FARMER'S CYCLOPEDIA OF LIVE STOCK 



the taste or nutritive value of the food 

 thus preserved. On the contrary, the 

 flavor and quality of meat is improved 

 by refrigeration. Sarcolactic acid de- 

 velops in meat and brings about desir- 

 able ripening processes. Moreover, no 

 hygienic objections can be raised against 

 refrigeration properly done. It should 

 be remembered that neither putrefactive 

 nor pathogenic bacteria are destroyed by 

 cold. They are, however, prevented from 

 multiplying. When meat is placed in 

 the cooler, there is a certain amount of 

 excess moisture which must evaporate in 

 order to allow the successful handling 

 of the meat subsequently. 



In light hogs, according to Wilder, 

 this shrinkage in weight is 3 per cent 

 within 48 hours, P/2 per cent within 72 

 hours and about 5 per cent within 94 

 hours. Grassman states that in a care- 

 ful shrinkage test, beef had lost 8.8 per 

 cent after four months in cold storage 

 at a temperature of 25° F., pork 7.4 pei 

 cent and mutton 11.5 per cent; aftei 

 nine months, beef l.ad lost 17.8 per cent 

 in weight, pork 12.8 per cent and mutton 

 23.4 per cent. In this test mutton froze 

 most quickly and beef most slowly. Ac- 

 tual freezing has given satisfactory re- 

 sults also with fish, game, fowls, eggs 

 and milk. Under ordinary refrigeration 

 temperatures, without freezing, meat 

 can be kept from decomposing only for 

 a few weeks. Hengst found, for exam- 

 ple, that calf and hog quarters begin to 

 show evidence of decomposition within 

 two weeks and beef quarters after 21 

 days. Mutton kept well more than four 

 weeks. Decomposition is due to bacteria 

 and begins on the surface of the meat 

 where it is at first confined. Underneath 

 this surface layer the meat is still in 

 good condition. The loss of weight in 

 cold storage during the first few days is 

 not greater than would occur in the 

 open air. 



Estimation of amount of ice, etc. On 



the farm where ice is used for refrigera- 

 tion, 1 pound of ice under the best con- 

 ditions will cool down 3 pounds of meat 

 from a temperature of 80° F. to the 

 lowest point possible with melting ice. 

 After that the amount of ice required 

 to keep the meat cool will depend on the 

 construction of the cooling room, insu- 

 lation and ventilation. In different 

 packing houses which use artificial re- 

 frigeration, 1 square foot of pipe surface 

 containing the refrigerating mixture is 

 allowed for every 3 to 12 1 /2 cubic feet 



of space in the chilling room. Different 

 estimates are required if Gardner's cur- 

 tain system of exposed brine circulation 

 is iised. 



Cooling beef — It has been found de- 

 sirable in packing houses to put beef 

 into the coolers as soon as it is dressed. 

 Coolers should have two separate com- 

 partments, in the first of which the tem- 

 perature should be 40 to 45° F., or at 

 most, not above 50° F. The next day 

 after killing, beef is placed in the main 

 cooler, where a temperature of 34 to 

 36° F. is maintained. The use of a 

 preliminary cooler with a moderate tem- 

 perature is not only economical but 

 necessary for the proper preservation of 

 the meat. Wilder has well described 

 the troubles which arise when an at- 

 tempt is made to cool beef too quickly. 

 The outside layer of meat is chilled, 

 thus forming an insulation against the 

 inside and causing so-called bone-sour 

 or bone-stink beef. 



Beef has the best appearance, however, 

 if it is put into the preliminary cooler 

 at once. For the first 24 hours beef 

 should hang from 12 to 18 inches apart, 

 according to the size of the animal; later 

 it may be pushed closer together. Sep- 

 arate pieces of meat must not be placed 

 in contact with one another in the cool- 

 ing r5om. This is a mistake which is 

 often made on the farm, with the result 

 that the meat does not keep well. The 

 pieces must hang free or be separated by 

 grating with air spaces between them. 

 If all sanitary requirements are met — 

 cleanliness, dryness, ventilation, etc — 

 beef can be kept without decomposition 

 for several months at a temperature of 

 33° F. 



Cooling pork — Formerly the operators 

 of packing houses left hogs over night in 

 an open air hanging room. During 

 this time the carcasses cooled off some- 

 what and became dry. Better results 

 are obtained if the hogs are at once put 

 into the cooling room, in which the tem- 

 perature may run up to 45° F. during 

 the process of filling, but should fall to 

 36° F. within the first 12 hours, and 

 to 32° F. within 48 hours. Before the 

 pork is cut the cooling room should be 

 brought down to 28° F. With sheep 

 there is no danger of cooling the car- 

 cass too fast as long as the temperature 

 of the cooling room is above 32° F. 

 The animal heat escapes rapidly from 

 mutton for the reason that the carcass 

 is thin. Mutton may be thoroughly 



