VARIETY OF PRODUCTS 



275 



Market Poultry. — Poultry designed for the table may be 

 classified into three groups: Broilers, roasting chickens, and 

 fowls. The demand for these three different classes depends 

 largely upon the means of the customer. In buying broilers 

 and roasters, quality is what the high prices are paid for. 

 With fowls, quantity is the object desired by the consumer, 

 hence lower prices prevail. 



Broilers. — Broilers are young chickens that are usually 

 sold when from ten to fifteen weeks old. To bring the best 

 prices, they must have been quickly grown and must be 



Fig. 151. — White Leghorn broilers plucked and ready for deUvery. These birds are 

 twelve weeks old, weigh about two pounds each, and are called medium broilers. 



plump (Fig. 151). Three types are called for by the trade: 

 Small, medium, and large. Small broilers weigh about one 

 and one-half pounds, and large ones sometimes two and one- 

 half pounds apiece. Broilers, especially the small type, are 

 frequently sold by the pair. They are demanded by high- 

 class hotels and restaurants, and by well-to-do families. 

 There is not much meat on them, but they are considered 

 rather a delicacy. 



There are two seasons for broilers: First, the special or 

 artificial season, which is during the winter and early spring. 



