The evening times., 1895-11-26

chestnuts. cranberry sauce and the succu-
lieut. celery, makes savory dish, in the
1ull praise OF which all words iSnomini-
ously fail.
The following figures from an inland
Kentucky town, one of many winch help
To supply the City markets with Thanksgiv-
ing turkeys, will give some little idea OF
the extent of this branch OF industry and of
the methods employed Ia prepare the tur-
key for the market and the cook.
The young brood uf turkeys is TO the
farmers wife her chief source OF revenue
for the autumn and winter; therefore, she
guards them through the dangers attend
ant on turkeyhood with Jealous care, and
usually drives shrewd bargain later with
the buyer, who begins his riding through
the country as Thanksgiving approaches.
Turkeys are generally bought on foot, ana
the prices range from to cents Il pound.
The uocks are driven TO the turkey pens
from the different farms If the distance
is long one and night comes on ,forc the
pens are reached the turkey goes Ia roost
at sundown wherever 1t may happ,.u to be,
and despite ali efforts of the driver 10 urge
1T on.
Turkeys are kept in enclosed pens un-
til they are ready TO he killed. bat geese
are pastured out on meadows. and are
watched by small boys, who. with long
sticks, keep them from strayiuS out of
bounds.
Ducks. geese, and chickens. are gen
orally shipped alive to the cities. but
turkeys are usually killed and dressed
for the market They are not fed for
some twelve hours before killing. and after
being picked and cleaned are put ON cooling
boards ADr another twelve hours before they
are packed in cases for shipment. Two
thousand turkeys or more Constitute Il car
load.
with both ends open, and narrowing to-
ward the lower end. These are fastened
along the side of the wall. and into them
the turkeys are thrust. head downward,
until their heads and neck protrude through
the lower opening. Then the ''sticker,"
with sharp knife. goes along the line and
cuts the throat of each bird. lea wing il TO
bleed to death. while a trough underneath
it carries off the blood.
When the turkey is dead The wirgS and
tail feathers are cut off, and the body is
sent to the picking-room, where = number
of men. women, AMI children are employed
The turkey is suspended from twiGe cord.
and the picker nimby uses both hands, lii
orally making the feathers nv
From two TO four thousand turkeys are
picked a day, and 4 skillful hand can aver
age fifty or sixty each. Three cents apiece
is paid for picking u turkey.
Not much of the fowl is thrown away
The wings are saved, and are sold for fans
and other things, the-tail feathers are sent
tofactories where feather busters are made
the quills are ground into pulp and then
pressed into artificial whalebonc. and the
loose feathers are used for various purposes.
When the dressed turkey reaches the mar
ket the prices fluctuate anywhere from . 2
to 10 cents pound, ST. that the business is
not always a paying one.
From twenty TO thirty thousand turkeys
are killed each season and sent from this
one turkey pen, and the reader may Judge
from these figures how great a humber
is required to supply the Thanksgiving
board throughout the country with its great
national dish. HENRY c. WOOD.
Harrodsburg, KY.