and esthetic grounds. The meat is flabby, edematous, soft. The connective tissue is gelatinous and is present in greater quantity than in mature animals. The fat is reddish-gray and soapy, the meat less nutritious in value, as it contains a large proportion of water. On account of its moist and soft condition "bob-veal" has a greater tendency to spoil than the flesh of mature animals. Young calves are highly susceptible to a number of infections, particularly diarrheal diseases, which enter through the infected navel. The flesh of such animals may convey microorganisms belonging to the paratyphoid group.

Ostertag states: "Putrefactive and pathogenic microbes find a ready media for luxuriant growth in 'bob-veal' carcasses. In Switzerland 27 persons became ill from eating veal of a calf five days old which had yellow water in the joints; one patient died. In the Grand Duchy of Baden from 1888 to 1891 5.3 calves out of every 1,000 slaughtered furnished meat injurious to health."

Bollinger recites: "In the epidemic at Andelfingen 450 people became ill and 10 died. The veal which was consumed was suspected and it transmitted its poisonous properties to beef stored with it. At Berminstorf 8 people died from eating veal from a calf four days old. At Morselle, Belgium, 80 people became sick from eating veal of two calves with diarrhea."

It is a well-known fact that calves under three weeks old have umbilical wounds which are liable to become infected. All young animals are subject to such infections, since nature is left to effect the healing of the wound. The weight of the calf is often taken as an indication of its age. Thus a calf weighing 40 pounds or more is considered mature, but the weight is a poor index of age. The condition of the umbilical wound usually tells the tale.

EGGS

Perhaps no article of diet of animal origin is more commonly eaten in all countries and served in a greater variety of ways than eggs. Eggs are used in nearly every household in some form or another. It has been calculated that on an average they furnish 3 per cent. of the total food, 5.9 per cent. of the total protein, and 4.3 per cent. of the total fat used per man per day. When we speak of eggs we ordinarily mean hen's eggs, but the eggs of ducks, geese, and guinea fowls are used to a greater or less extent; more rarely turkey's eggs and sometimes those of wild birds. Plover eggs are prized in England and Germany, while in this country the eggs of sea birds, such as gulls, terns, herons, and murres, have long been gathered for food. Other eggs besides those of birds are sometimes eaten. Turtle's eggs are highly prized in most countries where they are abundant. The eggs of

the terrapin are usually served with the flesh in some of the ways of preparing it for the table. Fish eggs, especially those of the sturgeon, are preserved in salt under the name of caviare. familiar example of the use of fish eggs as food. tors, lizards, serpents, and some insects are eaten by races who lack the prejudices of western nations.

Shad roe is also a The eggs of alliga

Hen's eggs vary considerably in size and appearance. The shell constitutes about 11 per cent., the yolk 32 per cent., and the white 57 per cent. of the total weight of the egg. The egg-shell consists mainly of carbonate of lime, and when freshly laid is covered by a mucous coating. The egg-white consists of 86.2 per cent. of water, 12.3 per cent. nitrogenous matter, 0.2 per cent. fat, and 0.06 per cent. ash. The yolk consists of 49.5 per cent. water, 15.7 per cent. nitrogenous matter, 33.3 per cent. fat, and 1.1 per cent. ash.1 These are averages; different eggs vary somewhat in composition from each other. It is noteworthy that eggs contain practically no carbohydrates.

In addition to fresh and refrigerated, eggs are classified in the trade as "rots," "spots," "checks," "ringers," "chickens," "dirty shells," "heated," or "incubated," etc. Eggs are assorted by inspection and candling. Candling consists in holding them before a bright light; the egg is translucent and the movable yolk may clearly be discerned, as well as the air space which is always at the larger end. A practiced eye quickly detects eggs that are not first quality. Rotten eggs are distinguished as "red rots" and "black rots," depending upon the kind of putrefaction. By "spots" are understood eggs that contain opaque spots under the light. These spots usually consist of local growths of mold. that have penetrated a crack in the shell, although they may be due to coccidia, embryos, or foreign bodies. "Checked" eggs are those which have slight cracks or nicks in the shell. "Ringers" contain small embryos of about two days' growth, which are flat, disk-like, and reddish in appearance. "Chickens" contain embryos of larger growth. Eggs with dirty shells are undesirable more from esthetic than other reasons. dirt usually consists of hen excrement. A "heated" egg is a shrunken egg, that is, an egg that has been exposed to the summer temperature for several days. Some water is lost by evaporation through the porous shell, the air sac on the end has increased considerably in volume, and in many instances the embryo is partly developed; therefore, heated eggs are also known as incubated eggs. Many of the eggs gathered during the hot months of summer, especially in July and August, belong to this category. These eggs are much less desirable than the spring and fall layings. Eggs are also graded as to size, the very small eggs being undesirable, commanding a lower figure in the market. Further,

The

1Pennington: "A Chemical and Bacteriological Study of Fresh Eggs," Jour. Biol. Chem., Vol. VII, No. 2, Jan., 1910, p. 110.

eggs are classified as strong- or weak-bodied, depending upon how they "stand up" when broken out.

Eggs as they come from the hen frequently contain bacteria, worms, gravel, blood clots, and foreign bodies of various kinds. Practically all eggs contain bacteria, although numerous observers report occasionally that an egg is sterile. As a rule, these observations are based upon planting a small part of the egg. If the entire egg is planted a growth is almost invariably obtained. Thus, in eighteen freshly laid eggs which I recently examined every one of them contained bacteria in the yolk; two of them contained B. coli. Curiously enough, there are practically always more bacteria in the yolk than in the white; the white contains some bactericidal property, probably similar to that possessed by fresh blood. The bacteria doubtless gain entrance to the egg while in the oviduct. Pernot1 examined the eggs from over the size of a pea to the perfect egg and found bacteria at every stage. It is well known that the bacteria may also get into an egg through the shell, as it is porous and permeable. When the shell is moist and dirty the chances of growth and mold piercing it are increased. Eggs laid in the summer time (July and August) contain many more bacteria than those laid in the spring, fall, and colder months. It is well known that summer eggs do not keep as well as winter and spring eggs.

Very large quantities of eggs are now broken out, mixed, frozen, or dried. These products are largely used by bakers and others who use eggs in quantities.

Of all foods, so far as known, eggs are less liable to convey disease or contain harmful properties than any other single food of animal origin. The literature is singularly free of instances of sickness attributable to eggs. There is no known infection of the hen transmissible to man through its egg. Eggs do not agree with some people, who have an "idiosyncrasy," so that a very small quantity will bring on symptoms resembling anaphylaxis. This condition is doubtless an instance of specific hypersusceptibility to egg protein. There are several cases on record in which this hypersusceptibility has been cured by the administration of pills or candy containing at first infinitesimal amounts of egg-white, gradually increasing the amount. The entire treatment. should extend over a period of months. In this way an immunity may be established in man precisely analogous to the immunity which may be established by repeated injections of an alien protein into guinea pigs.

"Investigation of the Mortality of Incubator Chicks,' Bull. 103, Oregon Agr. College Exp. Station.

CHAPTER IV

PLANT FOODS

Vegetable substances may be injurious to health from several causes. Many plants contain a physiological poison, such, for example, as aconite, strychnin, recin, abrin, muscarin, and a long list of other substances normally present. Certain plants develop poisons, such as rye, which causes ergotism; spoiled corn, responsible for pellagra; polished rice, associated with beri-beri; the chickpea, responsible for vetch poison or lathyrism. The plant may be entirely wholesome when fresh, but may develop poisons as the result of bacterial action. Changes occur in vegetables entirely similar to those which occur in nitrogenous animal products, with the production of poisons of different kinds. The same microorganisms that produce "ptomains" or other toxic substances in meat when introduced into vegetables act in the same manner. The richer the vegetable in nitrogen the more likely is it to acquire such poisonous properties. Carbohydrates retard or suppress this action; therefore, vegetables containing large amounts of carbohydrates are less apt to become dangerous.

Certain vegetables, such as lettuce, celery, radishes, and similar plants, eaten raw may convey typhoid fever, cholera, dysentery, both amebic and bacillary, the eggs and larvæ of animal parasites, and other infections.

All vegetables which are eaten raw should be washed thoroughly beforehand, otherwise they may be contaminated with manure and other impurities or the excrement of domestic animals which have been roaming in the garden. The larvæ of tapeworms and roundworms have been transmitted to man in this manner. Water from foul wells is used sometimes for sprinkling gardens, and it is possible for typhoid and other intestinal infections to be spread by this means when the vegetables are eaten raw.

POISONING FROM PLANT FOODS

Ergotism.-Ergotism is a form of food poisoning brought on by prolonged use of meal made from grain contaminated with the Clavi

ceps purpurea. The fungus develops in the flowers of rye and other grains. The chief source of the poisoning in man is from rye, in which case the fungus may entirely replace the grain. Ergotism is practically unknown in this country, but in Europe it is still occasionally met with, although not to the same extent as in former times. From ergot Kobert was able to isolate three poisonous substances, sphacelinic acid, cornutin, and ergotin. Sphacelinic acid is a non-nitrogenous, unstable body and is believed to be the active agent in contracting the blood vessels. Cornutin is also an active alkaloid and produces vasomotor contraction. According to Novy, more recent investigations have made it probable that there are other substances present which constitute the real toxic agent. Thus, Jacoby obtained a non-nitrogenous resin sphacelotoxin which he regards as the specific poison. The intoxication may have an acute or chronic course, and in either type the symptoms may be nervous or convulsive, or else trophic or gangrenous in character.

The presence of the sclerotium may be suspected from the color of the meal, which is grayer than usual and often shows violet-colored specks. The addition of potassium hydroxid with heat produces an odor of trimethylamin resulting from the breaking up of the grain containing chinolin. Further, the grain contains a dye which is soluble in alcohol or ether. To 10 grams of the meal add 10 c. c. of ether and 20 drops of dilute sulphuric acid. Shake well and filter after half an hour. Then add several drops of a saturated solution of sodium bicarbonate, which dissolves out all the coloring matter.

Lathyrism.-Lathyrism or vetch poisoning is a rather rare condition met with in some parts of Europe, notably Austria and Italy, in northern Africa, and in India. The vetch seed is ground in the form of meal and used as a partial substitute for that of wheat. The seed is popularly known as chick-pea. The vetch seeds are obtained chiefly from Lathyrus sativus and Lathyrus cicera. The eating of bread prepared from meal containing the seeds of the lathyrus is followed by sudden and severe pains in the lumbar region, girdle sensation, motor paralysis of the lower extremities, tremor, and fever. The nature of the poison is not known, but it is probably of the nature of a toxalbumose, of which ricin and abrin, the poisons of the castor bean and the jequirity bean respectively, are well-known examples.

Mushroom Poisoning. The ill effects from eating mushrooms are due to mistaking the poisonous for the edible species. The number of species of poisonous mushrooms which are capable of causing death is not very great. The Amanitas and the Volvarias are almost exclusively the poisonous species. The following is a list of the most poisonous mushrooms known, and all that are likely at any time to produce death: