642 



Marketing of Poultry. 



[FEB., 



round, but best from February to June ; there is a fairly good 

 demand for fat. ducks in the autumn and winter ; goslings in 

 May and June and at Michaelmas ; fat geese at Christmas 

 and for a short time afterwards, but their season is limited ; 

 turkeys fetch high prices according to size, appearance and 

 straightness of breast bone, at and for a very short time after 

 Christmas. As to days of the weeks at Smithfield (Central 

 Market), Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are best ; at 

 Leadenhall, Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. 



Provincial Markets. — Information as to demand, prices, &c,, 

 in some of the best markets outside London is given in the 

 tables appended, which have been compiled from particulars 

 obtained through the Board's market reporters. 



Killing.* — All birds should be starved for twenty-four hours 

 before killing in order that the crop and intestines may be 

 emptied of food. A great amount of loss arises from neglect of 

 this precaution. They should be killed by dislocating the neck 

 just where it joins the head, unless the purchaser wishes them 

 to be killed in a special way. Some salesmen like them to be 

 bled by a knife passed through the slit in the roof of the mouth, 

 but this is required in only a few cases. Bleeding is apt to 

 spoil the feathers and soil the packing, and this will reduce 

 the price of the whole consignment. Dislocation of the neck 

 properly performed results in the breaking of the jugular vein, 

 and the blood drains completely from the body veins into the 

 neck. 



Plucking. — Birds should always be plucked while the body 

 is still warm, as the feathers then come out more easily and there 

 is less danger of tearing the skin, for except among the poorer 

 class of buyers a badly plucked bird is of but little value. 

 Unless this is done when warm, the bird must not be plucked 

 until quite cold, that is, at least twenty-four hours after killing. 



In plucking, the operator should hold the bird by the legs, 

 with the head hanging downwards, or, in the case of turkeys and 

 geese, suspend it by the legs to a cord hung from the roof. 

 Feathers are drawn by a firm yet gentle pull towards the head, 



* Some of the suggestions in this article as to killing, plucking, &c, have already 

 appeared in the Journal. (October, 1906), but it is thought it may be useful to 

 reproduce them here in a revised form, with the additional particulars as to provincial 

 markets now available. 



