In preparing poultry for market by the method that has been described the head and feet were left on and the internal organs were not removed. The reason for this is that poultry keeps much better in this state. Removing these parts exposes the flesh at several places to the action of the air and of bacteria, which cause putrefaction. In many markets in poultry-producing sections it is customary to sell poultry drawn and with the head and feet off. In places where most of the poultry comes from a distance the waste parts of the carcass are not removed until it is bought by the consumer. Some people who buy in this way think that they are being defrauded if the marketman weighs the bird before removing the offal. Sometimes, to satisfy such a customer, a dealer removes the offal before weighing, and the customer cheerfully pays a higher rate per pound, feeling that at any rate he is getting just what he pays for when he insists on having it done in this way. As far as the cost is concerned, it makes no difference to the consumer at what stage of distribution the offal is discarded.
Volume of products. In the United States and Canada the production and consumption of poultry products are very nearly equal, because each country has agricultural areas capable of supplying an enormous population with poultry and eggs. Production in such districts responds quickly to the increasing demands of other sections, but not in such volume as to create large surpluses for export. The present annual production of the United States is variously estimated at from $600,000,000 to $1,000,000,000. This wide difference exists because the census is only a partial one. In Canada no general census of poultry products has ever been taken.
The poultry statistics for the United States as collected decennially by the Bureau of the Census may be found complete in the full report of agricultural statistics. Those for the different states may be obtained in separate bulletins. Some of the states and provinces collect poultry statistics through state and provincial departments and furnish the reports to all persons desiring them. Persons living in communities which ship poultry products can usually learn from the local shippers the approximate amounts and the value of the produce that they handle. At the more important receiving points statistics of receipts are kept by such organizations as the Produce Exchange, Board of Trade, or Chamber of Commerce, and the results published in their annual reports. From such sources it is possible for pupils to get information as to the status and importance of the poultry trade in the communities in which they live.
CHAPTER XXI
EXHIBITIONS AND THE FANCY TRADE
Conditions in the fancy trade. The trade in fancy poultry and pigeons and in cage birds is on a very different basis from the trade in market products. With the arrangements for collecting poultry products and for holding them when that is desirable, it seldom happens that market products cannot be sold at any time when the producer wants to dispose of them. The fancy trade is quite closely limited to certain short seasons. In this trade prices depend as much upon the reputation of the seller as upon the quality of his stock. Very high prices are obtained only by those who have made a big reputation by winning at important shows, and have advertised their winnings extensively. Buyers of fancy stock prefer to deal directly with producers, and the greater part of the business is mail-order business. It is almost impossible to force the sale of this class of stock except by selling it for the table at market prices. The producer can only advertise and wait for customers, and what is not sold at fancy prices must be sold at market prices.
Exhibitions. Competitive exhibitions hold a very important place in the development and distribution of improved stocks of animals. In old times such exhibitions were informal gatherings of the persons in a locality who were interested in the improvement of a particular breed or variety. Our knowledge of these early gatherings of breeders of domestic birds is very limited and is mostly traditional. From what is known it appears that they were usually held in the evenings at public houses, and that each person taking part carried with him to the place of meeting one or more of his best birds; that these were compared and their qualities discussed by the company, and that at the close each participant carried his exhibit home.
