PURE AND IMPURE FOODS, 



479 



is very palatable, according to the testimony 

 of a naturalist who had passed much time 

 among the blacks. 



The seeds of various acacias and grasses 

 are pounded, mixed with water into a sort 

 of cake, and baked on the ashes. Other 

 seeds, roots and vegetable gums are eaten; 

 also a kind of bark which is ground 

 fine. It is at all times a most difficult mat- 

 ter to procure sufficient food, and this has 

 been advanced as a reason for the canni- 

 balism which exists among many native 

 Australian tribes. 



In western Australia there are ro rivers 

 or permanent creeks, and the natives de- 

 pend on rock holes, as natural reser- 

 voirs in the granite rock are called, and 

 wells. The latter are seldom ver- deep. The 

 rock holes and wells are often filled with 

 sticks to prevent animals getting the water, 

 and to hinder evaporation. This prac- 

 ti- 3 injures the quality of the water, which 

 is frequently black, with a foetid smell and 

 taste. A limited supply of water of fine 

 quality is obtained from the roots of the 

 mallee tree. When the proper kind of root 

 is found it yields fine, clear and cool water, 

 which at times drops rapidly from the 

 broken roots when they are held vertically. 

 There are doubtless outward signs which 

 indicate to the natives the trees whose roots 

 will yield water, as they usually succeed 

 when they attempt to find it, while others 

 generally fail. 



Sometimes water is found in hollow 

 trees, where it is frequently preserved from 

 evaporation for a long time. The natives 

 are quick to detect such trees. A recent 

 writer tells of a native who noticed a string 

 of ants going up and down a tree, entering 

 and emerging from a small knothole about 

 5 feet from the ground. This was a suf- 

 ficient indication for the native, and mak- 

 ing - tube from a straight twig by loosen- 

 ing the bark between his strong jaws and 

 then stripping it, he obtained a drink by 

 sucking up the water through -is impro- 

 vised siphon. 



COLD STORAGE OF GAME. 

 Cold storage of game does not recom- 

 mend itself to those who are at all particu- 

 lar as to the condition of their food, al- 

 though this method of preserving beef and 

 mutton has been found satisfactory. In 

 the first place, the beef or mutton is dressed 

 and is as clean as possible, since it is well 

 known that cleanliness is a prime requisite 

 for storage. Game birds are usually stored 

 unplucked and undrawn. Any filth on the 

 plumage remains, as well as undigested 

 material in the crop and intestinal tract. 

 Small game, especially birds, are not so 

 easily preserved as large animals such as 

 steers or sheep, as is shown by the fact that 

 the former require a considerably lower 



temperature than the latter. In other 

 words they undergo decomposition more 

 readily. This is doubtless due in part to 

 the fact that they are stored undrawn. Ex 

 periments have been made which show that 

 drawn poultry keeps much better than tin 

 drawn. A recent writer says, "Under pre- 

 cisely the same conditions of temperature 

 and humidity drawn fowls will keep 20 to 

 30 days longer than those not drawn. The 

 presence of undigested food and of the 

 excrementitious substances in animals 

 which have been killed favor tainting of 

 the flesh and general decomposition. Tin- 

 viscera are the first parts to show pu- 

 trescence, and allowing these to remain 

 within the body can not do otherwise than 

 favor infection of the flesh with bacteria 

 and ptomaines, even if osmosis does not 

 actually carry putrid juices to contiguous 

 tissues. Hunters know the value of draw 

 ing birds as soon as possible after they 

 have been shot, in order to keep them 

 sweet and fresh and to prevent their having 

 a strong intestinal flavor." 



The point raised by this author concern- 

 ing the passage by osmosis of material from 

 the intestines into the flesh of stored game 

 is a matter of considerable importance and 

 one usually overlooked. In plain words 

 this means simply that the juices from the 

 excrement and fermenting material pres- 

 ent in the intestinal tract when the bird 

 was killed soak through the intestinal 

 walls into the flesh even if fermentation is 

 arrested by cold storage. 



Does anyone suppose that birds which 

 have been stored unplucked and undrawn 

 are washed before they are cooked? Pos- 

 sibly this is occasionally done. Some birds 

 which the writer saw prepared in a first 

 class restaurant during the progress of a 

 dietary study were not so washed. They 

 had been kept until they had a pronounced 

 odor. The feathers were hurriedly stripped 

 off, the intestines removed, and the par 

 tially decomposed bird broiled and served. 

 It is not surprising that such food pos 

 sesses a noticeably "gamey" flavor, nor is 

 it surprising that serious digestive disturb 

 ances often follow its consumption. The 

 wonder is that all who eat the vile stuff are 

 not poisoned. 



When our cook kneads the dough »he 

 smiles, 



And pats it gently, so 

 It will not be too crusty. That 



Is why she kneads the dough. 



When my wife needs the dough she smiles, 



And pats me gently, so 

 I will not be too crusty when 



She says she needs the dough. 



— Baltimore American. 



