RANKIN'S DUCK BOOK 



while equally as good stock, slovenly and carelessly thrown 

 together, will go begging. I have often seen good stock cut 

 several cents per pound, owing to the shipper's carelessness. 



A prominent dealer in Boston said to me one day, point- 

 ing to a barrel of poultry, "The man who shipped that stuff 

 is a fool ! Look here !" He opened the barrel, — it was half 

 full of ducks fairly well fatted and picked. But how those 

 ducks looked. The shipper had evidently thrown those birds 

 in head first, or any way to suit, and then had thrown a lot 

 of ice on the top. The barrel not being very clean, he had 

 introduced blue paper between the ducks and barrel. The 

 ice had melted, the barrel had been capsized during transit, 

 and the paper had been completely disintegrated. It was 

 stuck all over the ducks in little patches and rubbed in, while 

 the birds had acquired a fine tint of blue that would have 

 done credit to a laundryman. 



"There," said the dealer, "I shall have to cut that man 

 four cents per pound." If occasionally you should have poor 

 stock always ship it by itself, and notify your dealer of its 

 quality. He will know it soon enough without you telling 

 him, but, at the same time, he will know that you are not 

 trying to put a poor article on him for a good one. One or 

 two pairs of poor birds in a box of good ones will often affect 

 the price of the whole. Never pack a bird till after the animal 

 heat is out. By a close observance of the above, the time 

 will soon come when you will have no trouble in selling your 

 stock. You will have more orders than you will be able to 

 fill. 



The last season was a very satisfactory one to us, as we 

 not only largely increased our business, but the prices ob- 

 tained were better than ever before, while we had been over- 

 whelmed with orders from dealers in New York and Boston 

 which we had been wholly unable to fill. 



v But to return to the feathers. They should be taken up 

 every day and spread out thinly on a dry floor, turned oc- 

 casionally, and, in a few days, when thoroughly dry, can be 

 thrown in a heap. Do not neglect this, for if allowed to ac- 

 cumulate they soon become offensive, and nothing but su- 

 perheated steam wiH ever deordize them, and be sure that 

 the leather firms will always take advantage of this and charge 

 you roundly for doing it. 



Disinfecting the Ground a Necessity. 



When we first began shipping for market, our yards were 

 usually filled to their utmost capacity, and we are often crowd- 

 ed for room. As fast as the yards are emptied, they should 



[ 85 ] 



