MARKET COLD-STORAGE CHICKENS. 59 



determination of their bacterial content, on which may depend their 

 fitness for food. The work reported will, therefore, be classified as 

 chemical, bacteriological, and histological; the technique employed 

 and the results obtained for these phases of the subject will be given 

 under their respective headings; and the general discussion of the 

 results, with, as far as is possible at this time, a correlation of the 

 data relating to the changes, will be brought together in a final 

 chapter. 



CHEMICAL STUDIES. 



RESUME OF THE LITERATURE ON THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF 



POULTRY. 



An examination of the literature relating to the chemical composi- 

 tion of poultry in general, and of chickens in particular, reveals a 

 paucity of analytical data. Such analyses as are given usually relate 

 to the gross composition of the birds, comprising the amount of 

 water, nitrogen, fat, nitrogen-free extractives, and ash. 



Konig a has brought together in tabular form analyses made by 

 Stutzer, Moleschott, Konig, Krauch and AllendorrT, and Atwater and 

 Woods, aggregating seven in all. As mean percentage values for the 

 flesh of chickens Konig gives the following : 



Water 72. 22 



Protein 21. 33 



Fat & 4. 55 



Nonnitrogenous extractives 0. 75 



Ash , 1. 15 



In connection with a study of the meat supply in Tennessee, C. E. 

 Wait c reports analyses of 20 chickens purchased in the open market 

 in that State. 



Atwater and Bryant d in their summary of the chemical composi- 

 tion of American food materials, give average data for analyses of 

 chicken and other domestic poultry and of the gizzard, heart, etc. 



At water e later reported a number of additional analyses of poul- 

 try. He examined, as a nutrition study, the carcasses of repre- 

 sentatives of most classes of edible, domesticated birds. His analyses 

 treat not only of the meat, but also of the giblets, the entire fowl, 

 and the meat and giblets together, the latter being the truly edible 

 portion. Only the analyses of the meat are available for compari- 

 son with the results obtained in this laboratory and the average data 



a Chemie der menschlichen Nahrungs- und Genussmittel, 1903. 

 b Calculated by difference. 



C U. S. Dept. Agr., Office of Experiment Stations, Bui. 53. 

 <*U. S. Dept. Agr., Office of Experiment Stations, Bui. 28. 



e The Composition of Poultry, Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station, 15th Annual 

 Report, 1903. 



