956 REPORT OF COMMISSIONER OF FISH AND FISHERIES. 



M. Poggiale observed two partridges wliicli liad been placed iu the 

 cliainber on tlie 1st of February, had been taken out on the 5th of March 

 in excellent state of preservation, and weighing 786 grammes. Half a 

 sheep, kept at 0° C. for 37 days, presented all the characters of fresh 

 meat ; the weight, which had been 8.8 kilos, had fallen to 7.5 kilos ; the 

 loss was, therefore, about 12 per cent, in 37 days. He concludes his re» 

 port by saying that M. Tellier proposed to convey meat from Montevideo, 

 in 25 or 30 days, to Paris, by Eoueu, and there placed in cold store for 

 sale. He considered M. Tellier's experiments as of great interest as a 

 matter of public hygiene, and that he deserved to be encouraged. 



So important was -this question considered that Professor Bouley, mem- 

 ber of the French Institute, and Inspector-general of Veterinary Schools 

 in France, was called upon to make two reports : the first on the 28th 

 of September, 1874, to the "Comite Consultatif d'Hygiene publique de 

 la France," and the second on the ^th of October, 1874, to the French 

 Academy of Sciences. These reports bear out M. Poggiale's statement, 

 but contain a few facts and observations which merit record here. Hav- 

 ing described the methylic-ether machine and the method of cooling the 

 rooms, he points out, according to Tellier's experiments, that meats 

 wliich lose 10 per cent, of weight the first 30 days, viz, 3.33 grammes ' 

 per kilogram per day, only waste 5 per cent, the second 30 days, or 1.G5 

 grammes per kilogram per day. Beyond this, the drying continues very 

 slowly, and at the end of eight months the interior of the meat is still 

 moist. The duration of the ])reservative influence of cold may be re- 

 garded as indefinite; but, whilst meats really improve, during the first 

 40 or 45 days, they deteriorate somewhat, for the purposes of sale, beyond 

 that time ; they become too tender, and there is a fatty flavor, "une sen- 

 sation gustative qui rappelle I'idee d'une matiere grasse." M. Pasteur 

 was invited by Professor Bouley to his home to taste some meat, and he 

 inquired if the quarter of beef could be preserved as well as a quarter of 

 mutton, and whether some change would not occur near the bone. A 

 hind quarter of beef weighing 140 pounds had a thermometer ijlunged into 

 its most fleshy portion at a depth of 18 centim. (about six inches), which took 

 three days to fall from 3Go.G C. to 0° C. But this did not in the least 

 interfere with its preservation, because the air is purified in circulation 

 and the low temperature deprives the germs of activity. 



The experiment at M. Tellier's place at Auteuil has ])roved that the 

 temperatm-e may vary from — 2^ to 3° C, viz, from 28^.4 to 37^.4 Fahr. 

 During the hot month of June, 1874, the temiDcrature rose in the cold 

 room to 8° C. or 40^.4 Fahr., owing to the ice-machine having to be stopped 

 for 30 hours ; but a haunch of beef, weighing 140 pounds which was iu the 

 room diu'iug these oscillations for 51 days, was admirably preserved, and 

 all who ate of it recognized that it was better than meat killed 24 or 48 

 hours before being cooked. 



The experiments which the reporters had to refer to were conducted 

 from the 29th of -November, 1873, to the 7th of July, 1874. 



