Birds that are to be marketed should be kept without food or water for from twenty-four to thirty-six hours before killing. The object of this is to have the crop, gizzard, and intestines entirely empty. The killing is done by making a small, deep cut, that will at the same time penetrate the brain (making the bird unconscious) and sever one or two veins, thus letting the blood flow freely. This cut is usually made in the roof of the mouth, but sometimes in the neck. The former method is preferred because it leaves no wound exposed to the air. The common practice in picking poultry for home use is to scald the bird in water just below the boiling temperature. When this is done just right, the results are very good; the feathers come off easily and the skin is not damaged. But if the bird is not held in the scalding water long enough, the feathers are hard to remove and the skin may be torn in several places in the process. If the bird is held in the water too long, the skin will be partly cooked. If it is scalded before it has been properly bled, the hot water will turn the skin red. The defects in scalded poultry do not show badly at first, and if it is packed and shipped at once, the shipper may think that it was in very good condition; but if he could see it when the receiver unpacks it, he would be surprised to find how many blemishes there were on it and how poor it looked. Removing the feathers without scalding is called dry picking. It is an art which requires considerable practice. The novice who tries it usually tears the skin of the birds badly. In order to reach the market in good condition, poultry must not only be properly killed and picked, but each carcass must be cooled as quickly as possible, to remove the animal heat that remains in it. This is done either by hanging the carcasses in a very cool place or by putting them in cold water. Meat of all kinds that is cooled immediately after killing will keep much longer than if cooling is neglected. [Illustration: Fig. 231. A badly dressed and a well-dressed fowl. (Photograph from Bureau of Chemistry, United States Department of Agriculture)] There are so many details which must have attention in dressing poultry for shipment, that it usually pays both producers and small collectors to sell poultry alive to those who have better facilities for handling it and whose operations are on such a scale that they can employ experts for all parts of the work of preparation.