I4 STORRS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 
Practically all dressed poultry marketed in the large cities is 
sold undrawn and with the heads and feet left on. For this 
reason the killing should be done in a manner which will not 
injure the appearance of the carcass. ‘The old ‘‘axe and block’’ 
method is quick and effective, but hardly meets the above con- 
ditions. Sticking the bird in the mouth and throat with a 
sharp, narrow-bladed knife is certainly the best method of kill- 
ing for the American market. (A great deal of the poultry 
designed for the English market is killed by dislocating the 
neck.) Poultry of all kinds is killed in the same way. ‘The 
necessary ‘“‘tools’’ are a knife with a long, narrow blade, a 
Short, heavy club, and some receptacles to catch the blood. 
For the latter nothing is better than small tin pails or large tin 
cans equipped with wire bails. To each bail should be attached 
a sharp-pointed, heavy-wire hook, by which the receptacle may 
be suspended from the bird’s lower jaw and thus catch the 
dripping blood. This arrangement serves two purposes. It 
prevents the struggling bird from throwing blood over the 
operator and the room, and it also saves the blood for further 
use. 
The actual killing of the bird is a simple operation, but for 
_it to be entirely successful two things must be secured, thorough 
bleeding and speedy unconsciousness, with attendant relaxa- 
tion. Suspend the bird by the feet at a convenient height by 
means of a strong cord, having an easy running slip noose. 
Take it firmly, head to the front, under the left arm. Heldin 
this position, its struggles will not interfere with subsequent 
operations. Take the head in the left hand, forcing the bill 
_ open with the first and second fingers. Insert the knife in the 
mouth, carrying the point well back, and make a deep cut 
across the upper part of the neck at about the point of junc- 
tion with the skull. This should sever the large blood vessels 
located at that point, and if blood immediately runs in a steady 
stream, the cut has been properly made. ‘The bird should now 
be stunned in one of two ways, sticking in the brain or strik- 
ing with a club. The former is the best after once learned, 
but is more difficult for the novice, as it seems necessary to 
pierce a certain portion of the brain in order to secure the 
coveted result—a relaxation which releases the feathers and 
permits rapid picking without great danger of tearing the skin. 
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