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ON  THE  MEAT  BISCUIT  OF  GAIL  BORDEN. 
theine  in  its  composition,  and  which  exists  in  the  juice  of  the 
flesh  in  exceedingly  minute  quantity.  There  is  no  proof,  how- 
ever, that  kreatinine  produces  any  such  effect,  and  it  is  more 
probable  that  this  substance  is  merely  one  of  that  series  of  bodies, 
the  result  of  the  decomposition  of  the  tissues,  which,  commencing 
with  muscles  and  nerve,  terminates  with  urea. 
In  his  biscuit,  Mr.  Borden  unites  wheaten  flour  in  large  pro- 
portion, with  the  extract  of  meat.  He  thus  replaces  the  animal 
fibrin  and  albumen  by  the  gluten  of  the  wheat,  while  the  starch, 
as  respiratory  or  heat-producing  food,  takes  the  place  of  animal 
fat ;  the  whole  forming  an  economical,  portable,  and  nutritious 
food,  which  can  be  preserved  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time. 
Biscuit,  which  had  been  in  the  Arctic  ocean  with  the  Grinnell 
Expedition,  and  another  portion,  which  had  made  the  voyage  to 
Australia  and  back,  was  perfectly  unaltered,  and  when  cooked, 
formed  as  palatable  a  soup  as  could  be  made  directly  from  fresh 
meat. 
The  real  merits  of  Mr.  Borden's  preparation  can  then  be  very 
briefly  summed  up.  It  affords  a  cheap  and  nutritious  aliment, 
perfectly  suited  to  the  wants  of  convalescent  patients,  and  in 
hospital  practice  must  be  invaluable. 
On  long  voyages,  it  affords  a  nutriment  abounding  in  those 
substances  the  want  of  which  renders  the  continued  use  of  salt 
provisions  so  unwholesome.  It  will  probably  be  found  beneficial 
in  the  treatment  of  scurvy,  and  will  do  much  to  prevent  its  oc- 
currence. 
Under  similar  circumstances,  it  affords  a  change  of  diet, 
which  could  not  otherwise  be  obtained,  unless  at  a  greatly  in- 
creased expense.  Its  cheapness  renders  its  use  for  ordinary 
consumption  in  families  a  matter  of  economy. 
Finally,  it  is  compact,  portable,  and  may  be  preserved  unal- 
tered for  a  great  length  of  time. — JV".  Y.  Jour.  Pharm.  Feb.,  1853. 
[The  following  is  Mr.  Borden's  patent. — Ed.  Journ.  Pharm.] 
Patent  granted  to  Gail  Borden,  Jim.,  for  Improvements  in  the  Preserva- 
tion of  certain  Animal  and  Vegetable  Substances. — This  invention  consists 
in  combining  flour,  farina,  meal,  or  pulverized  biscuit  with  a  concentrated 
extract  of  the  nutritive  portions  of  animal  flesh,  and  drying  or  baking  the 
same,  so  as  to  form  a  portable  desiccated  meat-bread  or  biscuit,  containing 
a  large  quantity  of  nutriment  in  a  small  bulk,  and  suited  for  the  use  of 
shipping,  armies,  emigrants,  travellers,  hospitals,  and  for  family  use. 
