DUCK DOLLARS 69 
The killing and. picking of ducklings can be avoided entirely by 
shipping them alive. Many small breeders never ship any ducklings 
killed, but always alive. There are poultry gatherers 
everywhere who go about in wagons picking up live ae 
poultry. You will find their advertisements in the rene — 
papers, asking you to write or telephone them, then 
they will call and get what you have. These gatherers take their goods 
off to the marketmen to be killed and picked. In some cases they do 
the killing and picking themselves. 
Some marketmen will take the ducklings alive. Write and find out 
whether the marketman to whom you propose to ship will take the duck- 
lings alive. 
The Hebrew and the Chinese trade in the large cities consumes large 
quantities of ducklings. They wish them alive as a rule. 
Fowls have to be killed in a certain way to conform to 
the Hebrew religion. An excellent trade in live duck- 
lings can be worked up with Hebrews and the Chinese. 
Ducklings sold killed or alive straight to the consumer bring the 
money which the commission man or dealer gets. A trade of this kind 
is worth working up, for the greater profits in it. 
Breeders are shipping ducklings to New York, Philadelphia and 
other markets outside of New England, which have been scalded and 
picked. When a duck is scalded before picking, the feathers come off 
much easier. Not over five cents is paid for picking a scalded picked 
duck, because it is much easier work. The tail feathers are left on. 
A dry-picked duck in any of the eastern markets is always called a 
Boston duckling. 
Many city markets see nothing but scalded ducks. The process of 
scalding is, first to immerse the duckling in a wash-boiler of water that 
has just come to a boil. The water must not be hotter 
than this. The duckling is held by the head and feet for How to Scald 
half a minute in the water, then the feathers are immedi- Ducks 
ately picked off. It is quite common for women who have a few ducks, 
and ship only a few at a time, to scald them before picking. 
To show you the present condition of the New York market with 
tegard to scalded ducks and dry-picked ducklings, it is 
true that for every 100 ducks marketed in New York 
city ninety-five have been picked after scalding. It is 
more trouble to dry pick them in the manner we have 
told under “ Killing, Picking, Shipping.” 
Some picking is done before killing, generally in mid-summer when 
the feathers come out easier. This is a cruel practice which hurts the 
birds, and we do not think it ought to be done. 
We once had a man in our employ who claimed to be able to kill 
a duckling so that the feathers would come off easier. His theory was 
that he had found a certain spot in the brain of the duckling which when 
he ran his killing knife into it affected the nerves of the whole body of 
the duckling, so that the feathers were, as it were, released by the duck- 
ling. This seems silly to read, but it is a fact that this picker got his 
feathers off more quickly than his fellows. He always ran the knife into 
For Special 
Markets 
Scald or Dry- 
Pick as Trade 
Demands 
