Evening star., 1924-11-09
WEATHER T0FK
PRICE OF TURKEYS
Heavy Storage Supplies May
Keep Charges Down-Hints
of High Rates.
by j. G. ROYLE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


NEW YORK, November s.-"Some
of the white meat and a piece of the
leg" Everybody knows what they
are going to ask the carver to dc
for them when they face the groan-
ing board November 81. But nobody
knows what it is going to cost. Only
the thermometer can tell them that
and even the weather man is likely
to be wrong.
When 1t comes to turkeys the
weather is the greatest factor in
determining the price. Production
of birds throughout the country this
year undoubtedly is heavy. 1t has
been heavy for several years, as
more and more people went into the
business of raising turkeys. But
perhaps, this fact is being over
emphasized this year by the trade
1.-The trade" never is anxious to have
the market look too favorable at
Thanksgiving time.
Grower Has Two Chances.
For the grower has two posi-
bilities each year. He can ship his
birds at Thanksgiving. sending g
smaller turkeys to market and run
ming the chance of getting good
stiff price, or he can take them "off
the range" put them on feed and
ship them for Christmas and New
Year. In the latter case he will send
larger fowls to market, but must
pay the additional feed cost of fat
tening them. If the market is over
loaded at Thanksgiving, the price is
likely to be low with a consequent
stiff increase at Christmas.
But the weather is the main thing
for both grower and consumer. Tur-
keys are delicate birds. Few are
shipped on the hoof for that reason.
A turkey shipped here from Virginia,
for example. is very likely to pine
gently and die in few days. There
fore. the largest part Of the supply is
shipped dressed. The dry-picked
birds always bring the best price. In
their case they are hung up. the
feathers stripped from them, and left
overnight until all trace Of bodily
heat has disappeared. Then they are
packed in barrels and shipped.
Warm Weather Serious.
If the weather is warm they fire.
quently spoil in transit. The same is
true if they are started in a cold snap
which moderates before destination is
reached. With the thermomete
above 80 degrees and likely to re-
main so, growers are compelled TO
ship in refrigerator cars. which adds
to the expense both to them and to
the consumer.
The wet-picked birds are scalded,
the feathers removed, and packed in
barrels with layers of ice between.
If the weather is warm enough TO
melt the ice before they reach the
dealers they spoil even more quickly
than their dry-picked brothers and
sisters. They turn green and, so far
as the high class trade is concerned.
are a total loss. Frequently dealers
wash them and fix them up, but they
are anything but delicacy there
after.
Fine Birds Always High.
Fine big birds in prime condition
always command excellent prices, no
matter what the general trend of the
market may be. For this reason Nir-
ginia and Maryland birds are in spe-
cial demand here. The climatic con-
ditions in those States seem to favor
size. and the distance to be shipped
is relatively small. However, thou
sands of Texas turkeys reach this
market every year. Last season some
remarkably fine specimens came from
North Dakota and were marketed to
advantage.
The stocks of cold storage turkeys
will have a big influence this season
in holding down the price of any
thing but the finest turkeys. These
stocks are heavy this year, as thou
sands were carried over from last
season. when some markets were
glutted by last-minute rushes by
growers. In general. however, au-
thorities state that it is safe to count
on paying from so to - cents pound
for the piece de resistance of the
THANKSGIVING dinner.
AS to the accompanying cranberry
sauce, the cost bids fair to be stable.
In the East big owners have a mar
keting organization which is one of
the best cooperative concerns of its
kind. The cranberry market will not
be glutted, nor will prices be .extraor-
dinarily higher, according to present
indications.