296 
POPULAE SCIENCE EEVIEW. 
coagulation wMcIl forms^ as well as any fatty matter which, 
may show itself. 
After a time a pale brown_, thickish fluid, of the consistency 
of treacle, will be found in the vessel. This is pure meat- 
juice ; the sap, so to say, of the flesh. It is then poured oft, 
leaving behind all the fibrous remains. 
As a proof how entirely every nourishing particle is ex- 
tracted fi?om the beef by this process, no animal will eat the 
residue — ^the greaves, as it may be called ; and if a dog be 
forced by hunger to feed upon it, he will starve. 
One pound, then, of this preparation contains the essence 
of thirty- two pounds of beef. From a smaller quantity of 
meat this amount of essence is not to be obtained; and who- 
ever professes to do so must have with his extract something 
more than the pure juice. Unless quite jpwre, it is liable to 
spoil; moreover, the volume is increased at the same time 
that its value is diminished. 
A remarkable circumstance is, that this extract of meat, 
unlike meat itself, will keep for years without undergoing any 
change. I have seen two potsful, ten years old, which were 
as good and fresh as though of yesterday, and they had only 
been covered with a piece of writing-paper in the same way 
as is done with a jar of preserves. From the following circum- 
stance, indeed, it would almost seem that the extract possessed 
an anti- corrupting power. The two pots of ten years ago had 
been kept in a cellar where, owing to the damp of the place, 
a furry mould had formed about them, and even on the edges 
inside. But wherever the slightest particle of this essence 
had touched the earthenware pot, there was no trace of 
mouldiness. 
Here, then, we have an essential requisite, the certainty of 
the preparation not changing or becoming unfit for use. Nor 
is any peculiar care or mode of storing necessary in order to 
ensure this. Whether in dry or damp places, it remains the 
same. One quarter of a teaspoonful of the juice that for ten 
years had been loosely covered with but a sheet of paper, 
tasted, when mixed with hot water and a little salt,* like 
delicious beef-tea made that same morning. 
Another equally essential quality is its compendiosity. 
In a tin case 101b. weight, the essence of 3201b. of meat 
is combined. 
It may be thought that the gelatine tablets, which when 
dissolved in water form a sort of broth, are in reality the same 
The exact proportions are, one-eighth of an ounce of meat- essence, and 
one-sixteenth of an ounce of common salt. This makes a breakfast-cupful 
of beef-tea. 
