Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-10-29
WTNTRY OR MILD?
PRICE OF TURKEYS
SET ACCORDINGLY
Cold Weather Makes Good
Birds, Warm Weather Bad
Ones, and Result Rules the
Market.

On a lonely farm down IN Virginia q
woman is feeding nock of turkeys and
looking up at the October sky for weather
signs; her eyes search the clouds anN-
touslv as she wonders what weather the
coming few weeks wFl bring. And In
Texas, Delaware, New Jersey. Pennsyl-
ysnis. everywhere turkeys are raised
farmers are asking the same question.
For The weather between now and
Thanksgiving will be tho great factor In
determining the quality and the price OF
,he turkeys whtoh will appear in the
PhTIa deiphia markets before long II
the weather remains open, so the birds
NAV roam about in search OF food, they
will be scrawuy. muscular fowls without
much fat On ths other hand X several
weeks of clustering weather and cold
winds sweep over The farms ana tne
turkeys do not range far, they Will pe-
come fat and plump-marketaoie tnr-
ksvH. Unlike other fowls, turkeys can
not he penned up IN good weather ana
fattened successfully. Bad weather mates
rood turkeys; good weather makes oa'
turkeys. II the weather is fair and the
birds do not show good condition, many
turkey raisers will not kill their pros
but will save them for the Christmas
market II this occurs turkeys may De
soarce tl-ts year and the price will be
correspondingly higher. Last year tnou-
sands of turkeys spoiled because tneS
were not disposed of at Thanksgiving
and their condition when killed dld NOT
aleu- then, to hold up under cold storass
until the Christmas demand. Inc IS' A."
srs may profit by this lesson
HIGH PRICES PRoPHEsIED.
Judging from the prevailing high price
,f other poultry and meats commission
WAN and pouLtry dealers expect turkeys
20 ba mora expensive than usual this
Thanksgiving. One man prophesleu 'hSt
the wholesale price will be as high as
u cents pound. dressed, and tho re-
tail price 81 cents. The average re'all
price predicted was about y cents Inc
Erronesn war. bugaboo for prices OF all
oor,-,oditiss. is not expected TO play an
,-,ror1ant part In axtns the number or
+rrlavs that will be sold this rear. be-
at THANKSGIVING no matter how Fosrce
money may be,
There are practically no turkeys IN
Philadelphia storage houses now. They
are sIauChtered in the fall aud winter
and because OF the law competing The
cold storage product TO be sold WITHIN
10 months, the storage rooms are well
cleared Of the birds by the end OF sum
rner. although hotels cause a smell ue-
mand for them the year around.
This seasons van guard or tuTkeNs
that will supply Philadelphts tables Is
sxnpoted within the next two weeks.
THE West probably will furnish the hrst
blrds which will be killed and put IN the
rsfrIgerator cars before the Eastern
turkeys are slaughtered. A week BEFORE
TbanEsgiving the birds will he arriving
from the nearer points. Delaware the
Pennsylvania counties, New Jersey. Nir-
ainia. and the turkey market viii open
With a rush. The birds which are not
disposed OF at Thanksgiving will be put
in cold stora gs for Christmas, the goal
for which the Thanksgiving turkey MAJ
ket IS but a steppiug-stone,