ided. These signs indicate
advanced decomposition, and such meat is unfit for food.

=Beef.=--This meat should have a fine grain, be firm in texture, with
rosy-red flesh and yellowish-white fat.

=Lamb and Mutton= should have a clear, hard, white fat with the lean
part juicy, firm, and of rather light-red color. The flesh should be
firm and close of grain.

=Veal.=--The meat should not be eaten unless the animal was at least
six weeks old before slaughtering. The sale of this immature veal, or
"bob veal" as it is sometimes called, is prohibited by law in many
States. It is unwholesome and may be recognized by its soft, rather
mushy consistency and bluish tinge. Good veal has a firm white fat
with the lean of a pale-red color.

=Pork.=--This meat when fresh has a fat that is solid and pure white;
if yellow and soft it should be rejected; the lean is pink and the
skin like white translucent parchment.

=Poultry.=--Good poultry is firm to the touch, pink or yellowish in
color, is fairly plump, and has a strong skin showing an unbroken
surface. It has a fresh odor.

Stale poultry is flabby and shows a bluish color; it becomes green
over the crop and abdomen, and the skin is already broken or easily
pulled apart in handling. The odor of such a bird is disagreeable and
may even be putrid.

=Fish.=--With the exception of the salted or preserved varieties fish
should always be perfectly fresh when eaten. Probably no other
article of food is more dangerous to health than fish when it shows
even the slightest traces of decomposition. The ability to recognize
the earliest signs of staleness is of the utmost importance. Fish
deteriorate rapidly and should always be carefully inspected before
purchasing.

Fresh fish are firm to the touch, the scales moist and bright, the
gills red, and the eyes clear and slightly prominent. When held flat
in the hand the fish should remain rigid and the head and tail droop
slightly, if at all.

Stale fish are soft and flabby, the skin is dull and the eyes sunken
and often covered with a film. The tendency of the head and tail to
droop is marked and the fish has a characteristic disagreeable odor.
This odor of decomposition is best detected in the gills.

=Lobsters and Crabs.=--These shellfish should always be alive when
purchased. This condition is easily demonstrated by their movements,
and the rule should never be disregarded.

=Oysters and Clams.=--Oysters should not be eaten durin