PRESERVATION OF FRUITS BY SECLUSION. 195 



farm buildings, there might be built, within them, bins of 

 stone, of a size proportioned to the produce of the farm, 

 and with the openings covered in such a manner as to ex- 

 clude the air. The same purpose may be answered by 

 chests and tubs of wood having their outsides covered 

 with a thick coat of oil paint. The great earthen jars 

 in which oil is kept at the south, are likewise very good 

 for keeping grain in. 



Either of these methods is preferable to that of storing 

 grain in such granaries as are commonly used, since the 

 utmost care will not entirely protect it from moisture, in- 

 sects, mice, &c., nor will it often remain in them un- 

 changed beyond three or four years. 



Corn which is housed without being thoroughly dried, 

 or which is stored in a damp place, acquires a musty smell 

 and taste, which render it unfit for the customary uses : 

 but as this alteration affects only the outer covering, and not 

 the substance of the kernel, it may be easily removed by 

 throwing upon the grain double its weight of boiling water, 

 carefully stirring the mass till the water becomes cold. 

 The spoiled kernels, which swim upon the top, must then 

 be removed, the water poured off, and the grain spread to 

 dry. M. Peschier preferred employing for this purpose 

 iboiling water rendered slightly alkaline, and afterwards 

 washing the grain in pure water.* 



When corn has been heated or injured in a perceptible 

 manner, the vegeto-animal portion is almost always chang- 

 ed ; in this case the farina is not susceptible of a good 

 fermentation, and the bread made from it is unwholesome : 

 such grain is fit only for the manufactory of starch. 



The modes of preserving vegetable juices and other arti- 

 cles of food deserve also much attention. 



The substances of which I shall now speak present the 

 alimentary principle so mixed with, or dissolved in the 

 aqueous fluid, as to render them exceedingly susceptible 

 of alteration and decomposition. It is not sufficient to se- 

 clude these from the air, since they contain for the most 

 part within themselves those principles of fermentation, 

 which, acting upon each other, produce decomposition. 



Seclusion from the air alone will not preserve these sub- 

 stances ; the nature of some of the fermentative principles 

 must be changed ; and for effecting this I would recom- 



* Annales de Ckimie et de Physique, tome VI. page 87. 



