The most of this live poultry goes to New York and other eastern cities and is consumed largely by the Hebrew trade.
The Special Poultry Plant.
The special egg farmer of the East should sell his poultry alive to the regular dealer. The exception to this advice may be taken in the case of squab broilers for which some local dealers will not pay as fancy a price as may be obtained by dressing and shipping to the hotel trade.
The grower of roasters and capons will probably want to market his own product. As to whether it will pay him to do so will depend upon whether his dealer will pay what the quality of the goods really demands. The dealer can afford to do this all right, if he will hustle around and find an outlet for the particular grade of goods, for he is in position to kill and dress the fowls more economically than the producer.
I have never been able to study out why the average writer upon agricultural subjects is always advising the farmer to attempt to do difficult work for which special firms already exist. In the case of fattening just referred to, there is reason why the farmer may be able to do the work more successfully than the special establishment, but why any one should urge the farmer to turn the woodshed into a temporary poultry packing establishment I can hardly see. If the farmer has nothing to do he had better get a job at the poultry killing house where they have ice water and barrels in which to put the feathers.
I do not think it worth while in this book for me to attempt to describe in detail the various methods of killing and packing poultry for the various retail markets. The grower who contemplates killing his own stuff had better spend a day visiting the produce houses and market stalls and inquire which methods are locally in demand.
Suggestions from Other Countries.
In European countries generally, and especially in France and England, great pains is taken in the production of market poultry. Each farmer and each neighborhood become known in the market for the quality of their poultry, and the prices they receive vary accordingly. In these countries more poultry is fattened and dressed by the growers than in the United States where we have greater specialization of labor.
In countries that have an export trade different systems have originated. In Denmark and Ireland co-operative societies are organized to handle perishable farm products. These, however, deal more with eggs than with poultry. In portions of England the fattening is done by private fatteners. The country being thickly settled, the chickens are collected directly from the farms by wagons making regular trips. This allows the rejection of the poor and immature specimens, whereas a premium may be paid on better stock.
The greatest fault of poultry buying as conducted in this country is the evil of a uniform price. After chickens are dressed the difference of quality is readily discerned, and the price varies from fancy quotations to almost nothing for culls. The packer pays a given rate per pound for live hens or for spring chickens. The price is paid alike for the best poultry received or for the scrawniest chickens that can be coaxed to stand up and be weighed. The prices paid is the average worth of all chickens purchased at that market. All farmers who market an article better than the average are unjust losers, while those who sell inferior stock receive unearned profits. The producer of good stock receives pay for the extra quantity of his chickens, but for the extra quality no recognition whatever is given. To the deserving producer, if quality was recognized, it would result in a greatly increased stimulation of the production of good poultry. Any packer, if questioned, will state that he would be willing to grade chickens and pay for them according to quality, but that he does not do so because his competitor would pay a uniform price and drive him out of business. The man who receives an increased price would say little of it, while the man who sells poor chickens, if he failed to receive the full amount to which he is accustomed, would think himself unjustly treated and use his influence against the dealer. A recognition of quality in buying is for the interest of both the farmer and the poultry dealer, and a mutual effort on the part of those interested to put in practice this reform would result in a great improvement of the poultry industry.