140 POULTRY FOR PROFIT 



or private, should make as presentable an appearance 

 as possible, and for this three things must be ob- 

 served : 



1. The fowl must bleed thoroughly. Failure to 

 do this leaves discolorations on the skin. 



2. The head must be left on. There are excep- 

 tions to this rule. Private customers do not care to 

 see the head, and broilers are marketed without it, 

 but in general, the public prefers to see the head, and 

 so the head is left on. 



3. The skin must be unbroken. 



4. The fowl must be plump and appetizing. 



In order to satisfy the first two conditions, the 

 fowl must be bled without removing the head, and 

 the only way to accomplish this is to kill by the 

 method called "sticking." First, hang up the bird by 

 the legs, then, according to directions of the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture, "grasp it by the bony part of 

 the skull. Do not let the fingers touch the neck. 

 Make a small cut with a small, sharp-pointed knife 

 on the right side of the roof of the mouth, just where 

 the bone of the skull ends. Brain for dry picking 

 by thrusting the knife through the groove which 

 runs along the middle line of the mouth until it 

 touches the skull midway between the eyes. Use a 

 knife which is not more than two inches long and 

 one-fourth inch wide, with a thin, fiat handle, a sharp 

 point and a thin cutting edge." 



If it is properly "stuck" the bird will bleed freely. 

 Now hang a blood can on the fleshy part of the lower 

 mandible and "dry-pick." The skin will be smoother 

 and whiter if the fowl is dry-picked instead of 

 scalded, and if the feathers are pulled in the direc- 

 tion in which they grow, they can be easily and 

 quickly removed without danger of breaking the 



