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APPENDIX G 



NEW YORK CITY SQUAB MARKET 

 BOOMING, by William R. McLaughlin. The 

 New York Citj^ squab market, with which I 

 have been intimately connected for many . 

 years, buying and selling to a trade which, I 

 know thoroughly, is steadily increasing in 

 demand, especially in January and the fol- 

 lowing eight months, when no game can be 

 had. There is no possibility of overdoing the 

 production, as the squab business is here to 

 stay. There is a good demand all the year 

 round for birds running from seven pounds to 

 twelve pounds to the dozen, at good paying' 

 prices, and breeders should place themselves 

 ri^ht at the start by buying birds enough to 

 ship from five to ten dozen squabs at a time. 

 In this way they will save considerable on 

 express, as the charge on this quantity is a 

 trifle more than on one, two or three dozen 

 shipments. The very small shipments are 

 unsatisfaetory to handle as they do not con- 

 tain enough birds of any particular size to 

 keep a good average scale. 



There is no line of goods I handle which has 

 grown so much in the last few years as squabs, 

 especially since the squabs have been sold ac- 

 cording to grade and size, and I believe they 

 will continually ^cxpwd to the front. I want 

 squabs all the time. 



^ I, know there is nothing around a farm pay- 

 ing any better and holding to 'a more steady 

 price all year round, than good squabs from 

 seven to nine poimds. 



As regards, increase, I will say that in one 

 little town in New Jersey where I started a 

 few shippers and got them to raise according 

 to the scale of selling by weight per dozen, 

 when I first started, the business in that 

 section was something like $5000 a year and 

 has since grown to $25,000 a year, and you 

 could not get them to go back to the old way 

 for love or money. They have all made 

 money and grown from small shippers to large 

 ones. 



I DO MY KILLING IN THE EARLY 

 MORNING, by B. F. Babcock. I have two 

 days in each week for the killing of my 

 squabs — ^Wednesdays for the city markets, 

 and Saturdays for my home orders. At this 

 time of year (July) I start in killing at five 

 a.m., and have all squabs killed, plucked and 

 delivered by ten a.m. I have two covered 

 baskets which I take with me to the lofts 

 and the squabs which are to be killed are put 

 in them. Then they are taken to where I 

 kill and pick them. 



I have a boy who does all the killing and 

 helps pick. My wife and myself do the most 

 of the picking. As soon as the squabs are 

 picked they are thrown into a pail of cold 

 water. For my home trade, I leave them 

 in the water only until all are picked. Their 

 feet and mouths are all cleaned of foul matter, 

 then they are delivered to the customers. I 

 do all delivering myself. For the city 

 market they are left in the water from five to 

 six hours, according to what train they are 

 to be shipped. 



I have at home a large hotel trade, having 

 a standing order of iovn to six dozen a week. 

 Prices range from twenty-five to seventy-five 

 cents each according to size and weight, the 

 average being about fifty cents each. In 

 shipping squabs to the city markets I pack all 

 squabs in ice, first putting in a layer of ice^ 

 then a layer of squabs. I have not shipped 

 very many to the city markets as my home 

 trade takes nearly all that I can raise, but' 

 have always when shipping received the 

 highest market prices. 



The inexperienced will at first find in using 

 the squab killing knife, that thev do not stick 

 the squabs right and that some vill live for 

 quite a long time, and have to be stuck the 

 second time. This has been my experience 

 so I tried this plan so as not to let the squabs ' 

 suffer any. 



I made a killing machine, the same as 

 described in the National Standard Squab 

 Book, pages 114-115, which breaks their 

 necks and kills them at onr^. I then use the 

 squab knife and bleed them. As soon as the 

 squabs are plucked they are at once placed 

 either in a pail or tub of cold water, into 

 which some salt has been put. If you use a 

 twelve-quart pail put in three to four pinches 

 of salt, that is, what you can hold with your 

 thumb and fingers. If a tub is used put in 

 according to size. This will give the squabs 

 the fine white skin desired by the New York 

 market, taking out all the dark or red spots. 

 It also gives them plumpness. 



I" leave them in water from four to five 

 hours, which takes out all the animal heat I 

 then clean the feet of all foul matter and wash 

 all the blood from their beaks and mouths and 

 wrap their heads in white tissue paper. The 

 paper costs very little and the trouble will 

 more than repay any one. It gives a fine, 

 clean appearance when your dealer opens the 

 box and your squabs will bring the top 

 prices. 



I pack all shipments in ice, putting in a 

 layer of ice first, then a layer of squabs, 

 keepmg this rotation up until the box is filled, 

 but being very careful not to get the box too 

 full. No breeder will ever be sorry for any 

 extra pams he takes with his shipments, as 

 It will pay in the long run. 



SOFTENS PEAS IN WATER, by Elmer 

 Streckwald. I know a woman breeding 

 squabs who softens peas by moistening them 

 in water. Her idea is that they will not be 

 so hard to digest, especially for the young 

 pigeons. I have not tried this myself Of 

 couiBe they should be softened fresh at each 

 feeding time, or allowed to soak three or fom- 

 hours before feeding time, for if they were 

 allowed to stay damp over night they wo^d' 

 terment This woman also feeds her squabs 

 on bread crumbs and she has told me tha* 

 she hnds the use of a inoist mixture an im 

 provement over the dry feeding. JTMs 

 spring I sold my squabs to middlemen ^in 

 Boston for $4 and $4.25 a dozen. My plant 

 IS paying a profit. ■ '- 



