hinted, not always an easy task, but nitric acid is perhaps about
as good an agent for the purpose as any other. The mole should be
surrounded by a little “cell” or ring of wax, so that the acid can
be applied direct without fear of disorganizing the adjacent skin.
As, however, nitric acid by itself sometimes occasions a good deal of
smarting, etc., when applied, it is better to avoid this by mixing
cocaine with it. The mixture given below answers the purpose very well
indeed:
Nitric acid 1 drachm.
Cocaine 6 grains.
This should be kept ready for use in a small bottle with a good-fitting
stopper. The end of a glass rod dipped in and then cautiously applied
to the surface of the mole or freckle, the process being repeated once
or twice a day, and the unsightly spot has its vitality destroyed
without pain, being then easily and effectually removed.
Preparation for Red Noses.
This formula was procured from a friend of the author residing at
Little Rock, Ark. I can vouch for its efficacy in his case, as it
removed the unnatural color in a few days, and he told me that others
had tried it with equally gratifying results. It is translated from a
formula of a young physician, a graduate of Jefferson Medical College:
Oxide of zinc 1/4 ounce.
Corrosive sublimate 2 grains.
Sulphur (precip.) 1/2 ounce.
Glycerine 1/4 ounce.
Calamine 3 drachms.
Rose water, sufficient to make 8 ounces.
Mix and apply with a small, soft sponge. The medical works say little
about the red nose. The cause is usually attributed to drinking,
but gluttony, tight lacing, nasal catarrh, chronic enlargement of
the tonsils, exposure to strong sunlight, etc., all contribute to a
reddening of the nasal organ.
Other Toilet Preparations.
The following formula, prescribed by the late Dr. Tilbury Fox, is a
very soothing application, and is a great favorite with ladies who have
flushed faces:
=Calamine Face Lotion.=
Levigated calamine 120 grains.
Oxide of zinc 60 grains.
Glycerine 60 drops.
Rose water, sufficient to make 3 ounces.
Be sure and get the white calamine, and not the red. Apply with a
small, soft sponge and allow to dry on, the excess of powder being
lightly dusted off with a soft cloth.
=Lotion for Chapped Hands, Face, and Lips.=
Glycerine 3 drachms.
Strained honey 1 drachm.
Cologne 1 drachm.
Oil of bitter almonds 3 drops.
Alcohol 4 ounces.
Water 1-1/2 ounces.
Mix and apply with a soft sponge while the skin is damp, and wipe dry
with a towel. This is the best preparation of its class.
=Lip Salve.=
For healing and softening the lips, preventing them from cracking,
etc., the following is an elegant preparation:
Petrolatum 2 ounces.
White wax, or paraffine 1/2 ounce.
Tannin 1/2 drachm.
Oils of lavender and bergamot, each 1/4 drachm.
Oil of rose geranium 1/2 drachm.
Melt the petrolatum and wax together and add the tannin while cooling;
add the oils and stir until cold. When it is desired to color the lips
add 20 grains of carmine. This is done by reducing the carmine to a
fine powder in a mortar and rub with a small portion of the salve until
it is thoroughly incorporated, and then mix the remainder gradually.
=Pimple Lotion.=
Carbolic acid 1/2 drachm.
Borax 2 drachms.
Glycerine 1 ounce.
Tannin 1 drachm.
Alcohol 1-1/2 ounces.
Rose water 5 ounces.
Mix and dissolve. Apply night and morning.
=Manicure Powder.=
This is used for polishing and cleaning the nails:
Powdered pumice stone 4 ounces.
Powdered French chalk 1/4 ounce.
Carmine (No. 40) in powder 1/4 drachm.
Bulk perfume (violet or rose) 1/8 ounce.
=Manicure Salve.=
This is for softening the nails, curing hang-nails, etc.:
Petrolatum 1 ounce.
Powdered castile soap 2 drachms.
Oil of bergamot 15 drops.
Mix thoroughly and apply upon going to bed, wearing a pair of gloves.
=Best Bay Rum.=
Oil of bay leaves 4 fluid drachms.
Oil of pimenta 30 minims.
Oil of bergamot 60 minims.
Acetic ether 30 minims.
Concentrated lye 4 drachms.
Deodorized alcohol 7 pints.
Water 9 pints.
Color sufficient with grass green.
Mix the oils and dissolve them in the alcohol; to this gradually add
the lye, previously dissolved in the water, then add the acetic ether
and coloring matter, and let stand a few days and filter through a
glass funnel into a glass vessel.
=Fine Rose Water.=
Oil of rose 15 drops.
White sugar 1/2 ounce.
Carbonate of magnesia 2 drachms.
Water 2 pints.
Alcohol 2 ounces.
Add the oil to the alcohol, rub with magnesia and sugar, then add the
water and filter.
=Hoyt’s German Cologne.=
Oil of bergamot 1 ounce.
Oil of Neroli 1/4 ounce.
Oil of lemon 1 ounce.
Oil of sandal wood 1/2 ounce.
Camphor 20 grains.
Deodorized alcohol 7 pints.
Rose water 1 pint.
Mix, let stand 30 days, and then filter.
=Hair Tonic.=
Tincture red cinchona 3 ounces.
Glycerine 1-1/2 ounces.
Jamaica rum 1 ounce.
Tannic acid 1/2 drachm.
Tincture cantharides 2 drachms.
Tincture capsicum 1 drachm.
Cologne, sufficient to make 9 ounces.
Apply once or twice a day, rubbing well into the scalp.
=Clifford’s Shampoo Compound.=
Borax 3 ounces.
Salts of tartar 1 ounce.
Mix, and dissolve 1 ounce of the mixture in 1 pint of water when wanted
for use.
=Quillaya Sea Foam.=
Tincture of quillaya 1 ounce.
Bay rum 1 ounce.
Water 6 ounces.
This is much better than the old form containing ammonia.
=Cream Hair Oil.=
Pure winter-strained lard oil 2 ounces.
Strong solution of borax 2 ounces.
Perfume with bergamot or any desired odor. This makes an elegant,
creamy preparation, and is one of the best that can be made. The
addition of 1/4 ounce of tincture of cantharides to the above amount
will stop the hair from falling out and assist Nature in supplying
new hair. A great many persons are prejudiced against hair oils, but
they have been used for ages, and will continue to be used. Some hair
actually demands oil, owing to a lack of that supplied by nature.
=Pomade Hair-Grower.=
Petrolatum 1/2 pound.
Tincture cantharides 3/4 ounce.
Oil of cinnamon 15 minims.
Oil of bergamot 60 minims.
Oil of citronella 30 minims.
Oil of cloves 5 minims.
Melt the petrolatum and add the tincture of cantharides, and while
cooling add the other ingredients.
=Perspiration Powder.=
Salicylic acid 15 grains.
Carbolic acid 10 drops.
Burnt alum (powdered) 1 drachm.
Starch (powdered) 2 ounces.
French chalk (powdered) 1 ounce.
Oil of lemon 20 drops.
Mix thoroughly, and apply by dusting the powder into the stockings and
gloves.
=Corn and Wart Salve.=
Caustic soda or potassa 1 ounce.
Water 1 ounce.
Starch (powdered) 1/4 ounce.
Glycerine 2 ounces.
Mix the starch with the glycerine, heat, and stir until thoroughly
incorporated. Dissolve the potassa in the water heated to a boiling
point and add the other mixture to it. This preparation needs to be
applied only once or twice. Spread a little of the salve on the corn,
bunion, or wart. Do not touch the healthy skin. Allow it to remain
several hours and then soak the part in warm water.
=German Corn-Killer.=
A very popular liquid preparation for removing corns, etc., is prepared
as follows:
Salicylic acid 3/4 drachm.
Extract of Indian hemp 8 grains.
Collodion 3/4 ounce.
Apply once a day to the hard skin by means of a small brush.
Chilblains.
In the treatment of chilblains we give a detailed list of formulas from
the works and practice of a number of the most eminent physicians and
surgeons.
OINTMENT TO BE USED AT NIGHT.
Dr. Bartholow’s prescription is as follows:
Carbolic acid 1 drachm.
Tincture of iodine 2 drachms.
Tannic acid 2 drachms.
Simple cerate 4 ounces.
POWDER TO PREVENT CHILBLAINS.
Dr. Bandt gives the following prescription:
Sodium borate 3 parts.
Alum and benzoin, each 2 parts.
Mustard 12 parts.
Orris root and bran, each 10 parts.
Almond-skins 30 parts.
Mix with a little water and apply.
WASH FOR NON-ULCERATED CHILBLAINS.
Dr. Beasley’s prescription is as follows:
Sulphate of aluminum and potash 1 part.
Vinegar and weak alcohol, of each 25 parts.
Dissolve and filter. Apply night and morning.
OINTMENT FOR NON-ULCERATED CHILBLAINS.
Dr. Giacomini’s prescription is as follows:
Prepared lard 8 parts.
Chrystallized acetate of lead 1 part.
Distilled cherry laurel water 2 parts.
Mix, and apply night and morning.
FOR UNBROKEN CHILBLAINS.
Sulphuric acid 1 drachm.
Spirits of turpentine 1 drachm.
Olive oil 3 drachms.
Mix the oil and turpentine first, then gradually add the acid. Apply by
rubbing on two or three times a day.
FOR UNBROKEN CHILBLAINS.
Lard 4 ounces.
Turpentine 1 ounce.
Camphor 2 ounces.
Oil of rosemary 15 drops.
Rub in with continued friction.
FOR BROKEN CHILBLAINS.
Yellow wax }
Olive oil } of each, 3 ounces.
Camphorated oil }
Goulard’s extract 1-1/2 ounces.
Melt the wax with the oil, then add the camphorated oil and Goulard
extract.
How to Make an Incubator.
[_From Scientific American Supplement._]
Experiments with the incubator here given have been made all over
the country. It is one that is in actual use, and has always given
satisfaction. Having secured permission from the originator, we here
illustrate it for the benefit of our readers.
To make this incubator get your tinner to make you a tank 15 inches
wide, 30 inches long, and 12 inches deep, of galvanized iron or zinc,
the iron being preferable. On the top should be a tube 1 inch in
diameter and 8 inches high. In front should be another tube, 9 inches
long, to which should be attached a spigot, as illustrated in Fig. 2.
Having made your tank, have what is called the ventilator made, which
is a box with a bottom but no top. The ventilator should be 8 inches
deep, and 1 inch smaller all round than the tank, as the tank must rest
on inch boards. In the ventilator should be four or six tin tubes 1/2
inch in diameter and 6 inches long. They should extend through the
bottom, so as to admit air from below, and to within 2 inches of the
top or a little less. Now make an egg drawer, which is a frame of wood
3 inches deep having no top or bottom, except that the front should
be boxed off and filled with sawdust, which is covered over afterward
with a piece of muslin to keep the sawdust from spilling. This box
in front of the drawer exactly fits the opening in Fig. 3, when the
drawer is in its place. Of course the egg drawer must be made longer
than the tank and ventilator, in order to allow for this space which it
fills in the opening, which is the packing all around the incubator.
The bottom of the egg drawer should be made by nailing a few slats
lengthwise to the under side, or rather, fitting them in nicely, and
over the slats in the inside of the drawer a piece of thick, strong
muslin should be tightly drawn. On this muslin the eggs are placed, in
the same position as if laid in a hen’s nest, and it allows the air to
pass through to the eggs for ventilation. The eggs can be turned by
hand, marked for designation, or an egg turner may be made by fastening
slats crosswise to one on each side running lengthwise, something like
a window lattice, and when the eggs are placed between these slots by
merely pushing the frame the eggs will turn over, exactly on the same
principle that an egg will roll when it is pushed by a block, a book,
or anything else; but we believe the method is patented, and do not
advise infringement.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--THE HOT-WATER INCUBATOR.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--THE TANK.
_Observe that the tubes on the top and the spigot are quite long,
in order that they may extend through the packing of sawdust which
is to surround it. This tank is to have a close-fitting covering
(top and sides) of wood, to resist pressure of water. The bottom is
not to be covered._]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--DRAWER OPENING.
_Shows the thick packing, which is noticed at the opening. This
extends all around. The front of the egg drawer (Fig. 4) fits in
its place in order to complete the surrounding packing, when the
incubator is closed, as at Fig. 1._]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--THE EGG DRAWER.
_The space just in front of the eggs is the portion partitioned
off to fit in the opening at Fig. 3. The egg drawer is therefore_
LONGER _than the tank and ventilator._]
Having prepared the tank, let it be covered with a box, but the box
must not have any bottom. This is to protect the tank against pressure
of water on the sides, and to assist in retaining heat. Such being
done, place your ventilator first, egg drawer next, and tank last. Now
place a support under the tank and the box, or have them rest on rods,
and as the weight of water will be great in the center, the iron rods
should be placed crosswise under the tank every 6 inches. Now fasten
the three apartments (ventilator, egg drawer, and tank) together, with
boards nailed to the sides and back and front (of course leaving the
opening for the egg drawer), care being taken to drive no nails in
the egg drawer, as it must move in and out, and should have a strong
strip to rest on for that purpose. Having completed these preparations
make a larger box to go over all three, so that there will be a space
on the sides, back, front, and on top; but as the ventilator must be
filled with sawdust to within 1 inch of the top of the tubes, it serves
for the bottom packing. Make the outer box so that there will be room
for filling all around the inside box with sawdust, and also on top,
being careful to let the tube for pouring in the water come through, as
also the spigot in front. About 4 inches or so thickness of sawdust is
sufficient, according to preference. The front of the incubator must
be packed also, but an idea of how it should be done may be learned by
observing the opening in Fig. 3, which is so constructed that the box
in front of the egg drawer (Fig. 4) exactly fits into it, and completes
the packing when the drawer is shut. The incubator should be raised
from the floor about an inch, when completed, to allow the air to pass
under and thence into the ventilator tubes.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--THE VENTILATOR.
_The tubes admit air from below, which passes into the egg drawer
above through the muslin bottom of the egg drawer to the eggs. The
eggs rest upon the muslin, which is tightly drawn over narrow slats
running lengthwise the bottom of the drawer._]
[Illustration: FIG. 6.
_Here we remove the front of the incubator in order to show the
positions of the ventilator, egg drawer, and tank. First the
ventilator, then the egg drawer (which of course should be longer
than the others in order to fit in the opening shown at Fig. 3, but
which we did not do here in order to mark the places), and on the
top is the tank. When the front is completed the incubator is seen
at Fig. 1._]
The incubator being complete, the tank is filled with boiling water.
It must remain untouched for twenty-four hours, as it requires time
during which to heat completely through. As it will heat slowly, it
will also cool slowly. Let it cool down to 120 deg., and then put in
the eggs, or, what is better, run it without eggs for a day or two in
order to learn it and notice its variation. When the eggs are put in,
the drawer will cool down some. All that is required then is to add
about a bucket or so of water once or twice a day, but be careful about
endeavoring to get up heat suddenly, as the heat does not rise for five
hours after the additional bucket of water is added. The tank radiates
the heat down on the eggs, there being nothing between the iron bottom
of the tank and the eggs, for the wood over and around the tank does
not extend across the bottom of the tank. The cool air comes from below
in the ventilator pipes, passing through the muslin bottom of the egg
drawer to the eggs. The 15×30-inch tank incubator holds 100 eggs if
turned by hand, but less if the eggs are placed between slats. Lay the
eggs in the same [way] as in a nest--promiscuously.
DIRECTIONS.
Keep the heat inside the egg drawer as near 103 deg. as possible; the
third week at 104 deg. Avoid opening the egg drawer frequently, as
it allows too much escape of heat. _Be sure your thermometer records
correctly_, as half the failures are due to incorrect thermometers, and
not one in twenty is correct. Place the bulb of the thermometer even
with the top of the eggs, that is, when the thermometer is lying down
in the drawer. The upper end should be slightly raised, so as to allow
the mercury to rise, but the bulb and eggs should be of the same heat,
as the figures record the heat in the bulb and not in the tube. Keep
a pie pan filled with water in the ventilator for moisture and keep
two or three moist sponges in the egg drawer, displacing a few eggs
for the purpose. Turn the eggs half way round twice a day at regular
intervals. Let the eggs cool down for fifteen minutes once every day,
but do not let them cool lower than 70 deg. No sprinkling is required
if the sponges are kept moist. If the heat gets up to 110 deg. or as
low as 60 deg. for a little while it is not necessarily fatal. Too much
heat is more prevalent than too little. A week’s practice in operating
the incubator will surprise one how simple the work is. The tank will
be troublesome to fill at first, but the matter will be easy after it
is done, as it can be kept hot. Heat the water in two or more boilers,
as a large quantity will be required, and pour it in through the tube
on top of the incubator boiling hot, using a funnel in the tube for
the purpose. Just at the time of hatching out do not be tempted to
frequently open the drawer. Cold draughts are fatal. Patience must be
exercised.
BROODERS.
An excellent brooder may be made with a tank of hot water, covered
well, the same as the incubator. A piece of muslin or woolen cloth
should be next the bottom to prevent burning the chicks. Keep the heat
among the chicks at about 90 deg. Let the tank rest on inch boards
with no opening under it, but in front; a fringe should hang in front
for the chicks to run in and out under the tank. A little yard may be
constructed of glass sash, something like a hot-bed. Feed the chicks
four or five times a day, at first on hard-boiled eggs, chopped fine,
giving them also a little milk, fine screenings, and millet seed. After
they are a week old feed anything they can eat, but never feed meal in
a raw state, as it should be scalded first. Keep a little sand, fine
gravel, and bone-meal within reach of them all the time, and see that
they are always dry, clean, and warm. Do not crowd them, as the fewer
the number together the better, and never have different ages together.
This incubator will hatch chicks, ducks, turkeys, or guineas, and
we see no reason why it should not hatch the egg of the ostrich or
anything else as well. Chicks hatched by incubators, if rightly cared
for, do better than with hens, and are stronger and more vigorous.
We have endeavored here to embody all the answers to questions that
we suppose may be asked. Should you be in doubt, read the directions
carefully again. We trust that with the help of our illustrations our
readers will have no difficulties in the way.--_The Poultry Keeper._
A Cheap Charcoal Stove.
[Illustration]
I saw the other day at a friend’s house one of the simplest and most
effective stoves for a small conservatory it is possible to imagine.
It was composed of three 12-inch ordinary flower pots. The hole at the
bottom of the lowest was covered with a small pot, into the sides of
which had been bored a number of holes. The pot was then three parts
filled with charcoal, and lighted from the top. This is the furnace.
It is covered by pots Nos. 2 and 3, and a light tin funnel and chimney
carry off the vapor. The draught is maintained by placing the apparatus
on a couple of bricks, and regulated by closing the intervening space
with mud, leaving only a sufficient aperture to keep the fire burning.
This improvised stove will burn without attention for twenty-four
hours, and it is amazing what a great amount of heat is given off from
so small a surface.--_S. J., in the Gardener’s Chronicle._
Preservative Compounds.
Within a few years some valuable methods of keeping meats, fish,
oysters, fruits, fruit juices, milk, butter, etc., in a healthful,
nutritious, and palatable condition for a considerable time past the
ordinary period of their decay have been discovered. In the following
treatise we give the results of the most patient research in securing
all the latest and most valuable information in regard to this
important subject.
We will not deal with processes which necessitate complicated apparatus
or which require almost impossible chemical combinations, but we will
explain inventions which have undoubted value combined with as much
simplicity in the preparation as the circumstances will permit.
Of all the anti-septic agents used for the purposes mentioned boracic
acid is the favorite, and salicylic acid next in choice. Various other
anti-septic agents are used and combined in different ways, according
to the results of experiments. They are applied either by immersion,
coating, injecting, vapors, etc., according to specified instructions.
Prof. Frederic S. Barff of Kilburn, England, it seems was the first
to combine boracic acid with glycerine, and to produce a preservative
compound known as boroglyceride, which is soluble in water and alcohol.
As boracic acid is but slightly soluble in water and other common
solvents this combination with glycerine--which is also a useful
agent in arresting the growth of germs--is peculiarly valuable. It
is tasteless and inodorous and imparts no disagreeable taste or odor
to the substance being treated. Solutions of the compound may be
applied to the preservation of all organic substances, either animal
or vegetable. The process was patented in England in 1881 and in the
United States in 1882.
To prepare boroglyceride, glycerine is heated to near its boiling
point and boracic acid added until it ceases to be dissolved, the
proportions being about 92 parts by weight of glycerine to 62 parts
by weight of boracic acid in chrystals. Maintain the mixture to a
temperature of about 200 deg. centigrade as long as water is given
off. When the mass cools it becomes a yellowish, transparent, glacial
substance, tough and deliquescent. This dissolves in water, but when
boiled in large quantities of the same it is decomposed into glycerine
and boracic acid. In order to employ the compound prepare a solution
either in water, alcohol, or other suitable solvent and immerse in or
impregnate with such solutions the organic substances to be operated
upon. Solutions may be prepared of various degrees of strength, but it
has been found that a solution consisting of 1 part by weight of the
compound and 40 parts by weight of water will give good results; but
other desired proportions may be adopted.
Prof. Barff, the inventor of the boroglyceride process, read a paper
before the Royal Society of Arts, London, in regard to his method of
preserving food. The date of the reading is not at hand, but it is
supposed to be slightly prior to May 13, 1882, on which date it was
printed in the _Scientific American Supplement_. Although quite lengthy
the paper contains so much interesting data and light upon the subject
that we reproduce it almost entirely, together with remarks by other
eminent gentlemen who were present at the meeting:
“This evening I have on the table specimens of food which have been
kept for longer or shorter periods, as they are intended to illustrate
various applications of this preserving material. As you know
oysters are imported very largely in tins. They are cooked at a high
temperature and hermetically sealed. The high temperature to which they
are exposed necessarily causes a loss of flavor, and it is generally
remarked that tinned oysters are not a success. * * * I have oysters on
the table which were opened on the 3d of December in last year. I will
ask you to taste them and see in what condition they are, and I would
also remind you that they have not been kept in hermetically sealed
tins, but simply in corked or stoppered bottles; hence this method of
preserving oysters is cheaper than the other, and I maintain that it is
more effective, because their natural and fresh flavor is preserved.
I am informed by a friend in Jamaica that he has sent me some Jamaica
oysters and other things--I trust they will be here in time for me to
submit them to you this evening.
“Another substance, the perfect preservation of which is very
important, is cream, both for home use and for exportation. Cream
in London costs from four to five shillings per quart; it can be
bought in country places for two shillings, and even for less. This
preservative substance will keep cream for months perfectly good and
sweet, having its full flavor; so that it would be quite possible
to send it in quantities from the country, and its sale need not be
pressed as it need not be used immediately. I have regularly every
week, except during the holidays, brought with me from Beaumont
College, near Windsor, where I lecture, a quart of cream treated with
one ounce of the boroglyceride; it has always kept perfectly good
even in the hottest weather. I have done this for a year and a half;
a near relative has taken the greater part of this regularly for the
time stated, and this proves conclusively that there is nothing at
all injurious to health in the compound. I see a gentleman present
here to-night who is connected with that college as a professor of
natural science, and he will, in the discussion, be able to give you
very valuable information as to the material and as to its perfect
wholesomeness. Last month I sent some cream to the Rev. J. Ryan, a
Jesuit priest in Jamaica, and I have received a letter from him, from
which I will read you an extract:
‘26 North Street, Kingston, Jamaica,
‘February 24, 1882.
‘The cream which you sent was used by eight of us in coffee, and
was pronounced to be wonderfully good. Next morning it was taken in
preference to a beaten egg, by the captain of H. M. S. Tenedos, to
his coffee.’
“Last year I sent some Devonshire clotted cream, which I prepared
myself, to Zanzibar, on the east coast of Africa. The climate here is
very hot; fresh food will only keep a few hours. This cream had to pass
through the hot climate of the Red Sea. I will read an extract from a
letter written by a lady who received the cream:
‘Universities Mission To Central Africa,
‘Mbweni, Zanzibar, March 8, 1881.
‘The Devonshire cream you sent us was quite a success. I received it
last night. Fortunately the Bishop and Miss A---- came to Mbweni,
to-day, so we had it for dinner. That I might have everything correct
I opened a pot of raspberry jam which we had from London a long time
ago. The Bishop said it had kept perfectly, but had not quite the
rich flavor that it has when quite fresh; he has been used to it in
Devonshire. Every one pronounced it most excellent. We sent some in
to Mrs. H----, and were surprised at her sending for more, for she
seldom eats half anything we send her. She did not know what it was,
but she said she had never had anything here she enjoyed so much.’
“A year ago I sent some cream from Beaumont College dairy to the Rev.
Thomas Porter, the head of the Jesuit Mission in the West Indies. He
states that the cream was as good as any he had eaten at home, that he
gave it to several strangers to eat, and that they would not believe
that it came from England. These experiments and these testimonies
prove conclusively that this compound will preserve cream. I shall this
evening show you specimens. It is easy to send cream in good condition
to the tropics. A great objection to condensed milk is that it is
always too sweet. The boroglyceride will preserve condensed milk, and
will give it no flavor at all. My friend, the Rev. Thomas Porter, sent
me some articles preserved with the material which I sent him from
England. They arrived about June in last year. Some raw, fresh turtle
came quite fresh. It was cooked and eaten by several persons, who said
it was quite fresh and good, and had the flavor of fresh turtle. At my
own house I had turtle cutlets fried; they were perfectly good, and
tasted like turtle. Another article which Father Porter sent me was an
uncooked Jamaica pigeon; it was roasted at Beaumont College. I divided
it and brought half of it home It was tasted by twelve people, who all
pronounced that it was perfectly good, and had the true pigeon flavor.
In the same parcel came some green sugar-cane, fresh tamarinds taken
direct from the tree, fresh limes, and the juices of two different
fruits. All were fresh, and were tasted by gentlemen who had lived in
Jamaica, who all declared that they had all their own peculiar flavors.
On the 3d of September, 1881, another box was sent me from Jamaica,
containing sugar-cane, guavas, fresh ginger, and turtle; the turtle had
come to grief, because it was not properly treated on the other side;
the cane, guavas, and fresh ginger have been tasted by those who have
lived in Jamaica, and have been pronounced to have their true flavors.
“Ordinary milk cannot be kept good for a long time, especially in hot
weather. If milk were concentrated in this country, and heated with the
boroglyceride, carriage would be saved, and the milk might be kept good
and fresh for a fortnight and more; all it would require would be to
reduce it again to its original strength. If fresh milk be treated with
this preservative it can be set for cream for several days, even in hot
weather. The cream which rises will keep, and the skim-milk will remain
sweet for several weeks; this I have tried in the dairy at Beaumont
College. From the cream so prepared butter was made, and was kept for
several weeks without a particle of salt, and was eaten by members of
the college. I also wish to show another method by which meat can be
preserved and cheaply transported. In South America, about Buenos Ayres
and the River Platte, many cattle are killed simply for the hides and
fat; the flesh is thrown away. Now, if this flesh were cut up in small
pieces, and put into the preserving liquid for a night, it would, even
in that hot climate, keep good for some time. It could then in a few
hours be dried in the sun, packed in casks, and sent to this or to
other countries. I have a specimen of beef treated in this way. It was
put into the solution on Jan. 19, 1882, dried Feb. 1, and has lately,
within a few days, been boiled, and here is the resulting beef tea,
which has not in any way been flavored. I have also small quantities
of beef juice here preserved in bottles. The juice was expressed and
has been kept raw. Raw beef and mutton juice is recommended by medical
men in many conditions of the digestive system. I administered it to
a near relation for six weeks, and the juice was preserved good by my
material. In the case referred to the effect was very satisfactory. It
appears to me to be a most important matter that soup meat, and meat
for potting and stewing, should be sent to this country in the way I
propose. The supply would be large, the prices low, and the profits
highly satisfactory, and it would greatly relieve the meat market,
because a very large quantity of fresh meat which is now used for soup
could be employed in other ways. It has been remarked to me: ‘But would
you get people to use it?’ I think, to begin with, that if proprietors
of hotels and heads of large public institutions, workhouses, and
hospitals could be shown that for half the cost they could have equally
good soup and soup stock, they would willingly use it, and from thence
it would come into private use. I have specimens to show the effect of
boroglyceride on fish. Here are sprats which have been kept for a year;
they are dry, but perfectly good and eatable; also some preserved fresh
since Jan. 13, 1882. You will be able to judge of their appearance
and flavor. I have also herrings and a piece of skate which have been
preserved for the same time. If fishmongers had a tank of this solution
they could, at the end of the day, put their fish in it, and take them
out when required. Bloaters, when lightly cured in hot weather, do not
keep good many days; if a small quantity of this stuff was used with
the salt, they would keep good for months. The same may be said of
smoked salmon. That which is very salt costs 9d. per pound, but the
mild cured kinds cost 3s. 6d. to 4s. per pound. All could be mildly
cured if this material was used with the other curing substances. As
an adjunct in curing mild hams and bacon it would be of great use, for
these, when cured lightly, would not go bad, as they often do in the
summer time. What I have said as to the temporary preservation of fish
by fishmongers applies equally to the preservation of meat and fowls by
butchers and poulterers.
“It is justly complained of that the Australian cooked meat is
overcooked. If it were for a short time dropped in this preservative
solution it would keep perfectly well after being lightly cooked, even
underdone. I have a piece of beef which was dipped Feb. 28 and boiled
on March 9. It has been left in its own liquid, it was not flavored,
and no salt was added. Here, too, is a vast field for the application
of the process. Here is also lobster which was taken out of the shell
Feb. 1, and here are two lobsters in their shell which were immersed on
the same day.
“I now wish to draw your attention to a parcel from Jamaica, which has
just arrived, and from which I am able, I am happy to say, to show
you specimens which must be of interest. In a jar on the table is
some fresh turtle, which I had simply cooked. I thought it better so
to present it to you rather than raw. There is also a Jamaica pigeon,
also just cooked here, and a _vol au vent_, which I have had made from
oysters which were sent open in the preserving stuff from Jamaica.
These specimens will prove conclusively that food sent from a tropical
climate retains its freshness and delicate flavor. I have reserved one
of the pigeons raw, that you may see in what state it arrived. Some
mutton was shipped to me from the Falkland Islands at the beginning of
last August; a piece of it is uncooked on the table. I have also had
a piece stewed, which you will be able to taste; this has of course
passed the tropics. Through the kindness of my friend Mr. Haffenden of
the ‘Andaluzia,’ in the Strand, who owns vineyards in the southwest
of Spain, I can show you some perfectly fresh sardines which he had
placed in the preserving fluid several months ago in Spain, and which
he brought with him. You will yourselves judge of their condition; I
will only remark that they have the peculiar fragrance of that delicate
fish, and will it not be a boon to have a supply of this fresh delicacy
at a moderate cost?
“You will also see, and I hope taste, a pigeon pie. The pigeons and
the steak have been preserved raw in stoppered bottles since the 21st
of last November and the eggs since the 4th of July, 1881. I will also
call your attention to a tongue which I myself placed in the solution
Feb. 9 in this year, with some garlic, sugar, and juniper berries, my
object being to show that salt can, if desired, be dispensed with. You
will doubtless find that it will require salt; but you will readily
infer that hams, tongues, etc., can be made just as salt as one
pleases, and will yet keep perfectly sweet, in fact sounder, than those
cured only with salt. This tongue was boiled out of pickle. I exhibit
two shoulders of mutton, one cooked, the other raw; they are from sheep
killed Jan. 10, 1882. Also a piece of beef preserved on the same day;
this when you have inspected it shall be cut in slices and broiled. You
will see some sausages, both cooked and uncooked; they were made for
me by Mr. Bowron, poulterer, of Paddington, early in July last, before
I went to Carlsbad. I took some with me to that place, and they were
there eaten and pronounced good. These are some of the same lot; they
were made as follows: The meat was chopped, put into the preserving
fluid for one night, and then mixed with the other material in the
ordinary way. They have been kept since in an earthenware jar; they
have, therefore, been made more than nine months. I may remark that the
bread in these sausages was not treated, and therefore it has become
slightly sour, but the pork has kept perfectly fresh. I have also some
other sausages which I bought Jan. 12, and at once preserved; these
having been steeped, the bread has not turned in the slightest degree
sour.
“Mock turtle soup, bought ready made from a confectioner’s shop in
Oxford street, Jan. 25, treated with the preservative stuff, has
remained quite good and unchanged in flavor.
“There is also a specimen of gravy soup made in October last, and some
vermicelli soup made about three weeks ago. The preservative action of
boroglyceride in cooked foods is, it seems to me, of great importance
to hotel-keepers, confectioners, and restaurant proprietors, as it will
enable them to buy large stocks when certain articles are cheap, and
from the specimen I show of cooked beef you see it remains quite moist,
as it can be kept, without getting sour, in its own gravy and under
a layer of its own fat. To prove that articles can be kept and dried
without losing their flavor, I had some partridges treated and dried
last February twelvemonth, and I exhibit some soup made from two of
these birds. The other articles on the table are one raw and one roast
fowl, bought Jan. 17; one raw and one roast pheasant, bought Feb. 5;
one rabbit boiled, bought Jan. 17. There are also from Jamaica a green
lime, some fresh tamarinds, and some pieces of fresh ginger. * * *
“I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for the patient hearing you have
given me.”
DISCUSSION.
The Chairman said the paper was marked by the clear and philosophic
way in which the subject was treated, and before inviting discussion
upon it he would mention shortly his own experience of the process,
the only interest of which was that it was quite independent of Prof.
Barff. When he was asked to take the chair he communicated with Mr.
Barff, and inquired what the process was. Mr. Barff kindly sent him a
specimen of this substance, which he melted, and put some of it into
one-half of a pint of cream. The other half very soon turned sour, and
had to be thrown away, but that to which the substance was added was
perfectly fresh that morning. He was confirmed in the opinion of its
freshness by the cook, though she said there was a very slight tartness
perceptible, by which she could distinguish it from fresh cream. He had
also tried another experiment on meat which was chopped very fine, and
divided into two parts; to one part he added merely tepid water, to the
other, tepid water to which one-sixteenth of its bulk of this compound
had been added. This was left on the meat for eighteen hours, and then
filtered off through muslin. Several days ago the portion which had no
preservative was very offensive, but the other portion was that morning
perfectly free from any odor whatever.
The Rev. J. L. Dobson said he had had the pleasure of being associated
with Mr. Barff in most of the experiments he had detailed, and might
therefore anticipate his reply to one or two points raised by Dr.
Graham. An experiment which was tried for some time in a large school
would answer the question of wholesomeness. At the Beaumont College,
Windsor, there was a large staff of teachers and over 200 pupils, and
during the hot weather of last summer the dairymaid was very much
annoyed at the milk turning sour, and applied to him to see if he
could do anything to counteract it. He handed her some 14 or 15 lbs.
of this material and during the whole of the hot weather and well on
into September it was constantly used, and the milk was preserved; but
the method was not detected by any one, either by the younger members
or by those who might be expected to be more critical. No ill effects
were observed by the medical officer or by individuals. From his own
experience he thought the aroma was very well preserved throughout.
For instance, in oysters which had been preserved over three months
there was the characteristic aroma of the fresh oyster; mutton could be
easily distinguished from beef, and the peculiar smell of the turtle
was also very distinct. They had not yet tried beer with so much
fullness as other articles, but about nine months ago a small quantity
was treated and left exposed to the air, with only a loose stopper of
cotton wool. It did not grow cloudy in the ordinary way, but owing
to the severity of the experiment, and perhaps to not sufficiently
treating it, after four months it lost all flavor, became extremely
flat, and a slight fungus appeared.
Dr. Thudichum had listened with great pleasure to the paper, and had
no doubt if the application of the invention could be effected on a
large scale it would be very useful. He had some experience with regard
to a portion of the ingredients used, viz.: boracic acid, though he
had none of this beautiful new compound. It might not be known to the
meeting that boracic acid had been used for a great many years for
preserving food, and in fact many of them in summer time had their milk
well dosed with it. It had been sold to milkmen in London for years
under the name of “aseptin.” He had tested it in 1865 and found a great
many of those effects which Mr. Barff described. For instance eggs
were beautifully preserved, and steak immersed in the solution did not
become either mouldy or decomposed, but on the contrary appeared to
retain its flavor. A variety of other things, such as cheese and cream,
were for a long time preserved by this application of aseptin. He hoped
the addition of the glycerine would increase the power and prevent some
drawbacks which would otherwise stand in the way of boracic acid alone
as a preservative of raw or cooked meat.
Prof. Barff, in reply to the various questions which had been asked,
said he had used salicylic acid and had found it useful in preserving
food, but for several reasons discontinued further investigations,
one being on the score of its unwholesomeness, and he found that his
views on that point had been borne out by the action taken by the
French Government. Dr. Graham had asked him about flavor; he had given
Dr. Graham a few days ago some specimens of preserved fish, which he
said had lost their flavor, but that would not be found to be the
case with the box of sardines. The herrings had been kept in an open
vessel exposed to the air ever since the day they were put into the
liquid, and therefore it was not surprising that they had lost their
flavor. If they would try any of the things which had been tinned,
not soldered up, but such as the Jamaica pigeons, which were in a
common corked bottle, it would be found that the aroma and flavor were
retained. The only thing requisite was to keep the vessel so as to
exclude the air, as you would with tea or coffee. Dr. Thudichum made
some very interesting remarks which there was not time to refer to at
length, if he were competent to do so, but not being a medical man he
could not enter into medical questions. As to the wholesomeness of the
compound, however, he might say that he had taken large quantities of
it himself and it had never done him any harm; and a near relative
had taken an ounce per week regularly for a year and a half, without
any ill effect--a person, too, not very strong or of good digestive
powers. The boys and teachers of Beaumont College drank milk preserved
with it without distinguishing the taste or suffering any ill effects.
He knew there were medical opinions in favor of boracic acid, and one
physician he was acquainted with used it as a medicine. If it were
at all unwholesome he certainly should not recommend it, but he did
not think there was the slightest fear. As to boron getting into the
system, it was not boron which was used, but oxide of boron; but even
if it did--and he should not be surprised if traces of boron were found
in the excreta--it did not follow that any harm was done. There were
many things which went through the system without injury; for instance,
silica, of which most people took a great deal in the twenty-four
hours. As to the cost of the process the cost per gallon, as far as
he could tell--he could not tell exactly--would be under 1s.--perhaps
8d. or 9d.--and a gallon would affect an enormous quantity. Most of
the articles on the table were put into one pan of solution, and the
cost of the whole stuff was about 9-1/2d. Should the process be adopted
commercially experiments as to the cost would be most carefully made
and the results published. A joint of any size could be soaked; the
only thing was to give it plenty of time. You might soak a piece of
beef of twenty pounds, forty pounds, or fifty pounds; or you might
use an injecting syringe, such as butchers employed for salting meat
quickly, and the meat so treated would keep for a week or a fortnight
perfectly good, but he did not think it would keep well enough to
pass under a tropical sun. In order to do that you must inject by the
aorta, by means of a force pump, so as to send the liquid into all
the interstices of the flesh. As to the proportions, 1 in 20 was the
strongest he used, and 1 in 60 the weakest; for preserving meat 1 in
50 answered perfectly well--1 lb. of the compound added to 50 lbs. of
water. The bottle should be put before the fire until melted, and then
poured into hot water, and it would dissolve. With regard to preserving
morbid specimens he thought it would answer perfectly well. He had
had some practice in morbid anatomy, and he might say that, for the
injection of bodies to be used for anatomical purposes it would keep
them perfectly sweet. It should be injected by the aorta in the usual
way before injecting with the red wax. In reply to Mr. Dipnall he would
say that the compound penetrated right through into the innermost parts
of the meat. If you had an earthen pan and put into it 1 lb. of this
and 50 lbs. of water, and placed in it a joint which came home on the
Saturday night in hot weather, you could take it out the next day and
it would keep perfectly for a fortnight. Of course it took time to
penetrate into the meat, but the first superficial penetration stopped
the injurious effects of germs which set up putrefaction. Another
important fact was this: if you had a roast leg of lamb, perfectly
good, but did not eat it all, and put it away in hot weather, it
would turn sour, but if it had been treated in this way it would not;
it would keep for six months without going sour. By adding a small
quantity from time to time, which you could only learn by experience,
the bath would keep perfectly fresh and effective, though it would be
found after a time to get rather dark colored. That arose from the
juice of the meat, and the advantage of this process was that you need
not throw it away, as you must brine, but could boil it down into very
good soup. In conclusion he would only ask his hearers to read the
paper and discussion carefully when published, and he was sure any one
would be able to carry out the process.
The Chairman, in proposing a hearty vote of thanks to Prof. Barff, said
the process he had described was remarkable for its great simplicity
and the ease with which it could be carried out. Any cook could readily
apply it.
The vote of thanks was carried unanimously.
=An Improved Boracic Acid-Glycerine Compound.=
The following is the invention of an American, William S. Fickett of
Rochester, N. Y., and is an improved process of combining boracic acid
with glycerine for preservative purposes. (Patent No. 285,350.)
“My invention consists in a new mode of producing a new preservative
compound from boracic acid and glycerine, as hereinafter described.
Heretofore by one method[A] such a compound has been produced from
these ingredients by heating glycerine to near its boiling point and
adding boracic acid until it ceases to be dissolved, and maintaining
that mixture to a temperature of 200 deg. centigrade as long as water
is given off, etc.
[A] Doubtless the Barff process--[author].
“Now my process consists in taking equal quantities of glycerine and
crystallized boracic acid, placing the same in a closed or sealed
vessel, and then applying heat at about 300 deg. Fahrenheit for about
two hours, which causes the boracic acid to dissolve and blend with
the glycerine. On cooling it forms without loss of weight into on
opalescent semi-solid, freely soluble in cold water, entirely devoid of
bitter or metallic taste, and communicating no objectionable taste to
butter or like delicate foods. When thus produced it is an unfailing
preventive of fermentation and decay in animal and vegetable matter or
fluid compounds.”
The following is a different process of using boracic acid, and
explains itself:
James Howard, Philadelphia, Pa.; composition for preserving foods.
(Patent No. 276,246.)
“I have discovered a method of obtaining a chemical compound of boracic
acid for the production of which neither solution nor the employment of
heat is necessary, the salt being formed by the union of the component
substances in a dry state, so that the difficulties of solution and
of loss through volitization is avoided. Moreover the compound has
anti-septic properties distinct from those of the acid, due to one of
the other elements thereof, and is tasteless.
“I take preferably not less than 5 parts by weight of pure boracic
acid in crystals, and add thereto 1 part of pure phosphate of soda.
The ingredients are mixed together dry, in a mill or other suitable
grinding apparatus, and as the chemical reaction between them
progresses the whole, or practically the whole, of the acid crystals
lose their structure, and the mass can be ground until it assumes
a pasty or doughy condition. The result is boro-phosphate of soda,
containing more or less free boracic acid, according to the excess
thereof used above the proportions given. The moisture yielded by the
chemical reaction is evaporated at the ordinary temperature by exposure
to the air without loss of boracic acid, and the dry amorphous salt
thus produced is readily ground. It may be used either as a dry powder
or may be dissolved in water and applied in the usual modes to the
substances to be preserved. If desired other substances, such as salt
and saltpeter, may be added to the boro-phosphate compound, and the
whole mixed thoroughly by regrinding.”
=Preservation of Butter, Lard, Etc.=
The following process is the invention of Mr. William Pitt Clotworthy.
(Patent No. 284,184.)
The process consists of incorporating with the fat, which may consist
of butter, lard, or other grease, a sufficient amount of paraffine.
Paraffine is non-oxidizable, without taste or odor, and, as the
inventor claims, it is perfectly harmless when used in this manner,
just as beeswax is swallowed with honey, although not in such large
proportion. Tons of paraffine are manufactured yearly into chewing gum
and chewed harmlessly by thousands.
In preserving butter the process is as follows: Take 1 ounce of fresh
unsalted butter and incorporate with it 1 ounce of paraffine, and thus
form a jelly, and then thoroughly mix this amount of jelly with 1 pound
of butter.
In preserving lard combine the paraffine as follows: When the lard
is ready to be drawn off from the rendering kettles, and while still
hot, add 1 ounce of paraffine to each pound of lard and stir the mass
thoroughly.
=Compound for Preserving Food.=
Theodore L. Corwin of Marathon, N. Y., has invented the following.
(Patent No. 253,983):
The invention relates to the class of compounds used to preserve in
a healthful state such articles of food as meats, fish, milk, eggs,
butter, oysters, cider, and also to be used as a disinfectant and to
arrest putrefaction.
“I take of nitrate of potassium, of salicylic acid, and of chloride of
sodium, each 1 ounce. These should all be in powder and dissolved in
1 quart of water. Then add 1 drachm of hydrochloric acid previously
diluted with 1 ounce of water. To preserve meat immerse for twenty
minutes in the hot solution, after which let it drain for one hour;
then pack in a well-closed vessel. For the preservation of fish use
the same as for meat, only the solution should be allowed to become
cold before using. To keep oysters stir into them 3 ounces of the
solution (cold) to each gallon of oysters. Cider will be kept sweet
if there is added to each barrel 1 quart of the solution immediately
after the cider comes from the press. Milk to be kept sweet should have
the powder first named, viz.: nitrate of potassium, salicylic acid,
and chloride of sodium, each 1 ounce, added to every 16 gallons. As a
disinfectant the solution should be sprinkled freely around the place
or places to be disinfected. To prevent putrefaction the solution
should be copiously applied to the object treated.”
=Fruit-Juice Preservatives.=
An Ohio inventor has patented a process for preserving fruit juices
such as cider, wine, etc., which he says, if treated according to his
directions, will keep unchanged for years:
“The juice is taken before fermentation takes place and boiled, all
scum is carefully skimmed off, and then the liquid, while still hot, is
filtered through a compound of partially pulverized charcoal, crushed
mustard seed, and ground sassafras root. The filter should be covered
with fine woven wire, outside of which should be fastened a flannel
cloth to catch all escaping sediment. To every gallon of juice to be
filtered there is placed in the filter 2 ounces of charcoal, 2 scruples
of crushed mustard seed, and 6 drachms of ground sassafras root. After
filtering it is again boiled, and if any scum or impurities appear on
the surface they are removed, when the juice is to be bottled, corked
tightly, and should be left for one year.”
Schaumberg & Dillon’s method of preserving fruit juices consists in
bottling and sealing the juices, and then heating the bottles to 170
deg. Fahrenheit for thirty-five minutes. The juices are put in bottles
and are immediately corked and wired securely, and then submerged in a
water bath to a depth of about 1 inch above the bottles.
The advantages of this process are that the fruit juices will remain
sweet indefinitely, will not ferment, and are free from all deleterious
matter.
=Smoke or Vapor Preserving Compound.=
Rebecca A. McDaniel of Burr Oaks, Ia., has patented the following,
which is one of quite a number of this class of preservative processes:
“In preserving different articles, such as fruits, meats, and other
edibles, I subject them for a proper time--differing with different
articles--to the fumes arising from burning the compound. This may be
accomplished by confining the articles to be treated in a chamber in
which the compound is being burned.
COMPOSITION.
Salicylic acid 1 ounce.
Sulphur 2 pounds.
Pulverized orange peel 1/4 ounce.
Ground cinnamon 3 ounces.
“This compound well mixed will burn slowly and generate fumes or vapor
which have a peculiar action in the preservation of fruits, butter,
milk, pies, bread, eggs, and all kinds of cooked or uncooked food. In
treating meats add nitrate of potash, 4 ounces.
=Salicylic Acid as a Preservative.=
Salicylic acid, aside from its remedial value, is used largely as a
preservative, either in a dry state or in the form of a solution in
water or alcohol. Salicylic acid is a white, dry, crystalline powder,
devoid of smell or taste, undergoes no change when kept in store, and
is neither inflammable nor volatile. It can be procured in almost
any drug store, and since 1874 a new process in its manufacture has
cheapened it in price and placed it within the reach of all.
Medical authorities agree in considering the daily consumption of
1 gramme as being not only perfectly inoffensive, but decidedly
beneficial to health. An individual living on a salicylated diet
would not absorb so much of the salicylic acid per diem as that which
is prescribed to be taken for the prevention of epidemics and other
ailments, such as gout, rheumatism, catarrhal affections, etc.
The proportions in which salicylic acid dissolves are:
One part by weight in 300 to 500 parts of cold water.
One part by weight in 18 to 20 parts of hot water.
One part by weight in 50 parts of glycerine.
One part by weight in 3 parts of absolute alcohol.
In rum, brandy, wine, cider, etc., it dissolves according to their
respective strengths and temperatures.
NOTE.--By contact with iron in any form salicylic acid takes a violet
color.
This must be noted, especially when treating milk, etc., if contained
in metallic vessels. The only bad effects will be simply slight
discoloration.
MEAT.
It is a well-known fact that, especially in hot weather, meat,
poultry, and game, although apparently quite fresh, prove, on closer
examination, or often only when cooked, to be tainted and of bad odor.
This can be entirely removed by either watering and washing the meat
in a lukewarm solution of salicylic acid (three to four teaspoonfuls
of acid to two quarts of water), or by adding a small pinch of the dry
acid in powder, during the cooking.
To keep meat for several days from becoming high or tainted:
Place it for twenty or thirty minutes in an aqueous solution of 8
drachms of salicylic acid to one gallon of water.
Rub into the surface of the meat some dry salicylic acid, particularly
about the bony and fatty parts; the meat to be afterward cleaned before
cooking as usual.
Although the raw meat treated with the acid turns slightly pale on the
surface it suffers no change whatever internally. Meat thus treated
with salicylic acid requires, also, less cooking to render it tender.
PURE MILK.
A third of a teaspoonful (or, if the temperature be high, a little
more) of the solid acid to a quart of milk delays the process of
curdling for thirty-six hours, without influencing its property of
yielding cream.
BUTTER.
Washed with an aqueous solution (four drachms of acid to a gallon of
water), or kept in it, or wrapped in cloths soaked in this water, keeps
fresh for a very long time. Butter already rancid can be improved by
treatment with a stronger solution (8 drachms of acid to 1 gallon of
water), followed by washing in pure water. The bad smell often arising
in salted butter is entirely prevented by addition of the acid.
JAMS OF ALL KINDS, JELLIES, PRESERVES, AND PICKLES.
Of every description, made in the usual way, but with the addition of
about 1 drachm of salicylic acid to every 4 pounds of the preserve,
will keep sound with absolute certainty for a much longer time,
fermentation and mouldiness being prevented. Under exceptionally
unfavorable circumstances, such as hot pantries, a little of the dry
acid should be sprinkled on the top of the vessel or preserve pot. A
tightly-fitting piece of blotting paper, previously saturated with a
concentrated solution of salicylic acid in spirit, brandy, or rum, and
placed on the top of the preserves will also greatly aid in keeping
them.
NEW-LAID EGGS
Can be kept for a very long time by being placed for half an hour in a
cold, saturated, aqueous solution of the acid, then allowed to dry in
the air, and, as usual, kept in a cool place. Some prefer to coat them
by dipping them in melted paraffine after they have been treated in
this manner. (Use no straw or hay in packing eggs.)
THE YOLK AND THE WHITE OF EGGS
Are most effectually preserved for a long time by the addition of 1/2
to 1 ounce of the acid per 20 pounds of these substances. It is also
well to place a paper soaked in the salicylic acid solution on the top
of them, which greatly enhances the preserving effect.
In the manufacture of vinegar, salicylic acid is also of great
importance to prevent false or excessive fermentation, putridity, etc.
WINE.
With respect to wine the experiments of Prof. Neubauer of Wiesbaden
have proved that the introduction of the acid for the preservation of
wine marks an era of great industrial progress, as it energetically
prevents, even when used in very small quantities, the formation of
mould germs and other circumstances which are injurious to wine, while
it absolutely arrests secondary fermentation, cloudiness, etc. As
wine differs very much in its constitution the requisite quantity of
salicylic acid must be found out by practice in each particular case.
About 1/4 to 3/4 of an ounce per 50 gallons will be found sufficient
for most wines. In using the salicylic acid for this purpose it is
recommended to make a strong solution of it in pure spirit, perfectly
free from fusel oil, and then to add of this solution as much as may be
requisite.
If in addition to this the casks are washed out with an aqueous
solution of the acid it will prove of great service, and all other
agents at present used for this purpose will soon be abandoned. The
larger the amount of sugar in proportion to the alcohol the more
salicylic acid will be required. The addition is best made when the
wine has attained its full ripeness. The effervescence of wine in
spring, or after carriage in warm weather, will at once be stopped.
The salicylic acid kills all kinds of germs, and destroys the growth
and action of any yeast which may still be present; it is therefore of
incalculable value in effectually preserving wine, and as a preventive
of the deterioration to which this liquid is subject.
Must, fresh from the press in autumn, can be kept without fermentation
perfectly fresh, bright, and sweet for six to eight months by the
addition of 1 to 1-1/2 ounces per 50 gallon, or of 3/4 ounce per
100 bottles. Sparkling Must requires an addition of 6 to 7 ounces
of salicylic acid per 100 gallons. In the same manner all kinds of
fruit-wine which, as is well known, soon turn sour, can be preserved by
the addition of a similar quantity of salicylic acid. Must kept still
for transport can at any time be set into fermentation by a slight
addition of carbonate of soda and fresh yeast.
BEER.
Experiments made upon a large scale have placed beyond a doubt the
remarkable properties of salicylic acid as a preventive of secondary
fermentation and acidity in beer, and as a preservative of beer in a
sound condition when sent out or exposed to the noxious influences
of warm cellars, change of temperature, etc. The amount of salicylic
acid required to produce the best effects in preserving beer varies
according to the quality of the malt liquor; but half an ounce per
barrel of 36 imperial gallons will be very generally found to answer
the purpose well. The addition of the salicylic acid delays secondary
fermentation in stock and export beers, which may then be kept for
any length of time without becoming unsound or of unpleasant flavor.
Less than a quarter ounce of the powder of salicylic acid per barrel
of boiling wort strewn into the same while turning out will destroy
or suspend the vitality of the false ferments, especially that of the
lactic ferment, in the fermenting vats, and this not only without
injury to the yeast cells, but keeping them free from parasitical
growths. In this manner the fermentation will take a steadier course
and enable the liquor to attain its perfection during the ensuing still
fermentation in the cask, into which another quarter ounce or more of
the acid is to be given per barrel a fortnight before racking. Stout,
and in fact all beers for export to a hot climate, require rather more.
For long transports the acid in powder can be simply thrown into the
export casks, in which it dissolves in the course of three days instead
of a week, which is required by the cold beer lying quietly.
BOTTLED BEER NOT SALICYLATED IN THE CASK.
The clean bottles must be rinsed with a solution of 1 part of salicylic
acid in 4 or 5 parts of spirit (free from fusel oil), which can be
poured from 1 bottle to another. Or, a small pinch of the acid in
powder is placed in every bottle before filling.
The corks should always be boiled in water containing 1 ounce to the
gallon, which is also efficient in disinfecting tubes, taps, etc.
CIDER.
Dissolve 3/4 of an ounce of salicylic acid in a gallon of cider, and
then add this amount to each barrel of cider. This is superior to any
preparation of lime. The cider must be treated when fresh.
GLUE, GELATINE, GUM ARABIC SOLUTIONS, PASTE, SIZE, STARCH, INK, SKINS
OF ALL KINDS, ETC.
Are successfully preserved for a length of time from decomposition or
deterioration by means of salicylic acid. One-thousandth part of the
acid introduced into a vat of gelatine or into decoctions of animal
matter, prevents their undergoing decomposition for an indefinite
period of time. Calico printers are using half a pound of the acid to
every 100 pounds of dressing starch, in order to entirely preclude the
disagreeable odor arising after awhile from dry goods in store.
IN THE PROCESS OF TANNING,
If the bark-color be slightly salicylated, this liquor will not undergo
the change which, instead of making the hides and skins swell, often
causes the opposite effect, contracting them by an alkaline action,
and at the same time imparting to them a putrid odor. Treatment with
carbolic acid also leaves a most objectionable odor, especially in fine
leather goods. The use of salicylic acid will thus be found highly
remunerative to all tanners, as it has proved in the industries already
alluded to.
IN SUGAR FACTORIES
Three drachms of salicylic acid are used to every 300 pounds of
beetroot in the diffusing liquor, in order to prevent fermentation, and
for destroying the parasitical growths, especially noticeable in the
old material.
FOR DISINFECTING.
Fumigation with the acid purifies the air and walls of closed rooms.
Simply evaporate some on a heated shovel, which must not be red-hot.
The air in crowded buildings, schools, barracks, hospitals, factories,
etc., will be improved by keeping the floors sprinkled with the
solution. In sick rooms this is of great importance, the dust settling
on the floor being the readiest receptacle and means of transmitting
the microscopic fungi or germs of infection which float in the air.
VESSELS, CORKS, ETC.,
Are very well cleaned and disinfected by washing them with an aqueous
solution of the acid. This deserves especial notice.
It is evident that numerous advantageous applications of salicylic acid
are carried out besides those enumerated above, but the descriptions
already given will enable any person interested in the matter to find
out the best means of deriving profit from the wonderful properties of
this extremely useful substance.
Ice-House and Refrigerator.
BY JOHN TAYLOR.
Houses built on this plan are lined throughout the inside with sheet
iron. There is a layer of felt nailed to the sides, ceiling, and floor
of the room, and on this is nailed the sheet iron. It is then painted
with two heavy coats, it being the aim to fill up all joints and
seams with the paint. But as the tin and felt do not render the room
absolutely air-tight, I am of opinion that it can as well be dispensed
with. It might save some ice if the seams were all soldered. The layer
of cement, asphaltum or gas tar, which should cover the ground below
the joists, is to protect the room from the moisture and warmth of the
earth. Above this layer should be about 30 inches of dry sawdust or
turners shavings, well packed up to the level of the top of the joists.
[Illustration: _Refrigerating House._]
The drainage from the ice is carried off by a series of V-shaped tin
or iron troughs, which run between the joists, all of which carry
the water to one point, where it is carried outside by a trap-pipe.
These troughs reach over to the center of the top of the joists,
and are soldered together, so that no water will drip on the floor
below. It will be seen that in this plan there is no sawdust or other
preservative in contact with the ice, and that the air of the room
circulates around and over the ice. As long as the temperature of the
goods stored is above the temperature of the room there will be a
gentle draught around the mass of ice, and of course all the moisture
in the air, vapors, and odors from the goods will condense on the ice
and pass off, so that you can keep milk, cream, butter, fruits, and
meats all in the same chamber without danger of injuring the flavor of
either. The atmosphere of the room is always dry, sweet, and pure.
The features of this plan can as well be carried out by arranging a
room inside of another building.
I should have explained before that the ice does not rest directly on
the joists; but there is a bed of oak lath, about 1-1/2 by 3 inches,
laid across the joists, about 4 or 5 inches apart, on which the ice is
laid. I would further suggest that another cold chamber can as well
be had by making a cellar under the one shown, with a lattice floor
between them. It would be necessary to finish the sides and bottom of
this cellar in the most complete manner, as above described. At the
entrance to the store-room there must be a vestibule, either inside or
outside, as space or circumstances may direct. If outside the walls
should be thick and the door very heavy. The doors, both inside and
outside, should be fitted with rubber, so as to close perfectly tight,
and both doors must never be opened at the same time. This vestibule
should be large enough to contain a fair wagon load of goods, so that
if you are receiving a load of stuff you are not required to stop until
all is in the vestibule and ready to store. This house only needs
filling once a year. The temperature will range from 34 deg. in winter
to 36 deg. in summer, and will preserve fruit perfectly from season
to season. The opening for putting in the ice, shown just under the
pulley in the cut, has two doors with a space between; each door a foot
thick. The window in the cold room has three sets of sash, well packed
or cemented. The walls are 13 inches thick, lined with 17 inches of
sawdust. Thirty-six inches of sawdust are put on the floor over the
ice. The building shown is 25 feet square, inside measure, and 22 feet
from floor of cold room to ceiling over the ice. The ice-room is 12
feet high, and the cold room 9 feet. Pillars are required under the
center of the ice.--_Country Gentleman._
Cheap Ice-Houses.
Settlers in the newer portions of the country are often deprived of
many comforts which are easily accessible in long-settled places.
Whatever contributes to lessen these privations, if at little cost,
should merit special attention. A cheap ice-house may be made to afford
an important share of country comforts in such settlements. There is
nothing to prevent an abundant supply through the heat of summer where
there is a stream or sheet of water within two or three miles from
which clear blocks of ice may be sawed. Sawdust is the best material
for packing, but in its absence chaff, chopped straw, or even straw
unchopped may be made to answer the purpose.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
A costly and elaborate building is no better than the cheapest
structure for keeping ice, if care is only taken to have it properly
packed, which is very easily done after one “knows how.” We have never
seen ice better preserved through a long and hot summer than in a board
shanty with only one thickness of siding, and that full of cracks and
crevices. For a new settlement one built of logs, like that shown
in the accompanying figure (Fig. 1), may be made to answer a good
purpose. The floor may be slabs, and the roof a covering of brush to
hold the packing to its place, if a slab roof is not readily made. If
sawdust is used for packing, the crevices between the logs will need
close stopping; or, still better, it can be faced on the inside with
slabs set upright, with the smooth side inward. If straw is employed,
the rough logs may remain, and the crevices between them may be left
open. For sawdust a well-packed space of 10 inches between walls and
ice will keep the ice well; chopped straw should be 15 or 20 inches
thick, and long straw should occupy a space of 2 feet. Stiff, coarse
straw will not answer unless packed very solid; finer and softer, as
of thickly sown oats, is better, and the walls which it forms need not
be quite so thick. Fine hay would be still better, and would answer if
only a foot and a half thick and well put in. Dry swamp moss, such as
nurserymen use for packing trees and plants, would be one of the very
best substances for protecting the ice, if only a foot thick.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
Having prepared the house and packing cut the blocks of ice of
precisely equal size, using a cross-cut saw with one handle removed,
to go under water. The size should be measured and scratched on the
surface for the saw to follow. Two feet square is a convenient size.
When cut lift them out with a light plank having a batten nailed
across one end to hold them (Fig. 2). Place about 10 inches of sawdust
on the floor (or twice as much solid straw), and build the structures
solid with the ice blocks, ramming in the sawdust or other packing as
the structure goes up (Fig. 3). When finished cover it with a thickness
of packing nearly equal to that at the sides. It is important that
there be free ventilation over the top, which the loose brush will not
prevent. If there is a slab roof the air must blow freely between this
roof and the top covering. The slab floor will allow a free drainage of
all the water which runs down through the packing from the melting ice.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.]
A structure nearly as cheap as the preceding is represented in Fig. 4.
It is made by setting rough posts into the ground with the inner sides
straight or faced with the ax, and then nailing common rough boards on
them (like a tight fence) to a sufficient height. The floor is made as
already described, and the roof may be boards or slabs. The openings at
the gables perform an important part in the ventilation by admitting
all the air that can sweep over the top sawdust. Fig. 3, already
referred to, is the ground plan, and Fig. 5 is a vertical section.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.]
There are three requisites to be secured in order to keep the ice
successfully: 1st. The closely packed, non-conducting substance on
each side, under and above the mass of ice. 2d. Perfect drainage at the
bottom without the admission of air. 3d. Free circulation of air over
the top covering. If these requisites are observed the result will be
entirely satisfactory.--_Country Gentlemen._
A Cheap Ice-Chest.
Procure two dry-goods boxes, one of which is enough smaller than the
other to leave a space of 3 or 4 inches all around when it is placed
inside. Fill the space between the two with sawdust packed closely and
cover with a heavy lid made to fit neatly inside the larger box. Insert
a small pipe in the bottom of the chest to carry off the water from
the melting ice. For family or grocers’ use this will prove even more
serviceable than some of the high-priced patent refrigerators.
Ice Without an Ice-House.
Select a dry, shady spot; dig a ditch for carrying off the waste water,
and over it place a lath-work. Upon this lay a thick layer of moss,
leaves, or sawdust. Now pile upon this the cakes of ice, the larger
the better, and cut or sawed square in such a manner as to leave as
few spaces as possible, filling up those which may occur with fine
sawdust in order to prevent the air from penetrating into the interior
of the pile. It is best to build the pile in the form of a pyramid.
When completed it is covered with straw, moss, or leaves as thick and
as close as possible, a layer of earth being thrown upon it to secure
the covering and as a further protection to the ice. Where a stream or
lake is inaccessible from which to procure ice for filling ice-houses,
especially where a small quantity is stored, the ice can be frozen
with water from the well in boxes or other contrivance made especially
for the purpose, which we leave to the ingenuity of those who are
interested.
Freezing Mixtures.
Refrigerating salts and mixtures are used to produce cold artificially.
They are used with or without ice or snow. As is well known common salt
mixed with pounded ice or snow lowers the temperature to a considerable
degree, so there are other mixtures which will produce a still greater
degree of cold. The following simple and cheap preparation, when mixed
according to directions, will produce artificial cold sufficient to
cool wines, etc., without the aid of ice: Take common sal-ammoniac,
well pulverized, 1 part; saltpeter, 2 parts, and mix well together:
then take common soda, well pulverized. To use, take equal quantities
of these preparations (which must be kept separate and well covered
previous to using) and put them in the freezing pot; add of water a
sufficient quantity, and put in the article to be frozen in a proper
vessel and cover up until cooled as desired.
These tables consist of mixtures having the power of generating or
creating cold, with or without the aid of ice, sufficient for all
useful and philosophical purposes, in any part of the world at any
season:
FREEZING MIXTURES WITHOUT ICE.
-------------------------------+--------------------+--------------
| _Thermometer | _Degree of
MIXTURES. | Sinks._ | cold
| | Produced._
-------------------------------+--------------------+--------------
Muriate of ammonium 5 parts}| |
Nitrate of potassium 5 parts}| From +50° to +10° | 40
Water 16 parts}| |
| |
Muriate of ammonium 5 parts}| |
Nitrate of potassium 5 parts}| From +50° to +4° | 46
Sulphate of sodium 8 parts}| |
Water 16 parts}| |
| |
Nitrate of ammonium 1 part }| From +50° to +4° | 46
Water 1 part }| |
| |
Nitrate of ammonium 1 part }| |
Carbonate of sodium 1 part }| From +50° to -7° | 57
Water 1 part }| |
| |
Sulphate of sodium 3 parts}| From +50° to -3° | 53
Dilute nitric acid 2 parts}| |
| |
Sulphate of sodium 6 parts}| |
Muriate of ammonium 4 parts}| From +50° to -10° | 60
Nitrate of potassium 2 parts}| |
Dilute nitric acid 4 parts}| |
| |
Sulphate of sodium 6 parts}| |
Nitrate of ammonium 5 parts}| From +50° to -14° | 64
Dilute nitric acid 4 parts}| |
| |
Phosphate of sodium 9 parts}| From +50° to -12° | 62
Dilute nitric acid 4 parts}| |
| |
Phosphate of sodium 9 parts}| |
Nitrate of ammonium 6 parts}| From +50° to -21° | 71
Dilute nitric acid 4 parts}| |
| |
Sulphate of sodium 8 parts}| From +50° to 0° | 50
Muriatic acid 5 parts}| |
| |
Sulphate of sodium 5 parts}| From +50° to +3° | 47
Dilute sulphuric acid 4 parts}| |
-------------------------------------------------------------------
FREEZING MIXTURES WITH ICE.
-------------------------------+--------------------+--------------
| _Thermometer | _Degree of
MIXTURES. | Sinks._ | cold
| | Produced._
-------------------------------+--------------------+---------------
Snow or pounded ice 2 parts}| to -5° | ..
Muriate of sodium 1 part }| |
| t |
Snow or pounded ice 5 parts}| F e |
Muriate of sodium 2 parts}| r m to -12° | ..
Muriate of ammonium 1 part }| o p |
| m e |
Snow or pounded ice 24 parts}| r |
Muriate of sodium 10 parts}| a a to -18° | ..
Muriate of ammonium 5 parts}| n t |
Nitrate of potassium 5 parts}| y u |
| r |
Snow or pounded ice 12 parts}| e |
Muriate of sodium 5 parts}| to -25° | ..
Nitrate of ammonium 5 parts}| |
| |
Snow 3 parts}| From +32° to -23° | 55
Dilute sulphuric acid 2 parts}| |
| |
Snow 8 parts}| From +32° to -27° | 59
Muriatic acid 5 parts}| |
| |
Snow 7 parts}| From +32° to -30° | 62
Dilute nitric acid 4 parts}| |
| |
Snow 4 parts}| From +32° to -40° | 72
Muriate of calcium 5 parts}| |
| |
Snow 2 parts}| From +32° to -50° | 82
Crystallized muriate 3 parts}| |
of calcium | |
| |
Snow 3 parts}| From +32° to -51° | 83
Potash 4 parts}| |
-------------------------------+--------------------+--------------
COMBINATIONS OF FREEZING MIXTURES.
-------------------------------+--------------------+--------------
| _Thermometer | _Degree of
MIXTURES. | Sinks._ | cold
| | Produced._
-------------------------------+--------------------+--------------
Phosphate of sodium 5 parts}| |
Nitrate of ammonium 3 parts}| From 0° to -34° | 34
Dilute nitric acid 4 parts}| |
| |
Phosphate of sodium 3 parts}| |
Nitrate of ammonium 2 parts}| From -34° to -50° | 16
Dilute nitric acid 4 parts}| |
| |
Snow 3 parts}| From 0° to -46° | 46
Dilute nitric acid 2 parts}| |
-------------------------------+--------------------+---------------
Constant Water Baths.
[_American Chemical Journal._]
The following simple form of constant water bath, which wastes no
water, I have found to be very convenient:
A tube of glass or metal, not less than 1/4 of an inch internal
diameter, the ends of which are cut off obliquely, is bent as shown
in the cut. It should make an angle of about 30 deg., or a little
greater, with the horizontal. The angle may be diminished if the bore
of the tube is increased. One end is inserted in the water bath, the
other in an inverted bottle. The height of the water in the bath is
regulated by the depth of immersion of the tube in it. The boiling is
not interrupted by the feeding, which takes place slowly and regularly.
It is necessary that the ends of the tubes should be cut off obliquely.
The same form of tube answers equally well for keeping a constant level
in a filter or drying chamber.
[Illustration]
A brass tube is much better than a glass one, as it does not crack at
the water level after using for a time. Brass tubes can easily be bent
by ramming full of sand, stopping the ends, and bending them over a
curved surface. A large number of baths can be run by this apparatus by
connecting them with a bath fed by it.--_Charles T. Pomeroy._
Note.--We have used for a number of years in this laboratory a form
of constant water bath which was contrived by Mr. Edward Bogardus,
formerly chemist to the New Jersey State Geological Survey. As I have
not seen it described in print, and as it is cheap, simple, efficient,
and ingenious, I will draw attention to it here.
The following cut represents the apparatus:
[Illustration]
It consists of two tomato cans connected by a tin tube. Into one of the
cans a bottle of water is inverted. We generally use a five-pound acid
bottle. The other can makes the bath. This bath can be left running
over night without fear. A large number of baths can be run by this
contrivance by simply connecting them, by means of rubber tubes, with
a reservoir replenished by an inverted bottle. Old fruit cans make
excellent baths. A series of holes can be punched round the lower edge
of a fruit can, thus affording a distributing reservoir. Corks holding
short pieces of glass tube are inserted into the holes. By means of
these the reservoir can be connected by rubber tubes with a number of
baths at quite a distance. The baths are made by punching a hole near
the lower edge of a fruit can and inserting a cork and short piece of
glass tube. When the extra vents of the reservoir are not used, they
can be closed by a short rubber coupling and a pinch cock.--_Peter
T. Austen, Chemical Laboratory of Rutgers College (New Jersey State
Scientific School)._
Silos and Ensilage.
The practice of preserving roots, vegetables, and plants by covering
them with earth or by placing them in cellars, etc., is an ancient
one, but the practical application of the principle on a large scale
to the preservation of fodder-corn, clover, etc., as a food for stock
is comparatively a recent practice, the first silo in this country
having been built within the last twelve years. Previously, however,
the French and English gave the subject considerable attention,
but it seems that within the last two or three years our American
experimenters have made great improvements in the process and
construction of the silo by which more successful results have been
attained than ever before and have awakened much interest among the
progressive class of farmers and stock-growers throughout the country.
A number of the Agricultural Experiment Stations located in the
different States, particularly those of Wisconsin, Illinois, and also
the Agricultural College at Guelph, Ontario, have made extensive
applications of the process. Several articles from them detailing the
success of the experiments for the past season have appeared in the
columns of _The Breeder’s Gazette_ of this city. Through the courtesy
of the editor and Prof. W. A. Henry of the Wisconsin Agricultural
Experiment Station we are enabled to present full instructions in
regard to constructing and filling a silo. These, with clippings
which we include from the writings of others high in authority on the
subject, contain as full an account of recent experiments as we can
give with our limited space.
“Agriculture never took a longer stride in advance than it did when
the silo was added to the practical equipment of the farm. Most of us
were slow to realize this at first, and a great many are yet unwilling
to concede the advantages claimed for the silo, but the utility of
the modern silo cannot be gainsaid, for without it we are left at the
mercy of the elements in the handling of our great corn crop. There was
much truth in the statement that the silo as first introduced was too
expensive for the average farmer, but in no department of the farm has
there been such a change of opinion and methods of attaining desired
results as is the case with the silo. The modern wooden building is not
only less expensive but vastly superior to the original cellar or stone
structure and every year’s experience is throwing light in hitherto
dark places, so that in a short time the progressive dairyman or
beef-raiser will think no more of filling his silo than our fathers did
of filling the barn with hay, and with proper facilities for handling
the corn no part of the silo work will be as hard as pitching hay over
the ‘big beam.’” * * * _Supt. Adams, Wis. Agr. Exp. Station._
* * * A _silo_ is a place where fodder is preserved in a succulent
condition. It may be a pit, a box, a mow, a tank, a building, or a
trench in the earth. _Silage_ is the word denoting the fodder so
preserved. _Ensilage_ is the term applied to the process or system.
_Ensile_ is the verb expressive of the action of making silage.
_Ensilor_ stands for the person using the _silo_ to _ensile_ fodder for
_silage_ by the process of _ensilage_.--_Prof. James W. Robertson,
Ontario Agr. Col., Guelph._
* * * I further believe that our present knowledge of the silo and the
best methods of storing crops therein is not perfect, and that we will
make great advancement in the future; but that we have reached a point
where this method is within the possibilities of our average farmers,
and it is this class most of all that needs this method. The time has
come when we must produce more beef, butter, wool, and pork to the
acre or sink beneath the wave of competition that is driving over our
land. The silo seems to be a valuable and important means to this
end.--_Prof. W. A. Henry._
CONSTRUCTING THE SILO.--BY PROF. W. A. HENRY.
[Illustration: A 100-TON DOUBLE SILO.]
“Silos are like houses, no two individuals can agree upon the same
plan; for this reason I approach this branch of the subject with
no expectation of pleasing all or of giving directions for making
a perfect structure. I deem it best to give a description of one
way in which a double silo may be built and leave it to the reader
to introduce such modifications in the plan as may best meet his
particular wants and circumstances. The drawing herewith presented
shows an ideal two-room silo 16 feet wide, 32 feet long, and 16 feet to
the eaves. Built as described each room would have a capacity of over
3,000 cubic feet which would contain about 50 tons of settled ensilage
weighing 35 pounds to the cubic foot. We may say then that this figure
represents a 100-ton silo. For the foundation of this structure either
brick or stone may be used, going deep enough to avoid heaving by the
frost and rising 6 inches or 1 foot above the surface of the level
ground about it. Upon this wall a sill should be laid which had best
be constructed of 2×10 inch plank. One of the difficulties in silo
construction is to avoid spreading of the building, which sometimes
occurs through lateral pressure of the contents when settling. For this
reason the sills must be well tied together at the corners; instead of
using square timbers, which are greatly weakened by cutting, plank may
be substituted and the corners of the sill constructed as in Fig. 2. If
well spiked there will be no danger from spreading at the corners. The
plank of which the sills are constructed should be at least 8 inches
wide; 10 would be better. By using four of these, lying one on top of
another, the sill will be 8 inches thick. Midway between the ends of
the building a cross wall should be built, and on this a sill should be
laid upon which to erect the partition which divides the silo into two
compartments. This cross wall should be so worked into the side walls
as to hold them securely, and thus prevent the silo from spreading
on the sides. A little ingenuity will make the foundation and sills
secure. If possible the sills should be as wide as the wall upon which
it rests, but if this cannot be conveniently done the wall of stone
or brick should be raised above the ground but a very few inches at
most, as the ensilage in settling on the shoulder made by the jutting
wall is almost certain to spoil at that point. Having laid the sill
upon the wall in the manner described proceed to erect the building
by standing 2×8 or 10-inch studding perpendicularly upon this sill,
placing them not further apart than every 16 inches, so that a sheet of
tarred building paper will lap two studding in each case. The reader
is cautioned to measure the building paper carefully, before setting
up the studding, as it is sometimes scant in width and trouble will
occur when one attempts to tack on the paper. Double the studding at
the corners. In the illustration of the building I have not placed the
proper number of studding, but the reader can rest assured that once
in 16 inches is not too often. Having placed our studding in position
and secured them by a plate running around the top we are ready for the
rafters. Fig. 3 shows how these rest upon the plates and how they are
tied together so as to least interfere with the filling of the silo.
For a cheap silo boards may be used, though probably shingles are the
cheapest in the end. In the roof upon one side place a dormer window at
D in the illustration; this window is immediately over the partition.
It is intended that the ensilage carrier shall pass up through the
window so that the ensilage will fall over the partition and can be
deposited in either one of the two compartments by means of a slanting
chute. If one does not wish to undergo the expense of the dormer window
a scuttle in the roof is all that is necessary. The roof is the same as
for any building.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.]
“We are now ready to sheathe the silo; let us begin on the inside.
First of all tack tarred building paper to the studding, running the
strips up and down and having them catch on every third studding. Avoid
all openings or rents in the paper. Having placed the paper take common
boards dressed on one side and sheet up to the top of the studding.
When this is completed repeat the operation by placing a second layer
of boards over the first, breaking joints. Narrow boards are preferable
to wide ones for this work, as they will swell without bulging. We
have double-boarded the inside of our silo by this operation, and
rendered it practically impervious to the air. I see no reason for
using anything but common lumber for this purpose, as upon swelling it
will close up tight enough to keep out the air. Upon the outside of the
studding tack building paper again, as shown at Fig. C in the first
illustration. Over this paper place any kind of boards that the fancy
of the builder may dictate, as clapboards, shiplap, or drop-siding. It
will be seen that our walls are constructed as follows, beginning at
the outside: First, siding; second, building paper; third, a dead-air
space of 8 or 10 inches; fourth, building paper; fifth, common boards;
sixth, common boards. No sawdust, tanbark, or other filling should be
used, as a dead-air space is a better non-conductor for our purpose
and less expensive than any of these. The partition can be built of
narrower studding than those used on the sides of the building, and one
thickness of boards used on each side, together with building paper,
as in the first instance, is sufficient. To prevent lateral pressure
bulging the silo two iron rods should be run through the partition
walls joining the sides of the building, placing one about two feet
above the partition sill and the other about four feet above that.
Half or three-fourths-inch rods with heavy caps at the ends should be
sufficient, and are easily put in place before the boards are tacked to
the partition.
“Two doorways should be left by cutting out a single studding in
each compartment upon the most convenient side. These doorways reach
to within three feet of the ground, and should be about seven feet
in height. They need not reach to within five feet of the top of the
building. The ensilage will settle in the silo several feet, and when
the time comes to pass it out through the doorway it takes but little
time to dig down two or three feet to the top of the door and make an
opening large enough to pass out the upper layer. Fig. 1 shows one of
the ways in which a doorway may be made so that it can be boarded up
air-tight. Instead of making solid doors hung on hinges I think it is
better to use boards that will fit in crossways, making them double
thick, and having the inside board even with the inside boarding of the
silo, as shown in Fig. 1. Do not make the doorways over 6 or 7 feet in
length vertically, as in all cases they weaken the structure. Endeavor
to have the inside of the silo smooth and perpendicular from top to
bottom, with no jogs or shoulders upon which the ensilage can catch or
drag.
“If built above ground fill the rooms of the two compartments with
earth until the surface is three or four inches above the outside
level, so that no water will at any time enter to injure the ensilage
that rests on the ground. I do not yet know which is the best method
of preserving the silo from decaying. This is an important branch
of the topic, but it has thus far received little attention. Some
have recommended using kerosene for an inside coating. We shall try
that this season, and also gas or roofing tar, which I think will be
excellent. This roofing tar when heated becomes liquid, and can be
applied with a mop to the inside of the silo. As soon as it cools it
hardens into an impervious glossy layer that I should think eminently
adapted to this purpose.
“Having no ceiling or floor, and being built of common material, there
is no necessity for the silo being an expensive structure. Of course
the reader will modify the description given to suit his own wants
and circumstances, but I can assure him that in some such way he can
provide a silo at no great expense.
“After the structures built for the special purpose comes the
modification of building already erected. A great many farmers
are building over bays in their barns for silos. This is easily
accomplished by placing studding all around the bay and double boarding
on the inside. If one fears cold weather he can make a dead-air space
by using two sets of studding and boarding on the inside of the bay.
Stone buildings can be converted into good silos by furring out and
double boarding on the inside. In general I am adverse to stone
structures for this purpose unless thus boarded. Some kinds of stone
seem to do very well, but stone walls carry off the heat and moisture
too rapidly to make good silo walls. If one wishes to try preserving
corn-fodder and cannot afford a structure of wood, he can excavate a
pit in the earth and bury the corn-fodder therein, though I am sure he
will soon give up this practice as unduly expensive.
“A word in regard to the location of the silo. It may be built
adjoining the feeding barn with the doors so placed that the ensilage
be conveyed directly to the cattle, or if that is not possible, place
it where the ensilage can be conveyed by a car or cart. Mr. Hiram Smith
of this State, who has large silos and uses ensilage extensively, holds
that it is not inconvenient to have the silo located a few rods from
the feeding barn. The ensilage is pitched into a cart with forks and
the cart driven into the feeding barn between the two rows of cows
which stand facing each other. The ensilage is placed in front of the
animals directly from the cart with great rapidity. In some cases a car
can be used which can be run down grade into the barn in front of the
cattle. I think either of these methods is preferable to attempting to
carry ensilage in baskets any distance.
FILLING THE SILO.
“Probably very few stone silos will be built in the future, for
experience shows that a stone wall chills the ensilage during the
curing process and if it does not seriously injure that portion next
to it to a thickness of several inches it renders it at least less
palatable than ensilage nearer the middle of the silo. One reason, in
my judgment, that the silo has not won more friends in the Eastern
States is owing to the common use of stone in its construction. On
our experimental farm at Madison our first silo, built in 1881, was
of stone, and our conclusions in regard to ensilage were made up from
results obtained with this silo; had we put up a wooden structure I am
confident our results would have been worth vastly more to our people
than they have been.
“The question of stacking ensilage is sometimes raised, being urged
upon our people by the practice of our English friends, who are
experimenting quite largely in this direction. It will be no more
profitable to stack ensilage in the Northern States than to stack
hay, and even less so in my judgment, for the waste would be very
considerable and no one would relish the job of handling it during bad
weather. Silos built of wood or made by changing over the bays of barns
are the proper structures, judging from our present knowledge, for the
Northern States; our friends at the South may find stacking successful.
“Having constructed the silo somewhat after the one described, though,
be it remembered, large latitude is allowed in this matter, we will
proceed to fill it with one of the two crops most suitable for the
purposes; clover or fodder-corn. If clover is to be used I would
recommend that a hay-loader be tried for the purpose of picking it up
just as left by the mower. I have hopes that some form of hay-loader
will do this work satisfactorily. The clover, either fresh or partly
wilted, in any degree of dryness indeed, may be carried at once and
unloaded into the silo, care being taken to fill and tramp down the
corners and along the edges so that when all has thoroughly settled
there will be no air spaces to favor decay. To fill a silo with clover
is indeed a most simple process. By having two divisions the pits
can be filled alternately, each layer of material heating up to the
required temperature before the next is placed over it.
“For fodder-corn the processes are a little more complex, though in
reality very simple. The fodder-corn should be allowed to approach
maturity, the best point for cutting being not far from that at which
we would ordinarily cut any shock. By this I do not mean to allow the
leaves to become dry and crisp, but rather that they show a change from
deep rank green to that yellowish tinge indicative of maturity, though
with still an abundance of moisture in them. Formerly ensilage corn was
cut shortly after the tassel appeared. Without doubt very considerable
loss was incurred by such a practice.
“It is evident that if we cut our fodder at the time the corn is
glazing our practice is as near correct as the present stage of
investigation points out. Since the period of filling the silo will
occupy several days, or even a couple of weeks, we must gauge the date
of commencement to strike the best average conditions. For cutting
the fodder some parties recommend the use of the reaper, but I judge
from what I have been told that a good many rakes have been broken in
attempting the work, and that many have given them up and gone back
to the use of the corn knife. Such must be the case usually, at least
where large varieties of corn are grown. The stalks should be cut close
to the ground and thrown into bundles or gavels. If the weather is at
all threatening I think it proper to cut and shock, since the fodder
will dry off much more rapidly if rain falls, and it will not be so
muddy and disagreeable to handle as when laid on the ground.
“Last season the writer urged that the fodder be wilted before it was
put into the silo, and his own experience, with that of many others,
corroborates this method of procedure, which has the additional
advantage that less water is handled in the operation. If it is
intended to allow the fodder to wilt the corn had better be cut and
shocked, after which it may stand from three to ten days, depending
upon the maturity of the stalks at time of cutting and the weather. If
the fodder dries out rapidly, from four days to a week is amply long
for it to stand in shock, while if the weather is somewhat damp or the
fodder quite green it may even stand ten days with no loss. One of the
advantages of cutting and shocking is that when it is over the force of
men employed in this operation can be changed to filling the silo. If
the corn is cut and placed in the silo at once quite a force of hands
is needed, but by cutting and shocking first we can avoid this double
force.
“For drawing to the silo truck wagons are better than ordinary ones,
since the fodder is more easily loaded upon them. The common practice
is to attach a plank to the rear of the wagon, up which the men can
walk with their arms full of fodder, which should be placed with tops
all one way for ease in unloading. If the fodder is to be put through
the feed-cutter the cutter should be placed so that the carrier will
deposit it in either of the two pits as required. Formerly the carriers
were so constructed that they would not work advantageously at a much
greater angle than 45 deg., but now I note that some manufacturers have
them arranged to carry almost vertically.
“In regard to the kind of feed-cutter to be used, it may be said that
there are several valuable machines before the public, any one of which
will prove satisfactory if properly managed. The only point I desire
to urge is that a large machine be purchased, one having about double
the advertised capacity. Small cutters are a nuisance; hand-power
cutters are out of the question. The cutter should be driven by three
horses on a sweep power or two on a tread, or by a steam engine.
Many farmers delay ordering the cutter until within a week or two of
the time to fill the silo and are obliged to wait weeks until it is
received, thereby suffering great inconvenience and loss. As soon as
the question is settled in favor of having a silo a cutter should be
selected and ordered, and it should be set up and run in a test trial
not less than a week before actual filling is contemplated, so that
repairs or changes can be made. To run a feed-cutter properly requires
considerable experience and some knowledge of machinery, and many
persons have suffered serious losses by not giving this side of the
subject due attention.
“This brings me to a point in the discussion of considerable interest
to many persons who desire to have silos but dread the experience and
expense of machinery. Corn-fodder may be preserved in a perfectly
satisfactory manner without running it through the feed-cutter, and
may be drawn from the field and deposited directly in the silo. The
expense of putting corn-fodder through the feed-cutter, first and last,
is not far from half of all that incurred from the time of cutting the
fodder to closing the silo. To fill the silo with long fodder let it be
drawn in the usual manner and lifted at once into the pit, which can
be accomplished in several ways, either by hand or the horse hay-fork
carrier and slings. In the silo it should be distributed evenly and
probably had better be placed in regular layers, lapping “shingle
fashion” so that it will settle evenly.
“The use of long fodder for the silo has been urged with considerable
vigor by Mr. I. J. Clapp of Kenosha, Wis., one of _The Breeder’s
Gazette’s_ correspondents, and I think much good has resulted from
his advocacy. There is no doubt but that long fodder will keep just
as well as that which is cut up, and I am not at all certain but such
ensilage is even better in some cases than that made by cutting up the
stalks into small pieces. When cut into small pieces the fodder is
considerably bruised, and there is much more exposure of the juices
to the air than there is where whole fodder is used. My attention was
called to this point by a recent letter from Mr. Clapp, and I hope we
can make some observations on the subject in the future. At any rate
let those parties who either from choice or necessity do not wish to
use the feed-cutter hesitate no longer in regard to the silo if they
wish to try it, but go ahead and place the whole fodder in one, and I
am confident they will not be disappointed in its feeding qualities.
The only difficulty with long fodder comes at the time it is to be
taken out for feeding purposes; then if large varieties have been used
the man who attempts to get it out of the silo will need strong muscles
and a large degree of patience to enable him to tug at the compact
mass, which is quite difficult to manage. Twenty-five cows will eat up
the ensilage about as fast as one man can get it out. It may be just
as economical, however, to put two men into the silo for an hour or
two each day during the winter, when labor is cheap, to get out the
ensilage as it is to use more expensive labor in the fall to accomplish
the extra work of running the feed-cutter.
“Slow filling is without doubt the best method for securing good
ensilage, no matter what material we are using, be it clover, long
fodder-corn, or fodder cut fine. When the pit has been filled three or
four feet deep no more should be placed within it until this layer has
heated to the neighborhood of 125 deg. Fahrenheit. Mr. John Gould of
Ohio, who has been a deep student of this subject from the practical
side, I believe holds that the ensilage should be allowed to pile up as
it falls from the carrier, and after the pile has heated to the right
temperature it should be distributed evenly over the silo, throwing
that which is hottest to the corners and along the walls. It is certain
that ensilage usually heats up easily and rapidly except in the corners
and along the walls, where we find the temperature does not rise so
rapidly nor to the same degree as it does in the body of the silo, and
anything that will help us overcome this lack will improve its quality,
and I deem Mr. Gould’s suggestion a valuable one. No packing down is
needed except in the corners and along the walls; at these points we
endeavor to firm the ensilage just as much as possible. I wish we
could avoid this operation, and in the future we may do so. I believe
the ensilage would be better without any tramping and packing if we
could only get it to settle uniformly without. We should endeavor to
secure an elevation in temperature of from 120 to 140 deg. uniformly
throughout the mass of material. If the contents of the silo heat up
to different degrees in different places we cannot expect them to
be uniform in quality, though all will be eaten by the stock. The
theory advanced by Mr. Fry of England that a temperature of 122 deg.
Fahrenheit destroyed the ferment that produced the temperature seems
hardly correct, for we find that the temperature goes on beyond this
very rapidly--indeed, it is often very difficult to hold it below 140
or 150 deg., while in other cases I have known silos in which I could
detect no faulty handling of the crop that would not heat to 120 deg.
A case in point occurred last season; while we were busy filling our
silos at the experimental farm I was called to the telephone by a
young farmer living some thirty miles away who asked several questions
about temperatures. I answered him to the best of my ability and the
matter dropped from my mind. A couple of hours afterward, however,
the party himself appeared on the scene in a troubled state of mind;
he said he feared that he could not make his case plain through the
telephone, and so had come on the first train to consult personally.
His ensilage would not heat up to 120 deg., but was moulding badly
instead. I advised that he go on filling the silo, ignoring the
temperature question entirely. He did so, and in the winter reported
satisfactory results. In my opinion we have much to learn in regard to
this ferment, and that very close, patient study will be required to
bring out the scientific side in a satisfactory manner. Fortunately
we do not have to be very particular in our practice to obtain a very
good quality of ensilage. I would advise, therefore, that a person
allow the temperature to run from 120 to 140 when the thermometer is
buried a foot deep in the fodder; but when these conditions are not
obtained, no matter whether the degree be lower or higher, to go right
on without feeling anxious in the matter. If the contents of the silo
do not heat at all, or if the temperature gets up to 160 deg., the
cattle will still eat the ensilage without complaint and relish it
better than average dry fodder. I speak pretty positively upon this
point because novices find it difficult to get over it and become quite
excited and nervous if they cannot attain the exact directions given
by most writers on this subject. The best rule is to go ahead, do the
best one can, and the cattle will be very well satisfied with the
result. Remember that the experience of a single individual or a single
season may be no criterion for other cases. The reasons for these great
variations are not yet apparent.
“Silo filling may go on for two or three weeks, or until the pits
are filled, when they should be covered after standing a day or two
to allow the last layer to heat. For covering material there may be
placed over the ensilage building paper upon which may be placed sand,
earth, chaff, cut straw, marsh hay, long straw, sawdust, or almost any
material which will help keep out the air. If one wishes the pits may
be left uncovered, in which case something like a foot of the ensilage
will decay and form a covering and protection for that beneath. The
practice of weighting the silo is now largely abandoned, though I am
not certain but what some heavy material along the edges and in the
corners will aid in saving the ensilage at those points, since it is
here that the contents do not settle so well as does the body of the
material. For a few weeks after filling the sides and corners should be
tramped down occasionally to aid them in settling.”
PLANTING, CUTTING, FEEDING, ETC.
The following extracts from “Bulletin No. 2,” Illinois Agricultural
Experiment Station, by Thomas F. Hunt, answers some important questions
in regard to planting, etc.:
“The filling of the silo was practically continuous, and was done in
three days, Aug. 20 to 22, 1887, with 54,525 lbs.--twenty-seven and a
quarter tons--of green corn. About twenty tons of this consisted of
a medium sized, fairly early yellow dent corn (Murdock), which had
been planted May 4 to 6, in rows 3 feet 9 inches apart, with two to
three kernels dropped every 9 to 12 inches in each row. At the time of
cutting the stalks had well-formed but small ears, the kernels of which
had largely passed the milk state; that is, the kernels were mostly
glazed. The lower leaves were yellowish, and some had begun to dry. The
growth, though not large, was thought satisfactory, considering the
long-continued and severe drouth that had prevailed here. The yield was
not more than seven tons of fresh fodder per acre. Seven tons consisted
of a large, late maturing yellow dent corn (Leaming), which had been
planted May 28, 1887. The kernels were in the milk and the leaves were
entirely green. No marked difference was noted between the ensilage
from this and that from the other corn. * * *
“Feeding the ensilage was begun March 10, 1888, by mixing it with twice
its bulk of dry, cut corn-fodder, not corn-stover, which our stock had
been chiefly fed during the winter. The cattle soon learned to like
the ensilage, and after the first week it was fed without mixing with
any other substance and was eaten rather better, on the whole, than
corn-fodder had been previously.
“Dairy weights of ensilage fed to the stock were not taken. From what
weighing was done it is estimated that from March 17 to April 30
700 lbs. on an average were fed daily. During this time the following
cattle were given ensilage: March 17 to April 30 two aged and five
yearling bulls, one heifer, and one dry cow were fed ensilage, hay, and
grain; eight milch cows, ensilage, straw, and grain; ten dry cows and
five heifers, ensilage and straw. March 17 to April 16, three steers
were fed ensilage and corn. April 13 to 30, four heifers and two dry
cows were fed ensilage and hay. It will thus be seen that for 45 days
37 head were, on an average fed 700 lbs., about 19 each, daily. Of
these 15 had ensilage and straw only; 8 had ensilage and straw with
grain, usually four quarts of bran added daily; and 9 ensilage, hay,
and grain. All thrived exceedingly well considering the amount of food
eaten.”
For information as to the results of future experiments with ensilage
we refer the reader to the various State Agricultural Experiment
Stations and the authorities here quoted.