100 



SUGCBSS WITH POULTRl 



becomes greater. The reason of this is that people are be- 

 coming educated to the -enjoyment, of the luxury. 



Looking over the quotations on January 1, we note that 

 large and choice capons sold,, dressed, ^at fifteen cents per 

 poundj while, mixed lots brought twelve cents per pound. 

 What are termed "slips" (cockerels that have been imper- 

 fectly caponized) sold at from' eight to ten cents per pound. 

 A capon will bring upwards of three times as much as a 

 cock. Capons gro* to be larger and heavier than cocks and 

 may, if well bred, be made to attain a size of from twelve 

 to fifteen pounds each. A capon of such a .weight will sell 

 for from $2 to $3, while a cock will not bring more than 

 fifty cents. Yet it costs just as much to raise cocks as to 

 raise capons. 



When raising capons the breed. should be. carefully con- 

 sidered. If the Operation is performed early the capon will 

 not develop a comb. The operation should be performed 

 before the bird is three months old. It is a waste of time 

 to use small breeds and scrubs, as , they will only sell as 

 second-class stock. The largest capons, according to our 

 information, are produced by crossing a .Dorking male with 

 Brahma hens, and the best in quality are produced by keep- 

 ing the pullets of the Dorking-Brahma cross and mating 

 them with an Indian Game male. The capons so produced" 

 combine the size of the Brahma, the compactness of the 

 -Dorking, arid the full 'breast and juicy qualities pf the 

 Indian Game. Other good crosses may be made by the use 

 of Houdan male, with Brahma, Cochin, or Plymouth Eook 

 hens, or the Dorking or Indian Game may be used in place 

 of the Houdan. The hen should always be large. The form 

 and quality are mostly derived from the sire. 



A capon grows and fattens on a small amount of food. 

 The first point should be to secure large frames and fatten . 

 them after they are fully matured. If the capon is pro- 

 duced from, a large breed it should have plenty of time for 

 growth — about fifteen months — for every pound is valuable. 

 The food should be nourishing, but not. fattening. Corn is 

 unnecessary until near the time for fattening. Wheat, oats, 

 pounded bone, meat, milk and green food, all that it can 

 eat twice a day will be sufficient to help capons rapidly in 

 growth. 



Capons should be put in a small yard (not too crowded) 

 three weeks before being sold and fed four times a day, 

 giving plenty of corn and also a variety of other food. One 

 of the best preparations for fattening capons is corn meal 

 and ground oats, equal parts, adding half a pound of crude 

 .tallow to every quart of the mixture. Moisten the whole 

 with skimmed milk or boiling water and season with salt. 



Buyers aje not so particular about the size of the legs 

 and skin of the capon as they are of its size and attractive 

 appearance in other respects, yet a yellow leg capon holds an 

 advantage. Yellow legs may be secured by using Plymouth 

 Bock males on pullets that have been produced by mating a 

 Dorking male and a Brahma hen. Such a capon will be of 

 excellent quality and will always bring a good price. Light 

 Brahma males are also mated with Cochin hens in order to 

 secure large capons, but they do not have that full breast 

 which is imparted by the Houdan, Dorking or Game. If the 

 color of the legs is of no consequence, the Houdan male and 

 Langshan hen produce excellent capons when mated. 



The comparison of a well-bred, well-kept and well-fed 

 capon with a cock of the same breeding, will show that 

 where a cock reaches ten pounds weight in a given period of 

 time, the capon will weigh one-third more, and the differ- 

 ence in price is three to four times as much. If, instead of 



keeping the yards full of useless and unprofitable cockerels 

 eaponizing were resorted to, there will be a greater desire 

 to have mor.e cockerels hatched than pullets. By - keeping 

 good breeds,, neighbors may be induced to use the eggs for 

 - hatching purposes. Then the surplus cockerels may be 

 bought at a slight advance, as they will prefer to keep the 

 puliets for their own use. By then providing the neighbors 

 with pure-bred males every seasoii there would be no limit 

 to the supply of eggs for- hatching cockenels for capons. 



The Philadelphia Market. ^ 



Philadelphia, Pa., August' 13. 

 Editor Reliable Poultry Journal. 



Replying to yours of recent date, will state that capons 

 are in active demand in our market from February 1 to May. 

 Last season they ranged in pri<;e from twelve to sixteen 

 cents per pound. It is not any advantage with us to have 

 them unusually large, as birds weighing five pounds -each 

 sell as readily as those weighing seven pounds or more. For 

 the past three seasons, they have been ranging in weight 

 from five to seven pounds each, which gives general satis- 

 faction. Yours truly, PHILIP QUIGLEY,"- 



303 South Front Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 



POULTRY FOR MARKET. 



Philadelphia, Pa., March 19. 

 You will find instructions for dressing and shipping 

 poultry on the back of the enclosed circular. From the first 

 of March to the first of November poultry should be shipped 

 alive, or if shipped dressed should have sufficient ice in the 

 barrel to prevent it from spoiling in transit. It would be 

 safe to ship dressed poultry from November to March with- 

 out ice, as during that time the temperature is lower. 



Impress on shippers the necessity of permitting the en- 

 trails to remain in all poultry and game, with the exception 

 of rabbits and venison; the entrails should be removed from 

 the latter two animals. 



I have had three shipments of Light Brahma cockerels 

 from E. H. Upson, of Indiana, and got him thirteen cents 

 per pound. 



We charge five per cent for selling goods and deduct 

 the expressage, -etc. Thus: 



1,000 pounds, 10 cents $100.00 



Less express $10.00 



Commission 5.0O 



Net proceeds ■ $ 85.00 



If I have missed giying any desired information please 

 let me hear from you. Yours truly, 



PHILIP QUIGLEY^ Commission Merchant. 

 Explicit Directions. 



Selecting.— Select nothing but well-fattened stock. Full 

 crops are undoubtedly a great injury to poultry, and often 

 taint the whole fowl, giving it a sour, bad flavor; besides, if 

 it is kept from feed twenty-four hours before killing, the 

 food becomes fully digested and, having passed off, leaves 

 the entrails comparatively clean. 



Killing.— The best mode of killing fowls is to stick them 

 in the mouth, being careful that they helped freely, and that 

 the blood does not collect around the head, causing that part 

 to spoil much quicker than it otherwise would. Pick the 

 feathers while the fowl is bleeding and be careful not to 

 bruise or tear the flesh. 



Dressing.— Poultry should be dry picked, not scalded. 

 They should then be hung up by the legs or spread upon 



