BROILERS AND ROASTERS. 93, 



sticking either in the mouth or neck. The former method 

 gives the best looking carcass, as there is no outward dis- 

 figuring wound, but as bleeding in the mouth, unless skill- 

 fully done, may not allow the fowl to bleed thoroughly, am 

 inexperienced killer will find it better to stick in the neck 

 when dressing for sale — at least until by practice on birds 

 to be consumed at home, he learns to kill by sticking in 

 the mouth. For this purpose special killing knives for 

 poultry are made, which may be obtained of any supply 

 house. 



In general, a New England killer works sitting down 

 with a coop of live chickens at his left, a box for feathers 

 at his right, and a pail to catch the blood between his feet. 

 Taking the chicken under his left arm, with the head in 

 his left hand, while the body is held fast between his arm 

 and side, he holds the mouth open with the thumb and fore 

 finger of the left hand, while with the knife held in the 

 right, he makes a deep cut across the mouth to penetrate- 

 the brain, then turning the knife makes a long cut toward 

 the point of the bill, to allow free bleeding. Next with a 

 short club he stuns the bird by striking on the back of the 

 head, then begins to remove the feathers. In some estab- 

 lishments where many pickers were working on large 

 fowls, I have seen pickers go to the coop, get their fowl,, 

 stand while killing and stunning it, then sit down to pick. 



The " New Jersey " method is to hang the fowl by the 

 feet by a cord suspended from a hook or beam, and in this 

 position stick and dry pick it. In some killing houses one 

 man kills and rough picks, while one or two more remove 

 the pin-feathers from the fowls he kills ; in others each 

 picker kills and picks clean his own birds. Some remark- 



