Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-11-15
WOMEN WARNED TO.
INSPECT POULTRY
FEDERAL EXPERTS FIND THAT
CERTAIN UNscRUPULoUs
DEALERS DEFRAUD.
PUT SAND IN CRAWs
Buy Chickens or the Farms and In
crease Their Weight by Feeding
Them Grit Along With
~ Their Food.

Washington, D. c.. Nov. 1.-THE
! United States department of agricul-
ture, after extensive study of the prac-
tice of certain poultry packers In feed
ing chickens with quantities of sand
just before they are killed. so that the
poultry will weigh more, has issued a
warning to housewives to scrutinize
carefully the craws Of any undressed
chickens they buy, and to watch the
craws Of chickens that are being
dressed by the butcher.
The government inspectors have for
some time been investigating the prac-
tees of certain shippers who collect
chickens from farms and kill and ship
them in large quantities. In some of
these places the inspectors found that
the practice was to take the chickens
as they came from the farms, nearly
always below weight or out Of condi.
ton because of their being ill-fed on
the farms and handled roughly on the
cars. and keep them in fattening pens
for from three days to two weeks.
The chickens are fed corn meal and
water or finely ground mixed grains
and buttermilk. This practice is be-
coming more and more general and IS
highly desirable because both quality
and quantity of edible flesh is In
creased. It is also profitable, as the
cost Of care, feed and interest on the
Investment necessary to add a pound
in weight still leaves a good margin Of
profit provided the fattening is rightly
done.
Feed Sand to Chickens.
Not content, however, with, adding
legitimately to the weight of the
chickens, some of these poultry ship
pers. a day or two before the chicken
is killed feed red pepper, which makes
the chicken have an abnormal appe-
tite, then they feed a mixture OF fine
sand a little corn meal. Is ,-as-
The chicken eats this mixture raven
ously and as result large quantities
OF sand are introduced into the craw
and the intestines as well. This may
amount, in the case of single chick
en-, to only an ounce or two, but where
thousands of chickens are sold the az
gregate charge for sand becomes I'M
portant. It simply means that the
poultry dealer Is selling sand to the
consumers at the rate OF twenty cents
OF more per pound.
The housewife should scrutinize the
craws Of poultry before buying and
make it very plain to her poultry
dealer or butcher that she will not pay
at the rate Of 20 to 30 cents per pound
for an ounce or more OF sand intro
duced into the body of chicken with
the view of defrauding the purchaser
In fact, she should rebel against food
in the craw, because quite aside from
fraud, the presence Of food means that
the chicken. has not kept as well as 1t
would have kept had it been starved
for twenty-four hours before killing
All reputable poultry packers starVe
the birds before slaughter, which re-
suits in empty intestines as we'll as
empty craws. The makeshift of cut
ting a slit in the craw and squeezing
out the food Is not satisfactory, be-
cause that does not empty the intes-
tines. If the housewife would have
the poultry drawn in her own kitchen
she could catch frauds. of this charac-
tel and take means t., prevent them