14 BULLETIN 467, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
only, even 30 days might seem a long time. But it should not be 
forgotten that with the best modern methods of refrigeration poultry 
several weeks old reaches the consumer in better condition than 
some only a few days old which has not been properly cared for. 
Until some definite standard for fresh and cold-storage poultry is 
generally adopted it will be easier for the ordinary retail buyer to un- 
- derstand what is being offered if he realizes that there are two gen- 
eral methods of marketing birds from cold-storage warehouses. One 
deals with those which are expected to reach the consumer within a 
few weeks and which are known to the trade as fresh poultry, and the 
other with birds which are to be held in cold-storage warehouses for 
some time, usually until the fresh supply runs low again, and which 
are often ia frozen poultry. 
The so-called ‘“fresh’’ poultry, from typical large, well-equipped 
_ establishments where the birds are bought alive and specially fattened 
at the shipping plant, is killed by cutting the main veins of the neck 
and pricking the brain, is hung head downward to drain, and is 
plucked without scalding. It is then hung on special racks in a chill 
room, where it is kept for at least 24 hours, usually at a temperature 
between 35° and 30° F. For.long journeys in hot weather the birds 
are sometime frozen stiff at a much lower temperature. The next 
step in the process is packing, which should be done at about the same 
temperature as the chilling. The birds are graded according to size 
and quality and are usually packed in uniform boxes with not more 
than12birdstoabox. Birds of the best quality are sometimes sepa- 
rately wrapped in parchment paper and packed in cartons holding 
only a pair. Such separate packing not only prevents the birds 
from losing shape and from rubbing against each other, but also keeps 
the flesh from becoming too dry. 
Frequent changes of temperature seem to increase the rate at which 
the undesirable microorganisms develop in the flesh of poultry, and 
hence such variations are avoided as much as may be both in the store- 
house and during transit. The special refrigerator cars designed for 
shipping such produce as poultry, with their msulated walls and their 
ice bunkers for use when the outside air is warm, make it possible for 
the 10,000 to 20,000 pounds of poultry which constitute a carload to 
travel literally from one end of the country to the other without hay- 
ing the temperature vary more than five degrees. 4 
Under the present conditions of marketing, poultry may have to 
pass through the hands of several dealers—wholesaler, commission 
man, retailer, etc.—before it reaches the consumer, and it is almost 
impossible to prevent its becoming more or less warm during the 
various transfers. In order to reduce such changes as much as 
possible the stock is kept in cold-storage chambers by each dealer, ~ _ 
