10 BULLETIN 467, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
~The color of poultry flesh, or at least of chicken flesh, may be 
imfluenced by the feed. Certain methods of feeding, for example, 
are based on the fact that milk tends to bleach or whiten the flesh. 
This matter of color bears little relation to real table quality or nutri- | 
tive value, and would not need attention except that some markets 
sometimes demand white and others yellow flesh. These differences 
are probably the result of old local customs and are fast disappearing 
now that local-grown poultry is rarely the sole source of supply. 
HANDLING AND DRESSING POULTRY. 
The way birds are treated from the time the producer considers 
them ready to be disposed of until they are cooked has almost as much 
influence on their table quality as their earlier care and feeding. Suc- 
cess in this later stage depends on controlling the changes which take 
place in the flesh after the birds are killed. 
Different methods prevail at different times and places, but how- 
ever the poultry is handled, cleanliness should be insisted upon every- 
where, for both table quality and healthfulness depend upon it in 
large measure. Dirty pens and runs lead to disease while the birds 
are alive. After they have been killed cleanliness is equally impor- 
tant, for unless rooms, tables, tools, water, hands—in short, all the 
articles which come in contact with the birds—are kept in good con- 
dition, the flesh is likely to become infected with microorganisms 
which cause decay and so injure its appearance and flavor. From the 
point of view of the consumer, dirt in connéction with food which is to 
be cooked is perhaps less dangerous than with something to be eaten 
raw, but it is nevertheless disagreeable. Moreover, dirt is rightly 
considered a sign of poor quality in any food material, and it is only 
just that poultry which shows the marks of careless handling should 
bring a lower price than clean, attractive-looking birds. By insisting 
on cleanliness in the poultry and in the markets, the public can help | 
more than is sometimes realized in improving commercial methods, 
and dealers who try to keep a high standard feel encouraged when their 1 ; 
patrons show an intelligent appreciation of their efforts. 
MARKETING POULTRY ALIVE. 
In the North and West poultry is almost always marketed after 
killing, but in the South the old custom of marketing birds alive is 
stillcommon. Birds sent to market alive should be humanely treated. 
Too close confinement, lack of water, etc., are needless cruelties and 
injure the appearance and quality of Ge birds for the table. The 
purchaser of live poultry often feeds it carefully for a short time to | 
bring it into good condition. 
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