624 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



of preserving all the nourishing qualities of the substances and their 

 taste unimpaired. The use of glass and earthen ware jars instead 

 of tin cans is familiar. 



A method has been patented in England for preserving meat in 

 gross. The beast is killed, and, after all the blood has run out, is 

 at once skinned and disemboweled. It is then dipped entire into a 

 mixture of 72 per cent alcohol and one per cent of carbolic acid, and 

 after it has dried is laid in a concentrated alcoholic solution of sugar. 

 It is then cut up and packed in casks which are afterward filled with 

 melted fat. 



By another English patented process the meat is soaked during 

 from twenty-four to thirty-six hours in a solution of 150 grammes of 

 boric acid, 300 grammes of borax, 155 grammes of common salt, and 

 53 grammes of saltpeter, which had been previously dissolved in two 

 litres of water, after which it is packed in casks. A practicable 

 method of preparing meat for long transportation is to expose it to 

 a current of refrigerated air till it is stiffened, then sprinkle pow- 

 dered borax upon it, and put it in a refrigerator-car. 



Herr F. Wickerskeimer's process employs a solution of 36 grammes 

 of potash, 15 grammes of common salt, and 6 grammes of alum, with 

 three litres of water, which is heated to 122 and added to a second 

 solution of 9 grammes of salicylic acid, 45 grammes of methyl alcohol, 

 and 250 grammes of glycerine ; and with this the whole animal is 

 charged. 



Kauffmann's method of preparation has been tried in household 

 practice, with satisfaction. The top of a cask is removed carefully so 

 that it can be tightly fitted in again, and a pan of sulphur is put in 

 the bottom of the barrel and set fire to. The top, to which the meat has 

 been hung, is then fitted in. By repeating the fumigation often enough, 

 meat can be kept for a long time even in the summer, without ice, and 

 without imbibing the odor or taste of the sulphur. 



The exclusion of the air is sought in the canning processes. The 

 real object is to exclude the germs of decay that are brought in with 

 the air. The same purpose may be effected by filtering the air. To 

 do this, a thickness of cotton between two pieces of linen may be put 

 over the mouth of the jar. The vessel with its contents having been 

 heated to expel the air within, the air that returns upon cooling de- 

 posits its germs upon the cotton in passing through it. The vessel 

 may then be tightly closed with parchment-paper. 



Among other methods of preserving foods are the familiar ones 

 with sugar, salt, saltpeter, and vinegar. The first three substances 

 act by withdrawing water from the conserves and leaving in place of 

 it their own concentrated solutions, which are unfavorable to the de- 

 velopment of germs. To obtain a perfect preservation, the solutions 

 should be in a state of very great concentration and shoidd surround 

 the food-matter on every side. The sugar-process is expensive on ac- 



