I30 



be fully explained in my pamphlet but, in brief, consists 

 in breaking up by electricity the chloride of magnesium 

 and some of the chloride of sodium contained in sea- 

 water into hypochlorites which, in contact with organic 

 matter, rapidly oxidize it ; the free chlorine also acts 

 antiseptically. The electrolysed fluid is absolutely 

 innocuous in any shape and is handed over in quantities 

 gratis to the poor in Poplar for personal and domestic 

 sanitary purposes by the Sanitary and Medical officer 

 (Dr. Alexander) who manufactures it for the municipal 

 corporation ; its effect on the most putrid substances is 

 extraordinary. The process has not been applied in 

 England to food products, since ice, salt, and borates, 

 etc., are cheap and efficient, but my proposal to do so 

 excited much interest ; in France, however, where the 

 process was discovered or first applied, the fluid (Hermi- 

 tine) is largely used to sterilize meat and fish stalls and 

 the goods in them, and is said to be most successful. A 

 single fair experiment only was conducted in England 

 but resulted in the perfect keeping of beefsteak for many 

 days ; the fish experiments were quite erroneously 

 conducted, viz., by a mere momentary dipping in a weak 

 dilution, but even so were partially successful.* 



I propose to obtain an experimental plant costing 

 ^loo ; power is in addition required to work this, viz., a 

 small oil-engine and dynamo, but the engine is desirable 

 on other grounds such as fan driving, pumping, relriger- 

 ating, etc., while its exhaust will be valuable for heating. 

 Hence, I allow for the electrolysing plant and dynamo 

 ^150, all told ; the engine will be separately estimated 

 for. 



63. Refrige7'ation.— \ propose to add a small (Linde 

 ammonia) plant similar to one in a Japanese fishery 

 station, and costing complete with storage chamber 

 about ^300 without the engine, but this may if necessary 

 . stand over till next year ; its main use would be to 

 conduct operations as they would be in a regular fresh 

 fish business so as to ascertain its conditions, difficulties, 

 best methods and results ; it would always be saleable 



* Tried with some degree of success at Ennore with fluid obtained from the 

 Buckingham Mills by courtesy of Messrs. Binny & Co., but not followed upon 

 the West Coast for want of plant. 



