104 PRELIMINARY COLD STORAGE STUDIES. 



upon the state of the market, before finally reaching the consumers' 

 hands. After this they remain for some hours in the hands of the 

 consumer before cooking. It is easy to conceive of a period of three 

 or four days covering all of these various operations. All this time 

 these materials, so sensitive to infection, are exposed in various ways 

 to danger. 



In the consideration of the bacterial studies it must be borne in 

 mind that it is not impossible to find bacteria in the tissues of the 

 fresh fowls. While it is commonly accepted that the general circu- 

 lation of animals in a state of perfect health is free from bacteria, it is 

 quite certain that in abnormal conditions bacteria may exist in the 

 organs of the body and even in the blood, hence the detection of 

 bacteria in the tissues of a cold-storage fowl, or any of its organs, 

 may not be conclusive proof that these bacteria were developed 

 during cold storage, since they may have been there in the original 

 state in which they were packed. 



The findings of the macroscopic investigations emphasize and con- 

 firm the organoleptic tests previously discussed in that there was 

 observed a decided fecal and irritating odor, suggesting rancid fat, 

 in the case of the undrawn fowls long in storage, existing coincident 

 with the taste which enabled the jury to distinguish between the two 

 methods of dressing. On the other hand, in the drawn fowls there 

 was a tendency to a rancidity of the fatty portions of the abdominal 

 region and a development of an odor somewhat similar to that pro- 

 duced by a butyric fermentation. In general, however, in so far as 

 the bacterial investigations have proceeded, there is little choice 

 between the drawn and the undrawn fowl. It is possible that on 

 longer keeping there will be developed, in from one to three years, im- 

 portant differences between the drawn and undrawn fowls which will 

 enable them to be distinguished, both by their bacterial flora and by 

 their organoleptic and chemical properties. 



HISTOLOGICAL STUDIES. 

 EGGS. 



As is well known, the flavor of eggs begins to deteriorate very soon, 

 even when they are kept cold. In the storage of eggs, moreover, the 

 temperature must be kept above the freezing point that is, the 

 freezing point of an egg. The egg, on account of its constitution, 

 does not congeal at the temperature at which water becomes ice. It 

 is possible to cool eggs considerably below 32 F., at least for a short 

 time, without freezing them. Nevertheless, it is not safe, as a rule, 

 to go very much, if any, below the freezing point of water. Kept in 

 this way, eggs undergo certain changes, not only of a histological nature, 

 but of a chemical character, which are now under investigation. 

 Certain constituents of the egg have a tendency on storage of this 



