640 Notes on Glycerine. 
washing the meat with water, previous to cooking, and it is 
probable that by the introduction of a system which will 
allow of the re-employment of glycerine the expense may 
be reduced to a nominal cost. I have tasted meat which 
has been kept for several months in glycerine, and which 
was perfectly fresh at the expiration of that period. 
The anti-putrescent qualities of glycerine have been 
taken advantage of in the preservation of anatomical and 
botanical specimens. These retain their natural appear- 
ance for a long time, and glycerine possesses the superiority 
over alcohol of not evaporating nor of discolouring the pre- 
parations placed in it. At the Museum of the Faculty of 
Medicine, in Paris, glycerine has been recently adopted as 
a preservative fluid for flowers and fresh plants, and has 
been found to answer admirably the purpose for which it is 
used. The external condition of vegetable specimens is 
only slightly affected, as the green colouring matter (chloro- 
phyll) is not dissolved, so that the green plants retain their 
natural hue; while the corollas of the flowers also present 
their usual appearance, with the exception of losing some 
of their brilliancy. 
To the microscopist glycerine holds out numerous ad- 
vantages, as it is one of the most useful fluids for the pre- 
paration of elementary tissues for microscopical examina- 
tion. It possesses a great power of penetration, and the 
absorption which occurs in each molecule often displays 
minute details of structure, which might otherwise escape 
observation. Its anti-putrescent property also enables the 
specimens to be kept for a long period. 
In the manufacture of perfumery and cosmetics the em- 
ployment of glycerine has for some time been very con- 
siderable, and continues to increase. The ready manner , 
and large extent in which nearly every chemical substance 
is soluble in glycerine, its powers of preventing decomposi- 
tion, and other properties to which I have already referred, 
render glycerine a most important adjunct to many cos- 
metic preparations. 
Whilst writing upon the subject of cosmetics I should do 
an injustice were I to omit reference to Price’s “ Solidified 
Glycerine.” For some years past the knowledge of the 
valuable properties of glycerine, when applied to the skin, 
has led to a demand for this substance in combination with 
soap, and this demand has led to a corresponding large 
manufacture of so-called “glycerine soaps.” But of these 
many have scarcely any glycerine at all in their composition, 
end others contain such impure, rancid glycerine, as to — 
