were shriveled and the region of the vent was distinctly sunken, varying in color from green to a brown-black, the discoloration extending well into the tissues of the inner side of the leg. The skin was parchment-like. All of these conditions were more pronounced in the undrawn than in the drawn quail. The odor was putrefactive, rancid, and fecal for the undrawn, and distinctly rancid for the drawn bird.

The muscles of the drawn bird were in better condition than were those of the undrawn. The texture of the latter was flabby and

without elasticity.

In the undrawn bird the abdominal cavity showed the presence of mites. The heart was in fair condition. All the other organs were in exceedingly bad condition, the liver, for instance, being soft, light green or yellow, and much degenerated. The kidneys were dry and friable, varying from gray to yellow-brown. The intestines were green, the folds being matted together in masses without any distinctive outlines of demarcation, and the walls so thin that they broke even when lightly touched. This condition grew worse toward the vent.

In the drawn bird the body cavity contained blood which was nearly black, the walls of the cavity being greenish-yellow near the vent. The lungs and kidneys were in situ, but so soft and darkened in color that their structure was almost lost. Cultures from these birds were made and the results are given in the table under No. 4431 and No. 4432. All the cultures made from the drawn bird were sterile. From the undrawn bird growth was obtained in a number of instances, and the species isolated were varied both in character and in location.

The bird used for comparison (No. 4433) had been kept in storage for three weeks, this period being necessary because of the closing of the season for the killing of quail. The bird was in a very good state of preservation. However, the region of the vent showed a slight greenish-yellow tinge. There was a shot wound in the right leg, which still showed the shot embedded in the tissue, and the inner thigh muscles were discolored and hemorrhagic, this condition extending well toward the vent. The lungs were somewhat congested and the kidneys slightly darker than those of the fresh birds before examined. All the cultures made from this bird proved to be sterile.

After a storage period of 13 months, the two undrawn birds-Nos. 755 and 756—had discolored skins, especially in the region of the vent. The muscles were also discolored and dry. The viscera were in bad condition, dark in color, the intestine leaden, the tissues degenerated even to macroscopic observation, and a bloody, slimy fluid present in the body cavity. The odor was fecal.

The drawn birds of this lot-Nos. 757 and 758-were in a bad state of preservation externally and internally. The breast muscles were soft and degenerated, stained red where in contact with the bone, and the bone marrow was absorbed. The portions of the viscera left in situ were dark, bloody, gaseous, and slimy.

It will be observed from even the small number of birds examined, and here listed, that the problem becomes even more complicated than in the case of the chickens, because the method of killing is almost certain to introduce bacteria which may be carried into the deepest tissues and, as in the case here noted, result in the rupturing of the intestine and the pollution of the entire body cavity. The prompt dressing and cooking of birds so injured would render this factor unimportant. If, on the other hand, the birds are exposed for sale for a number of days before being disposed of, or being unsold are, at the expiration of such a time, transferred to cold storage, the condition may be menacing. It would seem, in the case of quail even more than in the case of chickens, most desirable that a very prompt transference to the storage warehouse be made, or that the birds be dressed and sterilized by heat as soon as possible after killing.

Bacteriological examination of fresh and cold-storage quail.

Bacteriological examination of fresh and cold-storage quail-Continued.

III. CHICKENS COLD-STORED UNDER KNOWN CONDITIONS.

ORGANOLEPTIC TESTS.

Tests were made on chickens placed in storage on July 1, 1906, and withdrawn at intervals of approximately three months for a period of almost nineteen months. At each test a drawn and an undrawn chicken were taken out of cold storage and compared with a fresh chicken both before and after cooking, the jurors having no information as to the history of the birds and giving their opinions independently. The chickens were cooked by the same person throughout the experiment and prepared in the same manner.

On October 19, 1906, after three and a half months of storage, the cooked chickens showed practically no deterioration and the jurors found it a little difficult to distinguish them from the fresh fowl.

At the second test, however, on January 16, 1907, three months later, the fresh bird was easily distinguished by all of the jurors. This was also true in the other three tests, the difference becoming more pronounced at each trial, and only one mistake was made during the entire observation in the distinction between the fresh and the cold-storage fowls. About 70 per cent of the votes cast at the second test declared the undrawn fowl to be inferior because of its darker color and its stronger odor and taste.

After almost a year of cold storage, June 11, 1907, the third test was made. The undrawn cold storage fowl was correctly designated by all except one of the jurors, and was described as being of dark color with a bad odor and strong taste.

Four months later, in the test of October 22, 1907, when the birds had been in storage for 15.5 months, the distinction between the drawn and undrawn cold-storage birds was less pronounced, but there was no question as to which of the three birds was fresh. About 70 per cent of the votes again indicated correctly the undrawn birds, which were described as being dark and dry, the bone at the joints darkened, the white meat tasteless, and the dark meat strong in the majority of cases.

When the last test was made, on January 23, 1908, the birds had been in cold storage for 18.5 months. Although the difference between the fresh and the storage birds was obvious, the jurors found it even more difficult than in the preceding test to discern the difference between the drawn and the undrawn storage chicken, the vote being evenly divided; both of the storage fowls were by this time somewhat dry and dark, and tasteless rather than strong.

From the evidence of the jurors who examined the cooked birds, the following conclusions are drawn: The undrawn fowl is distinguished at first with comparative ease, being inferior in appearance and usually stronger in odor and taste. When they have been stored for 18 months, however, it is difficult to discern a difference in the two, as both are dry and tasteless. The jurors are practically never in doubt as to the superiority of the fresh bird, and this becomes more marked as the experiment progresses, though a short period of storage (3 to 6 months) seems to cause no deterioration.

Besides the table tests, the fowls were subjected to a macroscopic examination before being cooked. When the chickens had been in storage for 6.5 months, the verdict was that both externally and internally the undrawn bird was better in odor and appearance than the drawn cold-storage bird.

On June 11, 1907, the second examination was made after a storage period of nearly a year, and it was found that the internal appearance of the drawn fowl was still good, no serious decay having apparently occurred. The internal examination of the undrawn chicken

showed signs of degeneration of the organs, but the odor was not bad, though a little stale. Both fowls were in fairly good condition.

After 15.5 months of cold storage, on October 22, 1907, the undrawn bird again presented a better appearance generally than the drawn one, both internally and externally. The flesh of the two fowls was somewhat discolored, but the odor was not bad. The liver, the lungs, and the muscle tissue were all in better condition in the undrawn chicken.

On January 23, 1908, when the chickens had been in cold storage for 18.5 months, they were again examined. There was practically no disagreement as to the inferiority of the undrawn bird in this test, both the internal and external appearance, and also the odor, showing clear evidences of degeneration.

The conclusion drawn from the examination of the uncooked chicken is that after 12 or 15 months of cold storage the undrawn chicken appears better than the drawn, while after 18 months in storage the undrawn chicken is in decidedly the worse condition of the two in every respect.

Detailed descriptions of the appearance of the chickens at the last two examinations are appended and the results obtained in the organoleptic tests are comparable with the bacteriological findings of corresponding dates, such birds having been from the same lot.

Macroscopical examination of fresh and cold-storage chickens, October 22, 1907, after 15 months of cold storage.

F. C. W.

Fresh (black chicken).-Color of skin white; tissues normal, soft and elastic with normal odor; breast muscles soft, yielding, and elastic, nearly colorless; thigh muscles normal, the various muscles being easily differentiated by color, muscle sheath, and elasticity. Liver firm, elastic, and of normal color; gall bladder normal; intestines firm, resistant, contour well marked, normal color, small blood vessels noticeable.

Drawn.-Yellow color; odor not bad (too cold to test); tissues dry, firm, dehydrated, and adherent in places, though not to such an extent as the undrawn bird; breast muscles dry, moderately firm, striations not so marked, lighter pink color and better appearance than undrawn chicken; thigh muscles hard, dead appearance; colors of various muscles not differentiated. Liver and lungs hardly recognized from their gross appearance; heart not a bad color; gizzard fairly good condition.

Undrawn (Barred Plymouth Rock chicken).-External color yellow; odor not bad (bird too cold to test); tissue dry, firm, dehydrated and adherent in places; breast muscles moderately dry, firm, striations rather marked, dull pink color nearly red, not natural; thigh muscles hard and rather dry near external surface, dark red in color; muscles not clearly differentiated in color and muscle sheaths not well marked. Liver soft, faded and mottled color, with tissue neither natural nor elastic; gall bladder partly empty and pale green; gizzard a little darker than normal; heart not a marked blood color; intestines soft, mushy, and pale, all traces of blood vessels gone; fat rather yellow.