The Mt. Sterling advocate. (Mt. Sterling, Ky.) 1890-current, 1896-11-24
Thanksgiving Turkeys.

Gerry stores reveals the fact that tur-
keys dressed and ready, for market
are few and far between, not that this
popular fowl is too good Tor us, for
from time immemorial we have feast
ed on Turkey and many other geo
Kings with which this country is
blessed and for which we should be
truly thankful to the giver of every
good and perfect gift. TURKEYS
1carce2 Why there are thousands OF
turkeys and in Mt. Sterling too, dress-
ed and ready for market every day,
but not for Mt. Sterling people.
Do the people of this city know that
the turkey trade here is immense A
representative of the ADVOCATE, who
knows a sav)ry turkey when-wben
when he eats il, by a visit to the
slaughter pen on Locust street and
Bank alley learned few facts about
the TURKEY trade carried on by Sulli-
van e TooEey,g Renaker and Heinrich.
He not only heard, but he saw, what
is being done by these gentlemen and
their employees. The turkeys slaugh-
tered here come from Montgomery,
Bath aud edges of Clark and Bour-
bon counties. The season began here
two weeks ago yesterday. The aver
age daily kill is about 1900. The
turkeys cost at the pen &c pound |
gross weight. They are kept one
day without food in well ventilated
pens, holding about $50; from these
peno they are driven up an incline
through trap door into the slaugh-
Ter pen.
You have heard the gobbler goh-
Die and seen him on dress parade
display his brilliant colors apparently
the proudest bird of the barn yard,
but 10 the slaughter pen, as if reaiz-
Ing his impending fate from The dead
y Katie, he hangs head downward
with piteous look, for he and eleven
other turkeys have been thrust into
)artilioned and slannng box with
lead protrnding. Thus Imprisoned
md helpless he is the victim of the
nan handling the deatE-dealing In
trument-an ordinary pocket knife. ,
Without a flutter or expression OF .
'ain he receives The deadly thrust be-
lind the ear. The rich life
flows. In few seconds
he struggle begins, a film OBJ
cures the eye, the head drops and
he proud bird yields to the enemy of
II the living-ieAth. Poor bird, we
hall meet YOU again-on the dinner
inner table. !
Two men pull the wing and tail !
athers, which are separated into !
lree classes. Through a partition Z
all the turkeys are distributed to &
xty colored man, women, boys and &
iris who make the feathers fly. The 1
ally wages of these pickers depend &
pom their skill and application and J
he size of the turkey. The price paid :
+ picking is cents each, whether !
e turkey is large or small, fat or
an. Pick your turkey and get D
Ieck good for cents. 9
After the head and entrails have 8
zen removed the turkeys are placed q
| racks to cool. The feet are left 10 &
low that the fowl is not a goose or q
ick or some other bird, but tur- 4
y. The turkeys killed to-day are i
Icked TO morrow in boxes bought at i
,y City, Michigan. About 100 lbs, of ]
rkeys are put in a box. They are all w
mt TO Boston-the city Of baked -
ans. Three carloads have been
Mt by freight and four by express. 4
Thirteen thousand turkeys have
en- killed by these men in two y
eeks.
Last year $4,000 were paid for
ages and turkeys slaughtered by o.
Csc gentlemen. They will handle
out 10000 turkeys. -
We have said nothing about the
'usands and thousands of geese and 4
cks shipped alive by this firm and Z
Ter firms. We were told that 1900 Y
e geese and 800 live ducks were
It day being shipped in one car, di- W
led into stories aud the stories into ar
ps, each coop holding about ID
se. -
{ YOU do not believe all tbis 90 COO