QUAIL COLD-STORED UNDER KNOWN CONDITIONS. 37 



removal from the shell and did not retain the spherical shape of a fresh 

 egg but in all cases was distinct from the albumen. In addition to 

 the normal yolk elements, rosette crystals were found in the yolk. 

 These measured from 18 to 63/< in diameter (PL III, fig. 2). The 

 exact nature of these crystals has not yet been determined, but the 

 following points were established: (1) The crystals are soluble in 

 warm glacial acetic acid but are insoluble in ether, alcohol, or cold 

 mineral acids; (2) the crystals melt and recrystallize when the acids 

 are heated. 



SUPPLEMENTARY WORK ON ROSETTE CRYSTALS. 



Two eggs were examined about February 15, 1908, when they had 

 been in storage approximately 20 months. In general appearance 

 the eggs were the same as those withdrawn in October, 1907. The 

 rosette crystals were larger and more numerous than those previously 

 found, some of the crystals measuring 109/^. 



The study to determine the chemical nature of the crystals is still 

 being carried on, but the difficulties of the problem make the progress 

 very slow. Attempts have been made to separate the crystals for 

 examination, but thus far with only partial success. A portion of the 

 yolk has been mixed on a slide with water and the liquid drawn off, 

 leaving the crystals; the centrifuge methods have been tried, some- 

 times with large volumes of added water, sometimes without such 

 addition ; flooding a slide with alcohol and with ether was also tried 

 as well as combinations of water, alcohol, and ether, but without 

 marked success. Digestion of the yolk with pepsin also proved 

 unsatisfactory. As microchemical methods are usually applied to 

 fairly pure combinations or mixtures instead of in the presence of 

 large amounts of extraneous matter, possibly closely allied chemically . 

 with the substance in question, it is seen that this problem is not an 

 easy one, since the crystal forms such an infinitely small proportion 

 of the entire mass of which it is a part. 



Certain reactions have, however, been obtained by which it is 

 hoped to establish beyond a doubt whether these crystals are tyrosin, 

 lecithin, etc., but as yet it can only be said that their behavior 

 toward common reagents is very different from that of tyrosin, thus 

 quite definitely indicating that they are not tyrosin crystals. 



II. aUAIL COLD-STORED UNDER KNOWN CONDITIONS. 

 OBGANOLEPTIC TESTS. 



The quail were placed in cold storage on March 1, 1906, and 

 examined before and after cooking at periods varying from 3 to 5 

 months, making three cold-storage tests during the year. The fresh 

 quail sampled on March 2, 1906, were voted sweet and fresh, of good 

 flavor, but somewhat dry. The birds were cooked by the same per- 

 son throughout the tests and prepared as nearly the same as possible. 



