56 BULLETIlSr 433, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



were less than the corresponding increases noted in experiment No. 

 2. This, however, is not surprising in view of the larger amount of 

 preformed ammonia in the material used for this experiment, espe- 

 cially since the results of the autolysis experiment go to show that 

 the rate of formation of this product tends to decrease as the product 

 itself accumulates. 



Slight decreases in total phosphorus are without apparent signifi- 

 cance. 



Table 32 shows the distribution of nitrogen and phosphorus 

 expressed in terms of percentages of total nitrogen and total 

 phosphorus. 



The data for nitrogen show that at the end of the storage period 

 an appreciably larger proportion of the total nitrogen was present 

 in the form of total soluble nitrogen, and as proteose, noncoagulable, 

 amino, and ammoniacal nitrogen, than was present in the meat from 

 carcass No. 2, which had been stored for four weeks. These facts 

 indicate that the proteolytic changes had made appreciable progress 

 during the longer storage period of carcass No. 3. 



There are fairly marked increases in insoluble phosphorus in the 

 rump and in the loin, and a slight decrease in the round. An 

 increase in this constituent was hardly to have been expected, and 

 there seems to be no apparent explanation for the change. 



There are slight changes in soluble phosphorus which must be 

 regarded as having no significance. 



Soluble inorganic phosphorus shows increases amounting to 

 approximately 30 per cent of the amount present in the meat at 

 the beginning of the storage period, which increases are consider- 

 ably larger than those observed in the carcasses stored either for two 

 weeks or for four weeks. These changes are in conformity with 

 those that occurred during the autolysis experiment. 



In the soluble organic phosphorus there are pronounced decreases 

 that are appreciably larger than those noted in case of the carcasses 

 stored for shorter periods of time. These changes also are similar 

 to those observed in the autolysis experiment. 



EXPERIMENT NO. 4. 



HISTORY OF CARCASS. 



A "grade" shorthorn steer 3^ years old and of fair quality and 

 finish was slaughtered by the usual methods and the carcass was 

 allowed to hang 45 minutes on the killing floor, after which it was 

 run into the cooler. The warm carcass weighed 845 pounds. The 

 carcass was held 19 hours in the fore cooler having a temperature 

 between 30° and 41° F., and 51 hours in the main cooler, the tem- 

 perature of which remained at 29° F. The humidity of the fore 

 cooler was 97 per cent and that of the main cooler 95 per cent of 



