REMARKS ON EXTRACTS OF MEAT. 
209 
enormous number of bubbles of gaseous matter held in suspension; even 
heating the extract to the boiling-point seemed to make but little difference 
in this respect. Whether these were attributable to air mechanically dif¬ 
fused through it by the^ constant stirring during its evaporation, or whether 
they were the results of some slow decomposition (nitrogen or carbonic acid), 
he was not able to say, but he was inclined to the latter belief. 
In respect to its nutritive properties, it had been disputed that the Extrac- 
inm Carnis was equal to the amount of beef which it was supposed to repre¬ 
sent, i. e. to thirty times its own weight. For a person in full health, the 
fibrous portion of the flesh was probably required as plastic material, or, at 
any late, as a diluent for the extractive matter; but the case was far different 
■with, invalids ; and, probably, no food which had been proposed was of equal 
value in preventing waste of the tissues during illness. Professor Pettenkofer 
had spoken of the extraordinary effects of a mixture of a strong solution of 
the extract, with wine, as a restorative after severe accidents, and of the 
striking statistics obtained by himself and Baron Liebig in the convalescent 
wards of the lioyal Military Hospital at Munich, which seemed to indicate 
tliat under the free use of the extract the period of convalescence was reduced 
to one-third of the duration common under the old regimen. The mere 
quantity of phosphates and chlorides contained in the extract, upon which so 
much stress had been laid by some, was not enough to account for these 
tacts. That the extractive matter was the most important nutritive portion 
of flesh was also shown by the circumstance that dogs fed upon the exhausted 
fibrine rapidly starved. 
If the Extractum Carnis could be procured in quantity, it seemed likely 
be of incalculable value as an addition to the somewhat limited dietary of 
sea-going vessels on long voyages. In salted meats the potash salts were 
replaced by the chloride of sodium, and to this cause the prevalence of scor¬ 
butic diseases was, with fair reason, assigned; but this preparation would 
supply the deficiency, and thereby conduce to the health of the seamen. 
The author trusted that, at no very distant time, the present uncertainty 
in the supply might be obviated by the manufacture being carried on in 
many other parts of the globe where there was large trade in hides.* Our 
own great colony of Australia ought not to be behind-hand in the matter; and 
when it was known that the comparatively valueless flesh of wild or semi¬ 
wild cattle might be turned by a simple process into a remunerative article 
of commerce, the supply must surely keep pace with the demand. 
Allusion was lastly made to the “Extract of Beef Lozenges,” made by 
Messrs. Gfillon and Co. They appeared to be the fluid essence of beef, made 
by the same firm, evaporated down, and sufficient starch or flour added to 
render them of suitable consistence for cutting into tablets. The addition of 
starchy material was requisite, as the continued evaporation could not be 
carried on without danger of decomposition, and the extract was, to some 
extent, hygroscopic, unless mixed with drying matter. Like the fluid prepa¬ 
ration, the lozenges contained a good deal of gelatine, and a gluey smell and 
flavour was evolved on evaporating a solution of them. They could scarcely 
be considered of much practical importance, though their sustaining virtues 
had been exalted by some Alpine Club men, who had used them in long 
mountain journeys. 
(The communication was illustrated by specimens of many of the prepara¬ 
tions spoken of.) 
The President expressed great interest in the subject of this paper, whether viewed 
from a dietetic or an economical point. In connection with the latter aspect of the 
question, it was important to understand the real value of the fibrine remaining after 
