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Show PREPARING FOWLS FOR MARKET By C. G. Patterson of the Wasatch Produce Company. By far the most important step in the prcparaton of fowls for the con-i con-i sumcr is the manner of killing. The I method of killing not only affects the I 'plucking of the fowl, but will to a large degree affect the quality of the flesh. Chickens should not be chased chas-ed before killing, 'as this is thought to have an unfavorable effect on the flavor and texture of the flesh. The best method of killing is probably by bleeding, .and is described as follows: Hold the head of the bird with the I left hand, back of the head up, keep ing the hand on ' iC back of the neck to avoid cutting .vuurself should the knife slip and pass through the top' of the head. Take the knife in the right hand, the back of the blade toward to-ward your bodfcv. Insert the blade in the mouth, keeping the point to the right, side of the bird's neck and as near the outer skin as possible, until it is well past the neck bone. Then press the edge toward the bone and slowly draw the knife from the mouth, the hand moving from your body, so that the knife appears to pass across the neck. Repeat the process on the left side of the neck. This should cause the bird to bleed freely, but by holding the beak up the blood will remain in the neck, giving you plenty of time to pierce the brain. The latter is located just above the eye and can be easily reached through thro-ugh the upper part of the mouth by using ta, stiff steel blade, inserted in the mouth with blade edge up and pointing siTghtly over ithc eyes. With young bir3s little trouble is experienced experi-enced in piercing the brain, but with the older birds a very stiff blade is required, as the bones arc much hard en. When the point of the blade enters en-ters the brain, give the knife a quick twist to right or left to widen the aperture. If the brain has been ireached the bird will attempt to squawk or will give a nervous jerk as the blade touches the spot, and this touching the brain, or nerves not only loosens the feathers of the bird for dry plucking, but will greatly improve im-prove the appearance of scalded stock. A weight, which may consist of an old tomato can half filled with stones and cement, is iminr Hate' attached by means of a wire hook to the lower low-er part of the beak of the bird. Then by grasping the wings close v. the back, the bird will not be able to fluttdr, and can be easily and rapidly plucked. This, of course, should always al-ways be done while the bird ij bleed-.ng. bleed-.ng. The can catches the bison, and Ly hanging the bird over - ban el the feathers "may easily be saved. Since there is considerable difficulty difficul-ty in scalding bind properly and it is often improperly done, dealers usually usu-ally pay a little more for dry-plucked birds. The breast should be plucked first, starting neat the crop. After the breast the thighs, then the back near the base of the tail, and lastly the wings. As soon as the feathers have been removed the wings should be twisted over the back and the bird taken from the hooks and the feet washed, after which the thighs and legs should be pressed to the body cither by placing a brick on the bird's breast or by tyin the body, the object ob-ject of this being to give the bird a plump civ blocky appearance. The birds should not be allowed to hang until they become rigid, as that causes them to look thin. Care must be taken that all animal heat has left the birds before they arc packed for shipment, but this docs not mean that it is necessary for them to hang while cooling. As a rule, the head and feet are left on and the entrails arc not removed, but such details depend de-pend on the requirements of the market mark-et to which the birds arc oont. |