140 THE HOME, FARM AND BUSINESS CYCLOPAEDIA. 



the finest in flavour. Larger kinds are generally considered only fit for 

 stewing and sauces, though some persons prefer them. 



BEEF. The grain of ox beef, when good, is loose, the meat red, and the 

 fat inclining to yellow. When meat pressed by the finger rises up quickly, 

 it may be considered as that of an animal which was in its prime ; when 

 the dent made by pressure returns slowly, or remains visible, the animal 

 had probably past its prime, and the meat consequently must be of infe- 

 rior quality. 



VEAL should be delicately white, though it is often juicy and well 

 flavoured, when rather dark in colour. On examining the loin, if the fat 

 enveloping the kidney be white and firm looking, the meat will probably 

 be prime, and recently k killed. 



MUTTON. The meatshould be firm and close in grain, and red in colour 

 the fat white and firm. Mutton is in its prime when the sheep is about 

 five years old, though it is often killed much younger. If too young, the 

 flesh feels tender when pinched, if too old on being pinched it wrinkles up 

 and so remains. In young mutton, the fat readily separates ; in old, it is 

 held together by strings of skin. 



LAMB. This meat will not keep long after it is killed. The large vein 

 in the neck is bluish in colour when the fore-quarter is fresh, green when 

 becoming stale. In the hind-quarter, if not recently killed, the fat of the 

 kidney will have a slight smell, and the knuckle will have lost its firmness. 



PORK. When good, the rind is thin, smooth, and cool to the touch ; 

 when changing, from being too long killed, it becomes flaccid and clammy. 



BACON should have a thin rind, and the fat should be firm and tinged 

 with red by the curing ; the flesh should be of a clear red, without inter- 

 mixture of yellow, and it should firmly adhere to the bone. To judge the 

 state of a ham, plunge a knife into it to the bone ; on drawing it back, if 

 particles of meat adhere to it, or if the smell is disagreeable, the curing 

 has not been effectual, and the ham is not good ; it should, in such a state 

 be immediately cooked. 



VENISON. When good, the fat is clear, bright, and of considerable thick- 

 ness. 



TURKEYS. In choosing poultry, the age of the bird is the chief point 

 to be attended to. An old turkey has rough and reddish legs ; a young 

 one, smooth and black. Fresh killed, the eyes are full and clear, and the 

 feet moist. When it has been kept too long, the parts about the vent begin 

 to wear a greenish, discoloured appearance. 



COMMON DOMESTIC FOWLS, when young, have the legs and comb smooth ; 

 when old, they are rough, and on the breast long hairs are found instead 



