456 COMMERCIAL POULTRY RAISING 



himself. I am inclined to think that it pays to clean them at 

 home, since they bring almost twice the price, and the work is 

 not difficult. 



Manufacturers and feather houses have facilities for washing 

 the feathers by machinery, treating them with live steam, and 

 then drying them with wringers and subjecting them to strong 

 drafts of air from fans which lay all animal odors and leave the 

 feathers in a fine, fluffy condition. 



Shipping Methods. — Feathers are shipped in burlap sacks, 

 tightly compressed, and the quills in boxes. Or the quills may 

 be tied securely in bundles and packed in sacks. Do not pack 

 the quills loosely in bags, all jumbled together, for they will not 

 bring a good price. And I repeat, keep the white feathers sepa- 

 rate; they are the most valuable. White chicken feathers are 

 worth about eighteen cents a pound; colored chicken feathers 

 about six cents a pound. 



Feathers which are too badly soiled for use as such can be 

 utilized as fertilizer. They are valuable for this purpose, though 

 they decay slowly and are therefore a long time in the ground 

 before they become available for plant food. 



