POULTRY

Under this title come all domesticated birds bred and raised for use as hmm an food. The most common are chickens, ducks, turkeys, geese, pigeons, and guinea-fowls. Other birds occasionally domesticated for the same purpose are peafowl (peacocks), quail, pheasants, and swans. Wild ducks and wild turkeys come under **game-birds’’ instead of *tpoultry.’’ It is estimated that more than 300,000,000 poultry birds are consumed annually in the United States alone. The chicken, turkey, guinea-fowl, partridge, pheasant, and quail are distinguished by the flesh of the breast and wings being lighter in color than that of other parts of the body. Dueks, geese, and swans (as also grouse) are ‘‘dark meat’? birds. Pigeons belong midway between the two cla es, the flesh on the breast being only slightly lighter. Good general rules for the selection of dre ed poultry are to see that the eves are bright and full; the feet, soft, moist, and limber; the body plump and moderately firm; and the skin of clear color—a yellow tint being best liked in this ecountry—and free from bruises or stains. With the approach of stalene , the eyes shrink and the feet dry and harden. The age can be determined with fair accuracy by (1) the lower tip of the breastbone, which should in a very young bird be as flexible as the human ear, becoming brittle at a year or so and hard and tough when older; (2) the feet, which are soft and smooth in young, and hard and rough in old birds; and (3) the claws, which are short and sharp in the young, and larger and blunter in the older. Poultry should always be washed before using, the best method being to use a soft brush and warm water in which a little baking-soda has been di olved. Cold-storage poultry should never be allowed to remain in a warm room before cooking. It should be kept at a low temperature until desired for use. In India it is customary in many parts to skin fowls without plucking the feathers, and country residents who find very troublesome the task of plucking, may avoid it in this way. The method seems radical, but for the majority of culinary purposes, especially for frica ee, the result is entirely satisfactory. The skinning is easily performed by slitting the skin from the beak down the breast to the tail and, laterally, at each wing and leg. In Italian markets it is a general thing to dismember a certain number of fowls so that customers may purchase separate parts in any quantity needed. Various trays or other receptacles are displayed—one full of breasts, another of wings, a third of legs, and a fourth—perhaps a fifth and sixth—of livers and other ‘‘giblets.’? This method offers many advantages. A housewife with a lean purse can buy a few cents’ worth of the cheaper parts, instead of being compelled to purchase an entire bird or deny herself the pleasure of having chicken on the table. Others, to whom the matter of price is not so important, also find it both convenient and economical, as they can purchase any desired quantity of the choicer parts without having to provide a way to dispose of the le desirable portions..\ popular dish in well-to-do houses js, for example, a pan of chicken breasts, garnished perhaps with pieces of ham or sausage—to serve such a dish under general American market conditions would probably nece itate purchasing a half-dozen or more whole chickens. The directions under Mear for its proper keeping, apply equally to poultry of all kinds. See also the articles on Cuicxey, Ducks, ete.