ACTION OF DIFrERENT GASSES ON MEAT. ISQ 



it will be proper to premise : 



1st, That I always employed the same kind of flesh, The substance 

 namely beef, in order to be more certain, that the differ- ei"P'oye<l' 

 ences observed arose only from the action of the different 

 elastic fluids: that the flesh used at one time was taken not 

 only from the same animal, but from the same muscle; that it 

 contained no fat, but muscular fibre alone; and that the 

 pieces were of equal size, cut in parallelopipedons, and 

 proportional to the vessels: 



2dly, That 1 took only the flesh of ^n animal that had 

 been dead two hours : 



3dly, That I used only the last portions of gas evolved, The gasses, 

 in order that it might not be mixed with auy of the ajr in 

 the receivers; and that I employed the gussessoon after they 

 had been prepared. The atmospheric air I took from a very 

 ^iry garden. 



5 4thly, The vessels were placed in a room, into which the Place of tbe 

 sun never entered. The windows also, facing the north, were ^'^P^"™^^** 

 very small, to avoid the action of light, which J purpose to 

 examine on a future occasion. The temperature of this Teinperature. 

 room is cool in summer; and in winter high enough to keep 

 water from freezing. If, however, there were any reason to 

 be apprehensive of frost in the night, I removed the vessels 

 into my lecture-room, which joined it. 



1 took three modes of enclosing the flesh in the gasses ; The gas em- 

 ftnd, to avoid repetition, I shall denote them by the follow- ^"^es '"^^"* 

 ing expressions : 1st, over water: 2d, over naercury : 3d, in 

 »n empty bottle. 



1- For the experiments over Vvater, cylindrical jars were Manner of 

 taken, containing from 92 to 98 cubic inches, Paris measure, experiments ^ 

 and filled oyer a pneumatic trough. Pieces of meat 3| ^^^^ ^ater-, 

 inches long, I inch broad, and f of an inch thick, were then 

 introduced into them. These were suspended from two 

 cross pieces of brass, having a point | an inch long to fix 

 the meat on, and supported by a stem of the same metal, 

 with two other cross pieces for a foot. When this stand, 

 with the meat thus disposed, had been introduced through 

 the water into the jar, a plate was passed into the trough, 

 and the jar placed upon it, so that it might be removed front! 

 the trough^ and set on a table, When the water rose in 



