42 PRELIMINARY COLD STOEAGE STUDIES. 



were shriveled and the region of the vent was distinctly sunken, 

 varying in color from green to a brown-black, the discoloration extend- 

 ing well into the tissues of the inner side of the leg. The skin was 

 parchment-like. All of these conditions were more pronounced in 

 the undrawn than in the drawn quail. The odor was putrefactive, 

 rancid, and fecal for the undrawn, and distinctly rancid for the drawn 

 bird. 



The muscles of the drawn bird were in better condition than were 

 those of the undrawn. The texture of the latter was flabby and 

 without elasticity. 



In the undrawn bird the abdominal cavity showed the presence of 

 mites. The heart was in fair condition. All the other organs were 

 in exceedingly bad condition, the liver, for instance, being soft, light 

 green or yellow, and much degenerated. The kidneys were dry 

 and friable, varying from gray to yellow-brown. The intestines 

 were green, the folds being matted together in masses without any 

 distinctive outlines of demarcation, and the waUs so thin that they 

 broke even when lightly touched. This condition grew worse toward 

 the vent. 



In the drawn bird the body cavity contained blood which was 

 nearly black, the walls of the cavity being greenish-yellow near the 

 vent. The lungs and kidneys were in situ, but so soft and darkened 

 in color that their structure was almost lost. Cultures from these 

 birds were made and the results are given in the table under No. 4431 

 and No. 4432. All the cultures made from the drawn bird were 

 sterile. From the undrawn bird growth was obtained in a number 

 of instances, and the species isolated were varied both in character and 

 in location. 



The bird used for comparison (No. 4433) had been kept in stor- 

 age for three weeks, this period being necessary because of the closing 

 of the season for the killing of quail. The bird was in a very good 

 state of preservation. However, the region of the vent showed a 

 slight greenish-yellow tinge. There was a shot wound in the right 

 leg:, which still showed the shot embedded in the tissue, and the inner 

 thigh muscles were discolored and hemorrhagic, this condition 

 extending well toward the vent. The lungs were somewhat con- 

 gested and the kidneys slightly darker than those of the fresh birds 

 before examined. All the cultures made from this bird proved to be 

 sterile. 



After a storage period of 13 months, the two undrawn birds — Nos. 

 755 and 756 — had discolored skins, especially in the region of the vent. 

 The muscles were also discolored and dry. The viscera were in bad 

 condition, dark in color, the intestine leaden, the tissues degenerated 

 even to macroscopic observation, and a bloody, slimy fluid present in 

 the body cavity. The odor was fecal. 



