carry them off quickly. Pork, ham and sausage are sometimes infested. with trichina spiralis, a parasite which may be seen encysted in the flesh. If the meat has not been carefully inspected at the time of butchering by competent veterinarians the only safety is in a thorough cooking so as to destroy the parasites. Merely boiling a ham or a large mass of meat, is not sufficient for this purpose as the interior is seldom heated to a high enough temperature. The use of raw sausages especially should be discouraged.

MUTTON

The cuts of mutton are different from those of beef and pork, and are usually six in number, three on each side of the carcass. The hind quarter of lamb is the favorite portion for roasting. The "chops" are the short ribs with adhering flesh.

By many physicians, mutton is considered the most easily digested of all the meats. Mutton fat, however, is liable to cause gastric disturbance, which may be attributed to the fact that it contains more tristeasin than beef fat, and is therefore of firmer and more compact structure, but the nutrient qualities of the two kinds of meat are the same. The best English mutton is obtained from animals six years old,1 and in any case the animal should be three years old before it is slaughtered. The characteristic flavor of mutton is modified by cooking with a little vinegar or lemon juice, and some consider that the flavor is improved by this treatment.2

GOATS

The meat of goats and kids is not used extensively in the United States, although it is an important food with many European and Asiatic people. As these animals live and seem to thrive on steep rocky lands, where the amount of forage is limited, they are of great economic value for their milk, their skins and their flesh, to those who live in rough mountainous localities. 1 Practical Dietetics, Thompson, p. 119. 2 U. S. Dept. Agri., Farmers' Bull. No. 526.

The flesh of goats, with the exception of the angora, is not as palatable as that of the sheep. Goat flesh is sometimes substituted for that of the sheep in the market.

HORSE FLESH

The meat of the horse is seldom used knowingly in the United States, but forms a very important part of the diet in France, Germany, Austria, Russia, and Denmark. Whenever from any cause other varieties of meat become scarce it has in various countries been found convenient to use horse meat.

This meat is liable to be somewhat tough and coarse, largely due no doubt to the fact that horses are raised for purposes other than food, and are usually old and worn out before they are slaughtered. In the same way beef from old draught cattle or of cows is not nearly as good as that of the young steer which has been specially fattened to serve as food. Horse meat does not differ materially in composition from beef, except that it contains a relatively large amount (about 1.8 per cent.) of a peculiar starch called glycogen. (See p. 16.) A high per cent. of this substance is indicative of the presence of horse meat and a method based on this fact is used in detecting horse flesh when mixed with other kinds of meat, as in sausages. The fat is also of characteristic composition and structure.

BIRDS (POULTRY)

Besides the various wild fowl or game birds that are used as food, the more common domestic birds are chickens, ducks, geese, and turkeys. The most important of these are the ordinary chickens, supposed to be descended from the red jungle fowl of India or the East Indies. "Spring chickens" are considered fit for food when they are from two to three months old, but the old fowls are apt to be so tough and flavorless as to be very unsatisfactory as food. Within the past few years the chicken business has been carried on very scientifically in many localities, and by the use of the "incubator," in which the temperature is kept constantly

at about 102° F., the eggs are hatched as desired so as to have chickens ready for market at any time of the year.

Fowls which have been allowed to hang from one to two days are considered better for food purposes than those that are freshly slaughtered; they may of course be kept for a longer time at a low temperature as in cold storage. There has been much discussion1 as to whether the chicken should be stored and marketed "drawn," that is with the viscera removed, or whether the intestinal organs should be allowed to remain in the fowls, but the most recent experiments show that there is no objection to the storage of undrawn poultry. A time limit should be put, by law, upon the keeping of poultry in cold storage as the quality is not as good after long storage.

By the castration of the male bird at an early age, the “capon” is produced and its flesh has come to be very highly prized especially in Europe, on account of its more delicate flavor.

The composition of white meat and dark meat of chicken is as follows:2

The white meat does not contain so much fat, but does contain more protein, and is better suited for the diet of invalids. The dark meat, on the other hand, contains more meat bases, consequently it has more of the characteristic flavor of the chicken. The potted chicken found on the market was formerly quite largely adulterated by the substitution of other meats.

DUCKS

The meat of the domestic duck, as well as that of the wild duck, is used for food all over the world. There are many varieties * Foods and Their Adulteration, Wiley, p. 102.

Ill. Bull., Dept. Agri.

of ducks, and the composition of the flesh differs within wide limits. Mallards, canvas back, and teal, are some of the wild varieties found in the United States.

GEESE

The common goose of the barn yard is probably a descendant of the wild geese which lived in early times in the marshes and fens of the countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea. In some countries the goose after it is killed is allowed in winter to hang for several weeks before it is considered suitable for consumption. Great care is exercised in fattening geese for the market, and they are given all the food that they will eat, and are carefully protected from cold weather. The artificial fattening of fowls has been developed in such a way that the food is actually stuffed into the œsophagus of the fowl by the use of a suitable machine. “Pâté dé foie gras," a favorite delicacy in parts of France and Germany is prepared largely from the overgrown livers of geese that are stuffed in this way so that the liver often weighs 2 or 3 pounds.

TURKEYS

It seems to be well established that the turkey was domesticated by the Aztecs, long before the discovery of America. The Mexican and Central American species are the nearest wild relatives of our domestic bird. Turkeys are not so easily raised as other fowls, being more subject to disease. They are seldom eaten while young, and have the advantage of not being tough when they reach full maturity. They are often found in the markets in the United States, especially late in the autumn, weighing from 20 to 25 pounds. There is little difference in composition between the meat of the turkey and the chicken.

The flesh of the peafowl and pigeon, as well as that of many game birds, is a valuable addition to our diet, as it furnishes an agreeable variety to the food supply.

CHAPTER XV

FISH AND SHELL FISH

Since fish are abundant in both fresh and salt water, they have from the earliest times been a favorite food, indeed fish often forms the staple food of a large class of people. Many partially civilized tribes and the inhabitants of distant islands, as well as those who patronize the itinerant "fish peddler," have learned the value of fish as a cheap and wholesome source of nutriment. In fact, fish takes the place of meat to such an extent that in many countries it is used to the entire exclusion of other nitrogenous foods.

Composition of Fish

That there is considerable difference in the composition of different kinds of fish is illustrated by the analyses of a few varieties here given:1

The refuse in fish as purchased, which includes the head, fins, skin and bones and interior organs, amounts to from 50 to 60 per cent.

1U. S. Dept. Agri., Office. Ex. Sta. Bull. No. 28.