108 



SILK MANUAL, AND 



Thn principles of the atmosj:heric air which is 

 irribihed by the organs of living bodies, whether 

 animal or vegetable, are deconiijosed antl assimi- 

 lated by them, whilst dead bodies are decomposed 

 by its action. Heat is the most powerful stimu- 

 lant of the vital functions, yet it becomes, after 

 death, one of the most airtive agents in the work 

 of destruction. Our efforts, then, for the preser- 

 A'^ation of bodies, ought to be directed to counter- 

 acting or governing those chemical or [diysical 

 agent-', from the action of which they suffer ; and 

 we shall see that all the methods which have been 

 successful, are those which have been formed upon 

 this principle. 



The chemical agents which ex"rt the most pow- 

 erful influence over the products of the earth, are 

 air, water and heat ; the action of these, however, 

 is not e(pially powerful over all classes of plants ; 

 the soft and watery, and those which approach 

 the animal matter, decomiioso most readily ; the 

 principles of such are less coherent, less strongly 

 united than that of others ; so that the action of 

 disorganizing agents upon them is prompt and 

 effectual. 



All the methods now employed for the preser- 

 vation of bodies, consist in so far changing their 

 nature, as to deprive them of the elements of de- 

 struction contained within their own organs : or 

 in secluding the substances to be preserved from 

 contact with the destructive agents mentioned in 

 the preceding ];aragraph ; or in causing them to 

 imbibe certain other substances, the antl-putrescent 

 qualities of which counteract all action, whether 

 of int<;rnal or external agents. 



In ail vegetable products, water exists in two 

 difi'erent states, one part of it being found free, 

 and the other in a state of true combination ; the 

 first portion, not being confined except by the cov- 

 ering of the vegetable, evaporates at the tempera- 

 ture of tlie atmosphere ; the second is set free 

 only at a temperature sufficiently high to decom- 

 pose the substances containing it : the first, though 

 foreign to the composition of the vegetable, enters 

 into every part of it, dissolvii\g some of its princi- 

 ples serving as a vehicle for air and heat, and 

 being converted by cold into ice ; by those several 

 y)roperties it greatly fa(;ilitates decomposition : the 

 second portion, from which no evil of the kind 

 arises, is found combined and solidified in the 

 plants, and its action is thus neutralized." 



Drying fruits, then, in order to preserve them, 

 consists in depriving them of the water contained 

 in them in a free state. This may be done by 

 subjecting them to heat, not exceeding 95 or 113 

 degrees; either by exposing them to the sun, or 

 in a stove room, or in ovens, which latter practice 

 is resorted to, even in the warmest countries, at 

 the commencement of the drying process. In 

 preserving the apple, for instance, our author adds, 



that by depriving their surface of all moisture be- 

 fore putting them up ; keeping them in dry places, 

 where the temperature will be constantly be ween 

 50 and 54 degrees, and by separating the fruits 

 that they sJiall not come in contact, they may 

 sometimes be preserved 18 months. The farmer 

 in Schoharie, who has been in the habit of bring- 

 ing the Spitzenberg to our market on the 4th of 

 July, owes his success to the observance of these 

 rules. 



On the preservation of the fruits of the earth 

 by secluding them from the action of air, water 

 and heat, M. Chaptal enumerates the following 

 leading causes of decay. 



" The atmospheric air, coming in contact with 

 fruits, deprives them of th^ir carbon, and forms 

 carbonic acid. 



Fruits exposed to the solvent action of water 

 suffer decomposition, by having the affinity exist- 

 ing between their constituent principles weakened, 

 and at length destroyed. 



Heat dilates the particles of bodies, and thus 

 diminishes the force of cohesion and attraction, 

 and favors the admission of air and water. 



The combined action of these three agents pro- 

 duces yery speedy decomposition ; the effect pro- 

 duced by any one of them is slower, and the re- 

 sults different. So that in order to preserve fruits 

 from decomposition, it is necessary to guard them 

 from the power of these three destroyers." 



Practically applied, these axioms teach, that to 

 ];veserve roots in good condition, the following 

 precautions should be observed : 



1st. That their surfaces be entirely freed from 

 moisture before tliey are housed or buried, and 

 that they be deposited in a dry situation, where 

 water will not have access to them. 



2d. That they be excluded from the air, by 

 burying them in dry earth, or slightly covering 

 them in the cellar with earth. And 



3d. That they be kept in a cool temperature ; 

 the best ranging from 34 to 45 degrees. 



We frequently hear housekeepers complain, 

 that their potatoes, titrnips, and other vegetables 

 soon deteriorate, and lose their fine flavor, after 

 they have been a short time in theircellars. This 

 is a natural consequence of the injudicious way 

 in which they are too frequently ke[)t : exposed to 

 the atmosphere, and to a high temperature, in a 

 cellar adjoining the kitchen, or perhaps in the 

 kitchen itself. Again, potatoes or turnijis buried 

 in a wet condition, or the latter with parts of their 

 tops left on, are very liable to ferment and spoil. 

 We find it to be a necessary precaution in bury- 

 ing turnips, to make one or more holes in the 

 crown of the pit, to let off the rarified air, and 

 abate the heat which is almost invariably genera- 

 ted on their being buried. 



In preventing the total loss of potatoes that 



