The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-24
A QUESTION OF POULTRY.
BOSTON HOUSEWIVES CONTRADICTED
BY EXPERIENCE
Undrawn Fowls shown TO Keep Longer
Than the Drawn-The New York Way
the Better Plan for bringing Them
s,i,utiac Reaaon for 4.

|
the Better Plan for bringing Them
| to Market-A scientific Reason for 1t.
No doubt many New Workers. are Of the same
| opinion al Broadway manufacturer who writes
| to THE Sun about "a Fowl Question-What We
| Buy aud DO Not Eat" in this wise:
Recently have visited Washington and Full
| ton markets. wholesale poultry establishments
and cold storage warehouses in this city. ana In
| none NJ them have | found n turkey, chicko,,
gOusc. duck any kind ~ game that did not con-
tain the vsccra Just as when the bird was killed.
why il II that beef, pork and mutton are not sold
with simply the hide of and the viscora intactf
Scientists all the world Investigate the
bacillus Of this or that disease. They find the
germs In all sorts oi uncS pcccd places and emanat
ing from unknown sources Recently wrote 70
| n professor associated with the United States Do
pattment Of Agriculture who is acknowledged
10 he one of the best authorities in the country, II
no, In the world, upon the subject Of foods. Con-
| corning undrawn fowls no said The subject
upon which you write is one about which hardly
feel myself qualified to speak. as ! have mover
given 1t any special study. should suppose
that timely articles In the newspapers concerning
the hygicnic side might lie Of use. I do not now
recall any one who has done work along this line
With such an opinion from so high an authority
have the less hcsiiancyin seeking your coumna
or course, the reform which suggest. II put in
force, would cause disturbance in the poultry
market, Just as all changes in existing methods
tend In many instances to hardship Tho farmer
might he the initial sufferer, and ultimately the
consumer might have 10 pay more for his poultry.
but in the long run values would adjust them
selves. and the health Of the community would
bc better conserved than now. II We got what va
ate and paid for that only less the bones What
the ordinances are in other cities do not know,
but have been informed that Boston prohl bits
the sale Of undrawn poultry, and my impression 10
that PHILADELPHIA and Baltimore in some way
regulate the fowl traffic"
One marked divergence between Boston and
New York ways Of looking at things concerns
'his question OF drawn or undrawn poultry.
and along with 1t, the question Of live
or boiled Holsters The New England house,
wife. when she goes to market to buy her Christ
mas turkey. insists that the bird shall have been
drawn before IL left the farmin Duxbury. and IL
sh" gets lobster for a Chr stmas eve supper she
wants one that is dead and boiled A live lobster.
with Its legs wiggllng. Is an object q horror TO
you, viii hnd all tho dressed poultry. undrawn
aud oil the lobs'rs alive and wggling. The
purse in the other doesn't stop 60 ask II a fowl
is drawn, Tor she knows that drawn fowls never
tareans u make sag that they are risky. II
a lobster doesn't exhibit athletic tendencies she
Now. why should New York marke,er sbhor
what the Boston woman seeks and the Bostonian
amor what the New Yorker buys without question:
Whatever may have been the colonial way
Of sending turkeys 10 market the fact IL that
hundreds nf thousands Of dressed fowls are re-
al them Gre undrawn.. Occasionally a market.
man IN Washington Market is asked for drawn
fowls arc not To b, found in town and that they
are not good anyhow That satisfies the New
York woman until guest from New England
Is amazed AT the sight Of AN undrawn tIiTkep
coming into the house. Tho hostess can only
defend The New lGTk turkey by telling her Back
gnlI
here and always have been. and as New York
Ecrs the b,>t Of everything undrawn fowls m,iss
her that tn New England way is right and iha
Ne" York woman comes to look upon the Wash.
kitchen. She then bcgius n vain search for drawn
poultry and ends up by eschrwing turkeys and
suburban farmer who will bring her dressed
and drawn fowl direct from the farm.
,hi e TAp,Hn nn6 made OF the 3ppSs" views
| lander has less fear OF dishhlcsty IN the market
Of Washington, Ganscvoori and Fulton marIe.s
may resent this, but'it's the explanation made
DH nanhrr some years ago y may b. re-.
| against poultry rriuNcnating." descriptions
n!atkelmen were nak!!ns great deal OF money
itaud boiling II IN a disnfcctant and then ruttirc
!, "n III" market as fresh, The health author
| an undrawn fowl you know that it isn't old meat
| dSlnieCtrd: but the Boston marketrr dccsn't
sell her '"rrIuvcnatcd poultry" and 80 il is in
| buying Holsters The Bustonisn trusts in tho
markctman's honesty that the boiled lobster she
buys Was fine crawl cr before II WAS dropped into
the kettle but the New York cpicurc wants To
| sec the live lobster before IL Is boiled
| Both in the matter Of unboilrd Holsters and
| III that "t undthnn poultry the New Yorker is
right on the lobster question New Workers
! On IN her guIIclrSS way trusting her marketmen.
But as u the drawing Of poultry: Tho
long time age when there was a stirring up q
int" II and then gaN" It a. the Judgment Of food
| experts that poultry should not he drawn on tho
farms. II was recognized then that IL was n
matter Of Che u,mnsL Importance 10 the public
health. about l250ooo0n pounds Of dressed
S%ns s G%% n% the N wss and South
almost exclusively for New England drawn
pon,tI,y Isn't wanted here. and anybew. ,hs
fsrpS Inc, p%a'5y for her Sbrs The hs.,h
results IA the seizure every week of thousands
II pounds 81 poultry which deesnl come up 10
the INSPECTORS standards In Thanksgiving
| week, for instance, the authorities condemned
| 1880 pounds IN the markets and destroyed it
! Las, M",k t,a pounds were seized; In year
al dressed poultry, but large as this seems il 10
only one pound IN 800, two fowls in 1000
inquiry II Ed@"d ~ an N" who p"a naT
rs chief Inspector ot Foods for the city. over
porS .SrT VI @ s or %Sn III Us
Yankee ana when hc came over from Boston
S" ,n,; age he h hat prsndcs against undrawn
"triorr We made the poultry investig alton
said DT Martin, we thought that perha ps Boston
| Was right and all our butchers and maIkotn,en
! aud food inspectors were wrong But we went
| I" work experimenting Onc thing We did was
! I" hang up drawn aud undrawn dressed poultry
! and watch It's decomposition. To the surprise
al spmrot rs. We saw that the drawn tnwl dcieriur-
| atcd much faster than the undrawn, but this
was lust what the practical marketmAn had told
| us did happen They said they couldn't keep
drawn fowl because II wouldn't stay sweet long.
| They couldn't tell MS why this Was So, but they
! knew u as n matter ~ business and since then
the millions Of dressed fowls sent to this arket
have all been uudrawu
| The scientific explanation OF the superiority
ot undTawn poultry Is probably that when tho
inside 81 n fowl Is not opened 10 the air the haC-
| terra OF decomposition do not have n chance to
get al II 50 easily when the visccra reno, ed
| You put two dressed turkeys one drawn and tho
other not, On top OF the highest mountain OF down
IN the deepest mine, aud the germs will he there,
aud the undrawn turkey will keep longest. I
! know oi no other explanation and this one seems
| reasonable, The comparison of poultry with
sheep and 81 on not for the Niscrra Of poultry
are comparatively dry and do not contain matter