Arizona sentinel Yuma southwest., 1915-11-25
HANDLING. THE POULTRY. UNDER. ND|E[!RF
 B ADVERSE WEATHER ] CONDITIONS
Special to the Yuma Daily Examiner)

partment of Agriculture t(
 give unusual attentiont to pre-
 pairing and packing theil
 birds for shipment, particu |tlarly if the mild weather
 which has been widely preYa. Ilent this autumn continues
 The poultry specialists say i that the weather conditions lin many sections have beer livery similar to those which
 prevailed in the autumn ol 1913, and which, as poultry shippers will remember now l proved disastrous to all the lpackers, who did not dress,
 chill,a and pack properly. Il E The specialists therefore recommend the particular ob- servance of the following methods of handling dressed poultry, which are essential to a perfect product at any time and are of vital import ance whenever, weather con q. -. 4 rs .h n .. Editions are unfayorable:
 1. Keep the holding batteries for your incoming stock clean, we'll aired, and free from vermin, and see that the chickens have plenty of fresh water and plenty to. eat.
 2. Don't kill a chicken when the crop is full of feed. Give the chicken only, water for 24 hours before it is killed, Food in the crop or in the intestines of a dressed chicken causes loss. of flavor and hastens decay, which more than offsets any gain from extra weight.
 3. Good bleeding is absolutely es- sential to a good appearance on the market and retards decay. Circular 61, Bureau of Chemistry, U s. Depart meth of Agriculture. explains the best methods of bleeding and loosening the feather muscles for. dry picking.
 4. Hang the chicken by both feet while picking. Hanging by one leg spells the shape of the bird. Picking on the lap gets the skin dirty and hastens decay.
 5. Dry pick if possible. Scalding is particularly undesirable because it hastens decay.
 6, Chill every dressed bird until the body temperature is below 35 de grees. Never pack or ship an imper- fectly chilled bird More decay is due to imperfect chilling than to any other single factor in dressing. Dry chill, if possible. Chickens cooled in water lose flavor, decay sooner, will not cold store as satisfactorily as the. dry-chilled, and are in every way more undesirable on the market. Re frigerator cars will carry we'll chilled goods in good condition, but they can not chill warm goods to sufficiently low temperature. z.A -,-
 '. Pack in boxes or small kegs whenever possible. A large barrel makes an undesirable package be- cause where poultry is packed in very large masses the weight of the upper layers crushes the birds at the bot tom.
 S. Line all packages with parch- ment paper and cover the top of the poultry before the lid is put on.
 g. Wrap every head in suitable paper so that blood from one bird will not mar the appearance of another.
 10. Use only good refrigerator cars and see that they are in good order. Ice and salt the car A hours before loading. The car, at the end | of "A hours, should show tempera- ture below 40 degrees, at a point four feet above the floor and between the doors.
 General Suggestions sa
 Never, handle chickens roughly either before or after killing. Rough handling causes bruises, broken bones, scared skins and soft places in the flesh. Under haste on the part of he killers and pickers results in low cred keeping quality and poor appear ance of the product. Ga
 Piece work which leads to quantity rather than quality makes for lower prices on the market Those who pay, oy. the piece should remember that hey sell by the quality of the piece.
 These directions will apply with equal force to turkeys intended for he holiday market.
 lot of people who regarded the