1436 FOODS AND FOOD ADULTERANTS. 



To test this matter several cured hams, both beef and pork, were 

 cut in two and one-half of each smoked. The separated fat from both 

 smoked and unsmoked portions was then examined, and it was found 

 that the results obtained from the smoked sample were practically 

 identical with those of the unsmoked. 



No explanation is offered, therefore, for the high iodin numbers of 

 the fats separated from the canned smoked meats. 



EOBSE MEAT. 



In many European countries horse flesh is a common article of food. 

 There can be no objection to its use on hygienic grounds, though it 

 is somewhat tougher than the flesh of the animals more commonly 

 employed as food, and for that reason its digestibility ma} T be propor- 

 tionally lower. At the same time it is undoubtedly nutritious, and 

 the habits and diet of the horse are not such as to detract from its 

 wholesomeness. 



Owing to its toughness, horse meat is ordinarily regarded as inferior 

 to pork, beef, and mutton, and is sold at a lower price. This is partly 

 due to the fact that young horses in good condition are too valuable for 

 other purposes to be killed for food, and the animals which are selected 

 for that purpose are often either old or emaciated. 



In this country horse meat is practically unknown as an article of 

 human food. Over 2,000 horses are killed annually for this purpose, 

 but it is believed that the meat is all cured and exported. The only 

 well-authenticated case of the sale of horse meat as beef which has 

 come to the writer's notice of recent }^ears occurred in Wisconsin, 

 where a man who combined the vocations of veterinary surgeon and 

 butcher was convicted of purchasing old and crippled horses at a dis- 

 tance from his home and selling a portion of the meat in the form of 

 sausage. 



In the fresh state it is often possible to detect horse meat by a macro- 

 scopic examination. The muscular fiber is much coarser than that of 

 beef and its color is a dull, reddish brown, very different from the 

 clear red that characterizes the beef. Its flavor is pleasant and of, a 

 slightly sweetish taste, but its odor is not altogether appetizing, 

 and becomes decidedly disagreeable long before the beginning of 

 decomposition. 



When sold in large pieces horse meat may be readily detected by 

 the size and shape of the bones, and the tongue, heart, and liver are 

 markedly different in shape from those of beef. 



Occasional rumors regarding the sale of canned horse meat have 

 appeared in the newspapers, but we have been unable to confirm them 

 in any instance, and are of the opinion that this article has never been 

 placed on the market in this country. It seems entirely fitting, how- 

 ever, that data regarding the composition of horse meat should be 



