HORSE MEAT 167 



Pure fresh butter shows no crystalline structure. Salted butter 

 will of course show the characteristic salt crystals. Melted 

 butter which is allowed to cool slowly shows a marked crystalline 

 structure under polarized light, even under the low powers of the 

 compound microscope, but this is not a diagnostic character 

 inasmuch as other fats show a similar behavior with polarized 

 light. 



Horse meat has been used as food for man for many ages and 

 is at the present time a regularly marketed food article in many 

 countries. During the siege of Paris (1870) when food became very 

 scarce, experiments with the meats of various animals were made, 

 as that of rats, mice, cats, dogs, mules and horses. Horse meat 

 especially met with general favor and since that time has become 

 quite common in the French meat markets. It is stated that it is 

 a frequent substitute for beef in our restaurants (the cheaper 

 eating places in our larger cities). Horse meat differs from beef 

 in that it is somwhat coarser grained, darker in color and that 

 it contains a higher percentage of glycogen. As a rule the meats 

 from cattle contain little or no glycogen, although it is stated that 

 fresh meat from well-nourished cattle may contain as much gly- 

 cogen as does the meat of the horse. It must also be borne in 

 mind that the meat from dogs, cats, starved calves and fetuses 

 contains considerable glycogen. Should such meats be added to 

 sausages the admixture might be recognized by the color, the meat 

 of fetuses and starved calves being much lighter than that of the 

 horse or of mature cattle. 



In time the glycogen of horse meat is changed into grape sugar 

 and will respond to the Fehling's solution reaction for sugar. 

 For this purpose use a cold aqueous extract of the suspected meat. 

 In the case of fresh horse meat the following tests are recommended. 

 The Brautigam and Edelmann test for the presence of horse 

 meat is made as follows: Grind or chop (finely) 50 grams of the 

 meat and boil for i hr. in 200 cc. of water. Add 1.5 grams (3 

 per cent, by weight of the meat) of caustic potash and heat over 



