WHAT THE LONDON MARKET REQUIRES?

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1748, 6 September 1905, Page 61

WHAT THE LONDON MARKET REQUIRES?

In a recent report to the Minister of Agriculture of Victoria. Mr Poppsrd, Inspector of Produce in London for that State, says:—The feet and legs should be cleaned, as it adds considerably to the appearance, and the birds should be placed six on each side of the case, with the heads in between the birds oir the opposite side. Birds with black legs or black feathers are not so desirable as the white and even the yellow fleshed birds, and should •be passed over for white fleshed ones. The majority of the American birds shipped here are of the Plymouth Rock breed, and have yellow skins, so that our birds, if paler, would be more sought after. It is not absolutely necessary to separate white and yellow birds. They may be packed together, provided quality and weight are correct. It is suggested that ducks and ducklings should be wrapped in white greaseproof paper, and packed twelve, instead to a case. The wishbone only should be broken during trussing, as it is claimed the birds, when thawed out here, become very mashy, and do not give the satisfaction they promise to when inspected before ‘ thawing has set in. As we can only hope to successfully compete for the better class of trade, it should be remembered that old birds ought never to be shipped. If they are sent they must be kept separate, but I question very much if the shipper would be able to make them pay in competition with Russian. In almost every instance I was told that there is no market for geese, and that our shippers would be wise for the present at least, to refrain from sending geese to London. In conclusion, I suggest to our shippers —(1) To appoint as their agent a firm here who sells direct to the consumer. (2) To ship under a trade mark, and stick to that agent, so that he will be encouraged to make that trade mark one that will hold a prominent place in the trade; and (3) adopt the Canadian and American packages, samples of which were sent out to the Melbourne show in August, 1804.