38 PRELIMINARY COLD STORAGE STUDIES. 



Some variations are necessarily introduced by the original differ- 

 ences in the quality of the birds, the extent to which they were shot, 

 etc. Nevertheless, the table shows a practically uniform vote. 



After 3 months' storage no deterioration was noted, and no dis- 

 tinction could be made between the drawn and the undrawn bird. 

 The flavor was still sweet, though the birds were perhaps somewhat 

 drier. After 8 J months in cold storage, the fresh bird was dis- 

 tinguished from the others without difficulty by all of the jurors, 

 and, in practically all of the cases, the undrawn birds were declared 

 to be already marked by stronger taste and odor. It is, of course, 

 understood that these birds were designated by numbers, and the 

 jurors recorded their opinions independently and without any knowl- 

 edge of the identity of the birds. 



After about 1 year in storage, the difference between the fresh 

 and cold-storage birds was again marked, though the drawn cold- 

 storage bird is rated uniformly as second best, and is tasteless rather 

 than strong; while the undrawn birds were recorded as bad or strong 

 as to either taste or odor in practically every case, though the larger 

 undrawn bird is recorded in two cases as superior to the small one 

 and of good flavor. There can be no doubt but that after 8 

 months of storage the birds were markedly inferior to the fresh ones, 

 when simply cooked and seasoned, and in nearly all cases the deteri- 

 oration of the undrawn bird is much more marked than that of the 

 drawn one, in so far as the odor and flavor can testify. 



In addition to the table tests, the birds were examined before cook- 

 ing, with the following results: On June 5, 1906, at the time of the 

 first cold-storage test, the undrawn bird appeared better than the 

 drawn bird in every way, being plumper, lighter colored, firmer, and 

 of better odor. 



At the time of the test on November 15, the appearance and odor 

 of the undrawn quail was still superior to that of the drawn birds, 

 the odor of the drawn quail being more rancid and comparing less 

 favorably with the fresh quail than those that were undrawn. 



At the inspection on February 19, 1907, when the birds had been 

 in storage nearly a year, two of the examinations show that the 

 appearance, especially the inside of the undrawn bird, was very bad. 

 The drawn bird, however, had a stronger odor, and there does not 

 seem to be much difference between the two as a whole, both being 

 somewhat dry and shriveled. The results may be compared with 

 the bacteriological findings given in the following report, the birds 

 stored for corresponding periods being from the same lots. It is evi- 

 dent that the contention that the undrawn bird presents a better 

 appearance is true, but that it is inferior in flavor and odor when 

 served is also true, and it remains for the chemical, bacteriological, 

 and histological examinations to show whether more serious deteri- 

 oration has taken place in the case of the undrawn bird. 



