238 THE PRESERVATION OF FOOD PRODUCTS. 



the grain, therefore, all that is necessary for the farmer to do is to 

 collect the product after it is fully ripened, confident that it will not 

 contain enough water to make bacterial growth possible. 



Flesh. With other foods the task is more difficult. The flesh 

 of animals contains so much water that it undergoes decay at very 

 short notice. So abundant are the bacteria on every side that the 

 drying of flesh by simple means is practically impossible. We 

 sometimes read of hunters in the wilds of nature, or of savages in 

 cooler climates where the air is clear and dry, preserving flesh by the 

 simple process of cutting it into thin strips and hanging it up in the 

 sun to dry. Such a process would hardly suffice upon an ordinary 

 farm, for the flesh would be sure to decay before it was dry enough to 

 resist the action of bacteria. Whether this is due to the greater 

 amount of moisture in the air, or to the fact that there is a larger 

 number of bacteria in the air, around civilized communities, cannot 

 be stated. But it is certain that such a simple method of drying 

 flesh cannot be adopted by farms in general. This method of pre- 

 serving is, however, still used in hot climates, commonly with the 

 addition of salting, and produces a form of food known as pemmican, 

 charque, and tassajo. The flesh thus prepared loses considerable 

 of its flavor, but methods of using artificial heat have been devised 

 which, in a measure, remedy this defect. After it is once dried, flesh 

 may be preserved in this form almost indefinitely. The drying of 

 flesh is a process which hardly concerns agriculture in this 

 country. 



The same end is very commonly reached on the farm by artificial 

 drying, accompanied by salting and smoking. In the preparation of 

 smoked hams, bacon, or other flesh, bacterial growth is prevented, 

 partly by the drying and partly by the actual germicidal action of the 

 smoke. When the smoke is produced from certain woods beech 

 wood is especially favorable various volatile products arise, such as 

 phenol and creasote, and these act as germicides. The bacteria on 

 the surface of the meat are destroyed, and the surface is dried and 

 affected by the volatile products in such a way that bacteria will not 

 readily start to grow upon the flesh. Smoked meats are thus pre- 

 served, in part by the drying, and in part by the action of the smoke. 



