"The successful choice, cooking, and serving of game requires more care than poultry, because the birds are sold unplucked, and also because experience is necessary to hang them for just the right length of time.

It is often difficult to tell how long game has been killed, but a fair guess can be made by examining the eyes. If they are bright and full the bird is fresh, but if dim and deeply sunken it has been dead several days.

Birds shot in very wet, rough weather, and brought in with wet, draggled plumage, can never be hung for any length of time, nor yet if they are very badly shot, as they soon become quite uneatable.

The length of time for hanging depends on the weather, whether cool and dry, or warm and damp; on individual tastes and the age and condition of the birds; and whether or not there is a cool, dry, airy place in which to hang them.

One test to ascertain if the bird has been hung sufficiently is to pull a feather from the plumage at the lower part of the back, near the tail; if it comes out quite easily it is

"high" enough for the average consumer.