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POULTRY AS FOOD. Ryan 
The analyses of goose and green goose show little refuse and 
water, almost the largest percentages of indigestible nutrients, 
little protein and large quantities of fat; because of this excess- 
ive fat they have a higher fuel value than any other meats 
except duckling and fat pork. 
Duck and duckling both contain comparatively large amounts 
of refuse, small amounts of water, large percentages of indi- 
gestible nutrients, little protein and large quantities of fat. 
According to these figures duckling contains more fat than 
any other kind of poultry, almost one-fifth more than chicken. 
From these somewhat complicated details we may make a 
few general statements. The light-fleshed birds (fowl, turkey, 
guinea-fowl, pheasant and quail) are ordinarily richer in pro- 
tein and poorer in fat than the dark-fleshed. On account of 
their low percentage of fat, they show a lower proportion of 
indigestible nutrients, but alsoa lower fuel value. In common 
fowl and perhaps in all light-fleshed varieties the flesh of the 
young seems to yield a larger proportion of protein and a cor- 
respondingly smaller proportion of fat than that of mature 
| birds. In the dark-fleshed kinds, the reverse seems to hold, 
the young containing less protein and more fat than the old. 
Asa general thing young birds havea smaller, lighter skeleton 
in proportion to their total weight and therefore show smaller 
percentages of refuse than the old birds. The young have also 
a larger proportion of water in their flesh, which may partially 
explain why it is so much more tender to the teeth. 
Some of the differences in the nutritive value of the various 
kinds of poultry are so large that they ought to be considered 
in planning dietaries. If green goose with 31 per cent. of fat 
were replaced by chicken with 6.8 per cent. of fat, or duckling 
with 11.6 per cent. protein by turkey containing 18.8 per cent. 
protein, the proportion of fuel and tissue building material fur-- 
nished to the body might be noticeably changed. On the other 
hand it would be foolish to insist on the very slight differences 
between closely-related birds like turkey and chicken or duck 
and goose. Such differences would hardly be noticeable in the 
- ordinary mixed diet and, as was observed in comparing poultry 
with other meats, the differences may vary with individual birds, 
‘or there may be greater losses in cooking to counterbalance 
