Four years is considered the best age for
prime mutton.
VEAL also must have clear white fat, and should be fine in grain. If the
kidney is covered with firm white fat, it indicates health, and the meat
is good; if yellow, it is unwholesome, and should not be eaten. The loin
and fillet are used in roasting, and are the choice pieces, the breast
coming next, and the neck and ribs being good for stewing and fricassees.
PORK should have fine, white fat, and the meat should be white and smooth.
Only country-fed pork should ever be eaten, the pig even then being
liable to diseases unknown to other animals, and the meat, even when
carefully fed, being at all times less digestible than any sort. _Bacon_,
carefully cured and smoked, is considered its most wholesome form.
POULTRY come last. The best _Turkeys_ have black legs; and, if young, the
toes and bill are soft and pliable. The combs of fowls should be bright
colored, and the legs smooth.
_Geese_, if young and fine, are plump in the breast, have white soft fat,
and yellow feet.
_Ducks_ are chosen by the same rule as geese, and are firm and thick on
the breast.
_Pigeons_ should be fresh, the breast plump, and the feet elastic. Only
experience can make one familiar with other signs; and a good butcher can
usually be trusted to tide one over the season of inexperience, though the
sooner it ends the better for all parties concerned.
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