210 MAKING POULTRY PAY 



Stop eating. Against the wall place coops eighteen 

 inches square, with slat front, with six-inch board run 

 along in front to set the feed and water on. Put six 

 chicks in each coop. Give plenty of grit ; crushed flint 

 is best. 



^^1len ready to ship, kill and pick dry, and if 

 enough are ready at once the best thing to ship in is a 

 barrel. If small quantities are shipped use an egg case, 

 butter crate or any kind of a box. Broilers are very 

 tender and should have a small quantity of either clean 

 straw or excelsior on top and bottom to keep them 

 from chafing. Cool thoroughly in ice water before 

 packing and in warm weather use crushed ice on top, 

 then the excelsior on top of the ice. Philadelphia broil- 

 ers can be raised anywhere once the trick is learned, 

 yet it will require some experience to get them so nice 

 and fat that they appear almost like squabs. \Mth 

 strong, healthy breeding stock, which lay good, fertile 

 eggs, the victory is half won. — [G. A. Fetridge. 



CAPONS AND CAPONIZING 



A capon is a castrated cock, especially when fat- 

 tened. The object in caponizing is to secure qualitv 

 and size, but quality is the most desirable. To secure 

 this, much depends on both the breed and the feed. 

 To secure the best capons, the birds must be givai 

 plenty of time to mature, and cannot, therefore, be 

 marketed while young. A few months' old capon is 

 no better than a cockerel. In fact, age does not 

 impair the quality of a capon, provided .the bird is not 

 kept over a year and a half, as it more readily fattens 

 after reaching maturity than before that time. The 

 one great mistake in raising capons is in marketing 

 them too early. 



