The Portland daily press., 1868-12-05

Ihere is variety OF ways of killing and
dressing poultry, whether for the farmers
table or for the markets and sope of these
modes are hardly worth adopting by those
who raise poultry. A few days ago we saw
the keeper of meat shop overhauling some
chickens and selecting the best dress ed and
the latest among them. In some of the
chickens he found a quantity of rock salt
Now the weather was cool and those chick
ems needed no such stuting to preserve them.
We are disposed to be charitable, but we rath-
er guess this salt was stuffed into these lows
for the purpose of making them bear down
more heavily on the scales, and not to keep
them from decomposition. We fear the mo-
tive was of about the same character as that
which prompts the milkman to increase the
measure of his milk by adding water to it.
But to the best mode of killing and dress
Ing poultry. Poultry as well as any kind of
meat, when bled to death, is whittier and more
delicate than when killed by other MEANS
"Wringing the neck" gives a different color
to the meat, such hue as Is not very pleas
ing to the eye nor does it convey to the stom=
his book on poultry-breeding advises the fol-
lowing plan which causes instant death with
out apparent pain, or Disagreement. Open
the beak of the fowl, then with pointed
and narrow knife make an incison at the
back Of the roof which will divide the verte-
bre a nd cause immediate death. After this
process hang the fowl by the legs till the
bleeding ceases, then rinse the beak with vim
egar and water. Fowls killed in this man
ner keep longer and do not present the un-
slightly appearance of those that are killed by
neck wringing.
When the entrails are withdrawn mmedi-
ateiy after death, and the fowl stuffed, as they
do in France, not aoith a handful of rOcksalt,
but with paper shavings or short cocoanut
fibers, to preserve their shape, they will keep
much longer fresh. Some breeders cram
their poultry before killing, to make them ap-
pear heavy. This is not good thing because
the undigested food enters into fermentation
and putrefication takes place as any one may
see by the quantity of greenish, putrid fowls
which are too often seen in the markell
Even the "rocksalt" is better than this 1t is
not difficult thing to kill and dress fowls in
the manner alluded to above. A little care
and patience, and skill in the use of the sharp
pointed knife will do the work well, and fowls
will come to the market looking as if they
were fit to eat.
Another mode is to stick them through the
neck close up to the head, and as soon as
this is done, hang the fowl over an empty
barrel and strip off the feathers before life is
extinct, and why? Because the feathers can
be plucked without tearing the skin. We
saw some turkeys killed and dressed in this
manner, and they looked very fine. When
the fowl is entirely dead the feathers come
hard and the scalding process is resorted to-
But this gives disagreeable color to the
skin, and somewhat Injuries the meat. While
the flesh is quivering with life, the feathers
can be stripped off without disfguring the
fowl. But it seems to be cruel to pluck them
while they are yet alive, but those who do say
it it does not give pain.
Chickens. and turkeys are bad enough be-
fore ths ground freezes up, even when neatly
and properly killed and dressed. We say" bad
enough" because we happen to be among
those who do not like the flavor of the hog
pen which keen nose and sensitive palate
will easily detect in fowls which get their .iv
ing in pens where hogs are kept, and in yards
for cattle. To be really good, fowls need feed
ing with corn and other wholesome food
which leave no bad odor behind. The meat
of fowls as well as that OF hogs and cattle be-
comes. favored by what they feed on. After
the ground freezes and the weather becomes
| cold, breeders must feed their fowls and there
fore we are willing to postpone cur eating of
them until such a season comes. Others can
begin earlier if they choose. In matters of
taste there need not be much disputation.
AGRICoLA.