound and 6j^-pound, and the prices range accordingly. 

 When lo-pound squabs are worth $6 a dozen, those weigh- 

 ing 6j4 pounds will sell for from $1.50 to $2.25 a dozen, 

 according to the state of the market, the high-priced ones 

 always selling first, unless a buyer has a special reason for 

 securing a lot of light-weight ones. 



When breeding straight Homers, one can reasonably ex- 

 pect 80 or 85 per cent whif'h will run 8 pounds or over to 



