sterilization complete immunity from decay may be secured and there is no damage done to the aroma or flavor. We, therefore, find upon the market at the present time in tinned, canned, or potted form almost every variety of meat that is used either in a fresh state or after the usual method of curing. =Canned Sausage.=--One of the most important of cured meats which is offered for sale is sausage. Sausage may be canned either in the fresh or cured state and, of course, may be adulterated in both conditions. Canned sausage should have a clean bill of health from the local inspector the same as any other meat food. There is, perhaps, more room for deception in the manufacture of sausage than in almost any other form of comminuted meat. When properly treated with condimental substances, such as salt, spices, vinegar, etc., sausages are highly prized as a food product, and justly so. In the canned state sausage should undergo no other manipulation than spicing and sterilization at a temperature necessary to kill all fermentative germs and prevent decay. _Composition of Canned Sausage._--Twenty-five samples of canned sausage examined in the Bureau of Chemistry had the following average composition: Water, 58.51 percent Water in fat-free substance, 75.59 „ Fat, 21.82 „ Protein, 13.92 „ Protein insoluble in water, 11.37 „ Gelatinous protein, 1.21 „ Meat bases, .67 „ Ash, 2.86 „ Sodium chlorid, 1.02 „ The above data show that canned sausage differs from fresh meat largely in its composition, especially in the much higher content of fat and lower content of water which is found therein. _Adulteration of Canned Sausage._--The principal adulteration, as has already been stated, is in the admixture of meats of unknown and miscellaneous origin and possibly inedible in character. The degree of comminution to which sausage is subjected renders it difficult in the inspection of sausage itself to determine the character of the animal from which it is made. The study of the fat is the most useful guide in such cases. Presumably sausage is made almost exclusively of beef and pork, but, as a matter of fact, much which is not eaten under its own name may be found in sausage. Next to the introduction of meat of an improper character the most important adulteration is the common use of starch. Starch is very much cheaper than meat, and its abundant use enables a greater profit to be made. It is highly esteemed, also, as a “filler,” on the ground that it prevents the shrinkage of sausage when fried. Starch granules under the influence of heat are gelatinous, holding moisture with tenacity and preventing shrinkage in bulk.