APPENDIX G 



319 



HOW A BIG OHIO 

 PLANT SHIPS SQUABS, 

 byF. J. Bunce. On Monday 

 morning while the attend- 

 ant is watering, and before 

 the birds are fed, the rounds 

 of the pens are made and 

 all of the squabs that have 

 dropped to the floor over 

 Sunday are placed in a crate, 

 and these with enough more 

 to make six dozen, are re- 

 moved to the killing room 

 for the early morning start. 

 These are enoxigh squabs to 

 run the pickers several hoxirs 

 and give the breeders plenty 

 of time to feed the young 

 before more squabs are re- 

 quired for the killing room. 



There is no set age at 

 which a squab should be 

 marketed. Some will be 

 ready at three and a half 

 weeks, some at four and 

 some not until five weeks of 

 age. If the squab on the 

 nest is solid and plump and 

 is full feathered under the 

 wing, it is ready for the 

 market. Do not hurry them off the nest un- 

 less it be absolutely necessary to fill an order, 

 as a few days longer on the nest may make 

 ten-pound squabs of birds that would not 

 weigh more than eight pounds if dressed too 

 soon. 



We do not suspend the squabs from a string 

 to pick them, as the most of the large plants 

 do, but pick them in the hand. Our picker 

 has always contended that he could pick a 

 squab while the other picker was hanging his 

 up and taking it down. 



Place the left hand around the base of the 

 wings after drawing them together and draw 

 the head back between the thumb and first 

 finger. Insert the killing-knife well back in 

 the mouth and draw'it sharply up and forward, 

 twisting the knife as you remove it from the 

 mouth. Care should be taken not to inserl 

 the knife too deeply into the brain, as the birc 

 will bleed too freely and cause the skin to set 

 before the feathers have been removed. 



As soon as the incision has been made, re- 

 move the wing and tail-feathers first, follow- 

 ing this with the neck, and then the balance 

 of the body. 



The squabs are then placed in the buckets 

 to remove the animal heat. When the buck- 

 ets become full, the bodies of the squabs are 

 washed off, the blood is removed from the 

 mouth and the filth from the feet, and they are 

 placed in another and larger tub, where they 

 remain until it is time to pack them. 



We wish to say here that we never leave 

 the squabs in the tanks over night, if we can 

 avoid it, as they are apt to get soft. If un- 

 avoidable, ice the water heavily, but always 

 do your best to get them out on the first train 

 for their destination. 



EXTERIOR OF ONE OF THIS OHIO PLANT'S HOUSES. 



Never use a box for packing your squabs as 

 some will recommend, for the simple reason 

 that the express messengers will up-end the 

 package, also pile other boxes on your ship- 

 ment, and when it reaches your market, your 

 commission man reports it arrived in bad 

 order and you are given a nice little cut in your 

 remittance. 



We use a small keg for small orders and a 

 cracker barrel for larger shipments. First 

 fill your barrel or keg with water and let it 

 stand until it drains out to swell it, then line 

 it with a good grade of white parchment paper 

 to make it air-tight. This also helps the ap- 

 pearance of your package. Before placing 

 any ice in the package bore a small hole in the 

 bottom of the barrel to drain off the water 

 which would gather from the melting of the 

 ice. Place a large scoopful of finely cracked 

 ice in the bottom of the barrel, then place in 

 the barrel in very nice order a layer of squabs, 

 a thin layer of ice and another layer of squabs, 

 repeating until barrel is three-fourths full. 

 Then fill to edge with ice cracked to about the 

 size of a man's fist. Fold the balance of your 

 parchment paper over the top, remove the 

 hoop, place a piece of burlap over the barrel, 

 replace the hoop and drive down in place, 

 holding it in place with small lath nails. 

 Fasten your express tag to a strong cord or 

 wire and nm through the btu-lap, fastening 

 same securely. 



Question: I have bought a set of steel 

 figtu-es to number leg bands but the figure 9 

 is missing. Answer: To make figure 9 hold 

 the figure 6 die upside down. None of these 

 sets has both a 9 and a 6. One die serves for 

 both. 



