ice houses will not decompose. The corpse of Prince Mentschicoff, banished to Siberia by Peter the Great, was found in a perfect state of preservation 92 years after his death. A still more striking proof of the preserving power of cold is found in the mammoth discovered by Pallas in Liberia, all of whose immense bulk was found frozen.

In England fish, especially salmon, are packed in ice for transportation.

PRESERVATION OF MILK AND EGGS.

Until recently the preservation of milk has been considered an unsolved problem. Appert steamed the milk and put into it the yolks of eggs before subjecting it to his process. Lignac, and others, put in sugar to facilitate its dissolving and to prevent souring. Steaming was then employed at a temperature not quite that of boiling till the milk had become reduced to a pulp In this condition it was exhibited at the World's Fair, in London, 1851. The preparation by Faduilhe, of London, was formed into square, yellowish-white cakes, about one inch in thickness, which are so solid that they require grating before they can be dissolved. Unprejudicial experiments made with Faduilhe's solidified milk, showed that it neither imparted the taste nor color of mi k to the liquid in which it was dissolved. Even continued boiling of the substance in water failed to give a milky appearance. Recently various manufacturers have mixed carbonate of soda with the milk, in order to give the solution a white appearance; but this imparts an unpleasant taste.

A new method of preserving milk was invented by Madru, by which milk is kept in its natural state with all its properties unimpared, without steaming or mixing with another substance. In 1855, the inventor was awarded a prize of 1,500 francs by the "Association for Encouraging National Industry." In his method the milk is heated to a temperature of 80 degrees C., in metalle bottles, and cooled when the air is entirely secluded. These metallic bottles are always kept full, and are provided with a tube of tin or lead which leads into a receptacle above, which is also filled with milk. Into this receptable the milk rises. when expanded by heat. On the surface of the milk in the receptacle is poured a thin film of olive oil. Twelve or fifteen of these bottles are put into a tight vessel, which is filled with steam, and heated for about an hour to a temperature of 80° C. By this time all the air contained has escaped, and the milk is suffered to cool down to 20° C. The volume of the milk decreases on cooling, and completely fills the bottle and tube above it. The tube is compressed just above the bottle with pincers, and then cut off and soldered tight. The bottle being completely filled, the fluid cannot be shaken, thus preventing the formation of butter. By this method milk may be preserved for months and even years. Eight bottles of this milk were opened eight months afterwards and found perfectly preserved; another bottle, which had been closed and sealed in July, 1853, was opened in April, 1855, after having been taken to Brazil and remaining there for six months. This milk was equal to fresh milk in every respect. In order to prevent the bursting of the bottles, they are allowed to cool, more or less, before

closing, according to the climate of the region to which they are to be taken. If the milk is to be taken to a tropical country, the bottles are closed when at a temperature of 25° to 26° R.; for countries of temperate zones, at 20°. Mabru's method seems to be very suitable for our dairies, as by it, in large cities, we could have the milk of May in the midst of winter.

In most methods for preserving eggs, the object is to seclude the air, for the shell is pierced with innumerable pores which freely transmit air. One of the oldest methods is to smear the eggs with grease; another to dip them in lime water. The eggs are packed, with the large ends upwards, in a stone crock which is filled with lime water. This lime water penetrates the shell and forms the albuminate of lime, which excludes the oxygen of the air. In this way eggs may be preserved for culinary purposes, but they are much inferior to fresh eggs. Another method is to put the eggs in boiling water for a short time, by which the albumen is made to form a coagulated layer nearest the shell. The eggs thus prepared are kept in a cellar, packed in sawdust, or, what is still better, pulverized charcoal. It would also be an improvement if the eggs were dipped in a solution of gum arabic with sugar or glycerine, to prevent complete drying. The plan of dipping the eggs in collodion, or a solution of gutta percha, though theoretically correct, will not be found practical, on account of the dissolving menstruum, ether or benzole, penetrating the eggs, thus rendering them unfit for use. Recently it has been proposed to place the eggs in a solution of waterglass, in order that the chalk-like egg shell may be transformed into silicate of lime, and lose its porosity. The practicability of this method has never been demonstrated; but it may be supposed that some constituent of this fluid will penetrate the egg and render it unpalatable.

PRESERVATION OF VEGETABLE FOOD.

Of the many substances used in the preserving of vegetable food we will mention salt, vinegar, alcohol and sugar as the most important. Their use is based upon the fact that they cause chemical change, at the same time aiding in the seclusion of air.

In using salt for the preservation of vegetables, an extraction of water may take place as in pickling meat; but this is of secondary importance. If vegetables mixed with salt be placed in a warm place, a peculiar fermentation will take place, giving rise to the formation of lactic acid, or the acid of sour milk. It is this acid which fills the pores of sour crout and cucumbers when pickled with salt. In preserving by this method, the most important thing is to discover the time when the fermentation has reached its maximum, that the preparation may be removed to a cool place. If this moment is allowed to pass, and the vegetables are allowed to remain at too high a temperature, the lactic acid, which before was of a mild and palatable taste, degenerates into butyric acid, which is of foetid odor, and the fermentation of which is the first process of decomposi

tion.

A weak syrup of sugar has a tendency to decompose itself into vinegar and

sour acids when acted upon by nitrogenous substances, but a strong syrup is more stable, and not only remains intact, but protects those substances saturated with it from decomposition. On this principle the preservation of fruit is founded. The juice of certain fruits, such as currants and gooseberries, when boiled, possess the property of forming a jelly, and this when combined with sugar, forms the jelly prepared from fruits. Fruits owe this property to the coagulation of gelatin and to the presence of pectin acid, a substance found throughout the vegetable kingdom.

In Germany, alcohol is rarely used for the preservation of fruits, but in France, such fruits as plums and prunes are preserved in brandy, and sold at the restaurants in the place of the schnapps of northern Germany.

Vinegar is often used in the preservation of substances which are more in use as condiments and stimulants than nutritious food. In order to keep such preserves the better, it is advisable that the vinegar first applied be changed after a time for fresh, as it will contain the water of the vegetables and be made weaker. That method which appears to be of the most importance is Appert's, already described. This is especially adapted to the preservation of such vegetables as green peas, asparagus, etc. By this method the preserves, however, often spoil, notwithstanding great care in the preparation. In Landes, a department of France, the preservation of green peas had become an important branch of industry, which was suddenly checked in 1850, by the fermentation of butyric acid in every case. Dumas, then Minister, sent Prof. Farre to discover the cause. Не recommended to close the vessels in which the vegetables were contained, when they were at a temperature of 8° or 10° above the boiling point. This for a time was a sufficient remedy, but since 1856 a temperature of 110° C. is no longer sufficient, and that of 115° is required.

Only a few years since the process of drying was applied only to fruit and a few roots, but lately it has been applied to all vegetables. M. Masson has greatly improved the preservation of dried vegetables by compressing them into cakes about five inches square and half an inch thick, by which the action of the air is diminished on account of their decreased surface. In this manner vegetables and culinary herbs are pressed and placed in tin boxes, or wrapped in tin fʊil, for market. In this connection it is proper to mention the celebrated "camp food," which consists of cabbage, carrots, beans, turnips and potatoes, prepared in a similar manner. Before using, it is only necessary to soak this in warm water for half to three-quarters of an hour, and then it is prepared in the ordinary manner. By soaking, the leaves are brought out almost to their extent when fresh. While this preparation does not have the taste of fresh vegetables, it has nothing unpleasant, and in times when fresh vegetables cannot be procured, and for large bodies of men, it is an excellent substitute. Chollet & Co, of Paris, have a large establishment, where the preservation of vegetables in this manner is carried on. A firm in Frankfort manufactured pressed vegetables, of which they exhibited specimens at the Fair in Munich, in 1854, but those did not meet the expectations entertained of their value. The spinage and carrots of D. H.

Carstens, of Lubec, were better, and his preparations are so famous that the Baltic fleet of the Allies ordered large quantities from him.

Recently, Morel-Fatio has proposed a new method for preparing compressed vegetables, which consists in exposing them to steam of high temperature, and afterwards drying quickly. He says that according to Masson's method, by which vegetables are simply dried, the preparation must always have a hay-like taste, peculiar to dried vegetables, and that in course of time they must acquire an acid taste from the slow oxydation of the albumen which has not been coagulated. In his method the vegetables are washed, cut, placed on racks, and exposed to the action of steam. By this they are boiled without losing any of their elements. After being sufficiently boiled, the racks are removed to a room through which air, at the temperature of 35° to 40°, is forced by machinery. When dried by this, no more change need be anticipated, because the albumen has been coagulated by steam.

For a few years chemists and physiologists have paid particular attention to the important question, "How can we procure cheap victuals? Eccentric heads have endeavored, but in vain, to convert wood-fibre into starch and bark into bread. But nature produces every year more food than double the number of the inhabitants of our earth could consume. For this reason the study of enlightened men should be not to create food from substances not adapted, but to preserve that which is already at hand. From what has been done during the last ten years, we may infer what will be done at no distant day. Bright hopes are before us, and the apprehension of increasing prices of food is unfounded. Hitherto the preservation of food has been subservient to the fastidious palate of luxury; in future, this important branch of industry will serve the people at large, and furnish good, cheap and nutritious food.

THE BEET-ITS CULTURE, PROPERTIES AND QUALITIES.

The beet is a native of the coast of Southern Europe-particularly of Spain and Portugal-where it grows wild upon the sea shore. As a food plant it is an annual; as a seed plant it is biennial; that is to say, the root comes to perfection during the first year, while the seeds are not produced till the second year.

All the different varieties of beets have been developed by culture from the wild plant. Formerly it was but little cultivated, but of late more extensively, until, in many places, it has taken the place of turnips and other roots as food for anima's. It excels many other roots in nutritive qualities; thrives well in most localities; is attacked by few insects; is less exhaustive of the soil; furnishes a more palatable food for animals; and, above all, is becoming of more and more importance in the manufacture of sugar. Of all roots of its kind the beet attains the greatest size. In Belgium beets weighing 20 pounds are not unusual. While Napoleon I. was a prisoner at St. Helena, a beet weighing 120 pounds was raised there, but this enormous weight was obtained by a growth of one year and a half.

According to Block, the sugar-beet contains 87.5 per cent. of moisture, and 900 pounds of beets are equal in value to 100 pounds of rye, for nutritive purposes.

CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE BEET.

According to Boussingault's elementary analysis, there were contained in 100 parts dried beets—

According to Way's chemical analysis, 100 parts of beet contain