New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1905-01-25
!. MARIE ING TURKEYS.
Methods Of killing Dry Picking,
Scalding and Piclxing-Pa clSins

= sss1A siAH = u hd E.1clS1ns-PaclA1nS. =
Turkeys have been late this season
and the crop somewhat short in some
sections. but even when there is an
active demand for them care and atten-
ton are needed in the killing and ship
ping in order to get the best returns.
So much depends upon marketing them
in the best condition that small grow
ers should either dress and sell them
to their hcnle market. provided it can
be done at a fair price, or sell them
alive to some one who makes bust
ness of handling such stock. Mr.. E. e.
McGreW Of New York city. an authori-
ty in this line, advises as follows:
Buyers who are prepared to kill.
dress, pack and ship turkeys and to
save the feathers should be in a posi-
ton to pay what they are worth alive
and should be able to handle them at
a profit better than can the grower,
who may not be prepared to do the
work to advantage
Kill nothing but we'll feathered
stock. 1t seldom pays to send i'll ia
vored stock to market. Do not give
any food to the turkeys for twenty -four
hours prior to killing. This allows the
crop and entrails to become empty and
avoids much of the danger of spelling.
Full crops and entrails count against
value They often faint the meat and
prevent it's being kept for any length
| of time.
There are two methods OF killing
| largely used. The most popular is to
suspend the fowl by the shanks, head
down, and cut or stick it in the roof CT
/ the mouth with a knife made especial
| ly for this purpose. This sewers the
arteries and cuts into the brain, caus-
| ing insensibility and free flow of
blood from the mouth. This is called
| sticking in the roof of the mouth.
! The other plan is to break the neck
by a quick twist or jerk backward.
| When the neck is completely disjoint-
ed the head is pulled away so as to
form an open space in the neck in
| which the blood may settle. This plan
has been but little used, though the
claim is made that when SO killed the
i fowls will keep longer because there is
no opening by which the air can get
into the body, as there is when they
are stuck in the roof of the mouth.
This method has been more used for
chickens than for turkeys, and to use
it we'll requires considerable practice.
The method of beheading with an AK
or Ratchet has been employed for ages.
Dry picking is always to be pre-
ferred when preparing the fowls for
market When in fine condition. nicely
picked and sent to market without
having been packed in ice a turkey is
at it's best and consequently commands
the highest price. AS soon as the fowl
is stuck and the blood is still flowing
pluck the feathers dry from it's body.
taking care in doing this not to break
the skin or tear the flesh. Nothing de
tracts SO much from dressed poultry
] as torn places upon the carcass OF
shank Picking must be clean and
nicely done. When the fowl is plucked
hang it head down in cool place TN
til all animal heat is gone from the
body. being careful not to hang il
where it will be SO exposed to cold all
as to be likely to freeze. Do not re
I move the head, feet or entrails, but
l have the whole carcass, including heaC
l and feet, perfectly clean.
The method known as scalding ani
I plucking is too familiar to need com
ment further than to say that care
/ must be taken not to scald or tear thu
] skin or shank. Perform this operation
D as neatly as possible. AS soon as tht
animal heat has left the body the ap
pearance OF the dressed turkeys ma,
be improved by submerging for shor
time in cold water as this has a tend
- ency to make them plump whether dr.,
picked or scalded. The plucking shoult
be done as quickly as possible. Tn
more quickly done the more readil,
can the feathers be removed.
Packing For Shipment.
For shipping pack as closely as pos
sible into close boxes or barrels NIGEL
lined with white or manila paper. d
not use brown, soiled or printed pa
per. Have the package completely fl
ed, 50 as to prevent the poultry fror
shifting about in transit. Do not us
hay or straw for packing, as it mark
or stains the fowls and detracts fro1
1 their value. The above method ca
only be used when the poultry is ser
to market without being packed
ice, and when this can be done wit
safety, either in refrigerator cars c
for short distance in cold weather,
is by far the best. The greater par
however, must be packed in ice. Whe
necessary to do this, use nice clea
barrels. Cover the bottom with br.
ken ice, then put in layer of poultr.
then a layer of ice. Continue thus tt
the barrel is packed solid and full. A
ways use perfectly clean ice for pac]
ing. Head the barrel tightly and mar
It's contents plainly on the head, an
never ship mixed lots of poultry