TURKEYS— THEIR CARE AND MANAGEMENT. 



79 



yellow appearance longer than it would if dampened or if 

 coolPd in water rather than by the air. 



PACKING TO SHIP. 



Packing is as important an operation as picking, but 

 not so tedious. All consignments should be packed tightly, 

 not jammed, in clean boxes and sufficient packing put in 

 before the cover is nailed on to prevent shifting enroute. 

 Birds of different sizes, but not of different qualities, may 

 bo packed in the same box and the contents of the package 

 should be correctly described on the outside of the cover. 

 If the description says "Ten young toms and ten young 

 hens" and the dealer, on opening the box, finds one old torn 

 and perhaps some old hens, he of course loses confidence in 



the shipper and does not dare to 



recommend his goods. But if the 

 contents of the package never fails 

 to tally with the description the 

 goods are satisfactory to handle and 

 the returns as a rule are better. 

 Large boxes are inconvenient to 

 handle and less desired by small 

 dealers than boxes weighing from 

 one hundred and fifty to two hun- 

 dred pounds and the smaller pack- 

 ages require to be packed less solid- 

 ly and the contents show less evi- 

 dence of hard pressure in the box. 

 If the market catered to favors 

 drawn stock it is easiest done before 

 the bird is hung up to cool. The 

 incision made should be as small as 

 possible. A sharp knife should 

 be used to cut the skin close around 

 the vent and cut away the fat 

 around the intestine, making an 

 opening into the cavity. Through 

 this the entrails must be drawn 

 carefully, the operator reaching 

 with his fingers into the cavity to 

 free the upper end from its at- 

 tachment. Nothing else ne^d be 

 removed. 



DRESSING AND PACKING FOR PRIVATE 

 TRADE. 



If the stock is intended for a 

 high price family trade, all the 

 birds should be picked ' and han- 

 dled with extreme care, the intes- 

 tines drawn and the shanks and 

 feet and the head removed. When 

 cutting off the heads considerable 



blood will frequently be found clotted in the neck and unless 

 removed it will turn black and show through the skin. If it 

 happens that there is any food left in the crop it is wise to 

 remove it before cooling. This is accomplished by pushing 

 back the skin of the neck and working the crop out under it 

 with the thumb and fore finger, taking care not to tear the 

 crop in separating it from the tissues surrounding it. Re- 

 moving the crop dees not leave the breast looking quite so 

 well as when the crop is empty and left in because its ab- 

 sence allows the skin to sink deeper in front of the breast 

 bone; but if the food remains it will show black through 

 the skin and mar the appearance of the bird. The skin should 

 be drawn well over the end of the neck and tied with a clean 

 string. Each carcass when thoroughly cooled should be 

 wrapped in clean wrapping paper and packed in excelsior 

 in a clean, new wooden box to be shipped to the consumer's 

 kitchen door. Paper without much color should be used or 



at the end of the journey the color will be found to have 

 deserted the paper to cling to the skin of the turkey, which 

 will give it more the appearance of the "tattooed man" in a 

 circus than that of the mainstay of a family feast. 



The family trade is usually very profitable, paying well 

 for the extra labor and other expense involved. One estab- 

 lishment, noted for the show room quality of its turkeys, 

 has been furnishing private customers in several states 

 with Thanksgiving and Christmas turkeys of the finest 

 grade for several years. These are prepared and shipped in 

 the manner described above, the weight is taken as soon 

 as the feathers are off and the bills for them call for thirty- 

 five cents a pound. No exceptional ability is needed to figure 

 that there is money earned by properly growing and fat- 



The Thanksgiving Turkey, illustrated on the opposite page, dresstd and ready lor shipment to 

 President McKlnley. Mr. Vose, the donor, Is holding also another choice 

 specimen, which he has Just dressed, to assist In bal- 

 ancing the weight of the larger one. 



tening, and carefully picking, packing and shipping turkeys 

 at that price. 



FINISH KILLING AT NEW YEAR'S. 



It is well to kill all stock unsalable for breeding or ex- 

 hibition at or before the New Year. Occasionally, however, 

 the poultryman will be caught with a few very late hatched 

 poults presented by some wily old hen that hid her nest so 

 well and was so cautious in her "comings and goings" that 

 it was not discovered until she brought off a brood contrary 

 to her owner's wishes and intentions. Some breeders kill 

 these late hatched ones on sight, believing that it is nothing 

 but time wasted to look after them. Others allow them to 

 run with the hen until cold weather and then house them 

 with the chickens, giving them the same care. They appear 

 to do better when confined in cold weather than in warm, 

 but they seem to breed lice faster than chicks and must be 



