PREPARING POULTRY PRODUCTS 431 



If the birds are being dressed for immediate consumption 

 and no use is to be made of the feathers, chickens may be 

 scalded and the feathers easily plucked. If reasonable care is 

 taken not to cook the skin, this is both an easy and reliable 

 method. Yellow-skinned birds present a better appearance 

 after scalding than after dry picking if the work has been 

 properly done, because it brings out the color better. Ducks 

 must be scalded or steamed, because no means of sticking 

 them so as to loosen the feathers has been devised. Imme- 

 diately after scalding, the bird should be plunged in cold 

 water. This stops the cooking action of the hot water and 

 renders the bird plumper in appearance. 



If the consumption of the bird is to be delayed for any 

 reason, as by shipping, storing, or even awaiting sale in a 

 retail store, it should be dry picked. Even the most careful 

 scalding destroys the delicate but very important cuticle 

 that covers the skin. This cuticle is the fowl's defense against 

 the invasion of microorganisms of all sorts, and if destroyed 

 during the dressing process, putrefactive bacteria quickly 

 gain entrance to the carcass and begin their work of decom-' 

 position. 



Successful dry picking depends upon the proper sticking 

 of the fowl, which loosens the feathers by paralyzing the 

 control muscles of the feathers. If this is successfully 

 accomplished, for a short time, the feathers may be re- 

 moved with as much ease as if the bird had been scalded. 

 The cuticle is left uninjured and the carcass will stand 

 holding, shipping, or freezing very much better than when 

 scalded. 



There are three ways of dry picking, known as string 

 picking, bench picking, and frame picking, which is a com- 

 bination of the first two. In the first, the legs are caught 

 in a loop or shackle, and the bird hangs head downward. 

 After sticking, a weighted bloodcup is attached to the fowl's 

 mouth, which helps to hold it steady. 



With bench picking, a bench or table is used, as shown in 

 Figs. 201 and 202. The head of the bird is held by a hook 

 over a hole in the bench, so that the blood may run down into 



