1908.] 



Marketing of Poultry. 



97 



Leicester. — Chickens. — The local demand in the spring is very 

 limited, the chief consumers being hotels and restaurants, and 

 supplies to fill the demand are obtained from large wholesale 

 dealers in London and Liverpool, the only local supply being 

 birds kept over from late hatches in the previous year. The 

 supplies from the wholesale dealers are from cold storage, and 

 include Canadian, Russian, French, and Irish ; the average weight 

 of these is about 3 to 3! lb. ; they are shaped by the breast bone 

 being broken down, the head taken off, the wings removed at 

 pinion joint, and the legs removed at third joint from body. 

 Locally bought birds are roughly plucked, with head and neck, 

 legs and feet left on, and before being retailed are shaped as 

 above. The demand is pretty uniform during the close season 

 for game. 



Ducks. — Very little demand, and supplies mostly local ; they 

 are bought from farmers both in feather and dressed. 



Geese. — There is a small demand at Michaelmas for grass, 

 or what are termed " green," geese, and supplies are obtained 

 locally ; fatted geese are in good demand at Christmas, but 

 Leicester being a manufacturing centre, the medium class and 

 Irish geese are in most demand. 



Turkeys. — The demand is chiefly at Christmas and up to the 

 end of January. The manufacturing class want a turkey of 

 about 10 to 14 lb., and this demand is supplied by French birds 

 at about qd. to 10^. per lb., and what are known as turkey poults, 

 that is, young turkey hens and year-old turkey hens ; these are 

 usually sold dressed. The better class trade is done in English 

 (chiefly Norfolk) large turkeys of from 18 to 26 lb., which 

 then fetch, from is. to is. 2d. per lb. ; these are bought in 

 feather and exhibited with breast plucked and also dressed. 



Glasgow. — Chickens. — There is practically no local supply, and 

 poulterers complain of the lack of enterprise on the part of the 

 Scotch farmers as regards poultry rearing. The supplies are 

 almost entirely from Ireland ; these arrive in boxes. They are 

 small in size, but well fed and of good quality ; they are 

 plucked and drawn, the head and neck left unplucked ; 

 before being retailed they are shaped by being slightly 

 warmed and put in a wooden shape, the breast bone being 

 broken down ; for roasting, the feet only are removed ; for 

 boiling, they are removed at the joint above the foot, the wings 

 (3499) G 



