448 ANNUAL EECOED OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY. 



six months of 1870, the number of animals amounted to 1992, 

 or 360,000 kilogrammes; while in the same period of 1873, 

 5618 animals were exposed in the markets, the flesh alone 

 weighing 883,840 kilogrammes, not counting the heart, brain, 

 liver, tongue, etc., which were also used like those of beef 

 cattle. A similar extension of the use of horse-flesh was 

 manifested in the provinces. The usual price paid by the 

 butchers for these horses amounts to $25 to $30 each, the 

 animals being killed only after their period of utility has 

 passed, and when they are worth little or nothing. Allow- 

 ing $20 as the increased sum realized from each animal in 

 consequence of their conversion into food, we have the food 

 resources of Paris alone increased by the amount of $103,720. 

 A similar estimate, based upon the entire number of horses 

 sold as food in the whole of France, indicates that the food 

 resources of the country during 1873 will have been increased 

 to the amount of $S00,000 ; while the saving to the public 

 by the difference between the cost of horse-flesh and the more 

 expensive kinds is of course much greater. 11.Z?, October 15, 

 1873,559. 



MEAT BISCUIT. 



A new form of biscuit for troops was used in the Russian 

 campaign against Khiva, with very satisfactory results. This 

 was composed of one third rye flour, one third beef reduced 

 to powder, and one third of pulverized sauerkraut. Great 

 relish for the food and the excellent health of those who used 

 it were characteristic of the Russian soldiers throuohout the 

 campaign. 18 A, January 24, 1874, 454. 



FRESHNESS OF EGGS. 



An egg is generally called fresh when it has been laid only 

 one or two days in summer, and two to six days in winter. 

 The shell being porous, the water in the interior evaporates, 

 and leaves a cavity of greater or less extent. The yolk of 

 the egg sinks, too, as may be easily appreciated by holding- 

 it toward a candle or the sun, and when shaken a slight shock 

 is appreciable if the egg is not fresh. To determine the pre- 

 cise age of eggs, dissolve about four ounces of common salt 

 in a quart of pure water, and then immerse the egg. If it is 

 one day old, it will descend to the bottom of the vessel ; but 



