The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-23
IN COLD STORAGE.
Poultry and Game just as Good as
Ever After Six Months.
New York Tribune.


To those who look at the place from the
street it is nothing more than ordinary
poultry shop: but investigation, especially
on warm day. will reveal it's extraordi-
rary points. Barrels and boxes of poultry
of all kinds. from little Philadelphia broil-
ers to great. eXtra-size Thanksgiving tur-
keys and Christmas geese, may be seen on
the floor of the shipping room. where they
are repacked and made ready for shipment.
Each piece is wrapped in white parchment
paper, which when removed shows the fowl
covered with a thin film of frost The or
binary poultry is plUcked before it is placed
in the refrigerators. but the game goes into
the cold storage, feathers and all, and
snow-like covering lies on the matted
feathers when the boxes in which they
come from the salesroom or refrigerators
are opened.
A large ice plant keeps a number of
rooms at temperature of about 10 de-
greeS Fahrenheit, and in these rooms the
poultry and game are placed and remain
there until called for. Sometimes, when
sales are nearly equal to receipts the birds
are kept only a few weeks but more often
they remain in the ice rooms for months,
and frequently a year passes between re-
ceipt from the producer and delivery to
the consumer. The remarkable feature
about the process is that the frozen articles
do not deteriorate and many epicures pre-
fer the frozen to the fresh fowl and game
The cold storage or ice rooms are en-
circled with pipes covered thckly with
frost, and the temperature is never higher
than II degrees above zero. For some arti-
cles it is allowed to drop to the zero point.
Some of the rooms in which only the boxed
goods are kept show no signs of the articles
which are stored there. Boxes containing
squads quail. reed birds rail birds. snipe
and many other specimens of feathered
small game are piled high on all sides of
the room, and are taken out and shipped
when called for. Aside from these there
are rooms where unlocked birds are kept.
There may be seen great piles of feathered
game, golden ploVer cartridges, mallard
and red head ducks and Guinea hens etc.
looking as fresh as on the day when they
came from the woods where they were shot.
but they are frozen into hard masses and
waiting to be taken to market
There are other rooms which are still
are kept. Probably the most attractive-and
the codest-is the one where the larger
game is stored.
There are no boxes or barrels in the
department but against the sides and in
uneven pyramids in various parts of the
frlgld place there are great piles of VEN
ison. rabbits, grewsome stacks of calves
heads, oXtails piled up like stacks of SER
penis, and near these a twisted mass
which, on examination, proves to be a lot
OF beef tongues. There also are stacks of
canvas back and teal ducks, Canadian
ptarmigans, English pheasants and suck
ling pigs, all frozen stiT and rigid, anG all
coated with white and glistening frost
There are small boxes in an adjoining room
which are uncovered. These contain sweet
breads. lamb fries, calves brains, etc. all
stiff with cold.
In speaking of the frozen luxuries. one of
the propretors OF the place said: For
merly we had to sell every day what we re-
ceived, but now we put away what re-
ildliiS uilSOtl, anu We Know IHaI ii Will De
just as good in six months as on the day
when it reaches us. We manage to get
most Of our stock out within six months
but if it remains longer than that time il
is none the worse for it. Here are some
chickens he said. taking one frozen spec
linen from a barrel. for which we re-
ceved 10 cents a pound fresh. and now
months afterward, we sell from the same
lot frozen at IS cents a pound" Barrels of
broilers were brought out that looked fresh
enough to suit any cook. although they had
been frozen many months; great handsome
rabbits and pheasants. taken from their
perches in the cold rooms for inspection
We're found 10 be as good in every particu-
lar as they were last December when they
joined the frozen colony.
In shipping the game and fowl at this
season the thawing process is rapid. but
usually reaches its destination in a soft
condition and rather moist II is still per-
fectly good and none the worse for the
rapid change.