42 



TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



respect they in a measure resemble the ordinary barn yard 

 flock of bens. The best producers and breeders, however, 

 stick pretty closely to the pure breeds and in this way are 

 able to carry the type and quality of the birds to a more sat- 

 isfactory result in market poultry than could otherwise be 

 attained. There is no question that in all branches pure- 

 bred poultry though not necessarily bred to the feather, will 

 produce market birds more even in size, shape and table 

 qualities than any mixture which comes from the indiscrim- 

 inate breeding together of various kinds, types and sizes. 



DRESSING AND SHIPPING MARKET TURKEYS. 



Where do they come from? Every state where turkeys 

 grow contributes to the array. Many used to be brought in 

 from Canada. These came both alive and dressed. They 

 used to be shipped in alive by the carload and were fattened 

 and killed for the market. Sometimes they were not held 

 for fattening, but were killed immediately upon arrival, 

 Under the present tariff this importation has practically 

 ceased. About the only poultry now brought across the line 

 from Canada are geese, and they do not count in this story. 

 The Boston market is unquestionably the most fastidious 

 poultry market in the country. While, of course, much poor 

 stock does come to this market, there is nothing like so 

 large a proportion of poor poultry shipped to Boston as is 

 used in other large eastern markets. The best turkeys, aside 

 from those raised in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont 

 and New Hampshire, come from the west. The best western 

 turkeys come from Wisconsin and Michigan. These birds 

 are all good sized, are perfectly dressed and the carcasses 

 are fat and meaty. A very good quality comes from Iowa. 

 Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Nebraska also ship immense 

 numbers. Missouri sends quite a good many turkeys, but her 

 principal shipments are geese, ducks and fowl and chickens. 

 From the Virginias come large numbers, while Kentucky is 

 sending birds of the very best quality. The southern birds 

 cannot be shipped to good advantage except in the coldest 

 months. 



The present methods of shipping are a very great ad- 

 vance over those in common use only a few years ago. Then 

 all poultry from a distance had to be shipped by the regular 

 passenger expresses, or come through on the slow freights. 

 Shipping by freight was possible only in the coldest months, 

 and the numerous delays and the consequent inability to tell 

 when the goods would be received, made this method of 

 Shipping very unsatisfactory. Since the advent of the freight 

 express with refrigerator cars and other conveniences for 

 keeping the temperature at a low degree, it has become pos- 

 sible to ship all kinds of poultry long distances on schedule 

 time; thus assuring prompt receipts in good condition. Much 

 of the far-away poultry comes through in the warm months 

 packed in ice. That is, an ordinary sugar barrel is used; 

 a layer of ice is put in the bottom of the barrel, this is cov- 

 ered by a layer of turkeys, followed by another layer of ice, 

 and so on till the barrel is full. Then it is covered by burlap 

 and shipped by freight express direct to the eastern market. 

 If by chance the shipment is delayed, the carrying company 

 re-ices the barrels, and in this manner prevents serious loss 

 of quality. There is little doubt that poultry thus iced loses 

 some of the flavor which it would otherwise have. The con- 

 stant soaking for perhaps days at a time, while it keeps the 

 birds sweet and free from taint, nevertheless takes some- 

 thing from their fine table qualities. 



The shape of the package has changed as much as the 

 quality of its contents and the method of shipping. Ten 

 years ago most of the turkeys came through in boxes of all 

 sizes, shapes and conditions. No attention was paid to uni- 

 formity, and second-hand shoe, hat, coffee and canned goods 

 and such other boxes as were available were used, together 

 with barrels of varying sizes and conditions, from the little 



western apple barrel up to the coffee and sugar barrels. The 

 result of this method of packing was not altogether inviting 

 to the eye of the buyer. Gradually more attention was given 

 to the matter and a steady improvement has been made un- 

 til at the present time boxes are made especially for the pur- 

 pose. Barrels to some extent are also used at the present 

 time, but not nearly so commonly as in years past. The 

 size of the packages has also changed. The rule used to be 

 to get as large a box as possible, cramming in as many tur- 

 keys as it would hold without splitting. In some ways this 

 made business good for the wholesale and jobbing houses, as 

 there were many small dealers who were unable to handle 

 full packages, who had to pay an extra profit for the privi- 

 lege of selecting such birds as they needed. It is a question, 

 however, if on the whole there was much gain to the whole- 

 sale handlers, as there were generally enough odds and ends 

 left to seriously detract from the profits as a whole. The 

 demand for smaller packages came to be felt by shippers as 

 well as wholesalers and commission men and steps were 

 taken to supply the want. At the present time the boxes 

 rarely weigh more than 150 to 200 pounds each, and great 

 numbers are packed in boxes holding from ten to fifteen 

 selected birds, while a less number hold from eight to 

 twelve. This makes it possible for the small marketmen 

 and provision dealers to buy a full package without any 

 extra cost for breakage or selection, and at the same time 

 does away with a great deal of work and with much of the 

 wasfe which was prevalent in the old method of packing and 

 shipping. 



The common method of packing birds is to make one 

 layer of torn turkeys in the bottom of the boxes, while the 

 upper layer is made up of females. This gives a selection of 

 sizes, and is better for the retailer than where they run 

 pretty nearly one size throughout. The best shippers are 

 known by their private shipping marks and it is understood 

 just how the birds may be expected to turn out. Generally 

 the case is marked so many hens, so many toms, and if any 

 old hens or old cock birds are in the package, they are speci- 

 fied on the outside so that the buyer may know just exactly 

 what he is getting. In the long run honesty in packing 

 makes returns in dollars and cents and there is no other one 

 thing which tells better for a shipper than a reputation for 

 honast methods of boxing. 



The way of dressing has changed from time to time. 

 Years ago a good many turkeys were shipped from the west 

 undrawn and with heads on. They did not altogether suit 

 the fancy of the trade. Unless unusual care was taken, they 

 were pretty apt to arrive in a blood stained condition, due 

 to the blooJ which oozed from the heads, and where the 

 heads were wrapped in paper before shipping, the whole pre- 

 sented a mussed and unfinished appearance to the eye of the 

 dealer. Of late years the custom has settled into a pretty 

 general method of drawing and heading the birds before 

 shipping. They are thoroughly bled out, the carcasses are 

 kept until the animal heat is altogether dispelled. The 

 heads are removed and the skin drawn down over the end of 

 the neck bones and is neatly tied, making it impossible for 

 the birds to get at all stained or bloody in transit. Great 

 care must be taken that all the blood is drained from the 

 neck before tying else it will accumulate in the cavity at the 

 end of the bone and next to the string which ties the skin, 

 and will coagulate and turn the color of the neck to a dismal 

 purple which will rapidly change to green, giving a decided- 

 ly bad look, and if left any time, a worse flavor to the whole 

 carcass. 



In the good old days the nearby turkeys, those from 

 Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire and 

 such as were raised in- Massachusetts, were brought to mar- 

 ket nearly altogether by teams over the country roads. Many 



