DUCK DOLLARS 63 
sary, although some pickers less skilful than others strike the duckling 
two or three times. The blow is aimed directly upon the top of the 
head with the club. The skull is not smashed. 
The bird is stunned immediately after sticking so that the blood will 
run better. 
While the duckling is bleeding, the picker goes immediately to his 
chair beside the feather box, sits and begins picking. The duckling is 
cooling now, and when the temperature of the blood ee 
gets below ninety-eight degrees it congeals and stops Beginning te 
tunning out of the duckling. The picker’s feather box Fick 
is about level with his knees so that he can drop the feathers easily off 
the duckling into the box as he picks them. He holds the head of the 
duckling between one knee and the box to prevent its fluttering and 
soiling the feathers with blood. There is a pail of water suspended from 
a wire directly over the feather box and the picker frequently wets hts 
hand in this pail. This water causes the feathers to stick to his hand, 
which also gives him a grip or purchase on them so that he can pluck 
them out without much effort. The wing and tail and other coarse 
feathers are thrown out, as they are too hard and rough. The picker 
works by making a sharp jerk in the opposite direction from which the 
feathers lie, the skin meanwhile being drawn by the other hand so that 
it is tight. If very tender, the skin at the roots of the feathers is held 
between the fingers, and the feathers are pulled out 
straight, a few at a time. The pin-feathers are wet to 
cause them to stick to the hand, and are then caught 
between the thumb and the blade of the knife held in the right hand. 
This knife is an important item to the picker. Each picker has 
from a half-dozen to two dozen of these knives, and he sharpens them 
at noon or after work, so that his working hours are not used up in the 
sharpening. We illustrate the style of knife used by the pickers. The 
blade is good steel. It is ground and honed, then stropped on the ordi- 
nary razor strop. Each picker has one of these leather razor strops 
hanging beside him from the feather box. The knife is kept as sharp 
as a razor, for part of the bird really must be shaved to make a clean 
picking job. 
The pickers make from $20 to $30 a week, in some cases more. It 
is all piece work. They get so much for every duckling. When their 
price is five cents for every duckling, the feathers pay 
for the picking. Some pickers demand eight cents a 
duckling. It is money well earned, and the weekly wages 
they make are not too much, as a degree of skill is required. It is a 
real trade. 
Old clothes should be worn in picking. The professional picker 
takes off all his clothes before beginning work in the morning, puts on 
an old shirt and a pair of full-length overalls which are white to begin. 
They are first oiled with raw linseed-oil and left outdoors in the sun to 
dry for a week, then they are given a coat of linseed-oil and varnish. 
This makes the overalls moisture proof. They are generally worn by the 
picker until worn out. They are never washed. They are hard and stiff 
—like armor plate. 
Picking 
Pin-Feathers 
Feathers Pay 
for Picking 
