October 1, 1907 
Fattening for Table. 
If cockerels are kept by themselves 
and out of sight of the other sex they 
will usually get sufficiently plump to look 
well on the table by being simply con- 
fined to a small house and run, and well 
fed on good ftesh-forming food, such as 
oatmeal, ground oats, or good middlings, 
or the like, with a little fatty matter of 
some kind mixed with it. In the Sussex 
(England) fattening establishments they 
are put into airy, open coops, made of 
lattice-work, with barred bottoms, through 
which the droppings pass Five or six 
birds are put in a coop 2 ft, 4 in. long, 
14 in. wide, and 18 in. high. As much 
food as they will eat is placed in small 
open troughs in front of the coops for the 
first ten days or a fortnight ; after that. 
they are crammed by means of a machine 
known as the crammer. Those of our 
readers who wish to specially fatten birds 
cannot do better than imitate the Sussex 
method so far as the first ten days are 
concerned, but should then substitute 
hand-cramming for the Sussex cramining 
machine. 
To hand-cram a fowl the food should 
be made into pellets about the size of the 
two upper joints of the little finger, or 
somewhat larger if the kird to becrammed . 
be pretty well grown. A sufficient supply 
of these pellets must be prepared before- 
hand, Finely-ground oatmeal, or ground 
oats, mixed with milk aud a little drip- 
ping or mutton suet, is the best food to 
use. A little finely-mashed potato may be 
used advantayeously. If milk is available, 
a bow! of it, into which the pellets can be 
dipped before being put into the bird’s 
mouth, should be placed ready, Failing 
milk, a thin gruel, made with water and 
fiour, may be used. It may be mentioned 
that sour milk, butter milk, and whey 
are ull useful for fattening; the acidity 
of the sour milk is considered to he 
beneficial. 
The operator should put on an old 
apron The bird, being taken from t e 
pen, is placed in such a position that its 
legs can be firmly gripped between those 
of the operator, thus leaving both hands 
available for the process of cramming, 
and the bird’s head being turned towards 
the right hand. With the forefinger and 
thumb of the lert hand the upper mandible 
of the bird’s beak is caught from behind, 
the comb being partly made use of to 
obtain a firm hold. The other fingers of 
the left hand are thus available to open 
the bird’s mouth. With the right hand 
a pellet of food is next taken up, dipped 
in the milk or gruel, and placed as far 
down the bird’s throat as can be managed. 
The finger and thumb of the right hand 
are then pressed gently along each side 
of the bird’s gullet in such a way as to 
press the pellet of food before them down 
into the bird’s crop, the bird’s neck being 
kept well stretched the while to facilitate 
the operation, — 
THE AUSTRALIAN GARDENER. 
This process, as described, may seem 
very difficult. but after a little practise it 
is really very simple, and the bird’s crop 
can be filled readily in a couple of minutes. 
Care must be taken that the crop is not 
over-filled at first, but the quantity may 
be increased as the bird’s powers of diges- 
tion are ascertained by experience. A 
spoonful or two of milk, given at the end 
of each meal, is all the drink that the 
bird requires, and it must be noted that 
the liquid in which the food is mixed 
during the first fortnight of the fattening 
process is the only drink given. The 
supply of grit must not be forgotten, and 
scrupulous cleanliness, as regards the 
feeding vessels, is essential. 
The best method of killing is undoubt- 
edly by wringing the neck. This is a. 
somewhat appalling process to an amateur, 
as it is generally found that the neck 
refuses to be dislocated. If possible, it is 
well to get someone to show you how to 
doit The neck is not broken, but dislo- 
cated, Bear in mind, the head of the 
fowl is jointed to the neck in such a 
manner that it can move freely in any 
direction but backwards. Grasp the legs, 
with two or three of the primary feathers 
of the wing pulled round the legs, in the 
left hand, hold the head of the fowl with 
the thumb, just under the throat, and the 
fingers of the right hand round the head, 
then deflecting your wrist, bend the head, 
still firmly grasped, backwards as far as 
it will go; while in this position stretch 
out the neck to its full length, and a 
shar, firm pull should dislocate the neck. 
It is only merciful, when making the first 
attempt or two, to stun the fowl by 
giving it a sharp blow with a heavy stick 
at the back of its head. When the neck 
is dislocated the blood simply flows from 
the bod7 into the skin of the neck, and 
this is the way the Sussex fowls are sent 
to market, If it is thought desirable, a 
gash may be cut in the skin, immediately 
the nec is pulled, to promote more bleed- 
ing. Authorities agree that the fowl is 
insensible to pain after dislocation of the 
vertebrae, its struggles being due to mus- 
cular action. Sometimes the point of a 
sharp knife is inserted through the roof 
of the mouth into the brain. This is in- 
stantaneous, and a most merciful method. 
If whiteness of skin is sought, the fowl] is 
stahbed through arteries and veins of the 
neck and bled to death. Generally the 
meat is insipid. If the dead fowls are to 
be packed to travel they should never be 
made to bleed. 
The process of plucking may be greatly 
facilitated by dipping the body for a 
minute or so in boiling water, the feathers 
then easily come off. This operation 
wrinkles the skin and spoils the fowl 
for market purposes, so it is only allow- 
able if the body is required for home 
consumption. 
Pekin ducks are excellent layers. non- 
sitters, and are very useful to cross with 
Aylesbury to obtain early ducklings. 
15 
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Dearus From Farry DecrNERATION,K— 
A good many deaths among fowls are 
caused by fatty dogeneration of one or 
other of the internal organs. This is in- 
variably caused by unsuitable feeding, 
usually combined with over-feeding. A 
prolonged excess of starchy materials in 
the food will produce this condition, 
and birds so affected are of no value for 
any purpose whatever. As breeders they 
produce unhealthy stock, and are even 
unfit for culinary purposes. There ig no 
excuse, as a rule, for birds being brought 
tosuch acondition. Proper feeding would 
prevent it. No large supplies of potato 
peelings, soaked bread, maize, or such 
like, but a healthy dietary of sharps, 
oatmeal, ground oats, barley-meal, biscuit- 
meal, with wheat, oats, French buck- 
wheat, and a little maize now and again, 
all used in turn, or a mixture of one or 
two of them. Animal food in moderation 
is very useful, especially to birds in con- 
finement, and also during cold weather. 
Changes of food are very necessary. and 
should never be forgotten. Birds which 
have been badly fed and show signs of 
fatty degeneration should be put on a 
new dietary, in which abundance of fresh 
vegetables forms a prominent part. Starchy 
stuffs should be eliminated as far as 
possible. A little Epsom salts every other 
day for a week, followed by a sulphate of 
iron tonic in the drinking water for some | 
time, will do much good. 
Do Tuunpgrstorms Sport Eaas ?—A 
question that is sometimes asked is, Do 
thunderstorms spoil eggs when the latter 
are undergoing incibation? In a great 
many cases they do not; in a few a 
certain percentage of the eggs are affected. 
The latter, as a rule, are eggs which were 
not quite fresh when put into the incu- 
bator, or had travelled a long distance 
before being set. Perfectly fresh eggs 
are but little affected by thunderstorms ; 
we doubt if they are affected at ali. A 
good many people seem to have a notion 
that a bad hatch is sure to result if there 
is thunder in the air during the period of 
incubation, but we think a little observa- 
tion, but we think a little observation 
would modify such views considerably. 
FOR UP-TO-DATE FOOTWEAR 
And DOWN-TO-DATE PRICES Try 
E. Cc. JARMAN, 
101 Hindley Street (next Grant’s Dining 
Rooms), and 2494 King William Street 
(Moss’ Corner). Repairs neatly and 
promptly executed. Measures a speciality 
