Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1897-10-14
POULTRY FOR MARKET.
How TO Dress Chickens, Turkeys,
Geene md DncIIn.

1
Geese and Ducks.
Keep from food "A hours. Kill by
bleding in the mouth or opening the
veins in the neck; hang by the feet un-
til properly bled; head and feet should
be left on and the intestines and crop
should not be drawn. For scalding
poultry, the water should be as near
the boiling point as possible without
actually boiling; pick the legs dry be-
forse scalding; hold by the head and
legs and immense and lift up and down
three times; IL the head Is immersed
it turns the color of the comb and gives
the eyes shrunken appearance, which
leads the buyers to think the fowl has
been sick The feathers and pin feath-
ers should be removed Immediately,
very clearly and without breaking the
skin, then plump" by dipping ten sec
onds in water nearly or quite boiling
hot, and then Immediately into cold
water, hang in n cool place until the
animal heat is entirely out, it should be
entirely cold, but not frozen before be-
ing packed. Dry picked chickens and
turkeys sell best, and we advise this
way Of dressing, as they sell better to
shippers, scalded chickens and turkeys
generally are sold to the local trade.
To dry pick chickens and turkeys prop
erly the work should be done while
the bird is bleeding; do not wait and
let the bodies get cold, dry picking is
more easily done while the bodies are
warm. BE careful and do not break
and tear the skin. Pack in boxes or bar
rels, boxes holding 100 to 200 pounds
are preferable, and pack snugly;
straighten out the body and legs so
that they will not arrive very much
bent and twisted out of shape; fill the
package as full as possible to prevent
shutting about on the way. Mark kind
and weight and shipping directions
neatly and plainly on the cover. Bar
rels answer better for chickens and
ducks than for turkeys or geese. When
convenient avoid putting more than one
kind in package. Endeavor to market
all old and heavy cocks before January
l, rs after the holidays the demand is
for small, round, fat hen turkeys only,
old toms being sold at discount to
Gamers
For geese and ducks the water for
scalding should be the same tempera-
ture us for other kinds of poultry, but
it requires more time for it to penetrate
and loosen the feathers. 1t is a good
plan after scalding to wrap them in a
blanket, providing they are not left
long enough to partly cook the flesh.
Another method, and no doubt the best
for loosening the feathers, is to steam
them, and whenever proper facilities
are at hand, we advise this process. 1t
is poor policy to undertake to save the
feathers dry by picking them alive just
before the killing, as it causes the skin
to become very much inhamed, and
greatly Injuries the sale. Do not pick
the feathers off the head and it is well
to leave them on the neck, close to the
head, for space of two or three inches.
The feet should not be skinned, nor
the bodies singed for the purpose of re-
moving any down or hair, as the heat
from the flame will cause them to look
oily and bad. The process of Pumping
and cooling is the same as with turkeys
and chickens. There is no kind of
poultry harder to sell at satisfactory
prices than poor, slovenly dressed
geese and ducks, and those who send
in such must not be disappointed at low
prices. No poultry of any kind sent to
city market should be drawn.-Rural
World.