of the birds. (Fig. 7) shows what is known as the bench method of picking. The operator takes the bird from the coop, fastens its head to a sharp hook on the side of the bench; with one hand the bird is pulled back over the bench, and with the other hand the blood vessels in the neck of the bird are cut and the brain is pierced so that the feathers loosen and can be pulled out easily. You can see the feathers are pushed in front of the operator into a large box. The blood drains through a hole in the bench into a pail. The bench is covered with a cushion made of canvas cloth and some filler. This is to keep the body of the birds from getting bruised. This method is objectionable because the cushion becomes very unsanitary unless it is changed often. It is also the cause of breaking the delicate skin on the outside of the bird and when the carcass is cooled it gives a bad appearance and also effects the keeping quality of the bird. Another method that is used extensively in poultry houses is what is known as the string method. (Fig. 8) shows a room where this system is practiced. One end of the string is fastened to a rod or joist overhead. An iron nut is fastened to the end. The bird is taken out of the coop and held in the left hand. The string is held in the right. The legs of the bird are placed against the string; then the end of the string is passed up over the legs and to the right side of the string. You will find the nuts holds the string securely on the bird, for the weight of the bird pulls it against the string and the legs. The bird is killed by cutting the veins in the neck and piercing the brain. The usual practice is to hang a weight on the bird's head to keep it in a more rigid position until the blood is drained out. This is shown in (Fig. 9). This method has some good qualties. The bird is held in the best position to get good bleeding. There is not so much danger of breaking the skin as in the bench method. But where this method is practiced it is often unsanitary for there is nothing to collect all the blood as will be seen in (Fig. 9). (Fig. 10) shows a can five inches high and three inches in diameter. It is made of galvanized iron and is weighted so that it will weigh about one pound. Inside the can one and one-half inches from the top is a hook which is soldered to the side of the can. This hook is to hold the can to the birds head. As soon as the bird is killed this can is put over the head to catch the blood and to keep the bird in a rigid position. If this can were used by those who use the string method, their rooms could be kept in a sanitary condition. You can readily see that when this can is used, that the string method is the most satisfactory. The man who kills the birds removes the body, wing and tail feathers. This is what is called roughing the birds. For this work he is paid one cent each. Experienced men are able to rough from four to six hundred birds in a day. Those birds are passed onto men and women who remove the pin feathers. It requires about six pinners for one first class rougher. For this work they receive about a cent and a half per bird. After the feathers are all removed the feet and heads are thoroughly washed. The birds are then hung by the feet on rack to drain off. These racks are mounted on trucks and are made V-shaped to allow the birds to drain off without dripping on each other. After the birds are drained the heads are sometimes wrapped in paper. This keeps them more sanitary when they are packed for shipment, and gives them a neater appearance on the |