A careful examination of the fat, therefore, will lead to an approximate degree of knowledge concerning the character of the flesh from which it has been derived. For instance, lard and beef fat are easily distinguished from each other. In case a minced meat is made wholly of one kind of flesh or of one kind of animal the chemical examination of the fat will, with a considerable degree of certainty, lead to its identification. In the same manner, if a minced meat be made up of equal parts of two different kinds of animals the characteristics of the fats will lead to the identification of the two sources of meat. If, however, one kind of meat be mixed in only a small proportion, say 10 or 15 percent, of another, the chemical methods of separation are not to be relied upon. None of these chemical or physical methods, unfortunately, is of value in the hands of any but an expert, and, therefore, cannot be regarded as a common means of identification. For this reason the only common manner of identification of the kinds of meats which are sent out to the consumer at large must consist in the general knowledge of their anatomical, physical, palatable, and gustatory properties outlined above. In all cases the consumer must eventually rely upon the official inspection and the label which accompanies the meat or which should accompany it. =Dried Meat.=--A very effective method of preserving meat is practiced in certain of the arid regions of the country by exposing it to the dry air and sunlight. Meats prepared in this way are often called “jerked” meats. The small amount of aqueous vapor in the air is not sufficient to maintain the life of the ordinary fermentative germs, and they are, therefore, destroyed by desiccation. Meat which is exposed under such circumstances does not become infected with any fermentative germ, and the moisture which it contains is rapidly given off in the dry air surrounding it. For this purpose the meat is cut into thin strips and suspended by appropriate means in the air and exposed to the direct sunlight. In a short time the moisture disappears, and the hard dry pieces keep indefinitely in certain arid regions of this country. The meat also maintains a fair degree of palatability and practically all of its nutrient properties, so that when properly cooked it is a palatable and nutritious dish. Probably of all the methods of preserving meat this one is the least open to objection, since not even spices or condimental substances are necessary in order to preserve the meat from decay. By reason of the change in its physical appearance, however, which makes it less attractive, this method is not likely to come into general use in the ordinary preservation of meat.