The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1916-04-25

long tail feathers are left on the ducks,
the wings are picked to the first joint
and the neck half way to the head.
Long pinfeathers are removed with a
dull knife, and the down sometimes Is
rubbed of with the moistened hand,
burned with alcohol or shaved with a
very sharp knife. Large duck farms
usually have pickers who devote their
time entirely to the dressing Of ducks
during the killing season and are very
proficient in this work.
Removing Feathers by Steaming.
Ducks may be steamed and picked.
thus saving the feathers without arti-
fetal drying, and as duck feathers are
of considerable value, their sale is
quite an important item. The wing
and tail feathers are pulled and thrown
to one side before steeming the ducks.
Six or eight ducks, which have been
stuck and hung up to bleed, are placed
on hooks in the top Of steam box or
barrel which can be made alright, and
steamed until the soft feathers on the
breast come of easily. The length Of
time to leave them in the box depends
on the temperature of the steam, vary
ing from one-half to two minutes.
Two sets Of pickers usually pluck the
ducks; one set, called the roughers,
removing the bulk Of the feathers.
while the other, called the Primers, re-
moves the down and some of the
smaller feathers. A good method for
removing the down Is to sprinkle
powdered resin over the ducks body
and dip the bird into hot water, which
melts the resin SO that the down and
resin can be rubbed of easily with
the hand, leaving the body clean.
When carefully steamed the birds
rarely show any signs Of scalded flesh.
In some cases the ducks are hung in
the steam box with the heads outside,
thus preventing the head from being
steamed; but when the birds are
steamed as described above the heads
are not discolored.
After the ducks are picked they are
usually washed and put in ice water
for an hour or two to cool and plump
Each layer of ducks is packed fiat in
ice, usually with the keels or breasts
| down, in barrels, or in boxes holding
one dozen each.
1t costs from FIVE to six cents apiece
to pick ducks, but the body feathers
and down usually are saved, as white
feathers bring from 40 to 80 cents a
pound when cured. Each duck yields
about two ounces of marketable feath-
eTs. Scalded feathers may also be
| dried and sold
The feed cost OF growing Pekin
ducks to ten weeks of age, when they
weigh from five to six pounds, is esti-
mated at from five to six cents q
pound. Green ducks are marketed
from April to November and bring
from IL to 80 cents a pound when sold
to commission men at wholesale.
DlsbuddIng and Summer Pruning.
Disturbing and pinching back of the
| young shoots Of fyuit trees are the only
hope of those who have neglected to
! prune properly during the fall and win
! ter and yet wish to control somewhat
the shape and fruiting habits of the
! trees for the coming season. On the
other hand, many expert growers who
have properly attended to pruning,
study their trees carefully In the sum-
mer and by disbudding and pinching
are able still further to control their
growth. Some experts starting with
very young trees rely almost wholly
on disbudding and pinching, because
they say that 1t is more logical to d.
rect the strength Of the tree than to
allow it to waste its energies in form
ing wood which only has to be cut OF
by pruning knife. These processes,
however, call for even greater care
than ordinary pruning because, OF
course, It is easier to injure q growing
tree than to deal with dormant one.
In the case of older trees, however,
disbudding and pinching, Of course, are
not substitutes for pruning and getting
rid of old wood. Once a tree has es-
tablished old wood, disbudding simply
controls the development Of new
shoots and the saw or pruning hook
alone will dispose of interfering
branches or old growth.
Disbudding should begin when the
young buds are large enough to be
pinched out with the thumb and finger.
The process should be repeated rather
than an attempt made to take of many
buds at time. The buds which are
left should remain where they will
grow up and close up the open tree
spaces and bring about a more COM
pact form. Disturbing is often prac-
ticed on fruit trees grown under glass,
where the branches must necessarily
be kept within very small area and
where conservation OF the vigor Of the
tree is Of great importance. Disbud-
ding is often practiced with advantage
on apples, peaches. pears and other
fruit trees and vines.
Summer pruning is similar In meth
cd and results In the control Of RrpYth