Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1906-08-14

King Henry IV of France expressed
his ideas of popular contentment by say
ing that he would not be satisfied unit
''every peasant had fowl boiling in the
pot" From a recent bulletin it appear,
that there are now about 240, ,0O0, ,0O(
head of chickens in this country, anG
that 90 per cent. of the farmers keel
poultry. OF the different kinds oi
domestic birds kept for eggs or meal
three are consumed per capita every
year, so it would seem that, great as the
industry has become, there is yet nc
danger of an overproduction.
The flesh of poultry as compared with
other meats is finer in grain and texture
and, as rule, more tender. 1t possess
es an excess of the proteine elements
and lacks in the fat or fuel food, and for
all these reasons it is recommended fol
the diet of delicate people and GONZALES.
cents.
OF the different kinds, turkey is con.
sidered the most savory, but between
turkey and properly fattened capon
there is not much choice. The meat Of
the domestic fowl varies considerably
according to age, breed and the manner
in which the bird has been fed. The
Brahmas, Cochins, Langshans and Dork-
ings are usually styled the table breeds,
but for quickness of early growth none
excel the plymouth Rocks, the leading
general purpose fowls. A good table
bird should have a large proportion of
flesh to the size of its bones, and large
full breast, on which is found the deli
cate white meat. The white breast meat
is a popularity of the domestic fowl, be-
cause, it is said, they fly less and make
less use of the muscles of that portion of
the body. In this country, yellow legs
and skin are typical of the most desir-
able market fowl, while in England the
white kinds are preferred. There are
broilers, roasters, yearlings and old
cocks. In winter, fowls usually bring
more a pound than spring chickens, as
there is less waste and the meat is better
favored. The flesh of mature cock is
usually tough and strongly favored, and
brings less price a pound than any other
Of the poultry varieties. Where cocker
els are to be disposed of for market meat,
il pays we'll to caponize them when
small. The meat of a capon is very fine,
being as tender as pullet and better
flavor. A capon will sell for nearly
double the price a pound that cockerel
viii bring.
One hundred pounds of live chickens
will dress to about ninety-two pounds
undrawn; dressed and drawn carcass,
not including giblets, 67 per cent; gib-
let's, 5.5 per cent: head and feet, IL per
cent; feathers, S per cent; and entrails,
S.5 per cent.
Fattening poultry has become quite an
art in some foreign countries and in
some sections of this country, where
farmers sell their chickens to men who
make a special business of fattening
them for the market. There is much
difference of opinion as to whether it is
best to keep the market poultry closely
confined or to give them exercise. 1t is
conceded that flavor and eSpe-
cially toughness are increased by too
much exercise. Long continued coniine-
ment seems to be detrimental to the
health of the birds, and it is the general
custom to pen up closely for only about
Ten udyS pEcNiOuo W tho b"o shSJ eAS
to be butchered.
The kind of food which the fowls feed
upon has an effect on the quality of the
meat. Ducks whose food consists mostly
of fish and water bugs, have flesh of a
fishy flavor. The highly
priced canvasback of Chesapeake Bay
owes it's table superiority to the wild
celery on which it largely feeds. Onions
fed literally to chickens will impart
their peculiar taste to the flesh of the
birds. The majority of experiments
seem to show that better results as to
quality of the meat are obtained from
feeding mashes than from the whole
grains. As summarized in recent Off
cial publication, meat meal, scraps or
animal feed of any kind tend to make
the flesh darker, and it seems fair to say
that this is true of any food rich in nitro
gen. At the Cornell station two similar
lots of chickens were fed, one nitro
genous ration of wheat and skim milk,
the other a carbonaceous ration of Indian
corn. When they were killed the flesh
of the first lot appeared darker, more
tender and more juicy than the second,
which, however, contained large masses
of fat. On the other hand, = ration OF
yellow corn used at the Ontario Agricul'
tural College produced a dark yellow
flesh; while oats, milk and buckwheat
gave a creamy white color. 1t is COM
monty believed that the desirable fat
fowls with yellow skin can best be OBJ
tanned by heavily feeding yellow corn
two or three weeks before killing.
However, the chicken brought up ON the
range, with its grass, bugs, weed seeds,
etc, together with all the wheat and
cracked corn he may wish to help him.
self 70, is not to be despised when he
comes to the table.-Grant Davis, White
house, N. j., in Tribune Farmer.