MARKET POULTRY AND EGGS 



This will hold 24 birds. For turkeys the standard box is 26 by 24 

 by 15 inches. This will hold twelve young toms, or six young 

 toms and eight hens, or sixteen hens. 



On the outside of each box should be stencilled the shippers' 

 name and the gross, tare and net weight of the box with the 

 grade of the fowls it contains. The largest poultry dealers in 

 the world. Swift & Co., pack their stock in boxes and grade it 

 as follows: 



Weight per doz. 



Small broilers, 20 to 25 pounds. 



Large broilers, 26 to 30 pounds. 



Small fryers, 31 to 36 pounds. 



Large fryers, 37 to 42 pounds. 



Small roasters, 43 to 48 pounds. 



Medium roasters, 49 to 60 pounds. 



Large roasters, 60 pounds and over. "" ■ ■ ' 



As poultry packed in boxes cannot, of course, be iced, the 

 shipments should be sent in refrigerator cars. Some successful 

 poultrymen who have a trade direct to 

 the families pack the birds in paste- 

 board boxes, each holding one bird. 

 Common stock, which constitutes the 

 bulk of the shipments, is sent in bar- 

 rels. Three or 4 inches of ice, broken 

 to the size of a' fist is put in the bot- 

 tom, and on this is packed a layer of 

 poultry with the heads down, the 

 backs up and the feet in the center 

 of the barrels. Another layer of ice 

 2 or 3 inches thick is put on top and 

 then another layer of chickens, ducks 

 or geese, and ice, and so on until the 

 barrel is full. A fifty-pound cake of 

 ice is put on top and over all is ap- 

 plied a piece of burlap, kept in posi- 

 tion by the top hoop. The poultry 

 should not be frozen before being 

 packed as frozen stock is worth two 

 or three cents a pound less than that 

 not frozen. 



HOW TO SELL 



A private trade brings the best 

 returns. If the poultryman is near a 

 city of good size he wiU have no diffi- 

 culty in disposing of his products at 

 prices far above those paid in the open 

 market. Next to a family trade — or 



preferable to it if the business done is a large one — is the 

 supplying of the best hotels and restaurants, or clubs. If 

 direct sales are impracticable, as often is the case because 

 of the grower's distance from the market, arrangements can 

 be made with a city dealer or commission man to take all the 

 birds raised. Capons, fancy roasters, broilers and other fine 

 stock generally are contracted for, some shippers being paid from 

 5 to 10 cents a pound above the market price the year around. 

 If the goods are sold through commission merchants, care should 

 be taken to investigate the reliability of the merchant, as a 

 dangerous number of "fly-by-night" concerns are in the business 

 to fleece everybody with whom they deal, fleeing with the gains. 

 This practice is so common that the United States government 

 has issued this advice to shippers: "Beware of being tempted 

 by higher market quotations than are sent out by well estab- 

 hshed dealers. High quotations are the favorite bait of the 

 imposter." 



"There is also a legal point that is well to bear in mind: 

 In most, if not all, states, when a commission merchant receives 



goods on consignment he becomes the shipper's agent, and any 

 attempt to defraud his principal is punishable by fine or imprison- 

 ment. Not so if he buys gbods outright, agreeing to pay for 

 them at a stated price. In the latter case the shipper's only 

 recourse if he fails to receive the contract price is a civil suit, 

 resulting in a judgment generally worth no more than the paper 

 it is written on. For this reason dishonest merchants fre- 

 quently offer to buy outright. Too great care cannot be exer- 

 cised in these matters. When a direct sale is made, except to a 

 well-known house of good reputation, the safest method of pro- 

 cedure is for the shipper to consign the goods to his own order, 

 making draft through bank or express company and attaching 

 it to the bill of lading from the railroad company, properly 

 endorsed. The bank or the express company will then present 

 the draft and surrender the bill of lading only on payment, so 

 that the commission merchant cannot obtain the goods until 

 he has paid for them." Five cents on the dollar is the usual 

 commission for selling poultry. 



BOXES AND BARRELS USED FOR PACKING DRESSED POULTRY FORiSHIPMENT 



SAVE THE FEATHERS 



The poultryman overlooks an important source of profit 

 if he neglects to save the feathers. The value of the feathers is 

 an important reason for dry-picking the birds, as dry-picked 

 body feathers from chickens bring from 18 to 19 cents a pound, 

 while scalded feathers are worth only a cent a pound. Th& 

 demand is steady the year around, the following being the- 

 average prices per pound: 



Prime Live Geese, white— _ 60 @ 62' 



Mixed Grey Feathers .43 @ 44 



All Grey__ 38 @ 42' 



Old Geese, according to quality— ■_ 20 @ 40' 



Mixed Geese and Duck_ 35 @ 37 



Duck Feathers, white 42 @ 44' 



Mixed- .....:. 32 @ 33- 



Old Duck, according to quality.. .15 @ 35. 



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