348 
ON  THE  PREPARATION  OF  LARD. 
as  marrow  is  prepared  for  pomade,  by  separating  all  the  mem- 
brane from  the  omentum  (flare),  then  breaking  up  the  fat  in  a 
mortar,  and  well  washing  it  in  water.  «•» 
The  plan  adopted  was  as  follows : — Get  a  large  pan  made  of 
tinned  iron,  having  a  perforated  diaphragm  standing  on  four  or 
five  feet  within  two  inches  of  the  bottom,  under  which  there  is 
a  hole  about  half  an  inch  in  diameter  for  the  water  to  run  away. 
Then  place  this  pan  in  a  sink,  or  some  convenient  place  where 
a  running  stream  of  water  can  be  applied,  and  having  nearly 
filled  the  pan  with  water  (first  stopping  the  hole  at  the  bottom 
ivith  a  cork),  put  in  the  broken  up  mass,  and  wash  it  by  squeez- 
ing into  thin  layers  in  the  water,  keeping  the  water  constantly 
running.  After  which  it  is  set  on  a  colander  to  drain,  and  then 
melted  by  means  of  a  steam  or  water  bath.  It  is  then  placed 
in  jars  for  use.  Great  care  should  be  taken  not  to  allow  a  par- 
ticle of  water  to  remain  in  the  prepared  lard. 
Benzoated  lard  may  be  prepared  in  the  same  way ;  throwing 
in  the  bruised  gum  benzoin,  and  allowing  it  to  remain  in  contact 
about  two  hours. 
Prepared  lard  (the  Adeps  of  the  London  Pharmacopoeia) 
made  by  the  foregoing  process  is  deprived  of  the  peculiar  fatty 
animal  smell,  is  whiter  than  that  usually  found,  and  will  keep 
longer. 
Mr.  Buckle  said  the  process  of  washing  the  fat  before  melt- 
ing it  was  new  to  him  ;  he  had  usually  done  it  after  melting. 
He  found  it  desirable  to  reject  that  part  of  the  flare  which  im- 
mediately surrounded  the  kidneys  and  ureters,  as  this  usually 
had  a  disagreeable  odor;  and  if  the  separation  of  this  was 
carefully  attended  to,  he  thought  a  perfectly  good  and  odorless 
lard  could  be  obtained  by  the  usual  process. 
Mr.  Wright  recommended  the  process  usually  adopted  by  per- 
fumers, which  consisted  in  cutting  up  the  flare,  boiling  it  with 
water,  and  then  adding  a  small  quantity  of  alum,  which  caused 
the  separation  of  some  impurities. 
Mr.  Hills  considered  it  important  to  remove  all  matter  solu- 
ble in  water  before  melting  the  fat,  as  otherwise  these  substan- 
ces would  impart  a  certain  odor  to  the  lard,  and  render  it  more 
liable  to  become  rancid. — London  Pharm.  Journ.  Feb.  1860. 
