72 BULLETIN 433, U. S. DEPARTMENT OP AGRICULTURE. 



period, than in the case of the corresponding quarter of any of the 

 other carcasses examined to date. 



Changes in insoluble phosphorus are irregular and of undeter- 

 mined significance. 



Total soluble phosphorus underwent irregular changes that have 

 no determined significance. 



The increases that took place in the soluble inorganic phosphorus 

 content of the meat during the storage period of 74 days are greater 

 for each portion of the carcass analyzed than any corresponding in- 

 crease obtained in the earlier experiments of this series. The ma- 

 terial used for this experiment is directly comparable, in regard to 

 the amount of inorganic phosphorus that it originally contained, to 

 the material that was used in Experiments Nos. 1 and 3. The in- 

 creases noted are therefore in continued accord with the results of 

 the autolysis experiment. 



Changes in the ratios of organic to total phosphorus possess no 

 more significance than do the corresponding changes in the inorganic 

 phosphorus ratios. 



EXPERIMENT NO. 6. 



HISTOEY OF CAECASS. 



A "grade" Shorthorn steer 3^ years old, of good conformation 

 but only fairly well finished, was slaughtered in the usual manner, 

 and the carcass after hanging for 1 hour on the killing floor was 

 run into the fore cooler. The carcass was held 14J hours in the fore 

 cooler, having a temperature ranging from 34° to 41° F., and 50 

 hours in the main cooler, having a temperature of 30° F. The hu- 

 midity of the fore cooler was 100 per cent of saturation at the time 

 the carcass was placed in storage. After storage for 64| hours in 

 the packing-house coolers, the hind quarters were cut from the car- 

 cass, and one quarter was carefully wrapped and transported to the 

 bureau's cold-storage room, where it was promptly prepared for 

 analysis. The total storage period for this quarter of beef was 66 

 hours. 



STOEAGE. 



The second quarter of beef was held in storage in the main cooler 

 of the packing house in order to determine how long beef could be 

 held in cold storage under commercial conditions such as existed in 

 this cooler, as compared with the length of time that it could be held 

 in storage in the bureau's experimental cold-storage room where the 

 other quarters of beef had been held in storage. This packing-house 

 cooler, which can accommodate about 250 carcasses of beef, was kept 

 nearly filled with beef during the course of the experiment. 



The temperature of the cooler ranged from 28° to 32° F. during 

 the storage period, but for the most part remained at about 32° F., 



