POULTRY AND GAME BIRDS.
=Application of Name.=--The term poultry for descriptive purposes may
be applied to those classes of feathered domesticated birds used for
human food. It, therefore, includes practically all of the domesticated
fowls. The term game bird, for the purpose of this manual, is applied
to feathered animals which are wild and which are used for human food.
This also may apply to almost all wild birds, since at times they
practically all have been used for food purposes. Here only those
in common use, both domesticated and wild, will be referred to. In
connection with poultry the eggs of the birds will be considered.
DOMESTICATED FOWLS.
The principal domesticated fowls which are used for human food are
chickens, turkeys, geese, ducks, and guinea hens. The most common of
all is the chicken,--the next perhaps are turkeys in this country and
the goose in Europe. The others are more infrequently used but are
highly prized.
=Chicken.=--The chicken scientifically is known as _Gallus domesticus_.
For food purposes the chicken is eaten at various ages. The very young
chicken is commonly called a broiler and is prepared for the table at
varying ages from six to twelve weeks. Young chickens are also very
commonly called spring chickens, since they occur in greater abundance
in the spring than at any other time. Since the introduction of the
modern method of incubation, however, the spring chicken may be had
at all seasons of the year. The “broiler” and “spring chicken” may be
regarded as synonymous terms, though the larger chicks are usually
called spring chickens instead of broilers.
_Full Grown Chickens._--The full grown chicken is better suited for
food when still young. The flesh loses flavor and gains in toughness as
the chicken grows older. There is no legal limit fixing the division
of chickens into different classes with respect to age and the only
criterion is the price and taste of the consumer. There is, perhaps,
no objection to the use of old chickens for food purposes, provided
they are not sold fraudulently as young chicks. The size and toughness
of the pieces one often secures when ordering spring chicken is an
indication that the age limit is not very definitely established. Both
hens and roosters are used for food purposes, but especially the young
roosters are devoted to food purposes while the young hens are often
kept for the production of eggs.
_Preparation of Chickens for Food Purposes._--In former times, when the
chickens of commerce were derived chiefly from the farm, no special
preparation was made before the chicken was marketed. The eggs were
hatched in the old-fashioned way by the hens and the chicks sold
to hucksters or in market, at various ages and without any special
preparation or control. All this has been changed in later times by the
introduction of scientific methods of breeding poultry. It has been
demonstrated that the breeding and care of poultry require as much
scientific and economic attention as is devoted to any other successful
business.
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--CHICKEN HOUSE, RHODE ISLAND EXPERIMENT
STATION.]
_The Incubator._--The introduction of the incubator for the hatching
of eggs with the other necessary arrangements for the caring for young
chicks has perhaps done more than any other one thing to revolutionize
the method of preparing poultry for the market. By the use of the
incubator the hatching of chicks is regulated with the utmost degree
of nicety. A larger percentage of eggs produce chicks and the expense
of the incubating process is greatly diminished. The incubator is in
its widest significance a thermostat in which the eggs may be placed
and maintained constantly at the temperature of the hen’s body, namely,
about 102 degrees F. The arrangement of the chicken house and the other
environments of the young chick are shown in Fig. 12.
_Care of Young Chicks._--The principal points in the care of young
chicks are fresh air, freedom from infection by epidemic or contagious
diseases, exclusion of insect pests, even high temperature, and
abundance of food. The young chick is especially sensitive to low
temperatures and must be protected from cold, especially from cold
rains. For this reason the chicks, after hatching, must be kept, if it
is not summer time, in a room where the temperature can be regulated
until they have acquired some degree of strength and vitality. The
temperature of the chicken house for the young birds should not be
lower than 85 or 90 degrees F.
A temperature of about 102 degrees F. is found very favorable to the
development of the chicks in the eggs, although the temperature may
sometimes fall to 101 or rise to 103 degrees F. without materially
affecting the results. Experiments show that too low a temperature
arrests the development of the chick. On the contrary there seems to
be no indication that an increase of heat, up to 103 degrees F., has
any tendency to kill the chick in the last stages of development. It
is found best in all cases to set the eggs in the incubator as soon
after they are laid as possible. Where the age of the egg is not known
it should be carefully candled, that is, held up between the eye and
a light in order to determine its condition. In old eggs, the yolk,
on candling, becomes more or less diffused with the white and such
eggs are to be rejected for incubator purposes as they are not likely
to produce chickens. The fertility of the egg must also be assured
before placing in the incubator. An unfertilized egg is so much loss in
the incubator since it might have been used for food purposes, since
the egg, for marketable purposes, when fresh is just as good as a
fertilized egg. It is an observed fact that the complete fertilization
of the egg, that is, the proper union of the male and female germ
cells, is not always complete at the time the egg is laid, but the
mingling of the two elements takes place under proper conditions
afterwards. The development will also depend upon the vitality of
the germ and its component parts. Just, for instance, as the color
of the feathers, the size of the body and the general character of
the chick may be inherited from either parent, so the vital qualities
are much more strongly shown in some eggs than in others. The proper
germination of the egg may also be improved by many of the conditions
of environment. In the case of eggs, any slight change which would
interfere with the functions of the yolk or albumin, both of which
are extremely sensitive to change, would interfere with the growth of
the embryo either by depriving it of food or subjecting it to other
conditions in which its vitality would be diminished or destroyed.
The fertilized egg may be separated from the non-fertilized also by
candling. At the Rhode Island station it is found that a very good
light for candling is the ordinary calcium carbide bicycle lamp, placed
in a proper candling box. This is a strong white light quite equal in
power to the electric incandescent light and is not so trying to the
eyes.
When eggs which have been submitted to incubation permit light to
shine through and show the yolk suspended in the upper half of the
center as a clearly defined mass, which quickly reassumes its position
in turning the egg with its long axis nearly horizontal, they are
probably infertile or sterile. When, on the contrary, the yolk assumes
indefinite outlines, approaching near the upper portion of the shell
at the large end or appears with a thick spur upon its upper side, it
may be regarded as having started to incubate. In the later stages
the embryo can be plainly seen, because it becomes opaque and cuts
off more of the light. In the incubation of eggs the candling is
resorted to during the first few days of the experiment in order
that the unfertilized eggs may be separated. The best time for the
candling, if it is practiced only once, is on the sixth or seventh day
of incubation. By that time all the eggs which are fertilized will
be so changed as to be easily recognized by the candling process.
Experience has shown that eggs which are more than two weeks old are
not profitable for use in incubators since the percentage that does not
hatch is so large. The incubating part of the plant is sometimes placed
in the cellar over which the brooding house is built.
The brooding of young chicks is of the utmost significance. In Europe
the changes in temperature are much less violent than in this country.
The principal brooding houses in the United States are in the North
where the temperature often falls in winter to below zero while in the
summer it may rise to blood heat, a difference of over 100 degrees F.
For this reason the incubating houses in the United States are often
placed in cellars where the uniform conditions of temperature are
more easily secured. There is no objection to this location provided
proper care be taken to secure ventilation and the proper content of
moisture in the atmosphere. In Great Britain the incubating houses
are usually placed above ground instead of in cellars. The mean range
of temperature in an incubating room in Great Britain, from March
12, 1903, to March 30, 1904, was 10 degrees. The highest temperature
registered was 70 degrees on the 24th of June and the lowest 42 degrees
in January. The humidity of the air was also quite constant, the lowest
degree of humidity being 59 and the highest 94. These data show a very
even temperature in the room itself. Of course the temperature in the
incubator is necessarily greater, being that already referred to,
namely 102 degrees.
_Early Market._--One principal object in the raising of chicks is to
force them to an early maturity in so far as size and palatability
are concerned. The sooner the young broilers can be made ready for
the market the more economy there is in their production. To this end
they ought to receive a more abundant and specially prepared kind of
food than if they were intended for ordinary farm purposes. In other
words, the forcing process should be pushed as far as possible without
interfering with the health and normal functions of the bird. Foods
which are nutritious and stimulating and promote vigorous growth
should be employed. Birds prepared in this way for the market are
extremely tender and palatable and bring the highest prices where their
merits are recognized.
_Artificial Feeding._--Where chickens of greater age are prepared for
the market they are subjected, during the last two or three weeks
previous to sale, to a forcing process in order to produce more fat and
make their flesh more palatable. To this end the chickens are fed from
time to time mechanically by passing a tube into the craw and forcing
the food therein. Fowls prepared in this way bring high prices in the
market and the largest profits to the growers. It is a method, however,
which is not used in the raising of the ordinary poultry found on the
market.
_Preparing Chickens for the Market._--Chickens are sold in four
different conditions in the markets of this country. First, they are
offered alive. A great many purchasers prefer to get their poultry in
this way because they can then be certain that it has not been long
killed and kept in cold storage or preserved by means of chemicals. It
is a very common custom for consumers to have their own chicken coups
and buy a number of birds at a time and fatten them particularly for
their own use. Under the present system of law this method is highly
to be commended as a certain way of knowing the age of the poultry
consumed. With proper municipal and state regulations of the markets
it would not be necessary for the consumer to go to this trouble since
when rigid inspection and certification are established, the age of the
chicken offered on the market can be easily ascertained. Until such
time comes, however, on the part of the consumer, the desirability of
securing chickens alive cannot be denied.
_Freshly Killed Chickens._--Chickens which have been killed within
twenty-four or forty-eight hours and properly kept may be regarded
as freshly killed. There is a very wide-spread opinion, and probably
founded on reliable experiments, that fowls are better if they are kept
some time after slaughter, provided they are kept in a proper way. In
the winter time it is customary, especially in Europe, to hang the fowl
for a week or ten days exposed to the ordinary temperature, before
consumption. This, of course, is a practice which could not be indulged
in in warm weather. Fowls, however, can be hung in cold storage even in
the summer time and with the same advantage which accrues by hanging
them in ordinary temperature in the winter time. Just how long fowls
should be kept after slaughter in this way in order to secure a maximum
degree of palatability has not been scientifically determined. There is
evidently a limit beyond which the keeping of slaughtered fowls should
not be indulged in. If a low and even temperature could be secured it
may be certain that the hanging of the fowl for a week or ten days is
not too long. The temperature, however, should not be much above the
freezing point.
Freshly killed chickens are offered in two forms, namely, drawn and
undrawn. The proper method of keeping a slaughtered chicken has
been the subject of very lively discussions. There are many who
are advocates of the exposure of the chicken in the undrawn state
asserting that in this condition it is less exposed to infection and
keeps better during the necessary time elapsing between slaughter
and consumption. This argument is advanced chiefly by dealers. On
the other hand the consumer, as a rule, is in favor of having the
chicken drawn before it is exposed for sale, that is, as soon as it is
slaughtered. There is perhaps much to be said on both sides of this
question. If, however, chickens are to be secured by the consumer
within forty-eight hours after slaughter there can be no very great
danger of infection by having them undrawn. The subject is one of
sufficient importance to warrant an extended scientific investigation
and upon this investigation the municipal and state regulations for
the sale of poultry can be based. It is not wise in such cases to be
swayed solely by prejudice or sentiment but rather by the facts which
can be ascertained by unbiased scientific investigation. Because a
chicken weighs more undrawn is probably one of the reasons why dealers
prefer them in this state. It may be said, too, that the intestinal
organs are so impenetrable to the diffusion of their contents as not to
create any danger of contamination by remaining in the undrawn state.
On the contrary, the keeping of chickens with the intestinal contents
undisturbed does not appeal to the imagination of the consumer any more
than the freezing of the carcass of a beef or hog with the viscera
remaining would appeal to the consumer. If the carcass of a chicken can
be better kept undrawn it is evident that the carcass of a steer or hog
can also be better kept if subjected to the proper temperature. Upon
the whole it appears that the safer way would be to have the poultry
drawn at the time of slaughter and delivered to the consumer at an
early date thereafter. In this way all danger of infection on the cut
surfaces becomes avoided. At any rate the consumer should be allowed
the choice in the matter which, at the present time, is not the case in
many parts of this country where only undrawn poultry is exposed for
sale.
_Poultry in Cold Storage._--Whenever a fowl is kept for a longer
period than the week or ten days above referred to for the purpose
of improving its flavor and palatability it is necessary that it be
placed in cold storage. This method of keeping poultry or other foods
is wholly unobjectionable unless carried to excess. Poultry is a food
product which under the present scientific methods of production can
be furnished in a fresh state all the year. The necessity for cold
storage, therefore, is not so apparent in this case as in that of
fruit and other perishable foods. It appears then that cold storage
only should be extended to that limit necessary to secure its delivery
to the consumer. There can scarcely be any excuse for the placing
of poultry in cold storage at certain seasons of the year when they
are slightly less in price by reason of the abundant production than
at other seasons. The methods of producing poultry are such at the
present time that this excess in supply can easily be avoided on the
part of the producer and thus maintain an even price and an even supply
the year round. The producer as well as the consumer is benefited by
such a condition. The necessity, often, for cold storage in the limited
sense above referred to is acknowledged by all and a reasonable degree
of time in cold storage cannot be regarded as in any way measurably
harmful with reference to the character of the product. It is probable
that as long as four or six months may be regarded as a justifiable
limit for securing a proper market for poultry in cold storage though
the exact length of time in which it may be left in cold storage will
be determined only by careful scientific investigation. There seems
to be no necessity whatever for carrying fowls for a longer period
and especially, as has been known, for a year or even two years. The
deterioration, even if the temperature is far below the freezing point,
is very marked during these long periods of time and actual danger
may accrue to the consumer in the possible development of poisonous
degradation products in the flesh. Municipal, state, and national
regulations should be of a character to inform the consumer of the
exact length of time which the poultry he proposes to purchase has been
in cold storage. This is the least which the consumer has the right
to know and is a right which the producer and packer should concede
without discussion. The unwillingness which has been manifested on the
part of dealers in poultry to make public the length of time which
it has been in cold storage is of itself a suspicious condition. The
argument is constantly heard that the length of time poultry has been
in cold storage does not impair its palatability or wholesomeness. If
this be true then a statement of the length of time cannot in any way
injure the market. But to this reply is made to the effect that if the
consumer is told the fowl has been in cold storage a certain length
of time he will not purchase it. To this the evident answer is,--why
should you deceive the consumer by selling him an article which if he
knew its character he would not buy? It is evident that such deception
is nothing more nor less than obtaining money under false pretenses.
The remedy for the evil of cold storage is the label which will
indicate the length of time which has elapsed since the slaughter of
the fowl.
There is, perhaps, no greater blessing which has been conferred upon
mankind during the last quarter of a century than the development of
cold storage methods of preserving food. The continued prosperity
and benefits of this business depend upon a thorough study of the
conditions attendant thereon and the elimination of any evil which may
be incident thereto. When this is accomplished the absolute confidence
which the consumer will have in cold storage will be such that the
magnitude of the business will be immensely increased. Thus the
interests of the consumer and the dealer are one and they should work
together to promote their common good.
_Composition of the White Meat of a Chicken._--The meat of a chicken,
carefully prepared in the laboratory of the Bureau of Chemistry,
was analyzed by separation into the white and dark portions. The
composition of the two meats is as follows:
WATER IN
FAT-FREE MEAT
WATER. SUBSTANCE. FAT. PROTEIN. BASES.
Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent.
White meat, 61.38 75.08 18.25 17.06 .37
Dark meat, 59.48 78.44 24.16 15.94 1.03
The above data show that there is a notable difference in the
composition of the white and the dark meat. The white meat has much
less fat and a correspondingly larger quantity of protein. The quantity
of water in the two classes of meat is not very different although
there is a slightly less quantity in the dark meat. The dark meat has
a much larger proportion of meat bases but as these bases are often
considered of little value and sometimes degenerate into poisonous
constituents it is seen from this point of view that the white meat is
to be preferred to the dark meat.
_Preserved Chicken._--Practically the only methods of preserving
chickens are the canning processes which have already been described
and cold storage. Chickens may be canned in the same way as has been
described for beef and in that way may be kept for a certain length
of time without notable deterioration. The pickling of chicken is not
very extensively practiced nor is it cured in the ordinary sense of the
word, that is, by the addition of salt, sugar, vinegar, spices, and
wood smoke. Chicken may also be put up in the form of potted chicken,
which has already been described. Practically the only methods which
are in vogue and which can be commended for preserving chicken are
sterilizing or canning and cold storage. These methods, when not unduly
prolonged, are open to no reasonable objection. The preserving of
chickens with spices and condiments may also, perhaps, be considered as
desirable provided no harmful chemical preservatives are employed. The
temptation, however, to employ such preservatives is so great as not to
be always resisted.
_Adulteration of Potted Chicken and Turkey._--Perhaps there is no other
form of potted meat, with the possible exception of pâté de foie gras,
where such an opulent field for sophistication is found as in the case
of potted chicken and turkey. The average composition of ten samples of
alleged potted chicken and turkey, found upon the market, is shown in
the following table:
Water, 58.52 percent
Water in fat-free substance, 71.24 „
Fat, 17.98 „
Protein, 19.12 „
Meat bases, .96 „
Glycogen, .26 „
Total ash, 2.67 „
Of which sodium chlorid, 1.05 „
All but one of the ten samples contained starch but not in very
considerable quantities, the largest amount being 4.13 percent.
None of the samples contained saltpeter. This is an interesting point
because of the claim of the packers that saltpeter is used solely for
preservation purposes. When a meat is expected to be of a white color
no saltpeter is found while, on the contrary, where the meat is of a
red character it is frequently found. Tin was present in four samples,
doubtless due to some contamination with the solder or by corrosion
of the tin can itself. Where tin is present due to the corrosion of
the can itself it is always in greater abundance in the old than in
the newly canned sample. It is quite certain that the contents of
these packages were not made up of chicken and turkey exclusively. The
characteristic odor and taste of smoked meats which are found in these
packages would indicate that they are used to give flavor and aroma
to the mixture. The addition of flavoring materials of this kind, or
“force” meats as they are sometimes called, is not objectionable from
any sanitary or dietetic point of view. It is, however, an offense
against an ethical principle which must be closely followed in a case
of this kind if the doors of fraud and adulteration are not to be left
wide open. This principle is that no false idea by inference, omission
or otherwise, should be conveyed to the consumer by the label. Some
form of expression for potted meat should be used in which the label
gives the principal or dominant meat in the mixture, accompanied by
the statement that it is a mixture with other meats also named, spiced
and flavored. Under the present condition of affairs a manufacturer
who really wishes to put into potted form chicken and turkey with
only spices and condiments has to undergo an unfair competition with
another manufacturer who uses the same label and reduces the quantity
of expensive meat to a minimum or may possibly leave it out altogether.
Under the new food law this unfair competition will be prevented.
_Adulteration of Chicken._--The flesh of chicken is not subjected
to any very extensive adulterations. It has been claimed that
preservatives are applied externally to fresh fowls but the evidence
on this point is not very conclusive. There is, perhaps, little doubt
that other methods have been practiced but probably without any very
great vogue. The use of chemical preservatives in potted chicken is
also reprehensible. In general it may be said that there is no very
extensive adulteration of chicken meat. The principal objection to the
commerce in preserved chicken meat is the use of old chickens, the
unlimited cold storage, the failure to draw at time of slaughter, and
exposure in the market in an unsanitary condition and for an indefinite
time. Cheaper meats are sometimes substituted for the genuine article
in potted chicken. Turkey and pork are said to be used in chicken salad.
_Capons._--The castration of the male bird produces the capon, the
flesh of which is very highly valued as being superior to that of
the male or female chicken. Capons are much more extensively used in
Europe than in the United States but are gradually coming into favor
in this country. It is difficult to describe the difference between
the taste of the flesh of the capon and the rooster and hen. A greater
degree of tenderness and a more delicate taste characterize the flesh
of the capon. In France, especially, the production of capons has
been carried to its highest perfection. Caponizing should be practiced
at an early date in the life of the young bird. In fact, as soon
as the distinction in sex is well marked in the young chicken the
removal of the testes should take place. The young fowl is laid upon
its left side and the skin is exposed by pulling back the feathers
and trimming them off at the proper place until the space between the
first and second ribs of the right side is laid bare. An incision is
then carefully made and the testes removed by instruments particularly
adapted for that purpose. The operation should be done by an expert
although theoretically it appears easy of accomplishment. In practice,
however, it requires an expert to avoid any injury to the bird and to
insure a speedy recovery. When done in the proper way, apparently no
great inconvenience attends the operation. There is little blood shed
and usually no inflammation when the proper antiseptic measures are
provided.
The capon develops a bird that apparently has little to do except
grow fat and prepare itself for the market. The caponized bird often
develops brooding instincts and when eggs are hatched by the heat of
the bird the capon makes a better brooder than the hen because of
the greater spread of the wings and the larger number of eggs that
can be covered in the operation. The larger breeds of birds make the
best capons such as the brahmas and plymouth rocks. The capons are
fattened and prepared for the market as in the case of other birds.
When skimmed milk is made a large portion of the diet the flesh is
considered to be of greater value. The best age for marketing a capon
is at about twelve months. At that time they have attained their full
size and their maximum degree of excellence as a food bird. The feeding
should be done upon the principles already described, namely, to keep
the birds growing in the usual way until about three or four weeks
before the market when the extra food is given in as large quantities
as possible for quick fattening. In Europe this extra food is usually
given mechanically under the forced system though in this country the
mechanical method of feeding capons has not generally been introduced.
Capons bring a higher price upon the market than the other varieties of
chicken, sometimes the difference being as much as four or five cents a
pound. For this reason the growth of capons becomes more profitable to
the farmer than that of the ordinary chicken.
=Duck= (_Anas boschas_).--The domesticated duck is used very largely
for food in all parts of the world. Its flavor is not so highly prized
as that of the wild duck but it is an excellent article of diet. The
production of ducks is conducted in the same manner as the production
of poultry in general. They are still chiefly grown upon the farm
without any special care but the best results are obtained by the
systematic growth of ducks under scientific conditions in poultry
houses. The duck is not so extensively used for food as the turkey and
chicken but perhaps in this country much more extensively than the
goose. The price of the wild duck, however, is still sufficiently low
to limit to a certain extent the production of the domesticated article.
_Varieties of Ducks._--There are many varieties of ducks cultivated for
the market. The Pekin is perhaps the most abundant of all. It is creamy
white in color, has a long and graceful body and has been particularly
bred for the market. When ready for the market the average weight of
the drake is about eight pounds and the duck seven. The Aylesbury is
also a favorite variety. It is said to be somewhat whiter than the
Pekin in color. It is specially valued in England as a market duck.
It is somewhat larger than the Pekin. Other varieties of ducks are
the Rover, the Cayuga, the Gray and White Call, the East Indian, the
Crested White, the colored and white Muscovy, and the Indian runner.
The latter is a very small duck, being only about one-half the size of
the Pekin. Usually the ducks on the market are not designated by any
particular variety and, in fact, most consumers are not sufficiently
acquainted with the different varieties of duck to be able to ask for
any particular one. The mallard, canvas-back, and teal are common
varieties of the wild duck.
_Composition of the Flesh of Ducks._--The flesh of two varieties of
ducks, namely the Pekin duck and the Mallard duck, was carefully
separated in the Bureau of Chemistry and subjected to analysis. The
composition of the meat of these two ducks is shown in the following
table:
WATER IN
FAT-FREE MEAT
WATER. SUBSTANCE. FAT. PROTEIN. BASES.
Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent.
Pekin duck, 47.46 78.20 39.31 13.37 .43
Mallard duck, 69.06 75.98 7.11 19.25 .65
The above data show a striking difference between these two varieties
of ducks. The Pekin duck has a large excess of fat while the Mallard
duck, which is a wild duck and evidently not very fat, has a small
percentage of fat and a large percentage of protein. It is evident
that the flesh of wild fowl would not, except at a certain season of
the year, approach that of domesticated fowls in the percentage of fat
which it contains.
=Goose= (_Anser anser_).--The goose is not so commonly used as a food
product in this country as in Europe,--the turkey to some extent has
taken its place. The remarks which are applicable to the production of
chickens are also applicable to the production of geese. They, perhaps,
are grown more extensively in the old-fashioned way in this country
than chickens or turkeys at the present time since they are used
chiefly for the feathers which they produce and not for food. Goose is
also considered a winter dish both in this country and in Europe. It
is customary in Europe that the goose be hung even for a longer period
before consumption than the chicken. Its flesh is made more tender and
more palatable by this preliminary exposure. From one to two weeks is
not considered too long a time in the winter for hanging in the old
country. The remarks relative to cold storage of turkey and chicken
apply also to the goose. The goose is, perhaps, the most easily
artificially fattened of any other poultry birds. This is especially
true in those regions where fatty goose livers are so highly prized in
the manufacture of _pâté de foie gras_. By long-continued artificial
feeding the goose is made excessively fat and the liver especially
is changed in its composition by this treatment so as to make it
peculiarly suitable for the production of this delicacy.
_Varieties of Geese._--The varieties of geese upon the market comprise
the following leading breeds. The Toulouse is perhaps the most
extensively raised. It is highly prized on account of its hardihood,
its size and the general appearance of its body. It is of a gray to
white color and the wings are a deeper gray or brown. The legs are
usually of a deep orange. When ready for the market the average weight
of the gander is 20 pounds and the goose 18. Of the other common
varieties there are the Embden, the African, the brown and white
Chinese, the white or Canada, and the Egyptian. The latter is a small
goose only weighing about half as much as the Toulouse when ready for
the market. The wild goose is highly esteemed as a game bird.
_Feeding of Young Geese for the Market._--The feeding of geese for
the market begins as soon as the hatching is complete. The first meal
of the young chicks consists of oat meal, middlings, finely chopped
dandelions, lettuce or some similar green stuff, and milk. The goslings
during the first week are kept indoors and should be fed four or five
times a day on the mixture above named. After this they may go into
a yard where there is plenty of grass, not overgrown, and they will
thrive on this very well for a time without hand feeding. Not more than
two feedings a day are necessary between the ages of one and six weeks
where plenty of grass is at hand. During this time no better food than
ground oats and skimmed milk can be used. During all this period great
care is taken that the goslings are not subjected to any disease or
to cold. They should be carefully housed in sanitary coups where the
temperature does not sink too low and where they are protected from
cold rains. After the goslings are eight weeks old they are usually
able to take care of themselves in respect of food and need, perhaps
only one feeding a day. If these goslings are hatched in the early
spring they may be ready for fattening for the Christmas market. The
geese until shortly before the time for market are allowed to run free
in a field, not too large, where there are ponds or troughs of water
in abundance. In this way the frame of the goose will be sufficiently
developed by the time the fattening period comes but there will have
been no unusual expense in the production of the fowl until it is
prepared for the market. The large frame is necessary in order that
the goose may properly fatten. It usually requires about three weeks
of artificial feeding to bring a goose into proper condition for the
market. If the geese are for the Christmas market about the 25th of
November they are put up in sheds for fattening for though they have
been well fed during the summer and autumn they cannot be called fat
geese until they have gone through a special course of nutrition. While
they are confined for fattening, geese require plenty of fresh air but
very little light and these conditions are procured by housing them in
large airy sheds without windows. Before the fattening season these
sheds are thoroughly cleaned and whitewashed and the floor covered with
cinders, ashes, and charcoal. This mixture is not only a good bedding
but is also a good deodorizer, which is quite important. Food troughs
are arranged along the walls inside the shed and troughs for water
outside in such a way that the birds can reach the water but cannot get
into it. Clean charcoal is to be put into the shed every day as it is
constantly eaten by the geese and is valuable. The foods used are oat
meal, boiled potatoes, linseed meal or other oil cakes, and plenty of
milk, usually skimmed. The birds should have all of this that they can
eat, for in the process we are now describing the artificial forcing
of food into the craw is not practiced. In three weeks a good goose
will increase four or five pounds in weight and this increase brings
the goose up from an ordinary bird in good condition to one which is
properly fed for the market.
The killing of geese is practiced in practically the same manner as
that which is described for slaughtering fowls. A goose is a bird
of large vitality and dies hard as is the case with most fowls. The
feathers should be taken off the body clean, as they are valuable for
commercial purposes. Any pin feathers should be cut with a sharp knife
so as to make the bird look as clean as possible when brought to the
market. The carcass of the goose should not be packed to send to market
until it is entirely cold and in this country, especially, where the
distances are great, it is advisable to send it packed in ice or in a
cold storage car. The average weight of a goose about nine months old
thus prepared for the market is about fourteen pounds and the flesh is
certain to be more palatable at this age when fattened in the manner
above described.
=Domesticated Pigeon= (_Columba livia_).--In the last few years the
production of domesticated pigeons has been extensively practiced in
this country, and especially the production of young pigeons which are
known as squabs. They are rapidly taking the place of game birds at the
hotels and restaurants of the country. The conditions of production,
preparation, etc., are the same as those for the ordinary domesticated
fowl. There are many varieties of the bird grown; some, as the carrier,
for special purposes. The other principal varieties are barbs,
fantails, jacobins, runts, trumpeters, tumblers, and turbits.
=Turkey= (_Meleagris americana_).--In general the statement which has
been made regarding the production of fowls or chickens may be applied
also to the production of turkeys. No further comment, therefore, is to
be made under that head. The old-fashioned method of securing turkeys
grown under natural conditions has, to a great extent, given way to the
production of turkeys on a large scale and under scientific conditions.
Turkeys, as a rule, are not eaten young, but practically full-grown.
In this country the turkey is a dish which is particularly affected
for festive occasions such as Thanksgiving and Christmas, though they
are eaten largely throughout the whole year. The market, however, for
turkeys is particularly a November and December market and the large
introduction of turkeys in the market is so timed as to furnish them in
proper condition for consumption during those two months.
The methods of preparing turkeys for the market, keeping them in cold
storage, of hanging them previous to consumption and exposing them
drawn or undrawn for sale, are subject to the same remarks as has been
made in the case of chickens. Turkeys are said to be more difficult to
care for, both on the farm and in the professional poultry factory,
than chickens. They are more subject to disease and more difficult to
bring to maturity than chickens.
_Composition of Meat of Turkey._--The flesh of the turkey was separated
into two portions, the white and dark meats, and these were found to
have the following composition:
WATER IN
FAT-FREE MEAT
WATER. SUBSTANCE. FAT. PROTEIN. BASES.
White meat, 55.50 74.70 25.71 18.31 1.31
Dark meat, 54.13 75.76 27.76 16.75 1.15
A comparison of these two analyses show that there is little difference
in the content of water in the white and dark meat. The dark meat, as
in the case of chicken, has more fat and a correspondingly less amount
of protein. The quantity of protein in the meat of turkey is about the
same as that of chicken. The white meat of turkey differs from the
white meat of chicken more in its content of meat bases than in any
other way, except that the meat of turkey contains more fat, especially
the white meat, than that of chicken.
=Composition of the Meat of Chicken, Turkey, Duck, and Goose.=--The
composition of the chicken, turkey, duck, goose, and pigeon as given by
König is found in the following table:
WATER. PROTEIN. FAT. ASH.
Chicken (lean), 76.22 19.72 1.42 1.37
Chicken (fat), 70.06 18.49 9.34 .91
Young cock (fat), 70.03 23.32 3.15 1.01
Turkey, 65.60 24.70 8.50 1.20
Duck (wild), 70.80 22.65 3.11 1.09
Goose (fat), 38.02 15.91 49.59 .48
The above data show that with the exception of the goose the percentage
of fat given in the flesh of the animals is very much less than that
found in our own work. Even in the fat chicken only a little over 9
percent of fat was found. It is believed that the composition of these
fowls as given by the work of the Bureau of Chemistry more nearly
represents the average composition in this country than the data taken
from König.
=Importance of Animal Food in the Growth of Poultry.=--Many people
suppose that poultry can live upon vegetables alone and this is
probably true. Experience, however, shows that poultry does not thrive
and fatten well on purely vegetable food. This fact was brought out
very prominently in the experiments at the Cornell station where
poultry of the same origin and character was fed two kinds of diet,
one being partly of animal food and the other purely vegetable foods.
The ration of the animal food consisted of Indian corn meal, wheat
flour, ground oats, wheat bran, wheat middlings, pea meal, linseed
meal, meat, and fresh bone. The vegetable ration consisted of pea
meal, linseed meal, wheat bran, ground oats, Indian corn meal, wheat
middlings, gluten meal, and skimmed milk. Before the experiment had
been long under way it was noticed that the birds receiving the meat
food were developing rapidly and evenly while those that received
the purely vegetable diet were becoming thin and uneven in size. The
authors of the bulletin say that it was sometimes almost pitiful to
see the long-necked, scrawny, vegetable-fed birds, with troughs full
of abundant good, wholesome food before them, stand on the alert
and scamper in hot haste after the unlucky grasshopper or fly which
ventured into their pen, while the contented looking meat-fed ducks lay
lazily in the sun and paid no attention to the buzzing bee or crawling
beetle. The vegetable-fed birds literally starved to death, at least
many of them, so that only twenty of the thirty-three with which the
experiment was commenced were alive at the close of the fifteen weeks
of feeding.
=The Forced Fattening of Poultry.=--Allusion has already been made to
the forced fattening of poultry secured by injecting food into the craw
in larger quantities than would naturally be taken by the fowl if left
to itself. There is much to be said both for and against this method
of fattening. In favor of this method it may be stated that the birds
fattened in this way are more highly prized by the connoisseur, are
naturally fatter by reason of the enforced idleness of the birds during
the fattening process, thus diminishing muscular activity, and more
tender than the birds left at freedom and forced to secure their own
food. From the point of view of the seller, also, the birds are heavier
and the artificially fattened fowl usually brings a higher price, pound
for pound, on the market. Against the method it is urged that it is
barbarous, imposing upon the birds a diet far beyond normal capacity
and thus tending to damage and injure the organs of the body charged
with the assimilation of food and the secretion of the waste products.
The above indictment is doubtless true is almost every respect. In
explanation it may be said that the period of forcing food is always
a short one, rarely extending beyond three weeks, and, therefore,
any injury to the organs which might be induced is not of sufficient
duration to establish any real form of disease. In other words, the
birds are slaughtered before any lesions of the organs are produced.
The livers of the animals, especially geese, thus artificially
fattened, take on an extra quantity of fat during this period but it
cannot be said that they become really diseased. The fatty livers, as
is well known, are used particularly in the manufacture of a mixed
spiced meat known as _pâté de foie gras_.
Upon the whole it is believed that no injury is done the bird by this
process of feeding which could in any way be regarded as detrimental to
the flesh as a food product. In regard to the apparent barbarity of the
process little need be said. The slaughter of animals for human food
in itself is a barbarous practice from one point of view but if this
practice is justified, as it doubtless is, by the exigencies of human
nutrition, the slight degree of force which is employed in artificial
fattening cannot be condemned. Moreover the artificial fattening of
the fowl is of necessity a somewhat limited operation and confined to
those establishments that are devoted exclusively to the production
of high-grade and high-priced poultry for the market. The fattening
is done by experts and, in so far as the experience of feeding men in
the same way is concerned, is not attended with any pain or discomfort
other than that incident to a chronically full craw.
_Increase in Weight._--There is a larger increase in the weight of
artificially fattened poultry over those fed in the ordinary way and
allowed to run free than is usually supposed. It is stated by some
authors that the average increase in weight of artificially fattened
birds is as much as 35 percent. There is no secret connected with the
method of artificial fattening as is sometimes supposed. There are
perhaps proprietary methods for preparing foods for fattening purposes
but there is no secret in the mechanism of the process. In fact the
process is so simple that it might be easily taught in a general
way so that the farm hand would become an expert in its use and the
farmer’s poultry instead of being sent to market in a half-emaciated
condition might be offered to the public in the best possible shape.
Poultry running at large use up a large part of the value of their
food in the heat and energy developed in the ordinary search for food.
When confined and fed artificially this excess of heat and energy is
naturally stored as fat.
Experience has shown that the artificial feeding must be a limited
one and the bird must be sent to market as soon as it has reached its
maximum of perfection under the process. Experience has also shown
that in the artificial feeding it is best to have each bird in a small
compartment to itself with the cage so arranged that the bird can put
its head through a slat in front and thus receive the food from the
machine without disturbing any of its neighbors. That the birds are
perfectly willing to take the food in this way is evidenced by the fact
that they voluntarily put their heads through the apertures to receive
their food. Each individual coup must be kept scrupulously clean and
disinfected and the air in the room kept perfectly fresh and sweet.
Lime should be used freely in all parts of the coup house in the form
of whitewash or sprinkled about the floor or upon the floors of the
coups. Gypsum or ordinary land plaster is also highly prized as another
form of lime which is found to be very valuable. The whitewash must be
freely indulged in and at frequent intervals.
There are various forms of fattening food used in this country. Indian
corn meal forms an important part. The presence of certain animal
products must not be neglected in the food as it has been shown that
fowls thrive better when given, in their food, a certain amount of
animal matter, both of flesh and finely ground bone. The fattening food
must be in the form of a finely ground paste of the proper consistency
to be handled well in the machine. It is a universal practice which
custom has shown to be necessary to mix with the food a certain
quantity of finely pulverized charcoal, usually about three pounds of
the charcoal to 97 pounds of food. Some feeders prefer to mix the paste
about twenty-four hours before it is administered, believing that the
slight fermentation thus produced is beneficial.
_The Cramming Machine._--Various forms of machines are employed for
introducing the food into the craw. The tube carrying the food is
introduced into the esophagus of the bird in a manner to avoid any pain
and the apparatus is so adjusted that with a single movement of the
machine, usually operated by the foot, the proper amount of food is
injected. The birds should be arranged according to size so that all of
a certain size may have exactly the same quantity of food administered.
The operator would thus be saved the difficulty of guessing the
different sizes. The arrangement of the coups and the kind of the
cramming machine vary greatly. In the beginning of artificial feeding
the birds should not be pushed to their full capacity. An increasing
quantity of food should be given up to the end of the first week or
ten days before the full maximum dose is administered. In general it
is found best to take the bird out of the coup for feeding, holding
it under the arm so that the neck can be made perfectly straight and
gently inserting the flexible tube which carries the food and thus
with the single movement of a lever, filling the craw. The use of the
machine, however, is found to be advantageous from a point of economy
although it is claimed that the cramming of birds by means of a
funnel has been found very efficacious. With a good machine an expert
operator can feed about 250 birds in an hour. An important point in the
fattening is that the food should be given regularly.
=Slaughtering Fowls for the Market.=--It is important that a uniform
and proper method be used for killing fowls intended for the market.
There are two methods in common vogue, namely, by bleeding and by
dislocation of the neck. The method of killing is important in order
that the proper method of dressing for the market may be secured. A
fowl which is offered for sale ought to be attractively dressed and any
brutal or defacing method of slaughter makes it impossible afterwards
to render the fowl attractive to the customer.
In killing by the dislocation of the neck the operator takes the bird
by the thigh and top of the wing in the left hand and the head in the
right and then draws it steadily until dislocation takes place. The
skin remains unbroken and no bruised effect is produced but all the
blood in the body drains into the neck and remains there. This method
is one especially practiced in England (Journal, Board of Agriculture,
1904-5, page 306). Where the bird is very large, as is the case with
turkeys, it may require the full strength of a man in order to produce
the dislocation in the manner mentioned. In this case it is often
necessary to first hang the bird up by the leg to secure the best
results.
In killing a fowl by bleeding it is strung up by the legs with its
head hanging downward. The operator then gives it a sharp blow with a
stick on the back of the head and when he has stunned it by this means
he inserts a sharp knife into the roof of the mouth, penetrating the
brain. He also severs the large artery of the throat by rotating the
knife and the bird rapidly bleeds to death. This method of killing, it
is seen, is not a very humane one. If, for instance, the sensation of
the bird is not destroyed by the first blow the other process must be
needlessly painful. This process, simplified somewhat by omitting the
hanging, is the one commonly followed by professionals in this country.
In England turkeys which are prepared for the market are plucked but
not drawn. One of the newest methods of plucking is known as the
Devonshire style and consists in stripping the feathers clean off the
breast and thighs but leaving the neck, back and wings covered. The
fowls are then tied around the legs with a strong cord in such a manner
as to show the plumpness of the breast prominently.
The methods of preparation of the fowls depend largely on the demands
of the market to which they are going. Some require the fowls to be
clean plucked and others prefer some of the feathers left on.
=Eggs.=--Eggs are a common article of diet throughout the world. The
eggs of domesticated fowls are those which are principally used for
food, though the eggs of wild fowls, and birds and reptiles are also
edible but on account of the difficulty of getting them and their
rarity are not to be considered as a commercial article. The chief
sources of supply are the eggs of chickens, ducks, and geese. Chicken
eggs are by far the most important, duck eggs the next important, and
goose eggs the least important. The eggs of fish also constitute an
article of food of considerable value and are extensively used. For
instance the fresh eggs of shad are used in large quantities during
the whole of the shad season and are often kept in cold storage for
use at other times. The eggs of sturgeon are used extensively in the
fresh state and when pickled as caviar are highly esteemed throughout
the world. These two kinds of eggs are probably the most important of
fish eggs used for food purposes. Chicken eggs vary greatly in size
according to the age and variety of the fowl. The average weight of
chicken eggs is 680 grams per dozen. They vary also in color from pure
white to a brownish yellow. Duck eggs are larger and also variegated in
color. The average weight of duck eggs is 847.2 grams per dozen. Goose
eggs are the largest of the three varieties, varying also in color.
They weigh on an average 2284.8 grams per dozen. Eggs also vary greatly
in shape, being generally ovoid but some being much more spherical than
others according to the species of the fowl and variety. The number
of eggs which a chicken will lay varies greatly. Attempts have been
made, with great success, at experiment stations, to develop chickens
with high laying powers. A hen which will produce over 200 eggs a year
is regarded as a high-grade fowl for egg-producing purposes. Eggs are
produced more abundantly during the early spring and summer than during
the winter months. One of the purposes of scientific egg producing is
the development of fowls that will produce eggs more evenly throughout
the whole year, thus avoiding the very great depression in the price of
eggs in the spring and the excessively high price of eggs in the winter.
_Composition of Eggs._--A large number of eggs have been analyzed in
all quarters of the world and found to vary but little in composition
in different localities, and very little also in regard to the variety
of the fowl. The egg consists essentially of two portions,--an
external highly albuminous portion known as the white and an internal
colored portion, yellow or reddish in tint, known as the yolk. The
white of an egg is composed almost entirely of albumin partially
dissolved in water. The yolk of the egg is composed of albumin, fat,
and a phosphorus-bearing material of high nutritive value known as
lecithin. The yolk of an egg is a much richer food product than the
white, containing in addition to the nitrogenous element the fat and
mineral bodies necessary to nutrition. Both the white and yolk of an
egg are composed principally of water as will be seen by the following
analytical data:
COMPOSITION OF EDIBLE PART OF EGGS.
WATER. PROTEIN. FAT. ASH. CALORIES.
Percent. Percent. Percent. Percent. Per pound.
Hen, 73.7 13.4 10.5 1.0 ....
Duck, 70.5 13.3 14.5 1.0 985
Goose, 69.5 13.8 14.4 1.0 985
Turkey, 73.3 13.4 11.2 0.9 850
_Preservation of Eggs._--Freshly laid eggs may be preserved for several
days without any notable deterioration by keeping in a cool place. The
temperature of preservation should be as nearly the freezing point
as can be secured. The vital processes are continually going on in
a fresh egg and hence there is a development of a certain degree of
heat due to these activities. For this reason eggs can be placed in an
atmosphere below the freezing point of water without being frozen. An
additional reason for this is found in the fact that the water which is
present in eggs holds the albumin and other bodies in solution and the
freezing point of a solution is always lower than that of the solvent
alone. For domestic purposes where refrigerating establishments are not
available the fresh eggs should be kept in a cool dark place where the
temperature is not allowed to go above 50 or 60 degrees. At a higher
temperature than this fresh eggs lose their freshness in a remarkably
short time. The porous nature of the shell is a condition which favors
the deterioration of the egg by the admission of air and microbes into
the substance of the egg itself.
The preservation of eggs is, therefore, materially assisted by coating
the egg artificially with a varnish or film of some kind which renders
the egg impervious to air and water. One of the cheapest, simplest,
and best of these coatings, as has already been noted, is soluble
glass. This is produced by dissolving the chemical substance known
as silicate of soda in water, and dipping the egg into the solution,
removing and allowing to dry. The silicate of soda which is thus left
in a thin film over the surface of the egg penetrates and stops the
pores and renders the egg shell practically impervious both to air and
water. This material has the property of becoming totally insoluble in
water when it has once been dried so that even if the egg is afterwards
subjected to rain or water in any form the film is not removed. Many
other methods of coating eggs have been employed and are dependent upon
the same principle but are perhaps not so effectual and simple as the
inexpensive method above described.
_Cold Storage._--Eggs either with or without the coating of the
surface, usually without, may be kept for a considerable length of time
without deterioration in cold storage. In this case it is advisable
to reduce the temperature to the lowest possible point to retain the
semi-fresh condition of the contents. Water freezes at 32 degrees,
but for the reasons above mentioned the temperature at which the egg
is stored may be reduced notably below 32 degrees without danger of
solidifying. The eggs kept in cold storage gradually acquire a taste
and aroma which are quite different from the fresh article and the
period of preservation should never be prolonged, probably a month or
six weeks is the extreme limit for keeping eggs which can still be
regarded as having the qualities of the fresh article. In practice,
eggs are kept often a very much longer time since the principal object
of cold storage is to lay in a supply in the spring and summer when
they are abundant and keep them over until the next winter. The average
age of cold storage eggs is probably more than six months. At this
time the eggs have acquired a distinctly unpleasant odor and flavor
which enables even one who is not an expert to distinguish between
them and the fresh article. Such eggs should not be allowed on the
market except under their proper designation so that the purchaser may
know the character of the product he is getting. There is a determined
opposition on the part of those dealing in cold storage eggs against
such marking, an opposition which can only be explained by the fact
that the amount of deterioration is fully as great as specified. If
cold storage eggs have not been kept long enough to develop any of
the objectionable conditions mentioned above and are inferior only in
respect of taste and aroma there seems to be no just reason why they
should be forbidden sale. They usually bring a lower price than fresh
eggs produced at the time of sale and thus are brought more readily
within the means of those who are less able to pay the higher prices.
Cold storage eggs are extensively used for baking purposes and in this
condition escape the detection of the consumer. This appears, however,
to be no just reason for their use without notice.
_Broken Eggs._--An extensive industry has been practiced for many years
in the product known as broken eggs. In the preparation of broken eggs
at times of great abundance, the eggs are collected and broken and
then mixed together in containers of various sizes, often as large as
barrels, and preserved by the admixture of borax. From two to four
pounds of borax are usually employed per 100 pounds of broken eggs.
In this condition the eggs are kept from the time of great abundance
until the time of higher prices, namely, from six to eight months, and
then sent into commerce. The use of broken eggs of this kind for edible
purposes is totally indefensible. While borax prevents the development
of bacteria it does not entirely inhibit enzymic action and hence that
subtle change of nitrogenous matter which produces poisonous bodies may
go on in the presence of borax while apparently the egg itself remains
undecomposed. Broken eggs were formerly sent to this country in large
quantities from China and other Asiatic countries but since the passage
of food inspection laws as applied to foreign commerce the importation
of this class of food products has been prohibited, on the ground that
they are unfit for human consumption. Other preserving agents have been
used in place of borax for these products, but all are open to similar
objections. Broken eggs are used chiefly by bakers in large cities.
_Dried Eggs._--The rapid drying of fresh eggs is perhaps an
unobjectionable method of preservation. The drying may take place by
spreading the eggs in a thin film on a dry surface, which is the usual
method, or by forcing the egg product through small orifices under
a high pressure into a drying chamber so adjusted as to temperature
and size as to secure the desiccation of the minute particles of egg
spray before they fall to the bottom. This method is perhaps the best
which has yet been developed in the desiccation of such products. The
egg powder thus formed is almost devoid of moisture and when properly
collected and stored out of contact with the air, may be kept for
a time without deterioration. Dry egg products such as have been
described made from fresh eggs, may be considered unobjectionable for a
reasonable length of time. Unfortunately dried products are sometimes
made from decayed eggs. During the past year a factory making a product
of this kind was discovered by the food inspector of one of our large
cities.
_Egg Substitutes._--Many products have been put upon the market of a
yellow color and containing protein under the guise of eggs. There is a
number of so-called egg powders offered for making cakes, etc., which
contain no egg at all. They are composed of other forms of protein
matter, generally casein from milk, and colored to resemble the egg in
tint. Starchy substances are also colored and sold as egg powder. These
substances may be regarded as adulterations when sold under the name
or in the guise of an egg product. There are no other adulterations of
eggs of any consequence practiced except the simulation of egg material
by such products as those just mentioned.
_Poisonous Principles in Eggs._--While fresh eggs for most people
form a food product entirely devoid of danger, nutritious and easily
digestible, eggs may easily become injurious and even poisonous.
According to experiments made by Bouchard (Scientific American, August
11, 1896, page 95), even fresh eggs, unless the sanitary conditions in
which the fowls live are well cared for, may become very poisonous.
The fowl producing eggs, as a rule, is not a cleanly animal, and this
is especially true of the duck. Thus injurious organic material rich
in microbes may contaminate the egg and the microbes may penetrate
the shell thus rendering the egg unsuitable for consumption. Eggs
contaminated in this way have given evidence of toxic phenomena even
in a fresh state. Experiments have shown too that the food material
of eggs if directly injected into the blood of an animal produces
toxic effects whereas if injected into the stomach no unfavorable
effects are produced. Egg albumin, that is, the albumin of the white
of the egg, when fed in considerable quantities to animals partially
escapes digestion and thus becomes a source of irritation and even
of poisoning. There are many people who are remarkably sensitive to
the influence of eggs and those who possess this idiosyncrasy are
injured even by eggs which are perfectly harmless to other people. A
large number of species of injurious microbes which infect eggs have
been identified. These even are found in fresh eggs in the unsanitary
conditions above mentioned. Eggs kept for a long while in cold storage
or decayed in any way are extremely injurious. Fortunately decayed
eggs are self protecting since they can only be eaten by accident. If,
however, decayed eggs be eaten in diluted form by mixing with other
foods they may be eaten without their characteristic odor or taste
being known and thus great injury arises. It is advised in all cases
where eggs are to be kept for some time even in cold storage to varnish
them with some substance impenetrable to air. For this purpose, as has
already been mentioned, soluble glass, which is chemically a silicate
of soda, has been found extremely effective. Any of the varnishes which
make the shell of an egg air tight tends to restrain the activities
of bacterial life since the bacteria cannot live without air. The
officials who inspect food should direct special care to the storing
of eggs in order that no damage may result from keeping them too long
in cold storage or otherwise. It must not be understood that poisoning
by eggs is of common occurrence. In fact it is very rare. The fact
that the egg itself, which is such a common article of diet, may be
unsanitary and improperly kept is a matter of great concern to the
consumer.
_Parasites in Eggs._--The egg also when produced in unsanitary
conditions may become infected with parasites. Many of these are
apparently harmless, but some are injurious and even dangerous. The
mere fact that parasites may exist in eggs is of itself a sufficient
reason for the consumer to insist that the eggs he eats, like the milk
he drinks, shall be free from all infections due solely to carelessness
in production.