I sv 153 3«? FfiESH EGGS AND YELLOW BUTTER. — __ A TREATISE ON EGGS AND BUTTER, SHOWING METHODS OF PRESERVING EGGS, BUTTER, MEATS, ETC. WITH THE PROCESS OF DEOXYGENATING AND INSULATING EGGS. AND OTHER NEW AND VALUABLE INFORMATION USEFUL TO THE PRODUCE DEALER, GROCER, DAIRYMAN, CHEESE-MAKER, FARMER, DRUGGIST, MANUFACTURER, Etc. "W- O. BRUSON, PRACTICAL CHEMIST. Consequitur quodcunque petit. / CHICAGO, ILL.: Western News Company, 121 and 123 State Street. / £ : Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by W. C. BRUSON, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Northern District of Illinois. Evening Journal Print, 46 Doarborn Street. // FARMERS' DAUGHTERS OF AMERICA, Who take pride in gathering fresh eggs, and are accomplished in the art of making sweet yellow butter, and by their energy and enterprise stimulate the hardy sons of the soil to cultivate the fields, that they may teem with golden heads of wheat and waving corn, THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, With the compliments of THE AUTHOR. f$n%}\ @tjgs mid §ellaw §niieij. xC Gr Or S 5 DEOXYGENATED AND INSULATED, REMAIN IN A FRESH STATE. BUTTER. PRESERVED AND COLORED. RANCID BUTTER RESTORED. EXPLANATION OF TERMS. Compound. — A mass or body formed by the union or mixture of two or more substances. A chemical compound is composed of two or more bodies united in certain invariable proportions. Thus 49 parts of sulphuric acid, and 28 parts of quick lime form sulphate of lime or plaster of pari s. Deodorizing — Depriving of odor. Deozygenating — Depriving of oxygen. Digest — In chemistry, to soften and prepare or dissolve by heat. Diluted — Made thin or weak by adding fluids. Endosmosis — Passage inward of liquids, vapors, or gases through mem- branes or porous substances Exosmosis — Passage outward of liquids, vapors, or gases through mem- branes or porous substances. Insulation. — Non-communication with other substances. Insulated eggs are not liable to endosmosis or exosmosis. Maceration — Softening in water, or soaking in a fluid. Mixture — Ingredients blended without an alteration of their substances. A mere mechanical union of bodies. For instance, corn and oats may be mixed, but not combined. Solution— Dissolving a solid in a fluid. Thus, salt disappears in water, its solution takes place. The liquid is called a Solution of Salt in Water. Solution is a true chemical union. Saturated Solution. — Solution is the result of attraction or affiinity between the fluid and the solid. This affinity continues to operate to a certain point where the fluid no longer possesses any solvent properties; it is then saturated and the fluid is called a, saturated solution. Thus, one gallon of water will only dissolve three pounds of common salt. It is then saturated. Any additional salt will remain undissolved. Saponified. — Converted into soap. Specific Gravity. — Density of bodies as compared with an equal bulk of water. Water is the standard for solids and liquids, common air for gases. Water-bath. — A kettle or vessel of water, over a tire, in which is placed another vessel containing fluid that requires only a heat below the boiling point of water. Water boils at 212° F. Water in the vessel in a water-bath can only be heated to 207° F. PREFACE. The subjects which this volume is designed to elucidate have, in their consideration and investigation, engaged mv attention for the past fifteen years. Their importance, and that of the improvements and discoveries made, have con- strained me to undertake the task of placing them before the public in the form of a book. While I have aimed to secure enough accuracy in the de- tails of these processes and directions to insure their success- ful application, it has also been my endeavor to render the language and style as free from technicalities as possible. In order to subserve the interests of not only Produce dealers, Dairymen and Farmers, but also of several other classes of industry, a large amount of information not sug- gested by (he title has been introduced. In every department and subject discussed, not only have my own discoveries and processes been faithfully stated, but the cream of all that is known thereon has been transcribed for the benefit of the reader. The processes of deoxygenating and insulating eggs, preparing kerosene oil and other barrels and vats by insulation, the insulation of egg-preserving solutions and mixtures, the restoration of rancid butter, and the preserva- tion and coloring of white and streaked butter, as well as many others, are wholly new and original, and ar<> herein, J v Preface. for the first time, given to the public. It is believed that these discoveries will inaugurate a complete revolution in the art of preserving eggs and butter. The information regarding the preservation of wood, metal, stone and meat, tanning, soaps, inks, sirups, vinegar, wines, cider, aniline dyes, etc., etc., is reliable, and considered the best for practical purposes. Indeed, it has been the object of the author to make the work worth many times its price to those engaged or interested in any department of industry of which it treats. With the confident hope that my efforts to diffuse reliable information on the topics which most intimately concern our happiness and prosperity will be appreciated and appropri- ately rewarded, this work is respectfully submitted to the judgment of an intelligent public. THE AUTHOR. FRESH EGGS AND YELLOW BUTTER. In the multiplicity of methods to preserve eggs in a state of freshness, and to restore rancid butter, it is well known that, heretofore, there have been no successful and practical processes which meet with general approval. To keep eggs in a fresh and healthy condition from spring to winter, at a reasonable expense, is a great desider- atum to the public. Nor is it of less importance to know how to preserve good butter, and how to redeem sour and rancid butter by a process of purification which is effectual, cheap and expe- ditious, answering the needs of the Grocer and the Produce Dealer in every particular, so that they may be able to supply the public with fresh eggs and sweet, yellow butter. Almost every Produce Dealer, Grocer and Farmer has tried one or more processes for preserving eggs, but to all these there are more or less objections. It is claimed by some that the edible substance of the egg known as the yelk (vitellus ovi), and the white (albumen ovi), should be preserved by chemical agents that will pene- trate the porous substance of the egg-shell, and thus cure the egg, without imparting to it any unpleasant flavor ; but vari- ous obstacles have arisen which renders this method very 6 -pRESH JlGGS AND YELLOW BUTTER. objectionable; as, for instance, the conversion of the albumen of the egg into a watery substance, and the hardening and drying of the yelk. Others claim that hermetically sealing or covering the egg-shell with varnish, liquid glue, gum, etc., which renders it impervious to air, is sufficient to keep the egg long enough for all practical purposes. Before setting forth the processes which may be relied upon, we propose to show the chemical effects on the egg of the principal agents now in use. First — The common quicklime, [Oxyd of Calcium), has been the chief agent used in almost every quarter of the globe. It has been tried in its pure state and with various compounds, and the question now arises; how does lime act upon the egg ? It is believed by some that when lime-water is too strong, it " cooks" the egg, and " eats" the shell, as com- monly expressed. Others contend that when the lime-water is too weak, the eggs are spoiled, and indeed there seems to be no settled rule for using lime in the preservation of eggs. Lime-water never dissolves any portion of the shell, which, being composed of carbonate of lime, is not soluble in alkalies, but, on the contrary, when exposed to the action of lime-water for several months, is increased in thickness, caused by a deposit of carbonate of lime on its surface ; for example, the interior surfaces of tea-kettles and boilers are incrusted by the carbonate of lime from hard water in a similar manner. Acids and not alkalies dissolve the shell of the egg. Some prefer to use the fresh lime [Oxyd of Calcium), Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 7 slaked in an excess of water ; others take the freshly slaked lime, {Hydrate of Lime), slaked with about half its weight of water, and to which, when used for eggs, more or less water is added. We will now treat of the properties of Lime. It is well known that its solution possesses caustic properties, but of the weakest class. For instance, one pint of either slaked or unslaked lime, stirred into a barrel of water, renders it just so strongly impregnated as if a half-bushel, or any greater quantity of lime, was added. This statement may appear in- credulous, but it is a well-known fact to chemists. Water dissolves but a minute fraction of lime, and, con- trary to the general law, less is dissolved in hot than in cold water. A gallon of water at boiling point (212° Fahr. ) dissolves 45 grs. of Lime. " ( 60° " ) " 74 " at 1 deg. above | . ^ Q u . tt QQ " " freez'gpointor / ^ ' A barrel of 32 gallons of water, at 60° Fahr., the average temperature of water in the summer months, requires only 5 oz. of pure lime to make a saturated solution, which renders it just as strong as if a bushel of lime had been used ; but the lime water, by exposure, attracts carbonic acid from the atmos- phere, and becomes covered with a thin pellicle, or coating, of insoluble carbonate of lime, which, subsiding after a time, is replaced by another, and so on, successively, until the whole of the lime has become insoluble. Hence, in order to keep lime-water of a uniform strength, i. e. a sat- urated solution, it must be kept in closely corked bottles, or the vessels must contain an excess of lime. To illustrate : 8 j^RESH ^GGS AND YELLOW BUTTER. in order to keep a barrel of saturated lime-water for six or eight months, when it is exposed to the air, it will be neces- sary to add a few ounces of lime every few days, or else put into the barrel a peck of lime at the beginning, which will require stirring every few weeks, as some lime contains more or less clay and magnesia, which cause the lime that has set- tled at the bottom to become more or less hard. In such cases, the water does not dissolve any more lime, unless frequently stirred. This accounts for lime-water losing its strength, even when there is an excess of lime present. When a cold, satur- ated solution of lime-water is heated, a deposition of lime • takes place, but upon cooling it is re-dissolved. Lime-water is colorless, inodorous, and of a slightly disagreeable alkaline taste. It changes reddened litmus test paper and vegetable reds to blue, and forms an insoluble soap with oils. Carbon- ate of lime, as above mentioned, is lime which has lost its strength or caustic properties by exposure to the air, and it is of no utility for making lime-water. Hence, air-slaked lime should never be used for this purpose. By the absorp- tion of carbonic acid from the atmosphere, the lime is grad- ually converted into a carbonate, and is thus rendered insoluble in water. Marble, chalk, etc., are among the carbonates of lime. In regard to the effect of lime upon the egg sub- stance, if an egg be broken into lime-water and allowed to remain in it at any temperature from 55° to 100° Fahr. for three weeks, the result will.be a completely spoiled egg. The best method heretofore used for preserving eggs with lime has been to mix a sufficient quantity of lime with water, to the consistency of cream, and immerse the eggs therein. Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 9 It is a well-known fact that eggs, after remaining for some length of time in lime and water, undergo a chemical change. Decomposition of the white of the egg, or albumen, takes place, and it becomes watery. The chemical composition of the white of eggs is about 85 parts water, 2 parts gluten, and 13 parts pure albumen, or animal mucilage. The egg-shell being porous, after remaining in a lime mixture sufficient length of time, the lime-water percolates or soaks through the shell, and dissolves more or less of the white of the egg, rendering it watery. Some eggs, having a close, compact shell, are nut soon affected by the alkali, but the majority of limed eggs are affected in about forty or fifty days, but may remain even longer with but slight change, according to the freshness of the eggs and the temperature at which the mixture is kept. Eggs, having been kept on hand two or three weeks, in warm weather, and then put into the lime-mixture at a temper- ature above 70 p , will usually spoil in a few weeks. If strictly fresh eggs are put into the lime mixture, and it be kept at a temperature below 50°, they may be preserved for about eighty or ninety days without very material change, and may keep from spring to winter with but a partial loss or decom- position of the albumen. After the decomposition of the white of the egg, the yelk necessarily becomes involved ; it is the last portion of the egg that spoils. When the white becomes watery, its specific gravity is lessened, and, being less buoyant the yelk settles till it rests on the shell, where not being protected by the albumen, endosmosis of atmospheric 10 Fresh F-ggs and Yellow Butter. oxygen, aud other substances abnormal to the egg, soon hastens decomposition and putrefaction. A few weeks after eggs are put into lime-water, the pores of the shells become partially closed by a deposit of the car- bonate of lime on the surface of the shells, rendering absorp- tion of the lime-water slow ; and though decomposition may have commenced, as is explained before in reference to stale eggs, the supply of atmospheric oxygen is lessened, it being only partially excluded by the lime. Lime-water will not prevent decomposition of the substance of the egg when it has commenced. This fact is known by the experienced buyers when such eggs are offered for sale, upon examination they are found to be watery, and many of them spoiled. They are called " limed eggs," and have a slow sale ; their market price is from ten to thirty per cent, less than for fresh eggs. Various substances have been used in combination with lime, with a view of rendering it more efficient as an egg preservative, but without the least success, if we may except common salt. An excess of salt with lime, however, causes a more rapid dissolution of the albumen, and at the same time hard- ens the yelk Such eggs are generally, though erroneously, said to be "cooked" by the action of the lime, when it is mainly due to the effect of the salt. For a proof of this statement, place eggs in a saturated solution of salt in water. After temaining in it forty or fifty days, at a temperature above 60°, the whites of the eggs Fresh JEggs and Yellow Butter 11 will be discovered to be very watery, and the yelks preterna- turally hard and tough. The solvent properties of the lime, as before stated, dissolve or disintegrate the albumen and yelk, and a small proportion of salt may be properly used, to partially correct this effect. The presence of salt may readily be detected by the taste in both the white and yelk of the egg, as soon as its absorp- tion takes place. It is an established fact that either a lime or a salt solution, or both combined, will dissolve the white of the egg, in a time proportioned to the firmness of the egg-shell and the freshness of the eggs, and the temperature at which they are kept, which, if below 40° Fahr., wholly retards decomposition, while at 50° Fahr. decomposition is slow. At from 60° to 70° decay is more rapid, and so increasing with a higher temperature at from 80° to 100° Fahr. but a fciv weeks are required to sjioll eggs % the best " lime process " known. A series of experiments have determined the quantity of salt required to prevent the yelk from being dissolved by the lime-water. The following is considered the best formula for the " lime process," which is not generally known : Take of fresh unslaked lime, 40 lbs. Common barrel salt, 2 lbs. Cold or hot water, 20 galls. After the lime slakes or dissolves in the water (which will require from twenty to thirty minutes), stir it occasionally for about an hour ; and then for one or two days stir, from time 12 Fresh ^ggs and Yellow Butter. to time, in order that the solution may cool down to the tem- perature of the surrounding atmosphere. The above quan- tity of solution (which may be called the " Cream of Lime Compound ") is then ready, and is sufficient to cover about 1 50 dozen of eggs, the usual number required to fill a 42 to 45 gallon barrel. As the specific gravity of this mixture is considerably greater than water, eggs will not readily sink in it ; hence it will be best to put the eggs into a clean empty barrel, of the capacity of 45 gallons, placing them in carefully, so that they may not be broken. The last layer of eggs should be about three inches below the top of the barrel ; then pour on the " Cream of Lime Compound," which has been previously prepared in another barrel. Just before dipping it out, stir it thoroughly, so that it may be evenly mixed. When the eggs are covered with the mixture, spread over them a thin cotton cloth, so that they may be entirely covered; and pour on the top of the cloth the "Cream of Lime Compound," to the depth of at least two inches. Then pour over all one quart of refined paraffin oil (see process for refining the oil), and cover the barrel closely with a couple of thick- nesses of paper and a board cover. The cloth is spread over the eggs to receive whatever sediment of lime may subside from the additional solution poured over them, which sediment will feed the solution from above, and thus tend to keep it of a uniform strength, and by its weight prevent the eggs from rising to the surface. The oil is added to prevent evaporation, chemical change, and absorption of impurities and gases from the atmos- phere. As ordinary barrels are liable to leak, and as it is essential that their contents should not be lessened, for the Fresh F.ggs and Yellow ^utter. 13 eggs would then be liable to spoil, they should be examined every week, and more solution added, if necessary. By all means, prepare the barrels or vats for holding egg- preserving solutions according to the method of preparing kerosene oil and other barrels, as it will save much anxiety about leakage. Do not use any more salt than is prescribed in the formu- la, nor any more lime, as it would render the mixture too thick; nor a less quantity, as it would render it too thin, and the lime, settling to the bottom, would produce a chemical change in the solution. The quantity of lime given in the formula will keep the mixture about the consistence of cream, and thus preserve a uniform strength. Repeated experiments have enabled us to give the follow- ing rule : To each gallon of water add two lbs. of fresh, unslaked lime, and an ounce and a half of common salt. The w r ater should all be poured on at one time, and we prefer to have it at the boiling point, in order to expel any oxygen it may contain in solution. Be particular to have the "Cream of Lime Compound" cold and well stirred just before pouring it upon the eggs as directed. Do not use, on any con- sideration, preparations of soda, potash, borax, saltpetre, cream of tartar, tartaric acid, or any other acid or alkali, in combination with the " Cream of Lime Compound," as they are not egg preservatives. Some persons have used these prohibited chemical agents in combination with lime and salt solutions with comparative success, but this was not owing to their employment, for had they been used in excess, the destruction of the eggs would have been greatly accelerated. 14 Fresh F.ggs and Yellow Butter. The addition of soda, potash, or any other alkali, to the mixture of lime, as before mentioned, only renders it more caustic, and it therefore dissolves the albumen, or white, of the egg in less time than if lime alone were used. When tartaric acid and cream of tartar are used with the lime solution, they are converted into the tartrate of lime? an inert compound. Therefore the addition of these articles are useless. Before dismissing the subject of lime, we will give the following, which is a decided improvement over the old lime formula, and which we denominate, for convenience, the IMPROVED LIME PROCESS. Take fresh, unslaked lime, 40 pounds. Pure tallow, cut in thin slices 5 " Paraffin wax, " " 1 " Boiling water, 20 gallons. (Note. — Cold water should never be used, as the combination will not be perfect.) Mix these together in a suitable barrel, and, as soon as the lime begins to slake, stir occasionally for an hour, and, afterwards, three or four times a day for two days, by which time the mixture will be cold. The mixture is now ready, and is sufficient to cover 145 to 150 dozen eggs — the usual number required to fill a 43 to 45 gallon barrel. As the specific gravity of this mixture is considerably greater than water, eggs will not readily sink in it; hence, it is best to put the eggs into a clean, empty barrel, of the capacity of 45 gallons, placing them in carefully so they may not be broken. The last layer of eggs should be about three Fresh jEggs and Yellow ^utter 15 inches below the top of the barrel. Then gradually pour on the mixture, previously prepared in another barrel, but just before dipping it out, stir it thoroughly, so that it may be evenly mixed throughout. When the eggs are entirely covered with this mixture, spread over them a thin cotton cloth within the barrel, and pour on the top of the cloth more of the same mixture, to the depth of two inches, and then pour over all one quart of the refined paraffin oil (see process for refining the oil), and finally cover the barrel closely with a couple of thick- nesses of paper and a board cover. The cloth is spread over the eggs to receive whatever sediment of lime may subside from the additional mixture poured over them, which sediment will feed the solution from above, and thus tend to keep it of uniform strength, and by its weight prevent the eggs from rising to the surface. The oil is added to prevent evaporation, chemical change, and absorption of impurities and gases from the atmos- phere. As ordinary barrels are liable to leak, and as it is essential that their contents should not be lessened, as the eggs would then be liable to spoil, they should be examined every week, and more solution added, if necessary. By all means, prepare the barrels or vats for holding egg- preserving solutions according to the method of preparing kerosene oil and other barrels, as it will save much anxiety about leakage. The above is far superior to the ordinary lime process, as by the chemical combination of the ingredients an insoluble soap is formed, which prevents, in a great measure, the lime from settling and adhering to the egg-shell, as is usually the case in the ordinary lime process. 16 Fresh Eggs and Yellow ^Sutter. In place of using tallow and paraffin with lime in the improved lime process, we Lave tried lard, stearin, sperm- aceti, linseed oil, olive oil, cotton-seed oil, and other oil and fats, but they do not answer so well. None but the purest and sweetest beef or mutton tallow should be used. Paraffin may be substituted for tallow; but six pounds of paraffin, at 40 cents a pound, amounts to $2.40, which, with the expense of 40 lbs. of lime, makes the whole cost for preserving 150 dozen eggs about two cents a dozen, which renders the use of paraffin objectionable to the large dealer. In this case five pounds of pure, sweet tallow may be sub- stituted, as set forth in the formula, and will answer for all ordinary purposes, when eggs are kept at a temperature below GO Fahr. When all paraffin is used, the composition will resist a higher temperature, in consecpiencc of the paraffin being a bad conductor of heat. Hence it is advisable that some paraffin be used, as a better combination is made by its addition. We will now give the best DRY PROCESS. Take coarsely powdered charcoal, 1 bushel, carbolic acid crystals, J oz., dissolved in 4 oz. of alcohol, 95 per cent. This solution must be carefully sprinkled over and well stirred into the powdered charcoal. It is now ready for use, and should be kept in covered barrels or boxes, in a dry place, where it will not be liable to attract moisture, till required for use. Fresh F.ggs and Yellow jButter 17 Prepare the eggs before packing them in this compound, by the dcoxygenating and insulating process. Pack in common flour barrels or boxes firmly, and in the same manner as when packed in oats, and they may be shipped in this dry packing to market. To prevent the charcoal from sifting out, paste paper, with common flour paste, on the inner surface of the barrel or box, and allow it to dry thoroughly before using. Head up the barrels securely, and keep them in as cool a place as possible, and every two weeks they should be inverted. We find that this packing preserves the eggs better than any other dry packing, while the cost of the materials is trifling. It is well known to chemists that charcoal and carbolic acid are among the best antiseptics and deodorizing agents used. Another advantage which this method possesses is, that, in case of breakage, no inj ury will accrue to the sound eggs, as all tendency to putrefaction of the substance of the broken eggs is arrested by the use of the carbolic acid and charcoal. The egg-shells being thoroughly coated by the refined mate- rials used in the deoxygenating and insulating process, no fears need be entertained that the odor of carbolic acid will be communicated to the egg. Eggs, if strictly fresh when put up by this process, will remain in a good condition for a long time, in any climate. THE EFFECTS OF CERTAIN CHEMICAL AGENTS UPON EGGS. It is proper to state that, in some instances, persons have kept eggs in a passably good condition for several months in certain chemical mixtures; but it is to be borne in mind 2 1g Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. that the credit belongs to the freshness of the eggs and the lowness of temperature at which they are kept, instead of to the virtues attributed to those compounds. SALT — ITS EFFECTS UPON EGGS. Eggs have been kept a long time packed in dry salt, at a low temperature ; but this method is unreliable, as many failures are reported. Were the salt deprived of its water by calcination, eggs packed in it, and kept at a temperature below 50° Fahr., in a close vessel, would be preserved a long time. Salt is a bad conductor of heat, and therefore has a tend- ency to keep eggs cool, but if once heated it remains so a long time. DRY ASHES THEIR EFFECTS' UPON EGGS. Dry ashes have also been used, with the view of pre- serving eggs, but unless kept at a temperature below 50° Fahr., the process is unreliable. OATS — THEIR EFFECTS UPON EGGS. Grains of various kinds have been used. Oats, if old, perfectly dry, and free from must, will preserve eggs, if kept in a cool place. Oats, being an imperfect conductor of heat, are doubtless, of all the cereals, the best for dry packing. But they may be used with much better effect if the eggs are first prepared by the deoxygenating and insulating pro- cess, in the manner recommended for charcoal packing. It is advisable to invert the the barrel or box in which eggs are packed once in two weeks. j^RESH pGGS AND YeLLOW EUTTER 19 The liability of oats to attract moisture, and become heated and musty, renders it necessary to use none but old, dry oats. KILN-DRIED SAND — ITS EFFECTS UPON EGGS. Kiln-dried sand may be used with success at a temperature below 50° Fahr. BRAN, CUT STRAW AND CHAFF — THEIR EFFECTS UPON EGGS. Bran, cut straw and chaff have also been used to preserve eggs. But as these agents are very uncertain, and often heat, especially if damp, they are decidedly objectionable, unless kept at a low temperature and in a dry place. SAWDUST AND SHAVINGS THEIR EFFECTS UPON EGGS. Eggs should never be packed in sawdust or shavings, under any circumstances, as these substances readily commu- nicate their odors to the eggs, and render them unfit for use. LIQUID SILICATE OF SODA — AS A DRY COATING FOR EGGS. We will now treat of silicate of soda as an egg preserv- ative. It has a great affinity for, and readily combines with, various preparations of lime, clay, sand, and other substances of an alkaline or neutral character; but it must never be used with anything of an acid nature, common salt, salt- petre, alum, etc., as it is incompatible with such substances. We have made many experiments with this preparation for the preservation of eggs. In consequence of its affinity for carbonate of lime, we have applied it as a coating to eggs in a cold, warm and hot state, of various degrees of density, separately and in combination with other agents. When 20 Fresh ^ggs and Yellow Butter. used for coating eggs, enough water must be added to reduce it to about 25° Baume, which is about [the consistence or density of thin syrup or varnish. In this form it may be applied to the eggs by a common varnish brush, or they may be dipped into it. It readily unites with the carbonate of lime of the egg-shell, and upon exposure to the air dries in a few minutes, forming an insoluble silicate of lime, a hard, transparent, glass-like coating, unless the egg has been in contact with grease, oil, varnish, acids, or common salt. Although the silicate of soda renders the shell impervi- ous to water or air, by forming, as it were, an air-tight casing, yet, like all air-proof agents, it can only be used with success when the eggs are strictly fresh, or on the day they are laid ; in which case they will keep for a long time. But as it is impracticable for dealers to get this class of eggs in large quantities, it is not recommended for general use as a dry coating for them. The question will naturally occur to many of our readers, why the silicate of soda solution, or other air-proof coatings, will not preserve stale eggs as well as decidedly fresh or new- laid eggs ? Because stale eggs are already in the incipient stage of decomposition, and contain a much larger percentage of atmospheric oxygen, the principal exciting cause of decom- position, which, once commenced, will continue, unless the eggs are deoxygenated, or the temperature at which the eggs are kept be below 50° Fahr ; therefore the mere air-proof coating of stale eggs will not long preserve them. Fresh F-ggs and Yellow Butter. 21 CREAM OF TARTAR (BITARTRATE OF POTASS A) — ITS EFFECTS UPON EGGS. A solution of cream of tartar in water will spoil eggs in about forty days, causing them to become sour. Cream of tartar, when combined with lime, is entirely neu- tralized by the alkaline properties of the lime ; hence cream of tartar, an expensive chemical, is useless as an egg pre- servative, either alone or in combination with other chem- icals. DILUTED SULPHURIC ACID ITS EFFECTS UPON EGGS. Diluted sulphuric acid has been recommended as an agent for preserving eggs, by the immersion of the egg for a few moments. The theory is, that the acid combines with a portion of the calcareous substance of the shell, forming with it sulphate of lime, but this chemical change from the carbonate to the sulphate of lime produces no perceptible effect of closing the pores of the shell. We have tried fliis method with various strengths of diluted acid, and different lengths of time for the egg to remain in the solution; but it will not answer practically, as the acid corrodes and weakens the shell, and hastens decomposition _ ALUM — ITS EFFECTS UPON EGGS. A saturated solution of alum will spoil an egg in about three weeks. The sulphuric acid contained in the alum, (about 30 per cent.), dissolves the shell, composed principally of carbonate of lime, in a short time. 22 Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter, Alum has been used, in combination with lime and water, as a preservative, but the alum, being acid in character, is neutralized by the lime, and is therefore useless. BI-SULPHIDE OF CALCIUM, BI-SULPHIDE OF SODIUM, SUL- PHATE OF LIME, VINEGAR, TARTARIC ACID, MURIATIC ACID, OXALIC ACID, ACETIC ACID, ETC., ETC. The effects of these substances are similar to that of diluted sulphuric acid, and they should never be used for preserving eggs. CARBONATE OF POTASSA AND CARBONATE OF SODA (SAL SODA) — THEIR EFFECTS UPON EGGS. The solutions of these salts possess stronger alkaline pro- perties than lime, but their admixture produces a compound more caustic and destructive, and therefore more powerfully solvent to the white of the egg, which renders the egg unfit for use in fifty or sixty days, at a temperature from 60° to 70° Fahr. BORAX (BI-BORATE OF SODA) — ITS EFFECTS UPON EGGS. Solutions of borax in water, of various strengths, have been used. As borax is of a feeble alkaline nature, with a sweetish taste, it was hoped that it would be found superior to lime for keeping eggs, but they will spoil, by the white souring, in about sixty days, at a temperature from G0° to 70°. A pound of borax to a gallon of spring water, at a tempera- ture of 60° Fahr., forms a saturated solution which will keep the eggs a few days longer than a weaker solution. SALTPETRE (NITRATE OF POTASSA) — ITS EFFECTS UPON EGGS. The effects of this agent are nearly identical with those Fresh ^ggs and Yellow Butter. 23 of common salt, causing the white to become red and watery, and rendering; the yelk hard in about sixty-five days. SULPHITE OF LIME, CHLORIDE OF CALCIUM, CHLORIDE OF LIME, BI-CARBONATE OF SODA, SULPHITE OF SODA, SUL- PHATE OF SODA, HYPO-SULPHITE OF SODA, PHOSPHATE OF SODA, TARTRATE OF POTASSA AND SODA, CHLORATE OF POTASSA, TARTRATE OF POTASSA, CARBONATE OF AMMONIA, BI-CARBONATE OF POTASSA, ETC. The above chemical substances, being of an alkaline or neutral character, exert no specific effect in preserving eggs. CARBOLIC ACID AND PYROLIGNEOUS ACID THEIR EFFECTS UPON EGGS. By the use of these agents, diluted with water, eggs may be kept a long time, as these materials are highly anti- septic ; but the objection to their use is, that they impart a strong, smoky taste to the eggs. GLYCERINE ITS EFFECTS UPON EGGS. Glycerine is a valuable agent for preserving animal sub- stances. It is preferable to alcohol, inasmuch as glycerine does not cause the substances preserved in it to shrink or change color, nor does it lessen its bulk by evaporation. With a knowledge of these properties, and the known antiseptic qualities of glycerine, we have made numerous experiments with it. On account of the expense of this pre- paration, it is not practicable to employ it in its concen- trated form. Diluted with water, in various proportions from 2 oz. to 16 oz. of glycerine to a gallon of water, we find no difficulty in preserving eggs. 2-4 Fresh ^ggs and Yellow Butter. But its use is open to serious objections, as it is a most powerful solvent, acting with great force upon the yelk of the egg, dissolving it aud rendering it fluid, and combining with the albumen in a most unsatisfactory manner, so that when the egg is broken the yelk does not retain its form, but is spread out and intermixed with the albumen. SUGAR — ITS EFFECTS UPON EGGS. A weak solution of sugar in water soon becomes con- verted into vinegar, and the action of the acid thus obtained destroys the egg in a few weeks' time. If thick syrup be used, eggs may be kept a long time, but the expense of such a preservative renders it impracti- cable. AIR-PROOF AND HOT WATER PROCESSES. It is alleged by some persons that, by dipping eggs into hot water for a few seconds, the albumen and membrane which line the shell are coagulated — "the pores of the shell closed," and the egg thus canned in its own covering. We have made numerous experiments by dipping eggs into water of different degrees of heat ; but we find it uncer- tain and difficult to practically render eggs air-proof by this means. Among other experiments, we have immersed them in hot oil, lard, tallow, beeswax, liquid glue, common furniture varnish, damar, copal, and shellac varnishes, solutions of india rubber, gutta percha and gum arabic. We have applied these at various temperatures, from cold to boiling heat, at different seasons of the year, to perfectly fresh eggs, and to those one, two, and three weeks old; Fresh Jiggs and Jellow Butter. 25 but most of these " air-proofing " methods leave an adhesive coating, which sticks fast to all substances with which the eggs come in contact while drying. In making our experiments, we have placed eggs on points or pegs to dry, so that but a small portion of the coat- ing would be abraded or broken; but we found the varnish, or gum coating, removed wherever they came in contact with the pegs, and these exposed points admitted sufficient air to render the process inoperative. When eggs which have been coated by many of the above substances are put into alkaline liquids, to preserve the shells in a fresh state, the varnishes, oils, etc., become more or less saponified, and the result is a coating of soap, which is far from being water-proof. Eggs thus treated will not keep in a fresh and marketable condition from spring and summer till winter, unless at a temperature below 50° Fahr. Again : as the coating of these substances may be readily detected by the purchaser when the eggs are exposed for sale, they are therefore classed with preserved eggs, which renders this method decidedly objectionable, as well as unprofitable. HATCHING AIR-PEOOF EGGS. From repeated experiments, we find that exclusion of air from the egg does not destroy the embryo or prevent the egg from being hatched, but, on the contrary, preserves the animal life of the egg, provided it be strictly fresh when coated and subsequently kept at a moderately cool temperature ; it may be hatched a year afterward by the careful removal of the coating, and subjecting it to the required incubating heat. 2() j^flESH ^GGS AND YeLLOW j3uTTER WHY CLOUDED EGGS USUALLY APPEAR CLEAR AFTER REMAINING IN LIME-WATER OR OTHER ALKALINE SOLUTIONS. It is well known that a strictly fresh egg presents a cer- tain dare-obscure or semi-opaque appearance, when held before a bright light, and that in a few days longer, according to its state of preservation, the egg, if then "candled," will present a turbid or clouded appearance. Such are properly stale eggs, which, although not unfit for cooking purposes, are in the first stages of change, and less liable to keep than strictly fresh eggs. This fact accounts for the disappointment of egg dealers upon opening a package of preserved eggs, when they find them in every condition, from cpiite fresh to very bad. It is also known to dealers in egg;s that when clouded o© or turbid eggs have been kept in lime or other alkaline solu- tions, they become clear and lighter in color in a few weeks' time. We will explain the cause of this, as we are frequently interrogated upon the subject. This change is due to the solvent effects of the alkaline fluids upon the semi-opaque membrane which lines the shell, and upon the albumen, which having become thick and more opaque by age, gives the egg that peculiarly turbid or clouded appearance when examined bcfoi'e a strong light. Such a light is necessary to show the "cloud" or "float," unless it is very large and dark. When eggs do not readily show this "cloud " or " float" and are immersed in lime-water, or other alkalies, for a few weeks, it becomes visible by the action of the alkalies. Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 27 WHY EGGS SOMETIMES CRACK WHEN IN EGG-PRESERVING SOLUTIONS, OR AFTER BEING REMOVED FROM THEM. If eggs are stale, and sour when put into the solution of an alkaline carbonate, it infiltrates through the porous shell, acting chemically upon the acid already generated in the eggs, and causes the evolution of carbonic acid gas, which for- cibly bursts the shells, although thick shells will frequently prove strong enough to confine the gas for sometime. Eggs may therefore crack when not in the putrid ferment- ation, and the apparent fullness, or excess of substance of the egg, is due to the mechanical retention of carbonic acid gas within it. Eggs in this condition, for the same reason, crack more readily upon being handled, although when strictly fresh or but slightly stale, if placed in an alkaline solution, they are not liable to be thus affected. HOW TO PREVENT PRESERVED EGGS FROM CRACKING WHEN BOILING. Prick the egg-shell, just before boiling, with a sharp point, or immerse the egg a short time in vinegar or diluted acetic acid, which will readily dissolve the carbonate of lime that fills the pores, and thus allow the hot air to escape. This deposit of carbonate of lime is much less firm than the shell itself, and is readily dissolved. However, should the egg be allowed to remain in the vinegar twenty-four hours, the entire shell will dissolve, leaving a tough mem- brane containing the contents of the egg. To prevent varnished or gummed eggs from cracking, puncture them with a sharp instrument. 28 ^RESH ^GGS AND YELLOW BUTTER. WHY DO THE SHELLS OP PRESERVED EGGS CRACK WHEN BOILING ? This very common inquiry we will answer by an illustration : Put an egg that has not been preserved in hot water, and immediately air bubbles will be discovered rising to the surface of the water from the egg, caused by the action of the heat in expelling the internal air through the pores of the egg. When a limed or other preserved egg is placed in hot water, it usually cracks before it is cooked, because the pores of the shell are nearly filled with carbonate of lime, which being insoluble in water, partly obstructs the passage of the hot rarified air from escaping through the pores, as in the fresh egg. The confined air finds vent by bursting the shell. WHY FRESH EGGS SINK AND STALE EGGS FLOAT ON THE SURFACE OF WATER. The specific gravity of a fresh-laid egg is 1.085; water being 1.000. Hence a fresh egg readily sinks in water. When a stale egg has lost a sufficient portion of its contents by evaporation to swim on the surface of water, it should not be used for preserving, as eggs of this class are on the verge of putrefaction. STONE JARS FOR KEEPING EGGS. Eggs have also been kept in stone jars and crocks, in va- rious chemical solutions, as well as in dry packing, and gen- erally with better success than if kept in wood, as barrels, boxes, etc. This arises from the fact that the earthen or stone jars are generally placed on the ground in a cool place, and, the earth being colder, absorbs heat or caloric, and of course eggs will keep much cooler than if placed in wooden Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 29 vessels, which, if not perfectly seasoned and clean, are liable to give out offensive emanations that are absorbed by the eggs. THE PHILOSOPHY OF KEEPING EGGS FRESH. It is proper at this time to communicate to our readers, as the result of our investigations, the interesting fact that neither acids, alkalies, nor any other chemical agents, by their own specific qualities, contribute to the preservation of the substance of the egg. This is the secret of so much disappointment in the use of " egg preservatives " now employed, which, when not positively prejudicial to the egg, have failed to meet the requirements of the egg dealer. But when such comparatively innocuous preparations are used, and the eggs are found to be preserved, it is simply owing to the result of checking the evaporation of their fluids, by keeping them at a comparatively low temperature, in either dry or liquid preparations that are bad conductors of heat. The great secret of preserving eggs consists in excluding everything abnormal to their health, and preventing the evaporation of their fluids ; or, in other words, protecting them from enemies without and the loss of vitality from within, by which means the eggs will remain in an unchanged condition for an unlimited time. Most egg dealers have not the conveniences for keeping eggs at a temperature below 50° Fahr., and it is well known that they will spoil more rapidly at the higher, and more slowly at the lower temperatures. At any tem- perature between 35° and 45° Fahr., they may be kept, un- 30 ^pRESH ^GGS AND YELLOW fiuTTER. aided by artificial means, a long time without material change, as decomposition rarely takes place at a temperature below 50° Fahr. Therefore, to preserve eggs effectually for a long time, it is absolutely necessary to prevent either endosmosis of atmospheric oxygen, or of the vapors of substances abnor- mal to the egg, which would communicate to them flavor or odor ; or the exosmosis of any of their normal constituents? whether water, mineral salts, albuminoid, or oleaginous matters. The large end of an egg, when first laid, contains a cavity within the shell about the size of a small pea, which is filled with nearly pure oxygen. This cavity is increased with the age of the egg, by the evaporation of a portion of the water of the albumen through the porous shell, its place being supplied by atmospheric air. If the egg be kept at a temperature between 50° and 100° Fahr., it possesses all the conditions requisite to induce putrefaction — viz., heat, air and moisture. If fecundated eggs be kept at a temperature ranging from 100° to 110° Fahr., the conditions arc favorable to the germ- ination and production of animal life, and if the heat be continued with but slight intermissions for twenty-one days, a chicken is produced. During incubation, or the hatching of eggs, they part with about one-sixth of their entire substance. Of this loss only five or six per cent, is water; the balance is the result of chemical decomposition, or probably of combustion, caused by the union of oxygen with carbon, producing carbonic acid, which escapes through the shell. Fresh Eggs and Yellow j3utter 31 If eggs, just laid, or within an hour afterward, are deoxy- genated by our process, as recommended in the following pages, they will remain in the same fresh condition in the equatorial or any other climate upon the face of the earth, however variable. At a temperature above 155° Fahr., the heat would coagulate the albumen. The commercial egg dealer cannot generally obtain eggs of this class, i. e., one hour old, and must necessarily take eggs which are from one day to two weeks old for the preserving process, at which age they have lost by evapora- tion a portion of their fluids, and have absorbed atmospheric oxygen to such an extent that they may be said to be in the incipient stage of organic dissolution; and in accordance with the established chemical law of nature, that when once the disorganizing process has begun it continues, unless arrested. In a few weeks the eggs are in a condition past recovery. To help the egg dealer out of this dilemma is one of the main objects of this work; and by adopting our deoxygenating process, which expels the accumulated atmospheric oxygen from the eggs to be preserved, (thus arresting and preventing further decomposition by the most simple and cheap methods, and preserving them in all their original freshness and natural appearance), the dealer will be enabled to realize all the advantages of dealing in sound and fresh eggs at all times. Both theory and practice confirm us as to the great importance of preventing the evaporation of the egs; fluid, and the absorption of gases or substances abnormal to the 32 Fresh j^ggs and Yellow Butter. egg, and at the same time preserving the shell, with all its new and fresh appearance, intact from color or blemish. To accomplish this the eggs must be perfectly excluded from the atmosphere, which subjects them to oxydation and discolora- tion. We have already mentioned many of the materials in which eggs may be preserved, if kept at a temperature below 50° Fahr., and which may answer well on a small scale ; but we have now to deal with a matter of more importance, and of a much more extensive and practical nature, than the keeping of a few dozens of eggs for family use. We allude to the wants of the grocer and commercial egg-dealer and packer, who are annually collecting many thousand dozens of eggs, and who must keep them, without failure, from spring and summer to winter. To meet the necessities of the egg dealer, who is re- quired to keep eggs in a fresh condition an unlimited time, has been one great object of our investigations for many years. We have considered, also, the disadvantages which many egg dealers labor under, in being unable to keep their eggs at even a moderately low temperature during the summer months, when eggs are generally the cheapest, and which is the most convenient season for preserving them. The atmosphere of their cellars or rooms ranges in tem- perature, during the summer months, scarcely ever so low as 50°, but more frequently from 60° to 80° Fahr., and often higher, for many days successively. 33 NO. ONE (or Hot) PROCESS OF DEOXYGENATING AND INSULATING EGGS. We will now give the Best Process known for Keeping Eggs in a Fresh Condition for a long time, at a Reasonable Expense : Place the eggs in a wire basket, or other convenient, perforated ves- sel, and immerse them in pure Paraffin Wax, heated to about 200° Pahr. by a water-bath. The water-bath may be simply and easily arranged, by placing a large kettle with some water in it over a fire, and then putting into it a tin pail half -filled with Paraffin Wax. Heat the water in the kettle, which should be almost full, boiling hot, or nearly so ; when the wax in the pail is melted, and of the required temperature— about 200° Fahr. — it will be ready for the immersion of the eggs. The eggs, having been placed in the wire basket or perforated tin vessel, are now to be sunk in the pail of hot wax, so as to entirely cover them, and allowed to remain immersed two minutes. Then raise and lower the basket in the heated wax a few times, occupying a few seconds, so that the entire surface of the eggs may come in contact with and be covered by the wax. Finally, lift out the basket, and allow the eggs to cool. Instead of using the hot Paraffin Wax, the refined Paraffin Oil (see process ot refining) may be heated and used in the same manner as the wax, except that the eggs should not be allowed to remain longer in the hot oil than thirty seconds, which is a sufficient time to complete the pro- cess of deoxygenating. The reason the eggs are permitted to remain so much longer in the hot Paraffin Wax than in the hot oil is, that the eggs being cold when immersed in the hot wax, chill the wax which comes in immediate con- tact with them. The wax, being a bad conductor of heat, requires about one minute to re-melt it, and another minute is required to deox- ygenate the eggs; after which they must be immediately removed, in order to prevent partial cooking. LCopyright secured.] 34 Either Paraffin Wax or the refined Paraffin Oil may be used, as best suits the convenience of the packer. After the eggs are removed from the Paraffin Wax, or Oil, and allowed to cool at least half an hour, they may, at any subsequent time within a few days, be put into a barrel about half-filled with the Silicate of Soda Solution, which is prepared as follows, and which we denominate "THE NEW COLORLESS LIQUID PROCESS." Liquid Silicate of Soda, 30 c Baume 1 gallon. Cold Water 20 gallons. Stir continually for some time; then allow the mixture to stand two or three hours, giving it only an occasional stirring. This new colorless solution, which should be prepared in a barrel of the capacity of from forty-two to forty-five gallons, is now ready for use, and is sufficient to cover ab~>ut one hundred ami fifty dozen eggs. If more convenient, the eggs may be placed carefully in another suit- able barrel, of the same dimensions, and the preserving solution gently poured over them until the top-layer of eggs is covered to the depth of two or three inches. Or the eggs may be placed in the solution in the first barrel, in the same manner. A thin cotton cloth is now to be spread on the surface of the solution, and allowed to scftb- down upon the eggs. Finally, pour over all a quart of refined Paraffin Oil, and cover the barrel tightly with paper and a good board cover. The object of pouring the refined Paraffin Oil over the solution is, to prevent evaporation and the absorption of impurities by the solution from the atmosphere. Keep the barrel in a cool place, as in a cool cellar, where the ther- mometer ranges from 35° to 60° Pahr. The nearer the temperature approaches the first figures, the better; but freezing (which oocurs a little below 32° ) must be avoided. Although the solution cannot freeze until reduced in temperature to several degrees below the freezing point of water, eggs will freeze at about 32 ° Pahr. As has been previously stated, eggs placed in alkaline solutions are more or less affected by the alkali, which dissolves the albumen, thus rendering them "watery." Of all alkaline solutions employed to preserve eggs whether they are deoxygenated or not, preference must be given to the Silicate of Soda, which (in the case of eggs not deoxyg nated) combines with the carbon- ate of lime of the egg-shell, rendering it less porous, thus preventing the alkali from permeating it. It does not, however, wholly prevent endosmosis of alkaline fluids, or exosmosis of the substance of the egg, especially when the liquid is kept at a temperature above 50 c Fahr. [Copj'righi secured, i 35 In order to make the process perfect for preserving eggs, they should be (as we have before remarked) immersed in the hot Paraffin Wax, or hot Oil, before placing them in the Silicate of Soda Solution. The egg-shell is permeated by the hot wax, which entirely fills the pores, and thus hermetrically seals them. By this operation the shell is rendered impervious to air, water, or alkaline solutions. The egg is deoxygenated by immersion for a very short time in the heated wax or oil, which, by rarefaction, (the effect of heat), expels most of the atmospheric oxygen of the egg — an element well known to be the principal cause of decomposition in the egg, under favorable circumstances. "We have now given the best practical processes for preserving eggs. These are the results of many years' experiments, and by carefully fol- lowing our instructions, clean, fresh and wholesome eggs, at all seasons, may certainly be secured. Why is Paraffin Wax the best substance known in Chemistry for Deoxygenating and Insulating Eggs ? Because it is tasteless, inodorous, colorless, non-absorbent, and a non- conductor of heat. It is not in the least affected by air, cold water, alkalies, or acids. Therefore for insulating eggs it has no equal in the wide range of resins, oil, wax, gums, etc., at present known. Why is the refined Paraffin Oil the best solution known for Insulating Eggs by the Cold Process? This oil is possessed of properties similar, in many respects, to those of Paraffin Wax. It is the only oil proper to be used for immersing eggs preparatory to preserving them in alkaline solutions. Paraffin Oil is a vegetable oil mineralized, and is not saponified by weak alkaline solutions, as are the vegetable and animal oils and fats. When it is not convenient to use the hot deoxygenating and insulating process, the cold refined Paraffin Oil should be used for insulating the eggs. (See the cold insulating process, on page 37.) A High Degree of Heat for Deoxygenating Eggs. The Paraffin Wax, or refined Paraffin Oil, may be placed in a vessel directly on a stove, or over a fire, and heated to 400 c or 500 ° , at wlrch temperature the eggs may be immersed therein, and they will be deoxy- genated in much less time than when subjected to a heat of about 200° in a water-bath, as elsewhere recommended. But to successfully deoxygenate eggs at high temperatures of 400 ~ [Copyright secure !.] 36 or 500° requires experience and the use of a thermometer suitable for the purpose, as the whites of eggs will cook in a few seconds at 500 ° . Further, the process is attended with the danger of igniting the hot oil or wax at these high temperatures, and is consequently objectionable. We therefore strenuously recommend the use of the water-bath, in which water can only be heated to 212 c Fahr. (the boiling point) ; and liquids set in a water-bath cannot be heated above 207 ° Fahr. Hence no thermometer is needed for a water-bath when about this temperature is required. [Note. — Only the true, or genuine, silicate of soda should be used for the preservation of eggs. For the process of its manufacture and pro- perties, the reader is referred to page 227, and for its market price, to the last page.] [Copyright secured.] Fresh F-ggs and Yellow Butter 37 PRESERVING EGGS BY THE COLD INSULATING PROCESS. Place the eggs in a wire basket, or other convenient perforated vessel, and immerse them in refined paraffin oil of a temperature between 70° and 80° Fahr. Let them remain in the oil about five minutes, raising and lowering the basket a few times, that the surface of the eggs may be completely covered with the oil. They should then be removed and put into the New Colorless Solution, within a day or two, or at once, if preferred. A better plan is to fill a barrel half-full of refined par- affin oil ; then fill the barrel with eggs as long as the oil will cover them, and allow the oil to remain at least five minutes ; but we prefer to let it remain two or three hours. Then draw it off by means of a faucet at the lower end of the barrel. Let the eggs remain undisturbed twenty-four hours, so that the oil may become partly dried on the shell. Then fill up the barrel with the new colorless solution, so as to cover the eggs to a depth of two inches above the top layer, and whatever oil is left in the barrel will rise to the surface of the solution. There should be, in all, about one quart of oil on the surface, to prevent evaporation, chemical change and the absorption of impurities and gases from the atmos- phere. The barrel should be covered with paper and a board cover. Keep the barrel in a cellar where the temperature is below 60° Fahr., and in a year after you may expect to find the eggs in as sweet a condition as when put into the barrel. 3 38 Fresh ^ggs and Yellow j^utter. This process for preserving the ordinary eggs of com- merce is probably the best for a cold process that has been discovered. [Note. — One or two hours before putting the eggs in the new color- less solution, add fifteen or twenty pounds of ice, broken up in small pieces, to half a barrel of the solution, and as soon as it is dissolved, and when the temperature is about 40°, pour it on the eggs, and if the barrel is insulated, closely covered as directed, and kept in a cool cellar, the temperature of the solution will remain below 50° Fahr. for weeks, or even months.] By adding ice to all lime mixtures, or solutions, before putting in the eggs, as above directed, to reduce the temperature to about 40° Fahr., eggs will keep in a fresh condition a much longer time. Especial attention is called to the fact that eggs will remain fresh in the new colorless solution, even if they are not coated or insulated with oils, etc., provided that the temperature of the solution is kept below 55° Fahr. And it is greatly to be preferred to the lime mixtures as a preservative. INSULATING EGGS WITH THE REFINED RESINOUS LINSEED OIL FOE DRY PACKING. Eggs, if designed for dry packing, must be insulated with the refined resinous linseed oil, at a temperature of from 50° to 70°, by immersing them for a few minutes, or they may remain in the oil twenty-four hours without detri- ment. They must then be taken from the barrel and dried in the open air for two or three days. Or eggs may be deoxygenated and insulated for dry packing by the use of the refined resinous linseed oil, at the temperature recommended for the deoxygenating process on page 33. •pRESH ^GGS AND JELLOW BUTTER 39 The eggs are then to be packed in the No. 1 dry com- pound (see pages 16 and 17), or in old, dry oats, and kept in a cool, dry place. Fresh eggs thus prepared will remain in a good condition for a long time. A COLD PROCESS FOR .DEOXYGENATING EGGS BY SUBSTI- TUTING CARBONIC ACID GAS FOR THE ATMOSPHERIC OXYGEN WHICH IS EXPELLED, EITHER BY RAREFAC- TION (AS DIRECTED BY THE NUMBER ONE PROCESS), OR EXTRACTED BY MEANS OF AN AIR-PUMP. Fill a substantial barrel, prepared by the insulating process, with fresh eggs, tightly close it (by fastening the head with screws), and then cover it all over with the insulating composition. Exhaust the air from the barrel by means of an air-pump. As a vacuum is produced, the air in the cavity at the large end of the egg will escape, together with a portion of the air in the substance of the egg. When a moderately good vacuum is secured, carbonic acid gas must be slowly admitted from a suitably charged reservoir, which must have been previously connected with the barrel of eggs. Great care must be exercised to slowly admit the carbonic acid gas, which can be done best by means of a stop-cock, in corresponding quantity with the amount of air extracted, as the egg-shells might otherwise be broken by a too great and sudden pressure of the gas, especially over the cavity at the large end of the egg. By this process, if prop- erly performed, the eggs become filled with an inert gas, which must be retained by a substantial and impervious covering. Let the eggs remain at least twenty-four hours in this carbonic acid gas. Then inject refined paraffin oil into the 40 Fresh Jiggs and Yellow jButter. barrel until it is full, allowing the gas to escape from the top. Permit the eggs to remain in the oil twenty-four hours, when they may be removed, or the oil may be drawn off by a faucet. Within one hour after the oil is drawn off, fill up the barrel with the new colorless solution, which should be cooled with ice to 40°, just before pouring it upon the eggs, (as directed in the cold insulating process). When filling up the barrel containing the eggs, carefully pour in the new colorless solution, so that the oil will not be washed from the eggs. After the barrel is full, plug and seal up the apertures made for the faucets, etc. Keep the barrel hermetrically sealed and in a cool place until required for use. Eggs, after being deoxygenated and charged with car- bonic acid gas, if desired for dry packing, must be imme- diately insulated with the refined resinous linseed oil, (instead of refined paraffin oil,) at a temperature between 50° and 70°. Let the eggs remain in the oil for twenty-four hours ; then remove and dry them in the open air for two or three days. They are then to be packed in the No. 1 dry compound, or old, dry oats, and kept in a cool, dry place. If fresh eggs are used in this process, they will remain in a fresh condition for an unlimited time. It should be borne in mind that eggs, after being charged with carbonic acid gas, must not be immersed in hot oils or other hot 'preparations to obtain a coating, as the heat will expel a portion, if not all, of the carbonic acid gas, which would vitiate the result. Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 41 WHY DEOXYGENATED EGGS SHOULD BE KEPT IN SOLU- TIONS. After being deoxygenated by our process, which hermetri- cally seals or closes the pores of their shells, the question will doubtless arise : Why is it necessary to put eggs in the cold silicate of soda solution ? Our answer is, first, to prevent an accumulation of dust on the shells, which would give them the appearance of age, and, secondly, to keep the eggs at a more even and lower temperature, as the liquids are not readily affected by slight atmospheric changes. Otherwise, if the eggs are exposed in boxes and barrels, without any other protection, and as some of the eggs may be several days old and contain a large quantity of atmospheric oxygen that has not been wholly expelled, but sufficiently deoxygenated for their preservation if kept at a moderately low and uniform temperature, an immersion in this solution will render them less liable to change. To illustrate : The cellar where the eggs are kept is 50° Fahr. in the morning ; at noon the temperature is increased to 70° or 80° ; while at night it is down again to 50°. If the eggs are not protected by some non-conducting substance, many of them not being fresh, they will become affected by these atmospheric changes. If they are in the solution, however, they will be but slightly affected by these changes of temperature. If the solution be kept in the prepared or insulated barrels (see method of thus preparing barrels), it will require a long continued summer heat to affect its tem- perature. 42 Fhesh Eggs and Jello-w Butter. WHY THE SILICATE OF SODA SOLUTION IS PREFERABLE TO LIME-WATER FOR MERCHANTABLE EGGS. The question may be asked, why lime-water will not answer, in place of the silicate of soda solution, in which to keep eggs after they are deoxygenated. Answer: Because lime-water is constantly depositing the carbonate of lime, which settles on the eggs and, partially adhering to their surface, gives a roughness to their shells, causing the appearance of limed eggs. Such when offered for sale will not bring so high a price as those having the appear- ance of fresh eggs. But for family use, the rough appearance of the shell being no objection, the deoxygenated eggs may be preserved quite as well in lime-water or lime mixture as in the silicate of soda solution. TO RENDER EGGS LESS LIABLE TO BREAK, AND THEREBY INCREASE THEIR DURABILITY AND VALUE. Additional strength and durability are imparted to the egg- shell by the insulating process, which renders it much less liable to break when handled, or during transportation. WHY DO LIMED EGGS SOON SPOIL AFTER BEING REMOVED FROM A LIME SOLUTION ? Because they are generally exposed to a higher range of temperature after being removed from the solution, which accelerates decomposition. Eggs with very thick shells are generally the last to spoil. The deposit of carbonate of lime from lime-water upon the shell of the egg does not entirely prevent the endosmosis of atmospheric oxygen affecting the e^ir substance. Strictly fresh etrgs put into lime solutions will keep longer than if they were stale when immersed. Fresh F.ggs and Yellow Butter. 43 Stale eggs, with thin shells, will keep but a short time after being removed from a lime solution, unless kept at a low temperature, because they are in the incipient stage of decomposition, as all eggs are, unless preserved in their original freshness, or less than one day old. Therefore, the reason why some limed eggs will keep for weeks, or in some cases months, after being taken out of a lime solution, is the fact of their original freshness when put into the solution, and their possessing thick, compact shells, which receive a deposit of carbonate of lime, rendering them still less porous, and consequently much less liable to suffer from the evaporation of their fluids and the absorption of atmospheric oxygen. EGGS KEPT FRESH BY COLD. Decomposition cannot take place in eggs, or other animal substances, when kept at a temperature below 45°; therefore, if eggs be placed in an ice-house, refrigerator, or other cool place, at a temperature of from 35° to 45° Fahr., they will not spoil. Eggs should be packed, for convenience, in barrels containing powdered charcoal or dry oats, or other bad con- ductors of heat, which will keep them perfectly sweet by guarding them against atmospheric changes and impure or noxious vapors. The eggs, when packed, should be placed on eud, and when the barrel is headed up it should be turned on its opposite head as often as once in every fourteen days, thus changing the position of the eggs, to prevent the yelks from coming in contact with the shells, which is sometimes liable to occur. But this is not a practical method for egg dealers in 44 J^RESH ^GGS AND YELLOW J3UTTER general, on account of the difficulty in getting so low a temperature. We have now given our readers the best practical pro- cesses, and if they are careful in following our instructions, which are the results of years of research and experiment, they may depend upon having fresh and wholesome eggs throughout all seasons of the year. ANATOMY OF THE EGG — WHY THE YELK OF A FRESH EGG SETTLES AGAINST THE SHELL, AND THE EGG SOON AFTER SPOILS. In considering the anatomy of the egg, we will commence with the exterior and proceed inward. First — We find the egg-shell [testa ovi, or putamen ovi), and lining its internal surface is found the chorion (mem- brana putaminis), a white, semi-opaque membrane consisting of two layers, which, by their separation at the large end of the egg, form a cavity filled with nearly pure oxygen. This vacuity is caused by the condensation of the egg substance and the entrance of air during the process of cooling at the time it is laid. When the egg is fecundated, this bubble of oxygen serves as a respiratory reservoir for the prospective chick. Immediately within and adjoining the chorion, yet de- tached from that membrane, is found the allantoid membrane enveloping the albumen ovi. The office of the allantoid, which is a very delicate, transparent membrane, is to hold the fluid contents of the white intact, when the egg-shell and chorion are removed. Next in order is found the albumen ovi, a colorless, trans- Fresh J£ggs and Jellow Butter. 45 parent, glutinous liquid, inodorous and tasteless, inclosed in delicate membranous cells. The partitionaiy substance that constitutes these cells is the delicate membrane oonin (its office is similar to that of the honey-comb), which prevents the albumen from rapidly spreading when the allantoid is ruptured. When one or several cells are broken, the oonin partition holds the white of the egg in the remaining cells in statu quo. The labor required to " beat up " the white of eggs is owing to the toughness of the allantoid and oonin membranes. When they are fully disintegrated, either by mechanical force, or by decomposition from the effects of lime-water, or age, the white of the egg flows readily, and is called "ivatery." Between the white and yelk of the egg is found the amnion membrane, which surrounds the yelk (vitellus ovi), sub- serving the same purpose as the allantoid, which envelops the albumen. Attached to opposite points on the circumference of the amnion membrane are the chalazos, consisting of two white, spiral, knotty and tenacious membranous bodies, which extend in opposite directions through the albumen, and are attached to the allantoid membrane at each end of the egg, for the purpose of supporting the yelk in the central part of the albumen. But when the allantoid and oonin membranes are destroyed by the causes above stated, or by shaking an egg violently, the connexion of these membranes is broken, and the yelk gravitates to the lowest part of the egg, finally resting upon the shell. As the specific gravity of the yelk is greater than that of the albumen, it settles in accord- ance with the laws of gravity. 46 J^RESH pGGS AND YELLOW JSUTTER. Hence the yelk of a fresh egg does not settle (except from agitation sufficient to break the allantoid, ooniri and chalazce) ; while that of a stale egg does, owing to the decom- position of these membranes. When the yelk rests on the shell, it no longer has albumen for its protection, and being of a highly susceptible nature, rapidly absorbs oxygen, which soon causes its destruction. But eggs which have been deoxygenated and insulated are not liable to spoil, even after violent agitation has ruptured the membranes so that the yelk settles and rests on the shell, as no oxygen can be absorbed by an insulated egg. The yelk is a thick, opaque, golden-yellow fluid, inodorous, and of a bland, oily taste. On the yelk is a small white spot, known as the cicatricula, surrounded by whitish concentric rings. The cicatricula is the germinating or embryonic point of the fetal chicken. A duct extends from this germ vesicle to the centre of the yelk, which contains a whitish, granular substance, designed by nature for the support of the chick during its first stages of development. THE SIZE AND WEIGHT OF EGGS. Among other facts of interest to the dealer, and especially to the consumer of eggs, are the following, concerning their size and weight : Those laid by the common barn-yard hen have diameters two and a half inches in length, by one and three-quarter inches in width, and an average weight of one and three-fourth ounces. The yelk constitutes about two- fifths of the whole substance, the albumen forming the remainder. Eight of these eggs ordinarily weigh one pound. jpRESH pGGS AND YELLOW BUTTER. 47 SALT WATER A TEST FOR FRESH EGGS. Dissolve ten ounces of common salt in one gallon of cold water. Place eggs that candle clear in this solution, and if perfectly fresh, they will gradually sink, but if slightly stale, they will swim. All eggs that sink in this solution, the specific gravity of which is about 1.065, may be classed as fresh eggs, which have lost but a small portion of their fluids by evaporation and are quite suitable for preserving. Eggs that will swim in salt water, of the strength of 8 oz. of salt to 1 gallon of water, must never be used for pre- serving. Eggs which have passed the test of salt water must be rinsed in fresh water and dried before deoxygenating or insulating them. Twelve ounces of salt _ dissolved in one gallon of water form a solution (specific gravity 1.091), sufficiently strong to float a perfectly fresh egg. One gallon of cold water dis- solves only three pounds of salt, making a saturated solution of the specific gravity of 1.210. Boiling increases its solu- bility but very little. WHAT CLASS OF EGGS TO SELECT, AND THE BEST SEASON FOR PRESERVING THEM. It is well known to most persons who are engaged in the egg business that eggs are liable, from their susceptible nature, to absorb the flavors of many substances with which they may be kept in contact. Hence it is highly important that no preserving agent should be used which will impart any flavor or taste of a nature foreign to them. 48 Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter In order to get strictly fresh eggs, they must be removed from the nests the same day they are laid, and put up imme- diately. This cannot be done on a large scale, as dealers in eggs usually purchase them of farmers who bring to market eggs from one day to two or three weeks old, on some of which the hens have set for a day or two, or longer, and thus many of them are stale. At all times, and particularly during the hot summer months, great care should be taken to reject all musty or stale eggs. Eggs gathered in hot weather from damp, out- door nests, or that have remained under a lien for a day or two, or if placed in musty grain, bran, cellar-earth, sawdust, shavings, or other substances which readily impart an unpleasant flavor, are liable to be more or less impreg- nated with the flavor of such articles, and are unfit to pack, though they may look clear when held before a candle. If eggs are packed in fresh pine sawdust for a day or two, they will be flavored with turpentine; if packed in oak saw- dust, they will be stained of a brown color, and are liable to become sour. The best time to put up eggs is in March, April, or May, and again during the months of September, October and November. During the hot summer months, unless great care is taken by the farmer in gathering fresh eggs every day, they are liable to become musty. Although the farmer may gather and preserve eggs during all seasons of the year, it is not safe for persons in cities to buy eggs for pre- serving during the hot summer months. Such eggs are usually several days or weeks old, and, having been handled and exposed to more or less heat, they are liable to be dam- Fresh Eggs and Yellow j3utter. 49 aged, and if put into a preserving solution when in a musty or spoiled state, their condition will not be improved. Therefore, eggs which, though not strictly fresh, will bear inspection when candled, and have not been exposed to flavors or odors so as to affect them, form the class which is commonly used for preserving. It is therefore, an object of importance to find a remedy for this class of eggs, which, to accommodate the egg dealers, must be kept on hand at a temperature from 50° to 80° Fahr. TESTING AND PREPARING EGGS FOR THE PRESERVING PROCESS. Wash the soiled eggs. Candle all the eggs carefully, re- jecting those which have dark and floating spots, or that have a cloudy appearance, and all that are in the least cracked. Put down only those that candle perfectly clear. Reject all that swim in the water, even if they appear clear when held before a candle, as such are old eggs. INSTRUCTIONS FOR PACKING AND SHIPPING EGGS. In hot weather, eggs should always be shipped in old, dry, sweet oats, or coarsely powdered charcoal. In cool weather, cut rye and wheat straw will answer. Never use oat or buck- wheat straw, sawdust or shavings. When packing eggs for shipment, allow at least one-half or three-quarters of an inch of packing material between the eggs and the barrels; also about one-quarter of one inch between the eggs, and about one and one-half inches between each layer. Do not put over 70 dozen into a flour barrel. There should be about two inches of packing material between the eggs and each head of the barrel. After each two or three layers are put 50 J^RESH ^GGS AND YELLOW j^UTTER in, they should be well settled by using a heavy plank fol- lower, and shaking the barrel until well settled. When heading the barrel, great caution should be used in having the head press firmly on the packing material, so that the eggs cannot work loose in the barrel by handling, and yet not be so tight as to break them. GENERAL REMARKS CONCERNING EGGS IN PRESERVING SOLUTIONS. When eggs are taken out of preserving solutions, the best plan to wash them is to put them into slotted boxes, and upon every layer or two pour cold water, and then let them become perfectly dry before packing. Eggs should never be shipped in liquids, but should be taken out of preserving solutions and packed as directed. Great care should be used in handling packages contain- ing eggs in preserving solutions, as the eggs are very liable to break. As a general rule, preserving solutions will not answer for use the second year. Eggs should be kept in preserving solutions until they are required for use or for market. Eggs, broken in barrels or vats, while in preserving solu- tions, generally spoil soon, and impair the preserving quali- ties of the solution. Whenever this happens, remove the unbroken eggs, wash them in cold water, cleanse the vessel and put the eggs into a new solution. As ordinary barrels or vats are liable to leak, they should be examined every two weeks. In case of leakage, they must be supplied with additional preserving solution. Fresh Eggs and Jellow Butter. 51 But if barrels or vats are prepared according to our pro- cess for preparing kerosene oil and other barrels and vats, all danger of leakage will be avoided. Do not put egg-preserving solutions in vessels of iron, copper, tin, zinc, or other metal, as the chemical action of the metals upon the solutions is injurious. THE SEX OF EGGS. A series of experiments by an experienced poulterer in the egg-hatching business has determined, as a general rule, the following results : Eggs containing the germ of males have wrinkles on the small ends; on the contrary, eggs which are smooth at the extremities, and nearest to roundness, produce females, while those pointed at one end usually engender males. The above may be of some importance to those engaged in raising poultry. INCUBATION. The time required for hatching eggs when placed under fowls, or by any artificial heat, to-wit : Hens' Eggs, 21 days. Turkeys' Eggs, 28 " Ducks' Eggs, 29 " Geese Eggs, 30 " A NEW-LAID EGG. The large end of a new-laid egg feels cold when placed against the tongue, but that of a stale egg feels warm, because the white of a fresh egg being in contact with (he shell acts as a conductor in abstracting heat from the tongue more readily than the non-conducting air bubble or cavity in the stale egg. 52 -pRESH JiGGS AND JeLLOW BUTTER EGGS. Few persons understand the magnitude of the egg trade of New York city. The receipts for nine months of 1869 averaged at least one thousand barrels per day. A barrel contains about 80 dozen, or 960 eggs ; the aggregate, there- fore, was in one day nearly a million. Like cotton and corn, they are considered a cash article, and can be sold immediately. One thousand barrels of eggs, at an average price of 30 cents per dozen, amounts to $24,000 per day, or $8,790,000 per annum. IMPORTANT STATISTICS FOR THE YEAR 1869. In compiling the annexed table, we are respectfully obliged to the Hon. Secretaries and other public officers of the various States ; also to the Hon. Horace Capron, Com- missioner of the Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C, and to the various journals of agriculture and commerce throughout the United States, for the statistics herein set forth. Fresh F.ggs and Yellow Butter 53 STATISTICS FOR THE YEAR 1869. The following table shows that the total value of eggs produced in the United States exceeds fifty millions of dollars per annum : TOTAL POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES AND TERRITORIES: 1869 37,139,513 1860 31,443,790 Increase in nine years 5,695,723 STATES AND TERRITORIES. Popula- tion. No. | No. Famil's Farms, Mo. doz. Eggs per ; Annum. Alabama Arkansas California Connecticut Delaware Florida lieorgia Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts ftl ichigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming Territories Ne w Hampshire New Jersey New iork ISorth Carolina Ohio Oregun Pennsylvania Knode isla ,d bouth Carolina Tr nnessee Texas Ve> mont Virginia West Virginia Wisconsin Di^iri ji of Columbia .Dakota Territory Nebraska Nevada .[..'. JNcw Mexico, Arizona and Indian Territories TJt h Tciri tory Washington Territory. ........... *Colorauo l\ rritory *Kussian America 987,461 472,166 554,112! 486,136 li0,448 146,330 1,110,076 i,178,766 1,950,112 1)02,04(1: 180,478 1,100,31:0! 918,117 029,104! 704,891 1,281,700 986,724 386,478 847,213 1,556,187 :.2,112 330,127 081,49:[ 4,b85,58U 1,200,316' 2,905,463 121,53-t; 3,2 7,420! 178,«J1 780,41o! 1,106,141 894,141 315,610 1,330,588 871,891 855,061 86,1* 9,312, 78,187 108,496 141,131 71,111 73,114 76,581 18,117 20,113 169,112 378,882 325,118 180,408 30,570 190.1U 14i,10i 103,648 117,481 256.9J0 lo 1,454 03,583 1> 1,1b9 261,198 5,004 65,oo., 113,582 780,931 167,118 484,242 10,851 544,663 *23,ol<8,14s' 42,113: 108,496 850, 31,101 28,004 242,807 75,364' 188,909! 8,968 17o,l0. 5,438 33,241 83,14-1 45,19 31,578 77,21i 17,113 78,892i 233 690' 6,481 1,008. 5,414,001 3,147,000 3,848,000 2,331,000 848,000 600,i '00 4.210,000 22,648,01 17,7h7,000 10,808,000 2,400,000 8,480,000 l,41u,00l 7,00 ,000 12,478,001 5,001,001 9,766,001 2,400,000 2,100,000 9,890,000 1,000 4,896,000 4.1)05,410 28,749,001 4,111.000 21,875,000 l)JO,0Ot 20,445,' 00 700,500 3,014,000 7,4 14,300 4,667,401 4,157 600 6,l5i),li. 1,64 ,1(1 8,958,201 13.001 15,601 600,451 100,60G Av'age Price 20 centi per do^en. 148,619; 11,867 81,496; 7,112 31,461' 4,010 61,181 55,780 8,896; 85S 000 9,786 1,040,001 3,672! 100,601. $i,('82.son.no 0211,400.00 769,600.00 466,200.00 109,600.00 1211,000.00 842,000.00 4,529,600.00 3,553 400.00 2,179,600.00 4811.000.00 1.697,200.00 281,0 10.00 1,521,000.00 2,49 .eou.oo 1.000,200 00 1,953,101.00 4Si 1,000. co 4' 0,000. 00 1,978,000.00 200.00 979,200.00 981,082.00 5,749,800.00 883,800.00 4,375,000.00 189,000.00 4,08i',000.00 140,010.00 6' 2,8 0.00 1,192,860.00 013,480.00 831,520 00 1.230 020.00 3 >, 020. 00 1,791.640.00 2 600.00 3, '20.0:1 12:i.0'.lo.00 20,120.00 171,600.00 208.000.00 20,120.00 Aggregate. 37,139,513.6,074,25b 2. 3 71.,S94 258,507,860, 851,701,572x0 * The statistics of families, farms and eggs not received from Colorado and Russian America. 54 Fresh ^ggs and Yellow j3utter. A French statistician estimates the total value of eggs annually produced in France at fifty-seven millions of dollars. The total value of eggs annually produced on the globe is estimated at five hundred and fifty millions of dollars. EGG— Ovum. The following is a perfect chemical analysis of the egg of the common hen, (Phasanius Gallus), which is supposed to have been originally the jungle fowl of India. It is now domesticated in nearly all parts of the globe. The earff consists of an external covering, known as the shell, (testa ovi, or putamen ovi), which is composed of — Carbonate of Lime, 86.0 parts. Animal Substance 3.5 " Phosphate of Lime 1.3 " Carbonate of Magnesia 0.9 " Oxide of Iron 0.7 " Sulphur 1.7 " Gelatin 2.9 " Water 3.0 " Total 100 The shell, when exposed to an intense heat in the crucible, is deprived of its carbonic acid, while the other substances are either rendered inert or dissipated, leaving a residuum of nearly pure oxide of calcium. Lining the internal surface of the shell is the membrana putaminis, a white semi-opaque membrane, composed of — Albumen 29.1 parts. Gluten 36.0 « Tannin 9.3 « Gelatin 14.6 " Water 11.0 " Total 100 Fresh ^ggs and Yellow Butter. 55 This lining envelopes a substance known as the white, (albumen ovl), a colorless, transparent, glutinous liquid, inclosed in delicate membranous cells, inodorous and tasteless. Its composition is — Pure Albumen 13.0 parts. Chloride of Sodium 0.2 " Soda 0.5 " Gluten 1.2 " Sulphur 0.1 " Water 85.0 " Total 100 The white is soluble in water and alkaline solutions, coagulable by alcohol, strong acids, and by a heat of 156°F., and can be precipitated by chloride of gold, tannin, chloride of tin, corrosive sublimate, sub-acetate of lead, and sulphate of copper. Coagulation renders it insoluble. Passing through the white to the central portion of the egg, is found the yelk (vitellus ovi), a thick, opaque, golden - yellow fluid, inodorous, of a bland, oily taste, and by agita- tion with water it forms an opaque emulsion. Its chemical composition is — Vitellin, a peculiar albuminous principle 15.760 Margarin and Olein 21.304 ( 'holesterine 938 Oleic Acid, Margaric Acid 5.462 Muriate of Ammonia 2.204 Phosphoglyceric Acid 034 Phosphates of Lime and Magnesia 200 Chlorides of Sodium & Potassium — Sulphate of Potassa 1.022 Gelatin 277 Sulphur 553 Oxide of Iron, Lactic Acid and Animal Extract 400 Water 51.846 Total 100.000 58 ^RESH ^GGS AND YELLOW J3UTTER Yelk of eggs is concrescible by heat, and becomes solid by- boiling. It is employed as a medium for uniting resins and oils with water. The white of eggs is useful as a demulcent in diseases of the intestinal mucous membrane, and as an antidote to corrosive sublimate and the soluble salts of copper, with which it forms insoluble and comparatively inert compounds. Exposed in thin layers to a current of air, it becomes solid, retaining its transparency and solubility in water, and can be thus preserved a long time without change; in this state it may be applied in a state of solution to the same pur- pose as in its original condition. It soon putrefies in the fluid state, unless kept at a temperature below 50° Fahr., or deoxygenated and permitted to remain in its natural condition. CLARIFICATION. The white of the egg is used for the clarification of syrups, infusion of coffee and other liquids, which it accom- plishes by undergoing coagulation, enveloping suspended impurities and undissolved particles in its flakes, and rising with them to the surface, or settling to the bottom. ALBUMEN. This substance, found nearly pure in the white of eggs, from which it derives its name, .is also found in the serum of the blood, and in many animal and vegetable substances. It exists in two conditions, solid and liquid — liquid in the white of eggs, humors of the eye and serum of the blood; solid, in the brain and nerves of animals, and in the seeds of plants. As found in the white of eggs, it is colorless, tasteless, odorless and soluble in alkaline solu- j^RESH ^GGS AND JeLLOW BUTTER 57 tions. It is precipitated from all of its solutions by alcohol, and by heat, which coagulates it, after which it is not again soluble in water. Like all other nitrogenized animal substances, it is very prone to decomposition. Being capable of changing in the blood into fibrin, which again becomes musculin, (the substance of muscles'), albumen is justly esteemed by physiologists a most perfect article of food. Indeed, the value of meats and vegetables is largely estimated by the amount of albumen present. This accounts for the well-known fact that eggs may well be substituted for meats. DESICCATED EGGS. Break a number of fresh eggs into an evaporating vessel, and expose them to a heat of 125° Fahr., over a water-bath, with occasional stirring until dry. Then pack them in air- tight vessels. When thus dried, the residue presents a bright orange color. When required for use, one part of dried egg should be well beaten with three times its weight of water. Desiccated eggs may be used for making puddings, cus- tards, etc. DOES THE ANIMAL WARMTH OR GERMINATING HEAT RETARD OR PROMOTE THE DECOMPOSITION OF EGGS? This is a subject of controversy among chemists. It is claimed by some that it is absolutely necessary to destroy the life of the germ in order to preserve the egg. Wherefore they recommend, for that purpose, agents which will not ren- der the egg distasteful or injurious as an article of food. Others contend that instead of destroying the germ of the egg, it is only necessary to suspend its animal life. 58 Fresh Eggs and Yellow j3utter When we reflect that the absorption by the egg of alkalies or acids destroys the life of the germ, and that when the egg is deprived of its vitality decomposition is the result, we see that the retention of the vital principle tends to its preservation. An egg never decomposes so long as it has life. Our processes, which are based upon this correct and truly philosophical theory, avoid the immediate contact with the egg of those destructive agents which are used to aid in the protection of the egg against the various influences of atmospheric gases, vapors and dust. After a lapse of twelve months, or longer, eggs preserved by our processes retain all their pristine beauty and freshness. BARREN EGGS, OR EGGS WHICH ARE NOT FECUNDATED, ARE BEST FOR PRESERVING. The hen at certain periods prepares a batch of eggs which, when sufficiently matured, she "lays," whether they are fecundated, or not, by the male bird. As a matter of course, hatching cannot take place unless the eggs are fecundated, but they are equally good for cook- ing, and better for preserving, from the circumstance that they do not contain the germ-vesicle, and, as a consequence, the germinating heat, i. e., the punctum saliens of animal life. Experiments have proved that when un impregnated eggs are placed under a setting hen for twenty-one days, (the usual period of incubation), both the yelk and albumen remain in their normal condition; showing conclusively that the barren are preferable to the fertile or fecundated eggs, because capable of enduring a higher temperature without chancre. J^resh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 59 Poulterers should make a note of this fact, and not allow the male bird to associate with hens that are kept merely for laying eggs for preserving, and which are not designed for producing chickens. CONCLUDING REMARKS CONCERNING LIME COMPOUNDS FOR PRESERVING EGGS. An objection may be raised against the use of the "Cream of Lime Compound," according to. formula (see page 11), as the lime, after remaining at rest a few months, " packs " about the eggs, and requires considerable labor to take them out of the mixture. This may be obviated by using the following : Take of fresh, unslaked lime, ten pounds ; Common barrel salt, one pound ; Cold or hot water, twenty gallons. Mix and stir occasionally for a day or two. Then allow the solution to rest for twenty-four hours, at the expiration of which time the undissolved lime Avill have subsided, leaving a clear solution, which is now ready for use, and is sufficient to cover about one hundred and fifty dozen eggs, the number required to fill a 42 to 45 gallon barrel. Place the eggs carefully in the solution, so as not to disturb the sediment. When the barrel is filled within three inches of the top, spread over the eggs a thin cotton cloth, so that they may be entirely covered, and pour on the top of the cloth "Cream of Lime Compound" to the depth of two inches, and then pour over all a quart of paraffin oil, as directed on page 12. Eggs put up in the lime and salt solution should be kept 60 Fresh Eggs and Yellow j3utter. at a temperature below 50° Fahr., and only in barrels prepared by the insulated process, and the solution covered with the refined paraffin oil ; otherwise the barrels and the atmosphere are liable to change the character of the lime- water. (See pages 7 and 8.) By strictly following these directions, if the eggs are kept at a temperature below 50 Fahr., they may be preserved in as good condition as if put up with the "Cream of Lime Compound." Lime solutions or mixtures are not to be preferred for keeping eggs, but the formulas already given are the best combinations of lime for that purpose. Fresh slaked lime may be used in the lime processes instead of the fresh, unslaked lime ; but the latter is preferable. ALL EGG-PRESERVING SOLUTIONS COOLED BEFORE USING. All solutions and liquid mixtures designed for egg- preservatives, should be cooled to the temperature of about 40° Fahr., by the addition of ice broken into small pieces so that it will readily melt. To each twenty gallons of solution or mixture, add from fifteen to twenty pounds (or more, if required) of finely broken ice, to reduce the temperature of the liquid to 40° by the thermometer ; then put the eggs therein, as soon as the ice melts. If the barrel is insulated, and the surface of the solution covered with the refined paraffin oil, and kept in a cool cellar, the temperature of the solution will remain below 55° for months, which will insure the preservation of eggs a much longer time. / Fresh ^ggs and Yellow j3utter. 61 PRESERVING EGGS, MEAT, VEGETABLES AND ERUITS BY HEAT. The boiling of eggs and meat produces a marked change in these articles of food, by coagulating their albumen, which is the substance first involved in putrefaction and disorganization. Cooked meat and eggs keep sweet much longer than when raw. Air is a necessary agent in the process of decay or putre- faction. If animal or vegetable substances can be deprived of air and kept in vacuo, no visible change will take place for a very long time. Boiling expels this internal air. Hence, if vegetable or animal substances be placed in a vessel and deprived of air by heat or other means, and the vessel then be hermetrically sealed, their preservation will be secured. The application of heat, as we before remarked, coagu- lates the albumen, rendering it inactive and less inclined to change. By the heating process, fruits and vegetables are boiled in their own juice, whereby their albumen is coagu- lated. Heat has the peculiar effect not only of changing the combination of the constituent parts of vegetable and animal substances, but of retarding, at least for many years, if not altogether, the natural tendency of these bodies to decom- position. This opinion is confirmed by many important facts, which cannot be reconciled with the supposition that oxygen is the sole or even principal agent of decomposition. Thus milk which has been merely scalded will keep sweet much longer, even if freely exposed to, or purposely impreg- nated with oxygen gas, than milk which has not been heated. 62 -pRESH pGGS AND YELLOW BuTTER. Experiments have proved that oxygen may be present with fermentable matter without producing any effect whatever, as certain conditions cause or accelerate fermentation. So different or opposite states prevent or retard it. This is true, whatever may be the nature of the fermentation. The well-known preserving process of Appert does not wholly depend upon the exclusion of oxygen from the pro- visions he preserves, after the albumen is coagulated. Eggs, meat, vegetables and fruits put into tin cans, glass or earthenware jars, and kept for some time in boiling water, in order to completely expel their internal air and coagu- late their albumen, and then sealed up while hot, may be preserved thus for winter use. In dead animal bodies, the albumen first decomposes, serving as a ferment, or leaven, to infect the other animal constituents. Plants, which contain much vegetable albu- men, as mushrooms, cabbage, etc., very soon decay when exposed to the air, particularly in warm weather. To induce putrefactive fermentation, the same conditions are required as in the vinous and acetic, viz : moisture with certain degrees of temperature. Could we deprive animal and vegetable substances of both air and moisture, no change would ever take place. The presence of air, although not always necessary, usually hastens decomposition. It is upon the foregoing laws of chemistry that most of the methods of preserving food are founded. The putrefactive fermentation, like the acetous and vinous fermentations, requires but a small amount of animal or vegetable substance in a state of decomposition for Fresh J2ggs and Yellow JSutter. 63 its inauguration. Even a decaying molecule inoculates others with which it may come in contact, causing them to putrefy. Even the effluvia or vapor of decaying matter will sometimes exert this destructive effect. The inevitable change to which inanimate organic matter, whether animal or vegetable, is subject, is denominated fer- mentation, of which the following are the chief varieties : First — The Vinous Fermentation. Second — The Acetous Fermentation. Third — The Putrefactive Fermentation. By the first two varieties, the useful products, alcohol and acetic acid, are obtained. But the last is that complete change termed putrefactive decomposition, or rotting, by which animal and vegetable substances, particularly those containing nitro- gen, are resolved into more simple and staple compounds, which, if liquids or gases, evaporate, while earthy or mineral matters remain. This change does not take place precisely in the same manner in animal as in vegetable substances; while vegetables generally pass through all the stages of fer- mentation, the flesh of animals passes at once into the putre- factive condition. Animal substances contain a large proportion of nitrogen, as one of their elementary constituents, which is found only in small proportion as a constituent of vegetable matter. Many kinds of the latter contain none at all, as, for example, lignin or woody matter, gums, resins, etc., which decay much more slowly than animal matter. The saccharine juices which many plants and fruits con- tain, if expressed, pass spontaneously in warm weather into 64 j^RESH ^GGS AND YELLOW EuTTER the vinous and thence into the acetous fermentations, giving rise to carbonic acid, which escapes, and alcohol, which, by absorption of oxygen passes into acetic acid or vinegar. Vinous fermentation, if not arrested, as it may be by well- known means, soon changes into the acetous fermentation, of which vinegar is the product. If a considerable quantity of nitrogenized material remains in the vinegar, the acetous will soon pass into the putrefactive fermentation, which results in complete destruction of the liquid for all useful purposes. There is a time, however, though brief, when vegetables and fruits are through the vinous fermentation, before becoming positively sour and unwholesome. When the juices of plants enter into the acetous ferment- ation, the acids thus generated destrov the cohesion of the ligneous fibres, and thus the whole plant is soon reduced to a pulpy state, and putrefaction follows. There is, however, very little of that remarkably disagreeable odor which exhales from putrefying animal matter, from the fact that the elements necessary to produce the offensive gases — sulphur and phosphorus — exist in vegetables in small proportions. When vegetables putrefy, their oxygen and a part of their hydrogen unite and form water, while another portion of their hydrogen combines with carbon, forming carbureted hydrogen. The chief part of the carbon, however, remains in the free and amorphous form of this element, and gives the decaying substance the black color so commonly seen in rich soils, which are the products of decaying vegetable matter. The elementary substances which compose the animal and vegetable kingdom are held together by the laws of organic life, but when deprived of this bond, have a tendency Fresh ^ggs and Yellow Butter. 65 to separate from each other and enter into new combinations. This is a universal law of nature ; organic bodies come into existence, and, if permitted, live their allotted time and die. If nothing retards the usual course of things, they pass into other conditions, and the material substances of which they consist form the corporeal part of other living beings. Hence, life is death, but the grand result is life. For example: When the egg commences to decay, its albumen is the base of putrefactive fermentation, and sub- sequently the yelk is involved in the same chemical change The ultimate elements of a fresh egg are as follows: Carbon — about 55 parts. Nitrogen, " 16 " Oxygen, " 17 " Hvdrogen, " 7 " Sulphur, " 3 " Phosphorus" 2 " Which, in the progress of organic dissolution, separate from each other, and combine again as follows : The carbon unites with oxygen and forms carbonic acid; one portion of the hydrogen forms water with the oxygen; another part, uniting with the nitrogen, forms ammonia ; another portion combines with the carbon, producing carbureted hydrogen gas, and the remainder unites with the phosphorus and sul- phur, producing phosphoreted and sulphureted hydrogen gases, which are, in a great measure, the cause of the fetor, (so offensive to the sense of smell), evolved by the breaking of a perfectly rotten egg, which is justly entitled to the appellation of egg ultimatum. 66 Fresh F,ggs and Yellow ^utter. NUMBER ONE PROCESS FOR INSULATING ALL WOODEN VESSELS — HOW TO PREPARE OR INSULATE CARBON OR KEROSENE OIL, LARD AND LINSEED OIL' OR OTHER BARRELS, WHETHER NEW OR OLD ; ALSO WOODEN VATS, FOR HOLDING EGG-PRESERVING SOLU- TIONS, PORK, BEEF, BRINE, CIDER, VINEGAR, ALKA- LIES, ACIDS, SIRUP, BUTTER, WATER, ETC. The .simplicity, cheapness and effectiveness of the method of preparing- carbon or kerosene oil barrels for containing eovr-prcserving solutions, render it practicable by all dealers in eggs. Kerosene or carbon oil barrels are generally well made, iron-bound and durable, and can be obtained in almost every town or village at a reasonable price. But being completely saturated with the oil, and impregnated with the peculiar odor of kerosene, such barrels cannot be used for general purposes without preparation. A series of chemical experiments has developed the fol- lowing sure and simple method of rendering these barrels suitable for the preservation of eggs and the other purposes above named : PROCESS AND FORMULA FOR INSULATING THE BARRELS OR VATS. The barrel must be well hooped, water-tight, clean and dry. It is then charred in the following manner, viz. : Build a fire inside the barrel with shavings, so that the blaze may char the whole interior surface. In the case of kerosene oil barrels, the inner surface will readily burn after the ignition of a few shav- ings. Other barrels may also be readily charred by the Fresh jEggs and Yellow Butter. 67 use of about a pint of kerosene oil spread over their inner surface and allowed to remain a few minutes, in order that the wood may absorb a portion of it. Ignite it by some shavings, and in a short time the entire interior will become well charred. The combustion should be maintained until the wood is charred about one-eighth of an inch in depth, after which the ashes must be emptied out. To extinguish the fire after the barrel is sufficiently charred, put a damp cloth over it, or turn the barrel on the other end, but do not extinguish it by water, as it would render the barrel damp and unsuitable for receiving the insulating composition. By the inversion of the barrel on its opposite end, the ashes are emptied and the fire extinguished in a few moments. As soon as this is effected, reverse the position of the barrel, and allow the smoke and hot air to escape for a minute or two. Immediately, while the barrel is still hot, apply, as rapidly as possible, a thorough coating of the fol- lowing insulating composition : White Resin (pulverized) 6 lbs. Paraffin Wax 1 lb. Melt these articles together, and when combined apply while hot with a clean brush or swab, spreading the composition, before it cools, evenly over the entire interior surface of the barrel. If this composition be thoroughly applied while it is liquid and the barrel hot, it will penetrate the pores of the wood from one-fourth to half an inch. After allowing the barrel thus prepared to remain about an hour, make another application of hot melted paraffin as a finishing coat, to completely cover any remaining air holes. 68 ' Fresh ^ggs and Yellow Butter. In one or two hoars after this application, the barrel will be ready for use. It will be proper to use six or seven pounds of the insulating composition for each barrel, and for the last coating about a pound of paraffin will be required. When barrels thus prepared require cleaning, use only luke- warm soap-suds, as hot water will melt the paraffin. [Note— To Prevent the Shrinkage and Swelling of Barrels. — In addition to the inside coating, make a hot application of the insulating composition to the entire outside and bottom of the barrel. Barrels thus prepared may be kept in water or in damp cellars, or ina dry atmos- phere, without swelling or shrinking, and with careful usage will last for years without decay.] Do not put hot wafer, or mix hot lime compounds, in barrels which have been prepared with the insulating materials, as paraffin wax: melts at 120°. When lime compounds are used, mix them in a barrel which has not been insulated, and, when the mixture is cold, pour it in the insulated barrel. NUMBER TWO PROCESS FOR CLEANSING AND PREPARING BARRELS AND VATS. The following process is not so complete as that described as the No. 1, or Insulating Process, but is far preferable to the ordinary methods of preparing barrels, and may be pre- ferred by some on account of its cheapness, being about one half as expensive : One pound of sal soda (common washing soda), or one-half-pound of potash or concentrated lye, and one pound of fresh, unslaked lime. Put these into the kerosene or carbon oil barrel to be cleaned, and pour upon them a pail full of boiling water. Stir thoroughly about fifteen minutes ; then wash, or scrub with a clean broom or Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 69 long-handled scrubbing brush, the inside of the barrel over its entire surface with this caustic mixture; after which let the mixture remain during the day, occasionally scrubbing until the inside is thoroughly cleansed. Frequent scrub- bings may be necessary in some hard cases. On the following day, pour off the mixture, and imme- diately rinse the barrel with clean water. Then, before the barrel dries, place in it eight pounds of fresh, unslaked lime and two gallons of cold water. Let this mixture stan4 half a day, stirring occasionally. It will then be of the con- sistence of cream. Then, with a brush, give the entire inner surface a coat- ing of about one-eighth of an inch in thickness, and the bottom should have half an inch or more in thickness, all of which allow to remain and partly dry. In about an hour after this application, or when the coating is half dry, apply liquid silicate of soda, of the con- sistence of 25° Baume, with a clean brush, or carefully pour it into the barrel to the extent of half a gallon, and then carefully roll the barrel, so that the liquid silicate may come in contact with the entire interior surface of the barrel. This immediately combines with the lime, forming an insoluble compound of silicate of lime and soda. A second application should be made of the liquid sili- cate of soda in about six hours. A third application should be made in twenty-four hours after the first, which will dry in a few hours, forming a hard and tenacious vitreous coating or lining of the barrel. After a barrel thus prepared has dried one day, it is ready for the reception of any egg-preservative that may be desired. 5 70 J^RESH ^GGS AND JeLLOW BUTTER. No salt, glue, grease, oil, or other substances, should ever be mixed with the lime or silicate of soda, as such substances prevent the chemical union of the silicate with the lime. Never apply the silicate of soda to the barrel before the lime, as the lime will not afterwards properly adhere. Neither mix the silicate with the lime mixture, but use them separately, as above directed. It is much better to apply the silicate while the limed surface is somewhat damp, or htvlf dry, than to defer its application longer. If the above directions are strictly followed, a barrel will be produced having an interior surface hard and similar to glazed earthenware. This process (No. 2) may be used for cleaning all barrels, either new or old, for the preservation of eggs, etc., such as those which have contained molasses, vinegar, alcohol, wine, whisky, or other liquors. The wood of such barrels, although apparently clean, contains substances which, on exposure to the air, enter into fermentation, the results of which are acids that act upon the egg-preserving solutions, and may seriously modify them. Many suppose that new oak barrels are well adapted to hold egg-preserving solutions. On the contrary, they are the most unsuitable barrels that can be selected, as the sap or juice of the wood contains coloring matters and acids, which crystalize in the pores on drying. The acid (principally tannic) is readily dissolved when in contact with water, especially of an alkaline nature, thus changing the solution so that its action upon the carbonate of lime of the egg-shell stains it brown. It also changes the alkaline character of the lime-water, or other alkaline preparations, sometimes even wholly neutral- Fresh Eggs and Yellow j3utter. 71 izing them and destroying all their effectiveness upon the effffs. which then soon spoil. These facts are sufficient evi- ©to ' -L dence of the unfitness of new oak barrels for containing egg- preserving solutions, unless previously prepared for the purpose. Pine barrels are the best that can be used. Vats should always be constructed of pine lumber. The application of soda or potash, as above described, converts the grease or oil of the kerosene, lard or linseed, absorbed by or adhering to the barrel, into soap, which is subsequently removed by water. In case the impurity of the barrels is an acid, it is neutralized by the alkalies employed. The combination of lime and silicate of soda produces a hard, vitreous coating, which prevents the contents of the barrel from receiving any odor or other impurities that might be imparted by the wood. The principal objection to this process is, that the coating is liable to crack and peel off, especially when the wood swells and shrinks. With proper care, however, to prevent the undue drying of the vessels, the coating may last several seasons. But to render barrels or vats very durable and wholly unobjec- tionable, the No. 1 Insulating Process is decidedly prefer- able, as it entirely prevents the barrels from shrinking or swelling. No wooden vessel should be used for preserving eggs which has not been prepared by one of these processes. VATS FOR KEEPING EGGS. Vats may be made in the earth three or four feet deep, under cover, or in cellars. Let the earth be excavated 72 Fresh JSggs and Yellow Butter. to the required dimensions, and the vat may be constructed of one and a half inch seasoned pine plank, and insulated, as directed for kerosene oil barrels, or the charring may be omitted, and the composition put on hot. Or the vats may be constructed of stone or brick, and laid in water-lime (hydraulic cement). If plastered thor- oughly, no insulating composition will be necessary. The cement will harden sufficiently in a few days. When these vats are ready for the eggs, pour in the egg- preserving solution till the vat is half filled. The eggs may be placed in the solution at any convenient time there- after, and should be deoxygenated and insulated by the No. 1 process, or by the cold insulating process. When the vat is filled, the solution should cover the eggs at least two inches in depth, and there should then be poured over all a proper quantity of refined paraffin oil to make it about one- fourth of an inch in depth. Lastly, cover the vat with a strong board cover. REFINED RESINOUS LINSEED OIL MODE OF REFINING AND BLEACHING. To each gallon of raw linseed oil add four ounces of diluted sulphuric acid, (prepared by gradually adding two and a half ounces of commercial sulphuric acid to one and a half ounces of cold water, in a thin glass vessel). Mix the oil and acid well together by agitation, which should be repeated occasionally for two days ; then allow it to rest two or three days, in which time the albuminous and mucilag- inous matters contained in the oil will have subsided. The oil must then be carefully decanted, leaving the precipitate behind. Fresh ^ggs and Yellow j3utter. 73 Then to each gallon of oil thus prepared add animal charcoal, in coarse powder, two pounds ; chloride of lime, fine, dry powder, one ounce. Mix well together, and for two or three days occasionally shake the mixture ; then heat it in a water-bath at boiling point for five or six hours, stirring with a glass rod or stick two or three times an hour. Then remove the vessel from the water-bath ; allow it to stand two days, or even a week,, agitating occasionally. Let it remain at rest at least twenty-four hours, when the oil should be carefully decanted and passed through filtering paper. Finally, add to each gallon of the oil two ounces of slippery elm bark, pulverized. After thorough admixture by agitation, heat the mixture in a water-bath for one or two hours, with occasional stirring during the first hour. Then allow it to stand undisturbed one hour; after which pour off the clear oil, and while hot add to it one-half pound of the best white resin, pulverized ; stir the mixture a few minutes, or until the resin is dissolved ; then let the solution stand twenty-four hours, with occasional stirring, when it will be ready for use. Do not add more resin than recommended, as an excess retards the drying of the oil, while the propor- tion named accelerates the operation. The diluted sulphuric acid carbonizes the albuminous and mucilaginous matters contained in the raw oil. The animal charcoal and chloride of lime neutralize any acid remaining, and at the same time deodorize, purify and bleach the oil. The slippery elm imparts an agreeable odor, and absorbs any water which may remain in the oil, and when heated to 200° subsides within an hour, leaving a pure, refined oil. 74 Fresh F,ggs and Jellow Butter Raw linseed oil, prepared in this way, will keep in any climate without change ; and, when applied to eggs, forms over the shell a firm, elastic, transparent coating, which materially aids in their preservation by excluding air from their substance and by preventing evaporation. The refined resinous linseed oil must not be used except for eggs which are to be kept in dry packing, as charcoal, oats, etc. If eggs coated with linseed oil are placed in alkaline solutions, the oil coating will saponify, and thus become destroyed. (See directions for using this oil for eggs on page 38.) Never use boiled linseed oil for coating eggs. Aside from its dele- terious character, owing to the litharge, sugar of lead, sul- phate of zinc, and other poisonous chemicals contained in it, its color darkens the egg-shell, which damages the sale of the eggs. RAW LINSEED OIL We have used as a coating for eggs, but find the follow- ing objections : It does not dry readily ; it slightly stains the egg-shell ; the egg sometimes absorbs the offensive crude odor of the oil, and it does not form as perfect a coating as when refined and combined with resin in the proportion above directed. Hence we do not recommend the raw linseed oil for coating eggs. REFINED PARAFFIN OIL MODE OF REFINING AND BLEACH- ING IT. Treat paraffin oil of a light color in the same manner as recommended for refining raw linseed oil, except that for the resin substitute paraffin wax, four ounces to each gallon of oil. The whole must be heated in a water-bath until the paraffin wax is dissolved. Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 75 This prepared oil may be used for the No. 1 hot deoxy- genating and insulating process (see page 33), or for the cold insulating process, (see page 37.) [Note. — Do not use more than four ounces of paraffin wax to each gallon of paraffin oil, when intended for the cold insulating process, as an excess of wax will leave a visible coating on the egg-shells, which is an objectionable feature when eggs are offered for sale.] The special attention of the reader is directed to the fact that resin must not be combined with paraffin oil, as it sapon- ifies when in alkaline solutions. Also, that PARAFFIN wax must not be dissolved in linseed oil when used for a cold application for eggs, as the combination will not dry readily. OTHER OILS FOR EGGS. We have experimented with many oils and oleaginous substances for the purpose of producing a suitable coating for eggs, viz. : Olive, Cotton Seed, Cantor, Poppy, Sperm and Lard Oils; also Tallow, Lard, Butter, etc., separately, and in combination with Beeswax, Paraffin, Caoutchouc, Resin, etc., but, thus far in our investigations, we have found nothing equal to the Refined Linseed and Paraffin Oils. 7G Fresh ^ggs and Yellow Butter. BUTTER. Butter consists of fat globules (known as cream), each of which is inclosed in an envelope or coating of an albuminous nature, termed casein. This envelope is ruptured by the process of churning, and oxygen being absorbed from the air the cream becomes sour, while its temperature is increased. The fat globules coalesce into masses and form butter, while the remaining watery liquid, containing lactic acid and some butter, is expelled from between the globules in the form of buttermilk. The process of churning may be expedited by having the cream, at the commencement, indicate a temperature of 55° Fahr. An increase of caloric results chiefly from fric- tion, and to a small extent from an absorption of oxygen, which, combining with the constituents of milk, gives rise to a species of invisible combustiou, by which heat is evolved. From these causes the temperature rises to 60° or more. Great care should be taken not to exceed 65° Fahr., as thereby the quantity of butter will be lessened and its quality more or less impaired. If the temperature of cream, when put into the churn, is below 50° Fahr., a great increase of labor is necessary to separate the butter, without the least advantage. In winter the temperature of the cream should be the same as in summer. Never add boiling water to the cream, as it melts the fat globules, which thus become oily, and if the general temper- Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 77 ature of the cream be raised to 70° or 80° Fahr., which is often the case, a white, oily butter is produced. The burst- ing of the globules of margarine, or fatty matter, gives rise to a greasy, sticky, unpalatable butter, liable to become strong and unfit for any other purpose than cooking, and sometimes not even for that. It will therefore be seen how very important a knowledge of the fore^oino; details is to the butter maker. Butter and cream are not changed in winter, except through neglect. The pernicious custom of keeping milk in the same room occupied by the family, subject to variations of temperature from 60° to 90° Fahr. during the day and down to the freezing point at night, should never be prac- ticed. Indeed, it is, under such circumstances, impossible to get sweet, palatable cream or good butter. There is also an absorption of the animal effluvia constantly exhaled from the bodies of persons inhabiting the room, as well as of the odorous principles of smoke from the atmosphere, which causes the smoky taste so often found in winter butter. Cleanliness is indispensable in butter making. Clean vessels, clean milkers, pure air, and a uniform temperature of 55° to 60° Fahr., are necessary conditions for the produc- tion of good butter. If the feed of the cow is good, consisting of young and tender hay, with some bran or odorless food in winter, and care is taken not to break the globules of the butter by work- ing it too much, and if the buttermilk be well expressed, good butter will be the inevitable result. When milk and cream are churned together, a higher temperature is required than for cream alone, ranging from 78 Fresh F^ggs and Yellow Cutter. 70° to 75° Fahr., before butter can be obtained. If the butter is unusually slow in forming, the addition of a little vinegar, or cream of tartar, or rennet solution, will cause the formation of butter almost immediately. The acidity of the milk is caused by the conversion of a portion of the sugar contained in it into lactic acid ; and if this change is not sufficient, the addition of the vinegar or cream of tartar supplies the want of acid, and the butter forms. THE CAUSE OF SOUR AND RANCID BUTTER. Fresh butter contains more or less buttermilk — the less the better for the butter, and the more certain its pre- servation. It should be worked out with a ladle or proper butter machine. The hands ought not to be used, on account of their high temperature (blood heat is 98°), which melts the globules, thus causing the butter to become greasy and sticky. Butter properly made, salted and packed in jars or firkins, if kept at or below a temperature of 50°, will remain in a perfectly sweet condition for a very long time. Butter containing much buttermilk, if kept at a tem- perature of from 75° to 90°, soon sours; lactic acid is formed ; and if kept for some time at a temperature of from 90° to 110°, butyric fermentation sets in, giving it a rancid odor and strong taste, owing to the presence of butyric acid, which characterize the incipient or first stages of its decay. Butyric acid is very volatile, and possesses a very powerful and disagreeable odor. It is the product of the decomposition of the butyrine, to which principle good butter owes its excellent flavor. At a temperature of 315° Fahr., butyric acid is completely converted into vapor ; and Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 79 to restore rancid butter it is only necessary to raise the tem- perature to this degree, when the butyric acid escapes, leaving the remainder perfectly sweet. Therefore rancid butter may be used in cooking, by raising its temperature to 315° Fahr., which deprives it of all this acid, the cause of its offensive odor. But this heat also destroys the globules, and renders the butter unpalatable for the table. HOW TO RESTORE SOUR AND RANCID BUTTER. Butter dealers, as well as consumers, feel the importance of a reliable and practical process for the purification and refining of poor butter; and it is from the want of a proper knowledge of butter making, and sometimes from careless- ness, that a large proportion of the butter offered for sale is not suitable for table use. We shall proceed to show that butter, however imper- fectly made, may be rendered quite palatable and but little, if any, inferior to good dairy butter, and also how, even after the destruction of the butyrine, which imparts the peculiarly appetizing flavor and grass-like taste to fresh butter, it may be restored by a cheap and simple process. The discoveries of science have enabled the chemist and manufacturer to convert extremely repugnant compounds into wholesome articles of food. Among the most important dis- coveries on the list, may be classed those relating to sour and rancid butter. We confidently hope that since the immortal Blot has lec- tured upon, and taught the science of cookery, the day is not far distant when missionaries of health shall spread the gospel of knowledge to butter makers, who, from no fault of their own, have quite generally been excluded from the light of science. 80 ^RESH ^GGS AND YELLOW BUTTER Butter may be restored by neutralizing the lactic and butyric acids of sour and strong butter, thus destroying the causes of both its unpleasant taste and odor. We will now give several processes, hot and cold, for the restoration of butter. NUMBER ONE — COLD PROCESS. Place two or three pounds of fresh, unslaked lime in a clean barrel, and pour over it twenty gallons of pure cold water, which allow to remain, with occasional stirring, for one day, and afterwards at rest ten or twelve hours, or until clear. Then carefully pour or draw off the clear liquid, and strain it through two or three thicknesses of fine muslin or linen into a clean, odorless barrel, of the capacity of forty to forty-five gallons. It is now ready for the reception of the rancid butter, which must be cut with a broad, sharp knife into thin slices, not exceeding one-fourth of an inch in thickness — the thin- ner the better. Put in one hundred pounds, or as much as the lime-water will cover, and finally over all, inside of the barrel, place a clean and floating cover, to prevent the butter on the surface from being exposed to the air. Remove the cover several times each day and stir the butter well with a long, clean stick. At the expiration of thirty-six or forty-eight hours, the rancidity of the butter will be entirely removed. The chemical action of this butter restorative is to cause the mass of butter to resume its original globular condition, thus imparting the appearance of new butter just churned and ready to be gathered. The solution should now be drawn off and thrown away; j^RESH ^GGS AND YELLOW BUTTER. 81 after which thoroughly rinse the butter with cold water, fill up the barrel with pure water, and let it stand half a day. Then remove the butter, and let it drain several hours. It will then be ready for salting (or the butter pre- servative), and will answer the same purpose as new butter, if a good cooking butter only is wanted. This process removes much of the salt from the butter, and bleaches it quite white. To give the desired color, use the butter coloring. HOW TO RENDER THIS BUTTER OF SUPERIOR QUALITY FOR TABLE USE. Previous to salting or coloring the butter, a fresh grass taste may be imparted to it by putting it into a revolving churn with new milk, and keeping the churn in motion for fifteen or twenty minutes. For example : Take fifty pounds of butter, thus prepared, and five or six gallons of new milk, to which add the strained juice of three medium-sized raw carrots. Churn the butter in the new milk and carrot juice, which impart to it not only the butyrine, upon which depends the rich flavor of good table butter, and which was lost when it became rancid, but also a delicate yellow color, and equal in flavor to good June butter. The foregoing process converts the most rancid butter into a good saleable article, at a reasonable expense. This butter is now ready to be worked and salted in the same manner as new butter, or the butter preservative may be used instead of salt, and if the carrot juice in the milk has not sufficiently colored the butter, the butter coloring may be used to give the desired " June tint." 82 Fresh Eggs and Yellow j3utter. OTHER AGENTS USED FOR REFINING BUTTER. For restoring rancid butter we have experimented with the chlorides of soda and of lime, but find them objection- able, for the reason that while they remove rancidity from the butter, they impart to it a flavor of chlorine, which is quite as disagreeable. We have also used butyric ether to restore the natural odor to butter which has been deprived of its rancidity, but find that it does not answer the purpose, and is not to be compared with new milk and carrot juice, when used for the same purpose. ANIMAL CHARCOAL, FOR REFINING BUTTER. Sour and rancid butter may be restored sufficiently for all culinary purposes by filtering it at a temperature of 200° Fahr., through animal charcoal, which at once removes from it all odor and color. But butter wholly free from flavor is as unpalatable for table use as that in which the opposite condition prevails. HOW TO PREPARE BUTTER FOR HOT CLIMATES. All butter designed for shipment to hot climates should be prepared by clarifying it in a water-bath, at a temperature of 200° Fahr. If butter be thus melted and allowed to remain at rest, the albumen and casein, or cheesy portion, will coagulate and settle to the bottom, leaving the butter pure and transparent, like oil. Then immediately draw off the butter into ice-cold water, without disturbing the sediment, in order that it may rapidly cool, and so prevent the crystal- lization of the stearin and the separation of the olein, which results would injure the flavor and appearance of the butter. J^RESH JlGGS AND YELLOW ^UTTER 83 When cold, pack it down with the preservative, in as solid a manner as possible. Butter thus prepared will be paler than before, and may, if necessary, be properly colored. It will have a firmer consistence than before, and if put into close vessels and kept in a cool place, will remain sweet for months, even without salt. Butter, like oils, is liable to the change called rancidity, which proceeds from the casein and albumen found in it, as well as the water which is not entirely expelled. By the application of salt, or the preservative, this ran- cidity is in a degree retarded. HOW TO COLOR BUTTER. Nearly all lovers of butter prefer that which is of a light, rich, golden color. The following original process is a whole- some and simple method of bringing white or "streaked" butter to this fine tint without giving it the least appear- ance of having been colored. Good butter, if white or streaked, may be rendered more saleable by properly coloring it — a fact admitted by all produce dealers. The following is a formula for a NUMBER ONE BUTTER COLORING YELK OP EGGS AND ANNATTO. Take the yelks of sixty-four fresh eggs, which will be equivalent to one quart of yelk. The eggs may be broken into a large, convenient dish, and the yelks carefully separated from the whites. Add to the yelks thus obtained six ounces of pure glycerin, which will dissolve them, and beat together thoroughly with a spoon or egg-beater. Then pour this 84 Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. solution into a half-gallon bottle or jug, and agitate occasion- ally during five or six hours ; then add twenty-four ounces of pure sulphuric ether, and shake well together for a few minutes. The jug must be tightly corked, to prevent the evaporation of the ether. Shake, without removing the cork, a few times during three or four hours, and then let it remain at rest twenty-four hours. During this time the ether will have extracted the rich, yellowish-red coloring substance of the yelks, and if a glass vessel is used, it will be seen to have risen to the surface, owing to its light specific gravity. Carefully pour, or draw off with a syphon, into an evapo- rating pan or other convenient vessel, all that portion of the liquid of a yellowish-red color. There will be about twenty- four fluid-ounces in quantity, or about the same in bulk as of the ether used. This must be evaporated carefully to sixteen ounces, which should be done by setting the vessel containing it into a water-bath, or a pail of water, at a tem- perature not exceeding 140° Fahr. Water boils at 212°, and ether at 96° Fahr.; therefore the ether will rapidly evaporate, leaving a residue, which is the desired coloring, and which may be appropriately termed " oleum vitellus ovi," or oil of egg-yelks. It should not be forgotten that while evaporating the ether, there must be no fire or lighted lamp in the room, or fire in adjoining rooms where a draft can possibly convey the vapor of the ether, which is as inflammable and explosive as gunpow- der. Ethereal vapors, which are heavier than air, flow thirty or forty feet distant and take fire, instantly conducting the flame the entire length and breadth of the ethereal volume Fresh F-ggs and Yellow Cutter 85 of vapor, and wrapping the contents of the room in one vast sheet of flame in a moment. On a large scale, the ether may be recovered by distillation, by means of suitable appa- ratus, and again used for the same purpose. The oil of egg-yelks should not be evaporated below one- third of the quantity of the ether used — that is, to sixteen ounces — as it would become too thick for use. The sediment which is left may be treated with half the former quantity of ether in the same manner, and with a similar result, except that less color will be obtained. Having shown how to obtain one of the products used for coloring butter, we will now explain how to combine it with another to obtain the requisite color. The process, which is quite simple, is as follows : Pure Extract of Annatto — one-fourth pound ; Alcohol, 95 per cent. — one quart. Cut the annatto into small pieces, put them into a bottle or jug containing the alcohol, and cover the mouth of the vessel by tying a piece of paper over it ; then set it into a water-bath or kettle of water heated to 175° or 200° Fahr., for two or three hours, agitating its contents occasionally. It must then be removed and allowed to rest twenty-four hours, and afterwards strained through filtering paper. The liquid thus obtained must then be evaporated in an open vessel, in a water-bath, to one pint. (On a large scale, the alcohol may be recovered by distillation.) This we may properly term the concentrated tincture of annatto. Concentrated Tincture of Annatto — one pint; Oil of Egg-yelk — two pints. Mix in a bottle, and shake well together. 6 86 Fresh Eggs and Yellow j3utter. This quantity will color one hundred and fifty, or more, pounds of butter, according to the tint desired. Before using, this mixture should be well shaken. Then sprinkle over and work into the butter thoroughly ; or, if preferable and more convenient, the requisite quantity of salt or butter preservative needed for the butter may be saturated with the color and incorporated in the same man- ner. By this operation the butter is both salted and colored. This butter coloring imparts to butter and cheese a perfectly natural color. [Notk. — The glycerin, after dissolving the oily portion of the yelks, owing to its great density (1.270), settles to the bottom, together with the yellowish-white remainder of the yelk. More ether may be added to this residue until all of the coloring matter is extracted, leaving the mass colorless ; but after the first maceration the subsequent additions of ether do not produce a saturated solution of the coloring substance, and therefore the secondary tincture should be used with a fresh quantity of yelks.] The above coloring, instead of being used in a liquid state, may be mixed with equal parts of oil of butter and digested for about an hour in a water-bath, at a temperature of about 120° Fahr., or until the ether is evaporated. Work it into butter in the same manner as if it were salt. One ounce of this preparation is sufficient for five or six pounds of butter, according to the shade desired. BUTTER COLORING THE USE OF ANNATTO. It is the custom of those who use annatto for color- inir butter and cheese, to dissolve it in solutions of soda, saleratus, etc., to extract its coloring substance. These alkaline solutions of annatto produce a dull brown, nankeen Fresh Jsggs and Yellow Butter. 87 color, unsuitable for the purpose, and to a certain extent saponify, or convert into soap, the butter thus colored. When annatto is used for coloring, it should be first cut into small pieces, which must then be covered with deodorized alcohol, 95 per cent., in a suitable vessel placed in a water- bath, the heat of which ranges from 175° to 180° Fahr. The coloring substance of the annatto will be chiefly extracted in three or four hours, which may be known by the dark appearance of the alcohol. Remove the vessel, and let the liquid settle a few hours. Then pass the tincture through filtering paper, and evaporate in an open vessel to one-half. On a large scale, the alcohol should be recovered by distillation. This is a good method for obtaining a preparation of annatto for coloring butter or cheese. When using the tincture of annatto for coloring butter, it may be sprinkled over and worked into the butter, or the salt may be colored with the tincture before being incor- porated with the butter. As a large proportion of the annatto of commerce is adulterated, care should be taken that an inferior article is not used. Pure annatto is worth at this time from $1.50 to $2.00 per pound, at wholesale. ' Another method of using annatto for coloring butter is, to melt butter in a water-bath at about 200° Fahr., until the albuminous and cheesy matter separates and subsides ; then pour off carefully the pure oil of butter. Take three ounces of annatto, cut into fine pieces, and macerate it for one week in four ounces of deodorized alcohol (95 per cent). Or a similar result may be obtained by 88 Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter digesting the annatto and alcohol for two or three hours in a water-bath heated to 180° Fahr. This is sufficient for one quart of the oil of butter, to which add both the tincture and sediment of annatto. Digest the whole in a water-bath, at a temperature of about 180° Fahr. for two or three hours, stirring occasionally. By that time the oil of butter will be of a dark orange color. Then carefully strain through a fine cloth, when it will be ready for use. It should be warmed to a temperature of about 70° when used. Work it into butter in the same manner as salt — an ounce of this preparation to five or six pounds of butter, which may be varied according to the shade desired. BUTTER COLORING THE CARROT. It is often asked why the juice of carrots cannot be used for coloring butter. The answer is, because the colored juice of the carrot will not combine with butter or any other oleaginous compound, unless churned with milk or cream, as described below; and to extract the color from the juice, and to reduce it to a form for use, requires a long and expen- sive process, thus rendering it too costly for utility. But a fine color may be imparted in the process of making winter butter, by incorporating with it the juice of the common orange, garden carrot. Grate or bruise well a carrot of ordinary size, and squeeze its juice through cloth. Put the juice thus obtained into three gallons of cream, and churn. In color and taste winter butter thus obtained is little, if any, inferior to the best May or June butter. More or less of the juice may be used according to the color required ; but a proper proportion will give it the true color. Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 89 Just before grating the carrots, wash them thoroughly in warm water with a stiff brush, so as to perfectly remove all the dirt from the indentations on the surface. Then scrape off the outside skin with a dull knife, throwing it away. Cut off half an inch of the top, and two or three inches of the bottom of the carrot. This will remove all earthy or. foreign deposits, which, if left, would communicate an unpleasant taste to the butter. All the coloring properties of the carrot are contained in the rind, which is usually about half an inch in thickness; hence it is unnecessary to grate the core, or central portion of the carrot. OTHER AGENTS FOR COLORING BUTTER. Fresh egg-yelks may be used to impart color, in mak- ing winter butter, by mixing them with the cream before churning, but we greatly prefer the use of the carrot. Of the various coloring agents with which we have exper- imented, with a view of obtaining an innocuous and proper color for butter, we mention Saffron, Turmeric, Marygold, Fustic, etc., but we do not find any of them equal to the preparations of egg-yelk and annatto. BUTTER PRESERVATIVE. HOW TO KEEP BUTTER SWEET. To keep butter sweet and to give it a wax-like consist- ence, instead of using dairy salt, use the butter preservative, which arrests any tendency to sourness and the consequent destruction of its biriyrin, to which is due that delicious flavor only found in good, new, or well-preserved butter. 90 Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. HOW TO PREPARE THE BUTTER PRESERVATIVE. Ashton's Fine Liverpool Salt 11 pounds Powdered White Sugar 3 pounds Powdered. Saltpetre (chemically pure) £ pound. Mix well together, and use according to the following DIRECTIONS : Immediately after the butter is made, work it thoroughly with pure cold water, thereby removing all the buttermilk, which is, in a measure, the first cause of rancid butter. Then into each twelve pounds of the butter work one pound of butter preservative, instead of salt ; let the butter stand over night, and in the morning work it over ; then pack it down solid, and spread a cold, wet cotton or linen cloth over the butter, and finally cover it with salt at least one-half inch deep. Keep it in a cool place. Butter thus prepared is better after standing two or three weeks. HONEY-BUTTER. Instead of using salt or the preservative, thoroughly incorporate with twelve pounds of butter one pound of strained honey. This process will not only improve the flavor of the butter, but extend its preservation for an indefinite period. GLYCERIN FOR BUTTER. After restoring rancid butter, and when coloring and salting it, add one ounce of pure glycerin to each three pounds of butter. The glycerin combines readily with the butter and gives it a smooth and lustrous surface, which is characteristic of good butter. Fresh Fxjgs and Yellow Butter. 91 Glycerin is not in the least unwholesome. It communi- cates a sweet, fresh taste, and materially assists in the pre- servation of all substances with which it maybe incorporated. CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OP BUTTER. Carbon 65.60 Hydrogen 17.60 Oxygen 16.80 Butter consists of two distinct proximate principles — Stearin, a tasteless, odorless and colorless substance, which melts at 100° Fahr., and Olein, the oily portion of butter, which melts at 50° Fahr. Butter softens as the temperature rises from 40° to 96° Fahr., at which point it becomes completely liquid. Olein. Stearin. Butter made in winter contains 37 63 Butter made in summer contains 60 40 This difference in constitution accounts for the difference between hard and soft butter. BUTTER PIRKINS, PAILS, ETC., INSULATED. All vessels, whether earthen, stone or wood, when used for containing butter, should be insulated with pure refined paraffin wax. This should be melted in a tin vessel, and applied hot, with a brush, to the inside surface of the vessel, covering it with a coating one-eighth of an inch thick. This coating will prevent the vessels absorbing salt from the butter, and from communicating any flavor to it. The paraffin wax is a bad conductor of heat, and thus prevents, in a great degree, injurious effects to the butter from the external changes of temperature. 92 ^RESH ^GGS AND YELLOW BuTTER. After butter is packed in vessels prepared in the above manner, a white cotton cloth (new muslin), saturated in salt water, should be carefully spread over and pressed firmly on the butter, leaving no edges, and a layer, one-quarter of an inch thick, of hot paraffin wax should be poured over this cloth, so that the union by contact of the wax with the sides of the vessel shall be complete. Afterwards spread a layer of dampened salt, one inch deep, over all, and then a cloth and substantial cover. Keep the package in a cool place, and if the butter was sweet when packed, it will remain in the same condition for years. [Note. — It is best, a few minutes before packing butter as above, to work into every hundred pounds ten pounds of powdered ice, which must be as small as wheat grains. This will reduce the temperature of the butter to 35° or 40° Fahr. ; and if packed in the insulated vessel, and kept in a cool cellar, it will not rise to a temperature above 55° Fahr. for months.] This process will insure cold, hard, sweet butter at all times. The addition of the ice will add to the profit of the butter packer in two ways, viz. : By the additional weight of the ice, and the improved quality of the butter when offered for sale. The purchaser, although he may pay for ten per cent, of ice, obtains sweet, hard butter, and is the gainer in the end. By insulating butter in this manner, and with the free use of finely pulverized ice, the great question, how to preserve butter without failure, must be decided. Butter packers who have no ice-crusher can place the ice in a barrel, and by means of a wooden pounder reduce it to the fineness required, although the finer the better. A good butter-working machine is a most valuable auxiliary to FrESH ^GGS AND YELLOW BUTTER. 93 the butter packer, and when the ice is added, it should imme- diately be worked into the butter before it chills, as the ice mixes more readily at first, and the butter should be packed without delay, before the ice can melt. To prevent the shrinking or swelling of butter firkins, make a hot application of the insulating composition to the entire outside and bottom of the vessels ; and when they are coated, both outside and inside, there will be no material change in the wood for a long time. NUMBER TWO PEOCESS FOR PREPARING BUTTER FIRKINS. When it is not convenient to insulate the wooden vessels designed for butter packing, they should be filled with salt water (three pounds of salt to each gallon of water), and allowed to remain for four or five days or more. The wood becomes saturated with salt, and will not therefore absorb any from the butter. This will also prevent the wood from imparting any of its flavor to the butter. After the salt water is poured out, rinse with cold water ; let the firkin drain well for half a day, and then apply a heavy coating of glycerin over its entire inner surface. .Butter may be packed immediately, or at any convenient time, after applying the glycerin. New oak firkins are frequently found to have an injurious effect upon the butter, from the presence of tannic acid contained in the oak wood ; but if prepared by the above, or the No. 1 process, this objection is removed. CREAM. When milk is allowed to remain at rest from twelve to twenty-four hours, according to the temperature of the air, 94 Fresh F,ggs and Yellow Butter. a large proportion of its fat globules, by virtue of their low specific gravity, (being lighter than milk), rise and form a thin stratum or layer upon the surface, which is known as cream. When milk is kept in a room at a temperature from 50° to 60° Fahr., the cream will rise with the greatest rapidity and regularity. More cream will rise if the depth of the milk does not exceed^ three or four inches. It is essential that the milk should be kept cool in warm weather, to prevent acidity. But if the temperature is lower than 40° Fahr., the cream rises slowly and imperfectly. CREAM — ITS CHEMICAL COMPOSITION. Cream is a yellowish-white, opaque, smooth, unctious fluid, and possesses an agreeable flavor. Its chemical compo- sition is as follows : Whey (or serum) 92.0 Curd (or caseous matter) 3.4 Butter 4.6 100 CREAM — ITS PRESERVATION. Cream may be preserved a long time if prepared as follows : White Sugar : 4 pounds Dissolve in Boiling Water 1 quart Add, while hot, Sweet Cream 2 quarts. Stir the mixture well, and when cold put it into jugs or bottles, and keep it in a cool place. This preparation will be found convenient for coffee, tea, and other purposes, where sugar and cream are both required. If five quarts of cream are reduced to four quarts by boiling in a water-bath, and when cool placed in jugs or bottles well corked, it will keep for months. Fresh Eggs and Yellow j3utter. 95 MILK. ITS COMPOSITION AND PRESERVATION. Milk is obtained from the class of animals called Mam- malia, and is intended by nature for the nourishment of their young. Pure Cows' Milk is an aqueous fluid of a yellowish-white color, being most yellow at the beginning of the period of lactation, and is marked by an agreeable, slightly saccharine taste. The specific gravity of new milk averages 1030 The specific gravity of skimmed milk averages 1035 The specific gravity of cream averages 1024 The specific gravity of water distilled is 1000 An analysis of new milk exhibits the following com- position : Water 873.00 Casein 48.20 Butter (fat) 30.00 Milk Sugar 43.90 Phosphate of Lime 2.31 Phosphate of Magnesia 0.42 Phosphate of Iron 0.07 Chloride of Potassium 1-44 Chloride of Sodium 0.24 Soda, in combination with Casein 0.42 Total 1000.00 The average weight of a gallon of good, rich, new milk is 8 J lbs.; a gallon of pure water weighs 8 lbs. 96 Fresh F,ggs and Yellow Sutter. PRESERVING MILK. In order to preserve milk sweet for years, put it into strong bottles, which place in a water-bath, and gradually raise it to the boiling point, by which means the small quan- tity of air contained in it is expelled. While the bottles are boiling hot, cork them securely, using wire to retain the corks, and finally cover with good sealing-wax. Milk, if boiled for a few minutes, will keep sweet a long time in warm weather, even when freely exposed to the atmos- phere. If three pounds of sugar be added to each gallon of milk before boiling, and it afterwards be placed in suitable bottles or jugs for use, it will keep still longer. New milk, reduced by boiling to one-half its original volume, will keep sweet much longer than the usual time. Milk heated to 212° will remain sweet for a few days. If heated to 220°, under pressure, it will remain sweet for two or three weeks, but if heated to 250°, under pressure, it will keep almost indefinitely. TO DETECT WATERED MILK. The usual method of adulterating milk is by the addition of water. The extent of its adulteration may be determined by the following plan. If a tube of glass, of convenient size, be divided into one hundred equal parts, and then filled with milk and allowed to stand twenty-four hours, the cream will rise to the upper part of the tube and occupy from eleven to thirteen parts of the tube, if the milk be genuine ; otherwise, the cream will occupy less space in proportion to the amount of adulteration. Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter, 97 EFFECTS OF HEAT AND AGITATION. If cream is kept warm for some days, it becomes thicker and partially coagulated, in consequence of the lactic acid, which precipitates the caseous matter contained in the small portion of milk with which the cream is mixed. If cream in this state be violently shaken, as in the opera- tion of churning, the oily portion, or butter, quickly separates, leaving a liquid called buttermilk. SKIMMED MILK Consists of — Water 92.9 parts. Curd 2.8 " Sugar of Milk 3.4 " Lactic Acid 3 " Lactate of Potassa 2 " Lactate of Iron 1 " Chloride of Potassium 1 " Phosphate of Potassa 1 " Phosphate of Lime 1 " Total 100 " MISCELLANEOUS FACTS. As a general average, three gallons of good milk yield one pound of good butter ; although chemical analysis shows but three-fourths of a pound of pure butter in this quantity of milk. Hence one-fourth of each pound of butter made in the ordinary way consists of the various other substances enumerated in the foregoing analysis. The white, almost opaque appearance of milk is an optical illusion ; for when examined by a microscope of moderate power, it is seen to consist of a perfectly transparent liquid, in which are suspended numerous lucid globules of fat (known as butter), surrounded by albuminous envelopes. 98 j^RESH pGGS AND YELLOW J3UTTER. By agitation, these envelope's are broken mechanically, as in churning, and the butter collects in masses. Milk boils at 199° Fahr., and in boiling a curd of caseous matter, partially coagulated, rises to the surface, forming a pellicle or thin skin, which, if removed, will soon be succeeded by another. This action will continue until the residuum becomes watery and incapable of producing any more such pellicles. Milk should never be put into zinc or lead vessels, as it speedily dissolves a portion of these metals and becomes poisonous. TO PREVENT MILK FROM SOURING. New milk is very slightly alkaline in character, and the cause of its becoming sour is the warm temperature of the atmosphere and the absorption of oxygen, which produce lactic acid. So long as the alkaline character of milk is maintained, it cannot sour. As the result of many experiments, we pro- pose the following as the best method for preserving milk in a sweet condition : Calcined Magnesia 1 ounce. Phosphate of Soda (pulv.) 3 " Mix well together, and thoroughly stir one ounce of this mixture into three gallons of milk. This quantity will keep milk, during quite warm weather, at least twenty-four hours longer than if not used. By its addition from time to time, in small quantities, milk may be preserved sweet almost an indefinite time. Care should be taken, in using this pre- servative, not to add too great a quantity at one time, as when used in excess it communicates a perceptibly alkaline taste. Fresh F,ggs and Yellow Butter. 99 WHY LIGHTNING CAUSES MILK TO SOUR. Oxygen and nitrogen gases, which constitute atmospheric air in the proportion (by weight) of 23 parts of the former to 77 of the latter, are mixed, but not combined. By the action of lightning, these gases, through which it passes, are caused to combine, and thus are produced nitrous oxide, nitric oxide, hyponitrous, nitrous and nitric acids, according to the proportion of each gas in the combination. The acids thus produced in the atmosphere become diffused, and the slightest quantity of them absorbed by milk causes lactic fermentation and sourness. We might further consider the slight proportion of ammonia also produced, but deem it unnecessary to do so in this connection. WHY STALE MILK CURDLES WHEN BOILED. In stale milk, fermentation has already commenced, which the heat of the fire greatly accelerates. The lactic acid formed during this fermentation, acting upon the casein of the milk, coagulates it. Milk contains soda and potash, which are combined with the casein. These compounds (caseate of soda and caseate of potassa) are soluble in water, and the milk is sweet; but when any acid deprives the casein of these alkalies by combining with them, then the casein is no longer soluble in water, but is precipitated in the form of curd. BOIL MILK IN A WATER-BATH. It should always be boiled in a water-bath. Otherwise the organic substances of the milk will sink to the bottom in the form of coagulated casein and adhere to the kettle. 100 Fresh JLggs and Ji CHEESE. THE COMPOSITION OF CHEESE. The best cheese is obtained from new milk, and is a mix- ture, in various proportions, of coagulated casein and butter. Casein is found in milk, and in the blood ; also in peas, beans, and other leguminous plants. It is soluble in alkaline solutions, and its solution in milk is due to the alkali (soda) present ; but if the latter be neutralized by an acid, as lactic acid, the casein coagulates, forming the curd. The same effect is produced by a calf's stomach, dried, which is called rennet (and contains muriatic and lactic acids), and by other acids. The degree of heat most favorable for the coagulation of milk by rennet (or other suitable acids), is about 90° Fahr., its natural heat when obtained from the cow. By analysis, cheese is found to consist of: Carbon 59.781 Hydrogen 7.429 Oxygen 11.409 Nitrogen 21.381 100.000 The large quantity of nitrogen it contains sufficiently explains its tendency to decomposition, and at the same time accounts for its well known histogenetic (flesh-making) properties. Its wonderful power of exciting fermentation, of which digestion is a variety, by its own internal changes, is recog- nized in the following couplet : " Cheese itself is a peevish elf — It digests all things but itself." fRESH J£ggs and Yellow ^utter 1 01 Centuries have elapsed since the author of this couplet (which is attributed to Galen) lived ; yet the truth conveyed is unchanged. The moderate use of cheese is highly bene- ficial, not only as food itself, but as a promoter of digestion. The carbonaceous matter of cheese, or other food, is fuel for the body, and producss, by respiration, animal heat. The nitrogenized portion of cheese produces muscle and other similar structures of the body. Professor Liebig has very ingeniously classified what he terms the plastic elements of nutrition, to which belong — Vegetable Fibrin, Vegetable Casein, Vegetable Albumen, Animal Flesh, Blood. And, the elements of respiration, to which belong — Fat, Grape Sugar, Starch, Milk Sugar, Gum, Pectin, ( lane Sugar, Alcohol. Other modern investigators, after comparing the fat- forming and flesh-forming values of cheese with that of flour and meat, have arrived at the following statement : KLESH-MAKING PAT-MAKING PROPERTIES. PROPERTIES. Per Cent. Per Cent. ( 'heese contains 24 31 Flour contains 6 30 Meat contains 15 30 Food taken into the body varies in its effects in different individuals. Some persons are inclined to obesity, while 7 102 J^RESH ^GGS AND YELLOW BUTTER others are constitutionally lean, and all the feeding or absti- nence possible will not wholly change these conditions. In the business of life, obesity generally characterizes persons constitutionally inactive, and who require strong motives to impel them to violent physical exertion. Such individuals possess more of the lymphatic or watery tem- perament, and are apt to preserve their equilibrium of temper while others do not. Hence it is better for judges, child- bearing women, and all persons whose duties require little muscular activity, to be inclined to obesity. In accordance with the unerring wisdom displayed in nature, we discover the presence and exemplification of these conditions in the animal organization in exactly those cases where it is most required, e.g., in females, judicial officers, etc. Inferior kinds of cheese are not very digestible, nor will they assist digestion so much as good old cheese. The lives of persons who eat to a surfeit of rich food may often be prolonged by means of a little old cheese of the best quality, used as a condiment, and which, when taken into the stomach, causes the rapid disintegration of the mass of food by excit- ing a copious flow of saliva and a greatly increased secretion of the gastric juice, all of which are the most important agents in the process of digestion. Cheese should be well masticated. This is the principal secret of its agreeing so well with some persons, while, others who do not sufficiently masticate their cheese complain of its disagreeing with them. Poor cheese, with which the market is flooded, is unfit to be eaten except by ostriches or other animals possessing the strongest digestive powers. In the process of cheese-making, much care is required, Fresh F.ggs and Yellow }3utter 103 especially in the cooling and stirring of the milk as soon as taken from the cow, and in preserving it free from all impurities. THE PROCESS OF CHEESE-MAKING. The materials used in making cheese are milk, rennet, salt, and coloring matter. Rennet is the stomach of a calf, and may be used either fresh or after being salted and dried. It is generally kept in the latter state, for the sake of its better preservation. The stomach is taken from the calf as soon as killed, and after being cleaned of the curd of milk always found in it, is well salted on both sides, and, after draining well, is stretched on a bent stick and dried. In the preparation of cheese, the milk may be of any kind, from the poorest skimmed to that rich in cream, accor- ding to the quality of cheese required. The present high price of cheese will incite great compe- tition in its manufacture, whereby we' hope that it will become both cheaper and better than that generally found in market. The process of cheese-making is very simple ; but to make good cheese, even with the best materials, pure air and clean- liness are indispensable. The materials being ready, the greater portion of the milk is put into a large tub, and the remainder sufficiently heated to raise the temperature of the whole to 90° Fahr., the heat of new milk. The whole having been well mixed, the rennet is added, and the tub covered. [Note. — If the milk be not warm enough when the rennet is put into it, the curd will be tender, and the cheese will never be firm, but will 104 Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter bulge out at the sides ; but if it be hot, it will cause the cheese to swell, "heave," and become spongy, hard, dry and unpalatable, because most of the " richness " will go off with the whey. In hot weather, care should be taken, if the cows are pastured in unshaded grounds or where water is not within their reach, to add cold spring water to the milk as soon as it is brought into the dairy, until it arrives at the proper degree of heat, which is from 85° to 90° Fahr.] Allow the tub to stand until the milk is turned, when the curd should be struck down with the skimming-dish a few times ; after which allow it to subside. The vat, covered with the cheese cloth, is next placed on a "horse" or "ladder" over the tub, and filled with curds by means of the skimmer. The curd is pressed down with the hands, and more is added as it sinks. This process is continued until the curd stands about two inches above the edge of the vat. The cheese, thus partially separated from the whey, should be now placed in a cheese tub, and a proper quantity of salt added, without removing it from the vat ; after which a board should be placed over and under it, and pressure applied for two or three hours. The cheese should now be turned out and surrounded by a fresh cheese cloth, and then subjected to pressure for ten or twelve hours. It is then commonly removed from the press, salted all over, and pressed again fifteen or twenty hours. The quality of the cheese largely depends on this part of the process, as if any of the whey has been left in the cheese it will not keep, but will rapidly become ill-flavored. Before placing the cheese in the press the last time, the edges should be pared smoothly and neatly. It now only remains to wash the outside of the cheese in warm whey or water, wipe dry, and color with annatto, as is usually done. Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 105 In gathering the curd, preparatory to making cheese, collect it with the hands, very gently pressing it towards the sides of the tub, letting the whey run off through the fingers, and ladling it out as it collects. The cheese being made, it should be placed in a cool, damp cellar, at a temperature not above 50° ; a few degrees less will be better. Any place subject to great changes of tem- perature is unfit for storing cheese. It will be seen that very slight differences in the materials, preparation and storing of the cheese essentially influence its quality and flavor. The proper season for manufacturing cheese, which in this country has become a very staple article and is the source of a large revenue, is between the first of May and the last of September. Under favorable circumstances, the business may be continued at earlier or later periods of the year. The process of cheese making should not be commenced before the rennet and the coloring material have been prop- erly prepared. The rennet is first soaked in water, to which may be added a few simple aromatics, as cloves, etc., which serve to destroy any offensive odor of the rennet, and to give an agreeable flavor to the cheese. The rennet may remain in the water any reasonable length of time, with the result of increasing the strength of the fluid the longer it is left in it. An average amount of this fluid for coagulating fifty gallons of milk is estimated at half a pint. The proper quantity is, however, best learned by care and daily experi- ence. A handful or two of salt, properly used, will aid materially in producing a proper coagulation. Instead of rennet, the Hollanders sometimes use a small 106 Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter, quantity of muriatic acid, which is said to cause the peculiar flavor of " Dutch " cheese. Should the whey be of a slightly greenish color, it is evident that the curd has been properly formed ; but if it be white, it is equally certain that the coagulation is imperfect. If much caseous matter be wasted in the whey, the cheese will have a poor flavor. The vat used is simply a strong, circular wooden tub, similar to a half-bushel measure in shape. Hard wood is preferable in its construction. If turned out of a solid block, it will be better for service. The bottom is not tightly inserted, and, as well as the sides, is perforated, in order to permit the free egress of whey when the curd is subjected to pressure. The press is a combination of mechanical powers, such as the lever and screw, and is too well known to require any further description here. Before the cheese is placed in the press, it should be enveloped in a piece of thin, open linen. To harden the skin of the cheese, after its removal from the vat, it is put into a vessel of warm or hot whey for an hour. After being taken from this whey, the cheese is again sub- jected to pressure for half an hour, and then turned in the vat, and so alternately turned and pressed for forty -eight hours. To salt a cheese properly, the salt should be thoroughly mixed with the curd previous to its being put in the vat. The amount of salt used must be graduated by the size of the cheese, as too much will make it unpleasant, and if there is too little the cheese will not keep. COLORING CHEESE. Coloring cheese is a very general custom, for which pur- Fresh F,ggs and yELLow ^utter 107 pose annatto is considered preferable. The usual manner of coloring milk for cheese is to dip a piece of the annatto into a bowl of milk, and then rub it on a smooth stone until the milk assumes a deep red color. This infusion, freed from the sediment which separates by standing a short time, is to be added to the milk of which cheese is to be made. It imparts to the milk a reddish, nankeen color, which becomes deeper in proportion to the age of the cheese. Annatto, dis- solved in solutions of soda or saleratus, is also used to color cheese. But the most suitable coloring for cheese is the butter coloring heretofore described : either the egg yelk and annatto (see page 85), or the oil of butter and annatto (see page 87). Add a sufficient quantity to the milk while warm, and stir well together before the rennet is added. These butter colorings impart to the " cheese milk" a rich, mellow, light-orange tint, far superior to the water or alkaline solu- tions of annatto. After the cheese is made, its exterior surface may be slightly tinged with the butter coloring. HOW TO PRESERVE CHEESE. By immersing the cheese in hot paraffin wax two or three minutes, or by applying the wax with a brush, the cheese will be preserved from flies, dust, etc., and rendered proof against maggots or "skippers," whereby the cheese dealer will be saved much annoyance and loss. lU8 Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. MEAT. PRESERVING MEATS. Animal food is rendered harder and less digestible by being salted for preservation. In the process of salting, besides common salt, several other antiseptics are frequently employed to improve the meat, among which are Nitrate of Potassa, Sugar, Vinegar, Spices, etc The theory of the preservation of meat by alkaline or neutral salts is, that they abstract water from the flesh, the existence of which in meat is necessary to its decomposition. When applied, the salts become dissolved in the water they withdraw from the meat, and at the same time a small quan- tity of the solution penetrates the meat by a species of endosmosis. The albumen and fibrin being thus deprived of their water, are concentrated and less prone to putrefaction. Hence, salted meats are more readily dried in the air than fresh meats. Salting greatly impairs the nutritious qualities of the meat, and, if long continued, will corrugate and harden the fibrin, rendering it less easily digestible; but the action of salt for a few days does not materially impair the nutritious qualities of meat. \\ hen kept very long in salt, meat becomes so disagree- able and strongly saline that it is difficult, by soaking in Fresh ^ggs and Yellow Butter. 109 water, to sufficiently deprive it of this objectionable char- acter. Even boiling salted meat is not sufficient to extract the salt from the middle of the meat, for so much boiling is requisite that its quality is thereby greatly injured, and many of its nutritive properties are lost. Salting is performed in two ways, viz. : Dry-salting and pickling. Dry-salting consists in packing meat in dry salt, and sometimes rubbing its surface over with salt. Meat thus salted will keep longer, but is deprived of a greater propor- tion of its nutritive properties than when cured by pickling. For exportation, or for keeping in hot climates, dry-salting is necessary, for obvious reasons, to preserve beef and pork. The pieces of meat most suitable for salting are those which have the fewest large blood-vessels, and are most solid. Very little salt penetrates meat, except through the cut surfaces, to which it should always chiefly be applied. All openings or cavities in the meat should be well filled with salt. For each hundred weight of meat, about eight pounds of salt will be requisite. It should be rubbed into every part, moulding and turning the meat very often, to " open the grain." The meat is then to be put into tubs, with a layer of coarse rock salt between the pieces. The juices of the meat dissolve the salt, forming a strong solution called "brine." In about a week, it is usual to take out the meat, and re-pack it in smaller vessels, with the addition of more coarse salt, in which condition it should remain at least one month before 110 Fresh Jsggs and Yellow Butter. it caii be relied on to preserve through winter or during trans- portation. Cutting out the bones of meat to be salted in this manner is advantageous to its preservation. If the salting is performed immediately after the animal is slaughtered, and while the flesh is still warm, and before the fluids are coagulated, the salt penetrates rapidly, by means of the blood-vessels and capillaries, throughout the entire substance of the meat. Tainted meat does not readily absorb curative agents. DRY-SALTING FOR BEEF, PORK OR OTHER MEATS. Rock, or Turk's Island Salt 6 pounds. Sugar (light-brown or white) 2 pounds. Mix together, and rub thoroughly over the meat. In packing, apply a layer of the mixture over each piece of meat. The time required for this compound to penetrate the pores of the meat varies from one and one-half to two weeks, according to the size and compactness of the meat. The sugar is not only a preservative, but renders meat more juicy and " mellow." PICKLE FOR BEEF, PORK OR MUTTON. Coarse Salt 8 pounds. Sugar-house Sirup 2 quarts. Nitrate of Potassa } ounce. Bicarbonate of Potassa h " Soft Water 8 gallons. Mix, boil and skim well, and when cold pour over the meat. This makes sufficient pickle to cover one hundred pounds of meat. When salt is used alone in curing meat, it is apt to com- municate a greenish tinge. Fresh F-ggs and Yellow jButter 111 Nitrate of Potassa has a sharp, bitterish, cooling taste, possesses about four times greater antiseptic power than com- mon salt, and imparts to meat a fine red color ; but it has also the effect of hardening the meat and of giving it a harsh taste; hence but a very small quantity of it should be used. Sugar-house Sirup of a pleasant flavor imparts a mild and delicious taste, gives the meat a natural red appearance, and is a good antiseptic. Bicarbonate of Potassa (saleratus) has a tendency to preserve the juices and tenderness of the meat by preventing the coagulation of its albumen. Cochineal is sometimes used to impart to meat a red color, but we do not advise its use. Notwithstanding the antiseptic powers of salt, brine is very liable to putrefaction, as the blood and juices of the meat which it contains are more liable to decomposition than the flesh. Pork can be preserved by a smaller quantity of salt than beef or mutton, as it takes up less salt and contains less water i in the form of juice. When pork and beef are equally salted, the former will be properly cured in ninety days, while the beef will have such an excess of salt as to be almost unfit for food. The fatty portions of salted meat absorb less salt than the lean parts. Pork contains much fat, which is the cause of the effect above mentioned. The fat of fresh pork is too gross to be much relished in this climate, especially in hot weather, but when salted becomes firmer, more agreeable to the palate, and much more digestible. 112 Fresh F-ggs and Yellow Butter. Fat, in general, has less tendency to putrefaction than lean meat, which is illustrated by the preservation of lard, tallow, oils, etc. THE PRESERVATION OF MEAT BY SMOKING. The smoke of burning wood, as hickory, beech and maple, as also of bark, corn-cobs, etc., is generally supposed to com- municate the finest flavor to meat. The preservation of meat by smoking is due to the acid vapor in the smoke, termed pyroligneous acid. By adding a quart of pyroligneous acid to a barrel of meat, much less salt is required in pickling. Pyroligneous acid coagulates the albumen of the meat, but does not act upon the fibrin. Its antiseptic properties are well established. HAMS AND SHOULDERS, BACON, DRIED BEEF, MUTTON, ETC. These meats, after being salted and immersed in hot paraffin wax for two or three minutes, will have a thin coating of paraffin, which renders them impervious to air, moisture, flies, dust, mould, etc. ; and thus prepared they will keep much longer than if not subjected to the paraffin process. The paraffin can readily be removed by peeling it off with a knife, or by dipping the meat into boiling water a few minutes, which will melt and save it, as the paraffin may be collected on the surface of the water when it becomes cold. The above may be applied to fresh beef and other meats. J^RESH p3GS AND YELLOW RuTTER 113 APPLES AND CIDER. The apple-tree (Pyrus Mains) is indigenous to the soil of Europe, but naturalized in this country. The apple-tree is supposed to have been introduced into England by the Romans. Homer describes the apple as one of the precious fruits of his time; and it was cultivated and highly esteemed among the Romans, who brought it from the East and set a high price upon fine bearing trees. It was cultivated in the gardens of monasteries during the Middle Ages, to which source the greater number of our cultivated varieties trace their origin. All varieties of the apple are said to be derived from the Wild Crab, which is the type of the fruit if left to degenerate, and to which it speedily does if uncared for. By culture, crossing and grafting, improved varieties are produced. The apple-tree, if favored by a good soil and climate, lives to a great age. Reports show that apple-trees yield fruit for two centuries, and that there are orchards now in Asia five hundred years old. It is estimated that there are about fifteen hundred vari- eties cultivated in the United States. Apple-trees do not yield fruit in tropical countries, but, like the oak, extend from the tropics to the latitude of 60°. The apple is, therefore, the growth of temperate and rather cold climates. 114 Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. The fruit, or apple, contains both malic and acetic acids, has a pleasant and refreshing flavor, and is a useful and healthy article of diet, when perfectly ripe, which may he eaten either raw, roasted, stewed, or boiled. However, apples should not be eaten raw by dyspeptics or patients afflicted with gout, rheumatism, etc. Raw apples should always be well masticated before being swallowed. An apple tea may be made for fever patients, by boiling a tart apple in half a pint of water, and sweetening the tea with sugar. CIDER— (Sicera.) Cider is a fermentable liquor, consisting of the juice of apples. It was known to antiquity, and is mentioned by Pliny, who called it the " wine of apples," as made by the Romans in Italy. Cider is made in nearly all the temperate climates of the world. The process of making it is too well known to re- quire more than a brief description. The apples are crushed or ground in a mill, the pulp or pomace placed in a cider press, and the juice expressed. This, when first made, is known as bweet cider, which if kept at a temperature below 45°, will remain the same condition. But if the cider is kept at a temperature above 45°, fer- mentation takes place. The best plan is to place the barrels of cider in the shade, and allow it to ferment at a temperature between 45° and 55°. This is a slow process of ferment- ation, but for domestic use is the only proper one, as at a low temperature nearly all of the saccharine matter is con- Fresh F,ggs and Yellow Butter. 115 verted into alcohol, which remains in the liquor instead of undergoing the process of acetification. The saccharine juice of apples, or any other fruit, should be kept at a temperature between 45° and 55°, but not to exceed 60°, when undergoing the vinous fermentation, by which the loss of the spirit resulting from the transformation of the alcohol into acetic acid, is prevented. The retention of the spirit in an unaltered state in the cider greatly enhances its quality, and by its conservative and chemical action precipitates the nitrogenous substances. Many persons, after making cider, leave it exposed to the sun, or in a temperature, ranging from 70° to 100° Fahr., which soon converts the alcohol formed by the decom- position of the sugar into vinegar, by the absorption of at- mospheric oxygen, and thus the cider acquires that peculiar and unwholesome acidity known as " rough" or "hard" cider. In practice, it has been found that. suur apples produce the best cider. This arises from the fact that they contain leas sugar and more malic acid, which acid impedes the conversion of alcohol into vinegar. But cider made from sour apples is not equal in quality to that prepared at a low temperature from sweet or sub-acid apples, which are rich in sugar. In Worcestershire and Herefordshire, England, the best cider-makers prepare cider by fermenting it, at a low tempera- ture, from selected, ripe, sub-acid apples. This cider remains in an unchanged condition for twenty-five years, and is fre- quently sold for champagne. In America much of the cider offered for sale is prepared from " selected cider apples" which are usually the half-rotten, small and unripe apples ; hence we have a diversity of l\fi Fresh J^ggs and Yellow jSuttefl flavored cider. Unripe and rotten apples do not contain sufficient sugar to undergo the proper vinous fermentation, and cider made from them becomes bitter and unpalatable, and frequently even putrefies. THE PRESERVATION AND FLAVORING OF CIDER. Cider made from sound, ripe apples, and having under- gone the vinous fermentation (in a cellar), at a temperature of from 45* to 55° Fahr., is in the half-hard or pleasantly acidulated state. Carefully rack or draw it, off, so as not to disturb the sediment, and strain through tine flannel into a clean barrel. When the barrel is half-filled, add Sulphite of Lime 4 ounces. Fresh-laid Eggs 8 in number. -&&- Beat up shells and all in a pint of the cider, stir into half a pailful of the cider for a few moments, and pour all into the half-barrel of cider. Then add Oil of Wintergreen 1 ounce. Oil of Sassafras \ ounce. Alcohol (95 per cent.) 1 pint. Mix. Shake well togecher for a few moments ; then pour it into the cider. Lastly, add five pounds of good raisins (bruised), and fill up the barrel with cider. (The reason for putting these articles in the cider when the barrel is half- tilled is, that they may be evenly mixed.) The barrel should then be bunged up tightly. In two or three weeks' time the cider will settle clear, have a fine flavor, and constitute a most wholesome beverage. The addition of the above cider-flavoring preservatives will not convert poor cider into good; neither will it change jPresh ^ggs and Yellow Butter 117 sour into sweet cider, but it will arrest and prevent any farther fermentation. For the ordinary cider of commerce, the above process will give entire satisfaction. If flavoring be not desired, the essential oils of winter- green and sassafras may be omitted. Cider, the specific gravity of which is about 1 .060, consists of water, mucilage, sugar, malic acid, tartaric acid, tannic acid, etc. Cider is not valued principally for the alcohol it con- tains, but for its agreeable mixture of sugar and acid, form- ing a pleasant sub-acid, and when it reaches that state of fermentation which generates sufficient carbonic acid gas to saturate the water of the apple-juice, it is in the most whole- some and palatable state for a beverage. When cider has reached this state, it is ready for bottling; after which cork securely, place the bottles in a cool cellar, and it will keep for years. In making cider, the following rules should be observed : Slight fermentation will leave the cider thick and unpalat- able ; rapid fermentation will impair both its strength and durability ; excessive fermentation will make it sour, hard and thin. See that the fermentation proceeds at a tempera- ture between 45° and 55°, and it will not be confounded with acetous. 100 lbs of apples will usually make eight gallons of cider. Good cider yields about nine per cent, of alcohol ; ordinary cider about four per cent. [Note. — Silphtjrgus Acid Gas, as developed by burning brimstone in the air, has long been known and used as a preservative agent. It is H8 ^BESH pGGS AND YELLOW f?UTTER composed of one equivalent of sulphur i 16) and two equivalents of oxygen (16), and therefore is represented by the chemical formula SO s . It is char- acterized by a strong affinity for an additional equivalent of oxygen, with which it combines, forming sulphuric acid, SO3. The process of fermen- tation, decay and putrefaction are all dependent upon oxydation. There- fore, if a substance be deprived of free oxygen, or if the free oxygen in proximity to it be monopolized by some other substance having a stronger affinity for it, its decay will be retarded, if not wholly prevented, while these conditions are maintained. Cider contains not only sugar, but nitrogenous matter in abundance, the decay or oxydation of which causes the sugar, as it were by sympathy, to decompose into carbonic acid gas, which partly escapes and partly re- mains, imparting its pungent prickling taste to the liquor, and into alcohol, which, being a liquid, remains dissolved in the water, and gives to the cider its intoxicating properties. The amount of oxygen necessary to effect the decomposition of the nitrogenized matter of the cider being very small, it always is present dissolved in the cider, so that filling vessels full and hermetrically sealing them is of no avail as a means of preventing fermentation. By boiling, this oxygen is temporarily expelled, but sop,n returns, unless its access is prevented. The addition of sulphurous acid, which is best effected by adding oue of its compounds, effectually mon- opolizes aud removes the oxygen which would otherwise cause fermenta- tion. For this purpose sulphite of soda or sulphite of lime is added to the cider, which is not thereby injured in flavor or rendered in any respect unwholesome.] CHAMPAGNE CIDER. Good Clear Cider, (slightly sour) 36 galls. Proof Spirit 2 " Strained Honey 10 lbs. Stir well together, and keep tightly bunged, allowing it to remain in a cool cellar for thirty days ; then add Skimmed Milk 1 quart. Old, Rich Cheese (in small pieces) 1 lb. Raisins, bruised to a pulp 8 lbs. After standing three or four weeks, it may be decanted into champagne bottles. Wire and cover the cork with tinfoil. It is far more wholesome than the genuine champagne. The bottle will open with a brisk report, and its contents pass for a good imitation of " imported " champagne. J^RESH pGGS AND YELLOW BUTTER 119 CIDER WINE. Take new cider and boil it down one-half; add five pounds of bruised raisins to each barrel, and keep in a cool cellar. After it is one year old it will have the taste of Rhenish wine, and its flavor will continue to improve by age. When it is two years old it may be bottled, and will then pass for a good article of "imported wine." ARTIFICIAL CIDER. Take a barrel from which sugar-house sirup has just been been drawn out, and put into it Good Sugar-house Sirup 3 gallons. Hot Water 5 gallons. Stir well together, and let it stand one hour. Then add Tartaric Acid 12 ounces. Dried Sour Apples 7 lbs. Before adding the apples, pour on three gallons of hot water and let them stand two or three hours. Finally add Cold Water 30 gallons. Keep the barrel (with the bung out, and covered with. gauze to keep out flies, etc.,) where the thermometer ranges from 60° to 70° for two or three days, or until the cider becomes pleasantly acidulated. Then add Oil of Wintergreen 1 ounce. Oil of Sassafras i " Alcohol i pint. Mix, shake well together, and pour into the barrel, which bung up and roll about until its contents are well mixed. Keep it in a cool cellar. This makes a wholesome summer beverage. If it should, in the course of time, become too sour to drink, it will make good vinegar. 120 Fresh F.ggs and Yellow Butter. But by adding the sulphite of lime and eggs, as recom- mended for the preservation of cider, it will keep a long time. CIDER — WITHOUT APPLES. Take a sirup barrel, as above directed, and pour into it Good Sugar-house Sirup 3 gallons. Hot Water 5 " Stir well, and let stand one hour. Then add Cold Water 32 gallons. Tartaric Acid 12 ounces. Brewers' or Hop Yeast 2 cpuarts. Stir well together, or roll the barrel about until well mixed. If kept with the bung out, at a temperature between 60° and 70°, it will be good cider in forty-eight hours. Then keep in a cool place. This cider will remain good but a short time unless kept at a temperature below 45°. All the above preparations constitute perfectly whole- some summer beverages. sweet cider — [Imitation.) Water (warm) 35 gallons. Honey (strained) 20 pounds. Catechu Gum (powdered) 1 ounce. Alum (powdered) 2 ounces. . Yeast (Brewers' or Hop) 1 pint. Ferment for two weeks, at a temperature from 60° to 75°. Then add Nutmeg (powdered) 1 ounce. Cloves (powdered) 1 ounce. If too sweet, add good cider vinegar to suit the taste. If too sour, add more honey. Fresh }£ggs and Yellow Butter. 121 cider — (Imitation.) Water (warm) 35 gallous. Sulphuric Acid | pound. (Or, sufficient to make the water pleasantly sour.) Sugar-house Sirup 6 gallons. Stir well together, and let stand twelve hours. Boil in one gallon of water one hour : Alum (pulverized) 3 ounces. Cloves (pulverized) 4 ounces. Ginger (pulverized) 4 ounces. Bitter Almonds (pulverized) 4 ounces. Add to the first, when nearly cool. It will be ready to use in twenty-four hours. BOTTLING OR CANNING SWEET CIDER. Boil sweet cider about ten minutes, in tin cans or bottles. Immediately cork, and hermetrieally seal while hot. Cider thus prepared will keep fresh and sweet for years, if the vessels are kept air-tight. The juices of grapes, currants, blackberries, etc., may be preserved in the same manner, and are considered more wholesome than wine. PERRY. This beverage — " wine of pears" — is prepared from pears in a manner similar to the manufacture of cider from apples, and is a wholesome and pleasant drink. MEAD. Mead is a liquor prepared from honey diluted with water, and fermented. It is the Hydromel of the Romans. Pliny records, and Virgil celebrates this drink, made of honey mixed with fruits. (Our Improved Process.) Strained Honey 100 pounds. Hot Water 30 gallons. 122 Fresh F-ggs and Yellow Butter Stir thoroughly and simmer for one hour. Remove the scum, and when about cool, add Fresh Hops li pounds. Put all together in a sugar-house sirup barrel. Stir well, and allow the barrel to remain, with the bung out, at a tem- perature of from 55° to 65° for three or four weeks, or until fermentation takes place. Then add : Cinnamon Bark, pulverized \ ounce. Cloves, pulverized J " Ginger-root, pulverized 2 " Mace, pulverized \ " Nutmegs, pulverized 1 " Dried Cherries, pulverized 4 " Dried Raspberries, pulverized 8 " Stir all together; bung up the barrel, and keep it in a cool cellar for six months or a year. Then it may be bottled for use. •pRESH pGGS AND JeLLOW ^UITER, 123 S I II U I\ Sirup is a thick solution of sugar in water, and when only sugar and water are employed it is called Simple Sirup, which forms the basis of Flavored or Medicated Sirups. In the preparation of sirups, only the refined sugar should be used, as they will then be less liable to spontaneous decomposition, and if the water is pure, the sirup will be per- fectly transparent, without the trouble of clarification. If too small a proportion of sugar is employed, the sirup is liable to ferment; but if too great a quantity is used, crystals of sugar will be deposited. The following is the best formula : Pure White Sugar 8 pounds. Pure Cold Water 2 quarts. Mix together, in a tin or porcelain vessel, occasionally stirring, for one or two hours ; then place the vessel in a hot water-bath, and allow it to remain about one hour, or until the sugar is all dissolved. The sirup should then be removed, and, when cool, bottled or put in jugs for use. When pre- paring sirup, do not allow it to boil, but it may simmer for a minute or two. Remove from the fire as soon as made, because a long continued heat will impair its efficiency. The proper degree of concentration is 30°, Baume's sac- charometer, when boiling, and 35° when cold; or, specific 124 Fresh ^ggs and Yellow ^utter. gravity when boiling 1,261, and when cold 1,320. Its boiling- point is 221°. A gallon of this sirup weighs 12 pounds. Sirups, when kept at a high temperature, sometimes undergo the vinous fermentation, but they may be restored by boiling for a few moments, which expels the alcohol and carbonic acid. Sirups thus recovered are less liable to subsequent changes, as the fermenting principles have been decreased or consumed. Simple sirup, prepared as above directed, is a choice and delicious article for the table, more wholesome than molasses or sugar-house sirup, and far preferable in flavor. Fresh F.ggs and Yellow j3utter 125 "SODA," OR FLAVORED SIRUPS. lemon sirup — [Imitation.) Citric Acid, pulverized 1 ounce. Oil of Lemon 20 drops. Simple Sirup 1 gallon. Rub the citric acid and oil of lemon with four ounces of the sirup in a mortar; then add the mixture to the remainder of the sirup, and dissolve by a moderate heat over a water-bath. When cool, bottle for use. A table-spoonful of this sirup, added to a glass of cold water, forms an agreeable extemporaneous lemonade and refrigerant beverage. "When water is charged with carbonic acid gas it constitutes what is known as "soda-water," to which this and other flavored sirups are added. [Note — Carbonic aci'l gasis obtained from powdered marble by means of diluted sulphuric acid. See process for manufacturing carbonic acid gas.] lemon si r up — ( Genuin e. ) Cut off the ends of lemons and squeeze out the juice ...1 quart. Add Pure White Sugar 3 lbs. Cut up and add the rinds of two lemons. Simmer a few minutes in a porcelain vessel ; then strain, and when cool put into bottles or jugs for use, and keep in a cool cellar. To be used in the same manner and for the same purpose as the imitation " lemon sirup." 12fi Fresh ^ggs and Yellow Butter. CREAM SIRUP. Simple Sirup 2 quarts. Sweet, Rich Cream 1 " Heat gradually together in a water-bath for half an hour. When cool, bottle for use. To flavor cream sirup, add Fluid Extract of Vanilla 1 ounce. Fluid Extract of Nutmeg J " Used with carbonic acid water, commonly known as soda-water. GINGER SIRUP. Simple Sirup 1 gallon. Fluid Extract of Jamaica Ginger 1 ounce. Mix. Heat, and stir half an hour over a water-bath. When cool, bottle for use. ORANGE SIRUP. Simple Sirup 1 gallon. Essence (" Extract ") of Orange J ounce. Mix, and proceed as for ginger sirup. SARSAPARILLA SIRUP. Simple Sirup 1 gallon. Oil of Wintergreen 40 drops. Oil of Sassafras 40 " Dissolve the Oils in Deodorized Alcohol 2 ounces. Mix, and shake well together. strawberry sirup — ( Genuine.) Expressed Juice of Ripe Strawberries 1 quart. White Sugar 4 pounds. Mix, and simmer a few minutes, or until the sugar is dissolved, in a porcelain kettle. Strain, and when cool put in bottles or jugs for use. Keep in a cool cellar. Fresh F^ggs and Yellow ^utter. 127 strawberry si rup — ( Imitation . ) Tincture of Orris Root | ounce. Acetic Ether 40 drops. Simple Sirup 1 gallon. Stir well together, and it will be ready for use. raspberry sirup — ( Genuine. ) Expressed Juice of Ripe Raspberries 1 quart. White Sugar 4 pounds. Simmer a few minutes in a porcelain kettle, until the sugar is dissolved. Strain, and when cool put in bottles or jugs, and keep in a cool cellar. raspberry sirup — (Imitation.) Tincture of Orris Root jounce. Simple Sirup 1 gallon. Stir well together, and it will be ready for use. pine-apple sirup — ( Genuine. ) Expressed Juice of the ripest and best flavored Pine-apples 1 quart. White Sugar 4 pounds. Simmer a few minutes in a porcelain kettle until the sugar is dissolved ; strain, and when cool put into bottles or jugs, and keep in a cool cellar. pine- apple sirup — (Imitation. ) Butyric Ether (called " Pine-apple Oil ") 50 drops. Dissolve in Deodorized Alcohol, 95 per cent 1 ounce. Simple Sirup 1 gallon. Stir well together, and it will be ready for use. BLACKBERRY SIRUP. Expressed Juice of ripe Blackberries 1 quart. White Sugar 4 pounds. ] 28 Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. Simmer a few minutes in a porcelain kettle, until the sugar is dissolved ; strain, and when cool put in bottles or jugs, and keep in a cool cellar. VANILLA SIRUP. Essence of Vanilla 1 ounce. Simple Sirup 1 gallon. Stir well together, and it will be ready for use. ROSE SIRUP. Essence (" Extract ") of Roses 1 ounce. Simple Sirup 1 gallon. Stir well together, and it will be ready for use. PEACH SIRUP. Expressed Juice of ripe, good Peaches 1 quart. YV hite Sugar 4 pounds. Simmer a few minutes in a porcelain kettle, until the sugar is dissolved ; strain, and when cool put in bottles or jugs, and keep in a cool cellar. COFFEE SIRUP. Essence ("Extract") of Coffee 1 ounce. Simple Sirup 1 gal Ion . Stir well together, and it will be ready for use. W I NTE RG RE EN SIRUP. Essence (" Extract ") of Wintergreen 1 ounce. Sim pie Si rup 1 gal Ion . Stir well together, and it will be ready for use ORGEAT SIRUP. Essence ("Extract") of Orgeat 1 ounce. Simple Sirup 1 gallon. Stir well together, and it will be ready for use. J^RESH JiGGS AND JeLLOW ^UTTER 129 NUTMEG SIRUP. Essence ("Extract") of Nutmeg 1 ounce. Simple Sirup 1 gallon. Stir well together, and it will be ready for use. MACE SIRUP. Essence (" Extract ") of Mace 1 ounce. Simple Sirup 1 gallon. Stir well together, and it will be ready for use. CINNAMON SIRUP. Essence (" Extract ") of Cinnamon 1 ounce. Simple Sirup 1 gallon. Stir well together, and it will be ready for use. COLORING FOR SIRUPS. Cochineal is used to color the strawberry imitation sirup, and gives it a beautiful red tint. Wintergreen, raspberry and sarsaparilla sirups are usually colored with tincture of camwood; lemon and ginger sirups with tincture of turmeric ; pine-apple requires no coloring. Various shades may be pro- duced in the sirups, according to the quantity of the above tinctures added. COCHINEAL FOR COLORING. Powdered Cochineal 2 ounces. Water 1 quart. Boil together for a few minutes in a porcelain kettle. While boiling, add Cream of Tartar | ounce. Alum, in Powder | " When the coloring matter is all extracted from the coch- ineal, strain and bottle for use. Most of the sirups used for soda-water are imitations of the genuine, because they are less expensive. The fruit sirups 130 j^RESH pGGS AND JeLLOW J3UTTER. should all be made from expressed juices, as directed in the foregoing formulas. A glass of the ordinary soda-water pontains about two table-spoonsful of flavored sirup — the remainder of the beverage being water charged with carbonic acid gas, drawn from the fountain. When the fountain is charged with a solution of carbonate of soda in water, each gallon of the flavored sirups should have added to it three-fourths of an ounce of tartaric acid, dissolved in a little water. But in most of the fountains, at the present time, neither soda nor tartaric acid is used. PORTABLE LEMONADE. Citric Acid, in powder 3 ounces. Pure W hite Sugar, powdered 2 pounds. Oil of Lemon 15 drops. Mix well together, and keep in a closely corked bottle. A tea-spoonful of this, added to a tumbler-ful of cold water, forms a wholesome and agreeable beverage. Travelers will find this a convenient way of procuring a pleasant and refreshing drink, at any time or place. Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter 131 VEGETABLE AND ROOT BEERS. SPRUCE BEER. Essence of Spruce 1 pint. Bruised Ginger 8 ounces. Allspice, bruised 4 " Hops 8 " Cold Water 5 gallons. Mix and stir occasionally for five or six hours. Then boil for fifteen minutes. Strain, and pour into a clean barrel) and add Warm Water 20 gallons. Sugar-house Sirup 1J " Brewers' Yeast, or good Hop Yeast 1 quart. Mix altogether, and allow it to remain, for fermentation, in a room where the temperature is between 60° and 70°. If the bung be left out of the barrel for six hours, the beer will have fermented ; bung up, and it will be ready for use in twenty-four hours. It forms a wholesome and medicinal beverage. Keep the beer in a cool cellar. [Note. — To prepare the essence or extract of spruce, mentioned above, simmer one pound of young spruce twigs in half a gallon of water, for twenty or thirty minutes. Then strain and bottle for use. It should be used immediately, or within a few hours, unless it is kept in a very cool place.] .SARSAPARILLA COMPOUND ROOT BEER. Hops 1 ounce. Sassafras Bark | " Burdock Root 1 " Dandelion Root 1 " Sarsaparilla Root 2 ounces Spikenard Root 1 ounce. 132 J^RESH ^GGS AND JeLLOW BUTTER. All these roots should be crushed or cut into small pieces, and may be either green or dry. Place them in suitable vessels, and add Cold Water • 2 gallons. Stir occasionally for six hours, and then simmer altogether for one hour. Strain, while warm, and add Brewers', or Hop Yeast, half a tea-cupful. Sugar-house Sirup 1 pint. Mix altogether in a jug and shake thoroughly. Let the jug remain in a warm room, for six hours, uncorked. Then cork and keep it in a cool place. This is a delightful spring beverage, alterative in its effects, and may prevent attacks of illness. LEMON BEER. Four Lemons, cut into thin slices. Ginger, ground 4 ounces. Sugar-house Sirup i gallon. Brewers' or Hop Yeast 1 pint. Mix the lemons and ginger in half a gallon of warm water. Let the mixture stand in a warm place for six hours, and then simmer for about one hour. It is then to be put into a barrel and the sirup and yeast added. Then add Warm Water 12 gallons. Ferment in a warm place, with the bung out, for six hours, then bung up tightly ; after which remove the beer to a cool place. GINGER BEER. Ground Ginger 3 ounces. Simmer it in two quarts of water for half an hour. Add Honey, strained 4 ounces. Juice of 2 lemons. J^RESH pGGS AND JELLOW BUTTER 133 Stir well together, and strain while warm. Add Warm Water 2 J gallons. Sugar-house Sirup 3 pints. Put all into a jug and shake well together. Keep the jug, uncorked, in a warm room, for twenty-four hours, or until it ferments. Then cork and keep in a cool cellar. CORN BEER. Warm Water 2 gallons. Sound Corn 1 pint. Sugar-house Sirup 1 quart. Put altogether in a jug, which must be tightly corked and kept in a warm room. It will be in a condition for drinking in about three or four days. ROOT BEER. American Sarsaparilla Root (powdered') 1 pound. Guaiac Chips 8 ounces. Birch Bark 3 ounces. Sassafras Bark 2 ounces. Prickly Ash Bark i ounce. Spice Wood 4 ounces. Hops 8 ounces. Water, warm 3 gallons. Stir well together, and let it stand six hours ; then sim- mer for three hours, stirring occasionally. Strain while warm. Then add Tincture of Ginger 4 ounces. Oil of Wintergreen 1 ounce. Dissolved in Alcohol 1 pint. Shake well together. Then add Warm Water 28 gallons. Sugar-house Sirup 2 gallons. Yeast 3 quarts. 9 134 Fresh Jiggs and Yellow Butter. Bung up the cask, and if kept at a temperature of from 60° to 75° for twenty-four hours, it will be in good state for a beverage. This, if properly fermented, may be used in fountains, as there will be a sufficient pressure of carbonic acid to force up the beer in the manner of soda-water. Fresh Fxigs and Jellow Butter. 135 WINES. CURRANT WINE. Expressed Juice of Currants, strained 30 gallons. White Sugar 105 pounds. Mix, and pour into a barrel, with the bung out, which place in a cool cellar where the thermometer indicates a tem- perature of about 50° Fahr. Cover the bung-hole with gauze, to exclude flies and dust. Let it remain undisturbed for four or five weeks. Then put in the bung. It may be left in the barrel, or bottled, and will improve by age. No spirits are required to increase its strength. RHUBARB WINE. Expressed Juice of Rhubarb, or Pie-plant, strained 20 gallons. White Sugar 150 pounds. Warm Water 10 gallons. Mix altogether in a barrel, put into a cool cellar, and let it ferment for five or six weeks, covering the bung-hole with gauze, to keep out flies and dust. Then put in the bung, and at the end of two or three months it should be bottled. It will be fit for use, however, as soon as fermentation has fully ceased. TOMATO WINE. Expressed Juice of the garden Tomato, strained. 30 gallons. White Sugar 1 20 pounds. Mix, and put into a barrel, which place in a cool cellar, leaving the bung-hole open, but covered with gauze, to exclude insects and dust. Let it remain undisturbed for 136 Fresh ^ggs and Yellow j3utter. five or six weeks. Then put in the bung. Whether left in the barrel or bottled, it will improve by age, and be ready for use at any time. It is a very excellent and healthful beverage. BLACKBERRY WINE. Expressed Juice of Blackberries, strained 30 gallons. "White Sugar 80 pounds. Mix in a barrel, which must be bunged, and place in a cool cellar. In two or three months it will become splendid wine. port wine — (Imitation?) Wild Grapes (bruised to a pulp, without breaking the seeds) 50 pounds. Elder Berries (bruised to a pulp, without breaking the seeds) 10 pounds. White Sugar •' >0 pounds. Warm Water 30 gallons. Mix together in a barrel, which must be placed in a cool cellar. Leave it undisturbed for five or six weeks, to ferment, keeping out dust and flies by covering the bung-hole with gauze. Then put in the bung, and bottle at convenience, leaving the sediment in the barrel. Add no spirits. This is better than much of the " superior port " of the shops. port wine — (Genuine.) Cider (sweet) 30 gallons. Alcohol, 95 percent 6 gallons. Into another vessel put Extract of Logwood (pulverized) If pounds. Simmer in four gallons of water one hour, and add to the cider and alcohol while warm. Then add Alum (pulverized) li pounds. Cream of Tartar 1 pound. White Sugar 24 pounds. Fresh Jiggs and Yellow Butter. 137 Stir well together, and roll the cask occasionally for one clay. Allow it to settle for a few clays, and it is ready for use. This makes a native wine extensively used in America as an "imported" wine. ISABELLA OR CATAWBA WINE. Ripe Grapes (bruised to a pulp in a barrel, without breaking the seeds) 100 pounds. Warm Water 3 gallons. Stir well together, and let stand for three or four clays in a cool cellar. Then express the juice, strain, and add White Sugar 60 pounds. After standing thirty days, or until fermentation ceases, it should be drawn or racked off and strained. It may be kept in bottles or in casks. APPLE WINE. Cider, fresh from the press 30 gallons. White Sugar 40 pounds. Proceed as directed in the process for making currant wine. STRAWBERRY WINE. Expressed Juice of Strawberries, strained 30 gallons. White Sugar 1 20 pounds. Proceed, in all respects, as prescribed in the formula for making currant wine. RASPBERRY WINE. Expressed Juice of Raspberries, strained 30 gallons. White Sugar 70 pounds. Mix together in a barrel, and continue the process as directed for currant wine. ELDERBERRY WINE. Expressed Juice of Elderberries, strained 30 gallons. White Sugar 70 pounds. 138 ^RESH JlGGS AND YELLOW BUTTER After mixing the materials in a barrel, proceed in all particulars as in the process for making currant wine. GINGER WINE. Ginger (ground) 1 pound. Hot Water 10 gallons. Simmer gently for one hour ; then add White Sugar 20 pounds. Lemons, sliced.. 2 pounds. Continue to simmer for thirty minutes longer, and then remove from the fire. When nearly cold, add Yeast | pint. Put all together in a barrel, and ferment as directed in the preparation of other wines. When fermentation ceases, rack off the wine, and bottle when clear. Fresh F.ggs and Yellow Hotter, 139 VINEGAR. {Acetum.~) Vinegar has been known for thousands of years. It is mentioned by Moses, and was in common use among the Israelites. In that age it was made from wine. Vinegar was also in common use among the Greeks and Romans, who employed it in their cookery, and as medicine. ITS PROPERTIES. As a condiment, vinegar is refreshing, and, if used moderately, is wholesome. It appears to render fatty and gelatinous food more digestible ; but if used in excess is injurious to the stomach. HOW VINEGAR IS FORMED. Sugar and water, and all saccharine vegetable juices, in- fusions of malt, wine, cider, and all liquors susceptible of vinous fermentation, may be converted into vinegar by exposure to a temperature between 75° and 90° Fahr., with access of air. They undergo an action called acetous fer- mentation, and which is developed under the influence of a microscopic fungus termed torula aceti. The several changes which occur during this fermentation are included in the term aceti fication, during the progress of which heat is disen- gaged, the liquid becomes turbid, and filaments are formed, which move in numerous directions, and, finally, the liquid becomes transparent, with a pultaceous deposit of the fila- ments ; its alcohol has disappeared, and vinegar now occupies its place. 140 ^resh JSggs and Yellow Butter. This change is supposed to take place in consequence of the formation of a new substance called Aldehyd, the result of the loss of a part of the hydrogen of the alcohol. Alcohol consists of four equivalents of carbon, six of hydrogen, and two of oxygen. Through the action of the atmosphere it loses two equivalents of hydrogen, and becomes aldehyd. Hydrated acetic acid consists of four equivalents, each, of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. One equivalent of water is basic, and may be replaced by any metalic oxyd. Aldehyd is an ethereal fluid, very inflammable and color- less, with a pungent taste and smell ; its density is 0.79. It absorbs oxygen with avidity. Its name has reference to its character — alcohol dehy- drogenized. Aldehyd Resin, a soft, light-brown mass, giving a nauseous, soapy smell when heated to 212°, is formed by decomposing the aqueous solution of aldehyd with caustic potassa. CIDER VINEGAR. The cider is placed in barrels with the bung-holes open, and exposed to a temperature between 75° and 90° Fahr. The acetification is perfected in about two months. This fermentation must be watched during its progress, and as soon as vinegar is formed it must be racked off into clean barrels; otherwise it will become spoiled by running into the putrefactive fermentation. Vinegar is also made by various other methods, many of which require a comparatively short time for its formation. A pint of boiling milk added to forty gallons of vinegar, and stirred into it, will clarify it without injuring its aroma, and will also render red vinegar pale. Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 141 MANUFACTURE OF VINEGAR. The true nature of the process of making vinegar quickly consists in the mere oxydation of alcohol in contact with organic matter, which is effected by exposing the largest surface of a vinegar-making fluid of proper temperature to atmospheric air, by means of a perforated vinegar generator, in which are placed beech, maple or basswood shavings, or corn cobs, through which the fluid passes and slowly drips into a vessel beneath. As the fluid passes slowly through the shav- ings, there is exposed a large surface of it to the air, oxygen is absorbed, and the temperature of the fluid rises to 104° Fahr., remaining stationary at that point, while the action goes on favorably. The fluid may be passed through the generator two or three times, if it should not prove of sufficient strength at first ; and thus vinegar may be made in from twenty-four to forty-eight hours. MANUFACTURE OF VINEGAR — (QUICK PROCESSES.) Number One. Alcohol, 95 per cent 1 gallon. Good Vinegar 1 quart. Soft Water, warmed to 75° 15 gallons. Yeast 1 pint. Mix and pass through a vinegar generator. Number Two. Pure Cider 2 gallons. Water, warmed to 75° 1 gallon. Mix and pass through a vinegar generator. 142 j^RESH jiGGS AND YELLOW J3UTTER. Number Three; Alcohol, 95 per cent 1 gallon. Molasses 1 quart. Soft Water, warmed to 75° 14 gallons. Good Vinegar 1 quart. Mix and pass through a vinegar generator. MANUFACTURE OF VINEGAR — (SLOW PROCESSES.) Number One. Good Molasses 3 gallons. Soft Water, warmed to 75° 30 gallons. Yeast 1 quart. Mix well together, and keep in a warm temperature in a barrel, with its bung out and the hole covered over with gauze, to keep out flies. Number Two. Acetic Acid, pure 4 pounds. Molasses 1 gallon. Warm Water, soft 35 gallons. Mix, and keep at from 75° to 90° Fahr., and it will become vinegar in about twenty days. INSTANTANEOUS PROCESS. Acetic Acid, pure 1 pound. Pure Water 6 pints. Mix. HOW TO CONSTRUCT A VINEGAR GENERATOR. To construct a vinegar generator, or graduation vessel, simply prepare an oaken tub, narrower at the bottom than at the top, and furnished with a loose lid or cover. The tub may be of any convenient size, from six feet to ten or twenty feet high, and from two to four or five feet in diam- eter. The higher and more capacious the tub, the greater the quantity of vinegar which can be generated in a given time. Fresh ^ggs and Yellow Butter 143 Below the lid, or cover, is placed a perforated shelf, or false bottom, having a number of small holes filled with pack-threads, extending down six inches and prevented from falling through by knots at their upper ends. The shelf is also perforated with four open glass tubes, as air vents, each having its ends projecting above and below the shelf. The tub, at its lower part, is pierced with a horizontal row of eight or ten equidistant, round holes, to admit atmospheric air. One inch above the bottom is a syphon discharge-pipe, whose upper curvature stands one inch below the level of the air-holes in the side of the tub. The body of the tub being filled with beech-wood shavings, the alcoholic liquor, which should be at a temperature of from 75° to 80° Fahr, is placed on the shelf. It trickles slowly down through the holes by means of the pack-threads, diffuses itself over the shavings, and runs off by the syphon-pipe. The air enters by the cir- cumferential holes, circulates freely through the tub, and escapes through the glass tubes. As the oxygen is absorbed, the temperature of the liquid rises from 100° to 104° Fahr., and remains stationary at that point, while the operation goes on favorably. It will be necessary to pass the liquor through three or four times before acetification is complete, which generally requires twenty-four hours. A cheap, extemporaneous vinegar generator may also be constructed by placing new oak barrels (the heads being re- moved) one above the other, until the pile is five or six barrels high, or less. Have them securely fastened, by nailing strips of boards on the outside of the barrels. Per- forate the barrels, and arrange as described above. To secure 144 Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter the joints against leakage, where the barrels rest upon each other, make a thorough application of paraffin wax, applied while hot. ANOTHER MODE OF CONSTRUCTING A GENERATOR. Take six new oak barrels, or those which have been used for vinegar or molasses, respectively numbering them from one to six. Remove one head from each. With a three- quarter inch auger, then bore fifteen holes through the sides of each barrel, an equal distance apart, all slanting towards the bottom of the barrel, (to prevent the vinegar from run- ning out on the side). These holes should be about twelve inches above the lower end of the barrel. Set the barrels side by side, and insert a faucet in each, near the bottom. Fill up the barrels with thick beech, maple, or bass wood shavings, which must be new and planed from the edges of inch-boards. They should be each about two feet long, and formed into rolls. Clean corn-cobs, however, will serve the same purpose for a few months, but for permanent and continued manufacture the shavings are preferable. When cobs are used, they should be put in the barrels in layers, crossing each other, to prevent their becoming too closely packed, and over all, when the barrel is nearly filled with cobs, should be laid shavings, to the depth of about six inches. Pine shavings must be avoided in making vinegar. Cover over the top of the shavings or cobs a flannel cloth, for the purpose of retaining the heat generated in the barrel by oxy- dation during the chemical transformation. Then gradually pour all over the cloth, in each barrel, one gallon of good vinegar, for the purpose of souring the shavings or cobs. Let the barrels stand unmolested one day, when the vinegar must Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 145 be drawn from them by means of the faucet in each. The next day pour on the alcohol, vinegar and water, as recom- mended in either number one, number two, or number three process. For example : Heat two gallons, prepared according to the number one formula, to 80° Fahr., and pour it carefully over the cloth in barrel number one. Repeat this process every hour during the day. After six hours have elapsed, draw off all that has settled in the bottom and pour it over the cloth in barrel number two, at the rate of one gallon every half-hour. It will drip slowly through the shavings, and, as fast as it drips through, pass the same liquor into all the remaining barrels in rotation, and in the same manner. Continue to pour the fluid through barrel number one, as before described, and so on through each other barrel. When the liquid has passed through all the barrels, as it will within thirty-six hours from the commencement, if the barrels have been kept in a room where the temperature ranges between 75° and 90° Fahr., the vinegar will be found good, sharp, pure and wholesome. If stronger vinegar is required, it can be passed again through one, two, or more of the barrels, until the desired strength is obtained. It is essential that the temperature of the room in which the vinegar is made should be neither less than 75° nor more than 90°. TO DECOLORIZE VINEGAR. When a colorless vinegar is required, add to each gallon of vinegar one pound of coarsely-powdered animal charcoal, and stir occasionally for two or three days. Allow the mixture to rest three or four days ; then draw off and strain 146 Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter the vinegar, which, if well prepared charcoal has been used, will be colorless, and similar to white wine vinegar. FRUIT VINEGARS. Various fruits yield saccharine juices, which, at a tem- perature ranging from 60° to 100°, spontaneously pass first through vinous and then acetous fermentation, resulting in vinegar, the odor and flavor of which, in some degree, cor- respond to the fruit from which the juice was expressed. But currants, gooseberries, pie-plant (rhubarb), and various other excessively acid substances, are deficient in sugar, which must be added to secure fermentation. Vinegar may be strengthened by freezing it and removing the ice which forms on the surface. It is only the water of the vinegar which freezes, leaving* the acetic acid in solution in the remaining water. VINEGAR REFINED BY BOILING. If vinegar be boiled a few seconds in a covered porcelain or glass vessel, the heat will congulate the albuminous and mucilaginous substances contained in it. If it be then strained through flannel, and put into bottles, which should be kept well corked, it will remain in a good condition for a long time. VINEGAR REFINED BY DISTILLATION. Distill vinegar until about two-thirds of it has passed over. The impurities, not being volatile, are left behind. The part distilled is nearly pure acetic acid. Dilute this with water to the proper strength for vinegar. This is known as distilled vinegar. Fresh ^ggs and Yellow Butter. 147 GOOSEBERRY VINEGAR. Reduce eight gallons of ripe gooseberries to a pulp, and, having placed them in a suitable barrel, add twenty-five gallons of warm water. Stir occasionally during one day. Then strain through coarse flannel, and add either six gallons of sugar-house sirup, or forty-eight pounds of brown sugar, or, if preferred, fifty pounds of strained honey. Mix well together, and keep at a warm temperature, leaving the bung- hole of the barrel open, but covered with fine gauze to keep out flies, dust, etc. RHUBARB VINEGAR. Rhubarb (pie-plant) vinegar may be formed from the juice of the stalk of the rhubarb plant, by adding of warm water four times the weight of the juice, and one and a half pounds of brown sugar to each gallon of the juice thus diluted. Ferment in the manner previously described. But the quantity of sugar required to produce the vinous fermentation renders the juices of fruits and vegetables a very expensive material for making vinegar. Furthermore, they do not produce any better vinegar than that made from three gallons of molasses and thirty gallons of water. THE ADULTERATIONS OF VINEGAR. Sulphuric, nitric and muriatic acids are sometimes used to impart acidity to vinegar. Burnt sugar is often added for coloring, and acetic ether to give it a pleasant flavor. Vinegar not containing more than one-thousandth part of mineral acid is not injurious, and preserves better than pure vinegar. Still we do not advise the adulteration of vinegar with any of the mineral acids. 148 Fresh J£ggs and Yellow Butter. TO DETECT SULPHURIC ACID IX VINEGAR. Take of the Suspected Vinegar 4 ounces. Starch (common) 1 drachm. Agitate, and add Iodine 5 grains. Shake well together. If the vinegar is pure, the presence of iodine will change its color to a blue tint ; but if sulphuric acid is present, no such reaction will take place, for the resultant of starch in its presence is glucose, a substance not affected by iodine. WINE VINEGAR. When wine passes through the acetous fermentation, it is denominated " wine vinegar," and contains not only acetic, but also citric and tartaric acids, together with a small quantity of acetic ether, which gives it an agreeable flavor, and is in no respect injurious. MISCELLANEOUS. No attempt should be made to run the solution of sugar or diluted sirup through the generator, during the process of making vinegar, as a mucilaginous substance, called " mother," forms, which soon fills up the apertures of the generator, and arrests the operation. Sirup, however much diluted, should always be converted into vinegar by the slow processes, in barrels. Use only the alcoholic preparation in the generator, as set forth in the quick processes. THE STRENGTH OF VINEGAR. The pleasant and refreshing odor of vinegar is derived from acetic acid and acetic ether. The strength of vinegar is designated by the manufacturer Fresh Eggs and Yellow Butter. 140 by numbers, as follows : 18, 20, 22, and 24 — the latter number representing the strongest, which contains about five per cent, of anhydrous acetic acid, and is known as u proof vinegarr In order that these numbers may be more fully understood, the following tables are introduced to indicate the saturative power and specific gravity of vinegar, as well as to explain the technical terms employed by manufacturers : 1 oz. No. 18 viae»ar requires IS grs. pure, dry carbonate of soda for complete neutralization. 1 oz. " 20 " " 20 •' •' " " " " " « •' j oz ct 23 .. » 22 " " " " '■ " " " '• loa. •' 24 " " 24 " " " " " The ounce of vinegar is liquid measure. The specific gravity of No. 18 Vinegar is 1006 The specific gravity of No. 20 Vinegar is 1012 The specific gravity of No. 22 Vinegar is 1019 The specific gravity of No. 24 Vinegar is 1035 Vinegar No. 24 is " Proof," 5° by the acetometre, or " 1 Vinegar." 5° Overproof (or O. P.), is 10°, or " 2 Vinegars." 10° Overproof (or O. P.j, is 15°, or " 3 Vinegars," etc. One fluid-ounce of vinegar termed " extra strength" will saturate 32 grains of pure, dry carbonate of soda. 10 150 r* ID Jl TINCTURES. [Tinctures are solutions of medicinal substances in diluted or strong alcohol.] TINCTURE OF CAMPHOR. (Spirits of Camphor.) Cam plior Gu m 4 ounces. Alcohol, 95 per cent 1 quart. Agitate until the camphor is dissolved. TINCTURE OF MYRRH. Gum Myrrh 4 ounces. Alcohol, 76 per cent 1 quart. Macerate for fourteen days, and filter through paper. TINCTURE OF CATECHU. Gum Catechu, cut fine 4 ounces. Alcohol, 76 per cent 1 quart. Macerate for fourteen days, and filter through paper. TINCTURE OF GUAIACUM. Gum Guaiacum, pulverized 4 ounces. Alcohol, 95 per cent 1 quart. Macerate for fourteen days, and filter through paper. TINCTURE OF OPIUM. (Laudanum.) Gum Opium, sliced 3 ounces. Boiling Water 10 fluid-oz. Reduce the opium to an emulsion in a wedgwood mortar. Then add Alcohol, 76 per cent 20 ounces. Put altogether in a bottle, and agitate occasionally for one day. At the end of twenty-four hours it will be of full strength. Filter through paper. j^resh J£ggs and Yellow Butter. 151 TINCTURE OP RHUBARB. Rhubarb Rout, braised 4 ounces. Alcohol, 76 per cent 1 quart. Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper. TINCTURE OF BLOODROOT. Bloodroot, powdered 6 ounces. Alcohol, 76 per cent 1 quart. Macerate for fourteen days, express, and filter through paper. TINCTURE OF GINGER. Ginger Root, powdered advance the interests of druggists, chemists and apothecaries. Its list of contents every month, is extensive, embracing a great variety of scientific and useful topics practically treated, including many " Notes and Queries," and a Miscellaneous Department of interest- ing items. Published monthly, in numbers of sixteen quarto pages each, at $1.50 per annum, by L. V. NEWTON, M. D., 36 Beekman Street, New York. THE AMERICAN ARTISAN. A very popular journal is "The American Artisan " among a large class of our intelligent builders, moulders and manufacturers, to whom, every week, it comes freighted with the information which they need for instruction and preservation. Its scope embraces everything relating to the advantages and use of new inventions and discoveries in art, science and manufactures, illustrated and embellished with good engravings ; all of which make up a mechanical record of great value. Agricultural im- plements, labor-saving devices, and whatever of worth pertains to the growth of mechanical ingenuity or social science, finds place in its col- umns. The utility of a journal, competently conducted, like "The Artisan," will commend it to capitalists, inventors and working-men throughout the country. Published at $2.00 per annum, by BROWN, COOMBS & CO., 189 Broadway, New York. 242 J^resh : Eggs and v ellow Butter. THE ART?. "The Arts: Demoted to Science and Arts," edited by Joseph M. Hirsh. the able chem is( - :~ntist, does honor to Chicago, as an evi- dence of the culture and refinement to which she is advancing. Forty •• a howling wiiderne-- - -omething to know that to-day she can sustain a seientifi :e this, whicli displays great editori- d hearty encomiums from the press, as well as the scientific men of the West. Its object is to introduce useful knowleJge. of a theoretical and pra . racter, into every home, at a price within the means of all. Eminent men are numbered among its contrib- r aid tends to bestow upon it an intrinsic and perma- nent value. S : »nly ; - it ably conducted, but neatly embellished, each number containing a lithographic portrait of some prominent scientist, with his biography. - - -rveral illustrations in important papers. •• The Art- s still in its first half-year, and g - -. r e hope with age to see it gather increased ability and influence. Its external appear- ance is very attractive, and its mechanical execution creditable to the printer. Terms, $1.00 per year. Published monthly by J. M. H IRS II x CO.. k 12 South Wells Street. Chicago, Illinois. THE WESTERN RURAL. '•The Western Rural: A Weekly for the Farm and Fire- published simultaneously in Chicago and Detroit, is devoted to the vari- ous departments of rural affairs, and particularly adapted to the needs of the West. Besides the important issues of agriculture and horticulture, which it liberally discus--- . • so choice original and selected - --Uaneous reading for all classes, presenting a very com- plete and entertaining rural and family newspaper. It has attained a large circulation, and, under th- - .'.ly and financially, of H. X. F. Lewis, with able assistants, is one of the most successful publi- cations in this country. Terms %1 : year. H. X. F. LEWIS. Publisher, reet, Chicago. JOURNAL OF APPLIED CHEMISTRY. •* The Journal or Applied Chemistry,'' published simultaneously every month in New York. I .ia. and Bo=ton. is devoted to chem- .stantly developed and applied to the arts, manufactures, metal- lurgy and agriculture ^tnber. of sixteen quarto . - Mains original articles on general chemistry in connection with the above-named departmeL- essays _ :. ous and exotic products derived from the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms : expositions of the adultera- lumercial substances and the way to detect falsifications, with papers on particular fabricati. inning, dyeing, etc. A suitable - . to practical recipes and interesting ifie intelligence. Full and carefully prepared market reviews and --current of drugs and chemi :y description are given in each number, for >ev,- York. Boston and Philadelphia, with tab.- imports, etc. Terms. $1.50 per annum. Published fcv DEXTEK i CO. 17 Spruce Street. New York. - 1 := S AJN^ " z _ l : m z rrTBB 242 z^zi^zz: FIRE! tz-iz:: z^Z3_zz : EXCELSIOR Fire Extinguisher ! l^TZ: PATENT. Portable and Self-Actinsr- Priee. S4 -: - i n . ~ :' - : ■ - ■ ' " ' I - - with power! - surance. The pabti all parties i ex:elsior fire ezuhguishkb ::.. si 1 - -Pres • - - ton St CHEMISTS AND DRUGGISTS. 135 > J Etdison S r . . Chicag-o. Murafa : FLUID EXTRA = SOLED EXTRACTS - MEDICINAL S1RU1 - PURl s . ■ ■■ . I J^ tb. and 1 _ - DRUG GRIM ".:• - EVERY KE HOPS PRF>>EL> TO ORDER, AND FOR SALE AT LOW PRICES 244 ^RESH ^GGS AND YELLOW fiuTTER. Western @k@aL&@ftl Offloe, 203 South Water St, and 10 & 12 Mil Wells St, CHIGA&O, - ILL. JOSEPH M. HIRSH & CO., Proprietors, MANUFACTURERS OF ANILINE COLORS, suitable for dye works and family dyes — all shades. CARBOLIC ACID, for disinfecting. 25 cents per gallon. CARBOLIC ACID, for burns. 50 cents per pound. CARBOLIC ACIO, for destroying insects. $1.00 per pound. CARBOLATE OF GLYCERIVE, for affections of the throat. GLYCERINE, for printers, perfumers and druggists, warranted equal to the very best. PEPSIN-WINE, for dispeptics. Used by the profession universally. FLAVORING EXTRACTS, for household use. LIQUOR and WINE ESSENCES. DEXTRIN, substitute for gum arabic. Pharmaceutical preparations generally. { The quality of our goods we always guarantee prime, and prices low. + i +■ — ANALYTICAL LABORATORY OF- J". ZMI. HIRSH &c CO, 10 & 19 South Wells St , ANALYSIS AND ESSAYS of technical products, minerals, drugs, merchandise generally. 1'athological Specimens, etc., made at our office. Correctness guaranteed. PLANS OF FACTORIES and Estimates furnished for all branch- es of manufacture and mining. Advice given regarding the practicability of new or old processes of manufacture. CONTENTS. PAGE. ANILINE DYES 217—244 ANILINE INKS 195 APPLES— Antiquity of the apple 113 Improved by culture 113 Longevity of apple trees 113 Number of varieties in the United States 113 The best climate for apple raising 113 Flavor of apples, whence obtained 114 Apples as an article of diet 114 ANNATTO— History, names and uses of , 224 Concentrated tincture of annatto — how to make 85 ALBUMEN ...5 ALDEHYD 140 alterative sirup 234 butter- How made in the best manner .76 Necessity of keeping the cream cool 76 Effect of boiling water on cream 76 How butter and cream should be kept 77 Cleanliness indispensable in butter making 77 Why butter becomes sour and rancid 78 How to Restore Sour and Rancid Butter 79 The number one, cold process 80 Rancid butter converted into good table butter 81 Various materials for refining butter 82 Preparing butter for hot climates 82 How to Color Butter 83 White and "streaked" butter made to resemble "June butter" ..83 to 89 Chemical composition of butter 91 Difference between winter and summer butter 91 Insulating butter firkins 91 Packing butter in insulated firkins, etc 92 Powdered ice used to cool butter when packing 92 To prevent firkins shrinking or swelling 93 Number two process for preparing butter firkins for packing. ..93 New oak firkins not to be used without preparation 93 Average yield of butter from good milk 97 15a 11 PONTENTS. BUTTER PRESERVATIVE— page. The art of keeping butter sweet 89 How to prepare the preservative 90 Directions for using it 90 Preserving butter with honey 90 Effect of glycerin with butter 90 -BAKING POWDER— Formula and directions for using 180 Making yeast cakes 180 BEERS— VEGETABLE AND ROOT— Corn beer 133 Ginger beer 132 Lemon " 132 Root " 133 Sarsaparilla compound root beer 131 Spruce beer 131 BLACKING— Water-proof blacking for boots, shoes, harness, etc 198 Water-proof for soles of boots and shoes 198, Liquid polish blacking 215 Paste (polish) blacking 215 BUTYRIN 78 BUTYRIC ACID 78 CIDER— Known to the ancients = 114 Made in nearly all temperate climates 114 Sweet cider 114 Best method of fermenting apple juice 114 Cider vinegar 115 What apples make the best cider 115 Cider kept for 25 years 115 Poor apples — cider from 115 Preserving and flavoring cider llfi Composition and specific gravity of cider 117 When cider should be bottled 117 Rules for making cider 117 Average yield of cider 117 Alcohol in cider 117 Philosophy of preserving cider :... 118 Champagne cider 118 Cider wine 119 Artificial cider 119 Cider without apples 120 PONTENTS ill Cider — Continual . page. Sweet cider — imitation of 120 Cider — imitation of 121 How to bottle or can sweet cider for preservation 121 CHEMICAL, SCIENTIFIC AND AGRICULTURAL JOURNALS 240 CHEESE— Composition of 100 Chemical analysis of cheese 100 Its flesh and muscle-making properties 100 Obesity and its effects 102 Digestibility of cheese 102 Process of cheese making 103 Rennet — what it is, and how prepared 103 The difference between good and inferior cheese 104 Taking care of cheese 105 Proper season for manufacturing 105 Acid substituted for rennet 106 Cheese vats and presses 106 Salting cheese properly 106 Coloring cheese — usual method ; improved process 107 How to preserve cheese from flies, maggots, and dust — new method 107 CATARRH— Cure for 235—236 CANDLES— Refined tallow candles 182 Paraffin wax candles 182 CHEMICAL PRICE-LIST 238—239 COUGH SIRUP 234 COLOGNES , 158 CLOTH RENOVATORS— Useful for removing grease, oil, paint, tar, was, varnish, etc., from clothing, silk, satin, ribbons, cotton, woolen, table- covers, carpets, etc., 178 COLOR RESTORATIVE— To restore color to garments 214 — 216 C RE AM- Ds origin, and how to obtain the greatest quantity 93 Its chemical composition 94 How to preserve it for months 94 CASEIN 76—100 CARROTS— The juice as a butter coloring 88 How to use it for coloring butter 88 CAOUTCHOUC— (see India Rubber) 214 iv PONTENTS. CEMENT— page. Best cement for general purposes 199 Cement for iron and stone 199 Cement for glass, metals, etc 200 Cement for labeling tin- ware 200 Gum for labels, stamps, etc 200 Mouth glue 200 CARBONIC ACID GAS— Properties and uses of 226 Ho w manufactured 22 (.1 CARBOLIC ACID— Properties and uses of 228 As a disinfectant 231, 232, 233 Method of preparing carbolate of glycerin 229 The parasitic theory of disease 228 Spores the cause of disease 231 As a remedy for diphtheria, or sore throat; for healing wounds, burns, sores, cuts, boils, felons, bruises, frost-bites; for rheumatism and neuralgia, ring-worm, salt-rheum, itch, cancer, scrofulous sores, asthma, bronchitis, catarrh, pulmonary consumption and dyspepsia 229 — 230 Carbolic inhalation 230 Carbolic acid for dyspepsia 230 Trichinae spiralis cured by carbolic acid 230 Carbolic acid for hydrophobia 230 Carbolic acid not an acid 231 How to dissolve carbolic acid crystals 231 Carbolic acid as a cholera preventive 231 Carbolic acid and glycerin as a preservative 231 Antidote to carbolic acid 232 Carbolic crystals become dark-colored 232 Crude carbolic acid 232 Carbolic acid as a protection against mosquitoes, flies, etc 231 DYEING- DYEING -with Aniline Colors — Preparing cloth for dyeing 217 Violet aniline purple for wool 217 — 219 Violet aniline purple for cotton 218 Aniline red (fuchsine) on wool and silk 218 Aniline red (fuchsine) on cotton 219 Hoffman's dahlia, violet, red and bluish parme shades 219 Aniline blue on wool and silk 219 Aniline blue violet on cotton 220 Aniline blue on cotton 220 pONTENTS. V Dyeing with Aniline Colors — Continued. page. Scarlet aniline on wool 220 Aniline green on wool 221 Aniline green soluble in water 221 Iodine aniline green for cotton 221 Aniline yellow 221 Picric acid 221 Picric acid for yellow, green, drab and other colors 221 General suggestions on aniline dyeing... 222 Compound colors 222 Other Methods of Dyeing — Artificial flowers 203 Black for woolen goods 222 Black for cotton goods 223 Straw and chip hats and bonnets black 223 Straw and chip hats and bonnets varnished 223 DEODORIZING Cess-pools, out-houses, etc 232 EGGS— Preservation of eggs — general remarks 5 Effects of chemical agents in common use 6 Eggs undergo a change in lime-water 9 Chemical composition of the " white " of eggs 9 Become " watery " in lime-water 9 Decomposition of the white vitiates the yelk 9 Lime-water will not arrest decomposition 10 Limed eggs held in low estimation 10 Egg-yelk hardened by salt combined with lime 10 How to prevent this result 10 Salt or lime dissolves the white 11 Why the " lime process " spoils the egg 11 Formula for a new lime compound 11 Directions for its use 11 12 Proper barrels or vats for preserving necessary 13 Cautious use of salt recommended 13 Objectionable substances prohibited 13 Improved compound process 14 Instructions for its use 15 New method of preserving egg-preserving solutions 15 Improved dry process for preserving and packing 1G Antiseptic properties of the dry procss 17 Effects of salt, dry ashes, oats, sand, bran, straw, chaff, saw- dust and shavings, as packing for eggs 18 — 19 Liquid silicate of soda as a dry coating 19 VI pONTENTS. Eggs — Continued. pack. How used, and its effects 20 Why stale eggs cannot be preserved by the common methods. ..20 Effects of certain chemical agents upon eggs — cream of tartar, diluted sulphuric acid, and alum 21 Bisulphides of calcium and sodium: sulphate of lime; vinegar: tartaric, muriatic, oxalic, and acetic acids; carbonates of potassa and soda ; borax and saltpetre. .22 Sulphites of lime and soda; chlorides of calcium and lime: bicarbonates of soda and potash ; sulphite, hypo- sulphite and phosphate of soda; tartrate of potassa; tartrate of potassa and soda; chlorate of potassa; carbonate of ammonia; carbolic acid, pyroligneous acid and glycerin 23 Sugar 24 Air-proof and hot water processes for preserving 2-1 Eggs hatched one year after being made air-proof 25 Why clouded eggs usually appear clear after coming out of lime-water, etc 20 Why eggs sometimes crack when in egg-preserving solutions, or after removal from them 27 How to prevent preserved eggs from cracking when boiling 27 Why the shells of preserved eggs crack when boiling 28 Why fresh eggs sink and stale eggs float in water 28 Keeping eggs in stone jars 28 The secret of preserving eggs fresh, and the causes of the fail- ure of most egg-preservatives 29 Temperature for keeping eggs 29 Oxygen in the new-laid egg — its effect 30 Conditions required to induce putrefaction 30 Chemical change during incubation 30 Temperature favorable for germination 30 A deoxygenated egg cannot spoil in any climate 31 Eggs for preserving 31 Chemical operation of the deoxygenating process 31 Fresh and new appearance of deoxygenated eggs 32 Disadvantages of the egg dealer overcome by the deoxygena- ting process for preserving eggs 32 The number one process of deoxygenating and insulating eccr*? OO The new colorless solution for preserving eggs 33 The process of deoxygenating and insulating eggs fully ex- plained 33—34 The best substance known in chemistry for deoxygenating and insulating eggs 35 Preserving eggs by the cold insulating process 37 PONTENTS. Vli Egos— Continued. page. Insulating eggs for dry packing 38 Number two process for deoxygenating eggs 39 — 40 Keeping deoxygenated eggs 41 Why the new colorless solution is preferable to other means of keeping eggs 42 Eggs rendered less liable to break, increasing their durability and value 42 Why limed eggs soon spoil after being taken out of lime solutions 42 Eggs kept fresh by cold air 43 Anatomy of the egg 44 Why the yelk of a fresh egg settles against the shell, and the egg soon after spoils 44 Deoxygenation and insulation as a preventive 46 The size and weight of eggs 46 Salt water a test for fresh eggs 47 What class of eggs to select, and the best months for preserv- ing them 47 Testing and preparing eggs for the preserving process 49 Instructions for packing and shipping eggs .- 49 General suggestions concerning eggs in preserving solutions. ...50 The sex of eggs 51 Length of time required to hatch the eggs of various fowls 51 Why the large end of a new-laid egg feels cold 51 Magnitude of the egg trade 52 Table of statistics for 1869, showing the population of the United States and Territories, number of families, number of farms, number of dozens of eggs produced, and their value at 20 cents per dozen 53 Perfect chemical analysis of the egg 54 — 55 Its mechanical and medical uses 56 Interesting facts concerning albumen 56 Dessicating or drying eggs 57 Animal warmth or germinating heat as affecting the decompo- sition of eggs 57 An egg never decomposes as long as it has life 58 Barren or non-fecundated eggs the best for preserving 58 A lime preparation for preserving, that will not pack around the eggs 59 All egg-preserving solutions cooled before using 60 Cooked eggs keep sweet much longer than raw 61 Elements of a fresh egg, and the changes which they undergo in decomposition 65 Process for insulating kerosene oil and other barrels and vats for holding egg-preserving solutions..., 66 to 69 yiii pONTENTS. Eggs — Continued. page. New oak barrels— their effects on egg-preserving solution.* 70 Vats — how to construct, for keeping eggs 71 Result of experiments in coating eggs with — Refined resinous linseed oil 72 Raw linseed oil 74 Refined paraffin oil 74 Olive oil 75 Cotton-seed oil 75 Castor oil 75 Poppy oil 75 Sperm oil 75 Lard oil 75 Tallow 75 Lard 75 Butter 75 Beeswax 75 Paraffin wax 75 Caoutchouc 75 Resin, etc 75 EYE WATER 236 ESSENCES— See Tinctures from Essential Oils 153 EXTRACTS-FLUID FORM— General rules for preparing fluid extracts 155 — 150 Hydro-Alcoholic Extract of Golden-Seal 155 Over three hundred kinds made by one drug house ...15(3-248 EXTRACTS AND RESINOIDS 243 FIRE-PROOF PAINT 205 FIRE EXTINGUISHER 243 FRUIT— Fruit and vegetables preserved by coagulating their albu- men 61 — 62 FUSIBILITY of Va-.ious Substances 202 FILES AND RASPS— To renew and recut 202 FIBRIN !08 GLUE— See Liquid Glue 181 GLYCERIN— General properties and u*<-> 225 Used to improve butter 00 Glycerin dressing for chapped hands, etc 237 Contents. ix HAIR AND HAIR DRESSINGS— page. Hair "Restoratives," in general 183 HAIR OILS— Number One Hair Oil 184 Number Two Hair Oil 184 Hair Invigorator and Restorative 185 Instantaneous Hair Dye 185 Shampooing Compound 186 Hair Curling Liquidine 186 Cooling Hair Dressing 237 HONEY— Imitation Honey 204 Used in making champagne cider 118 Used in making mead 121 LNSULATING BARRELS, Vats, Firkins, Pails, etc.— How to prepare or insulate carbon or kerosene oil, lard and linseed oil or other barrels, whether new or old (as well as wooden vats), and render them suitable for holding egg-preserving solutions, pork, beef, brine, cider, vinegar, alkalies, acids, sirups, butter, water, etc. — Number one process and formula GG-G7 Number two process for preparing barrels 68—69 New oak bai-rels not adapted to hold egg-preserving solutions unless prepared 70 The most suitable barrels for preserving solutions 71 Philosophy of the insulating processes 71 Vats for keeping eggs — how to prepare 71 How to insulate butter firkins, pails, etc 91 INKS— Blue-black Writing Ink 188 Blue Writing Ink 188 Marking Inks 188 Black Ink — Writing or Copying 189 Black Ink Powder 189 Green Writing Ink 189 Red Writing Ink 189 Red (Carmine) Ink 190 Gold Writing Ink 190 Silver Ink 190 Bronze Ink 190 Crimson Ink 190 Violet Ink 190 India Ink 191 Black Ink from Elderberries 195 X pONTENTS Sympathetic, or Invisible Inks — page. Blue Sympathetic Ink 191 Green Sympathetic Inks 191 Yellow Sympathetic Ink 191 Black Sympathetic Ink 192 Rose Purple Sympathetic Tnk .' 192 Black Indelible Ink — Number one formula 192 — 193 Number two formula 195 To remove indelible ink 194 To make old writing look like new 194 To give new writing an aged appearance 194 To ascertain the age of old writings and how to copy them. ..196 Aniline Inks — Red Aniline Ink 195 Green Aniline Ink 195 Violet Aniline Iuk 195 Purple Aniline Ink 195 Blue Aniline Ink 195 Crimson Aniline Ink 195 Orange Aniline Ink 195 Black Aniline Ink 195 INDIA RUBBER— Preparation of the pure gum 214 Solution of india rubber 214 Hard india rubber 215 KEROSENE OIL— PETROLEUM - Kerosene oil and its adulterations 211 To refine kerosene oil -12 To test kerosene oil 212 Petroleum — Its distilled products 212 -213 LIQUID SILICATE OF SODA— Its properties, manufacture, uses and price 227-238 liver sirup 235 lime- As an egg preservative 6 Etfects upon eggs 6 Its caustic properties 7 Dissolves best in cold water 7 Quantity required to saturate a barrel of water 7 Air excluded from lime-water 7 Necessity of renewing lime-water 8 PONTENTS. XI Lime — Continued. page. Chemical properties of lime-water 8 Why it renders eggs " watery " 9 Does not arrest decomposition 10 "Cream of Lime Compound," to make 11 Used in whitewash 204 Mortar, to prepare with lime 204 Used in fire-proof paint 205 LIQUID GLUE, Etc.— India Rubber Compound Liquid Glue 181 Mouth Glue 200 Gum for stamps and labels 200 lemonade- How tomake portable lemonade 130 LINSEED OIL— Refined resinous linseed oil — mode of refining and bleach- ing 72 — 73 Its use in coating eggs 74 Raw linseed oil as a coating for eggs 74 To boil linseed oil 198 LACTIC ACID 76 LINIMENTS— Compound, for neuralgia, rheumatism, etc 236 Relaxing Liniment 237 Family Liniment 237 Cooling lotion for inflammations and various diseases of the skin 237 MEAT, ETC.— Meat, vegetables and fruits preserved by coagulating the albumen 61 Canning meats, etc 62 The presence of air produces fermentation 62 Inanimate organic matter, animal or vegetable, subject to vinous, acetous and putrefactive fermentations 63 Elementary constituents of animal and vegetable substances, and their changes under fermentation 63 Antiseptics used to preserve meat 108 The theory of preserving meats 108 Salt impairs the nutrition of meat 108 Methods of dry salting and pickling 109-110 Pickle for Reef, Pork and Mutton 110 Articles used in preserving meat, and their effects Ill Preserving meat with smoke 112 Insulating meat protects it from air, moisture, flies, dust, mould, etc 112 Xli pONTENTS. Meat, etc. — Continued. page. Pyroligneous acid for preserving meat 112 Fresh meat preserved in hot weather 204 MEDICINES— To prepare for family use 233 MILK— Its composition and preservation 95 Its specific gravity and average weight 95 How to preserve milk for years 9b' How to detect watered milk 96 Effects of heat and agitation 97 Composition of skimmed milk 97 Average yield of butter from good milk 97 Butter can be seen in milk with a, microscope 97 Effect of boiling milk 98 Never put milk in lead or zinc vessels 98 How to prevent milk from souring 98 Why lightning causes milk to sour 99 Why stale milk curdles when boiled 99 Milk should always be boiled in a water-bath 99 Used for clarifying vinegar 140 MARGARINE 77 MEAD— To make 121 MANGANESE— Black Oxyd 198 MALIC ACID 114 MORTAR— To prepare 201 OLEIN 91 OIL OF EGG YELK 84 OIL OF BUTTER 88 OINTMENTS— Articles that enter into their general composition 159 Bittersweet Ointment 100 Green Ointment 159 Poke-root Ointment (compound) 1(51 Stramonium Ointment 160 Venice Turpentine Ointment 159 Yellow-dock Ointment 1G0 PARAFFIN OIL— Mode of refining and bleaching 74 PARAFFIN WAX— Properties and uses 225 PERFUMERY— Spirit, of Bergamot 157 Spirituous Hungary Water 157 PONTENTS. Xlii Colognes — Spirituous — page. Number One Cologne 158 Number Two Cologne 158 Pearl Wash for the Complexion, removing tan, etc 187 Toilet Powder 216 Frangipanni Sachets, for clothing 216 PERRY— "Wine of Pears " — how made 121 PICKLING— Quick process for pickling cucumbers 202 To color pickles 203 PLATING SOLUTIONS— Preparing articles for plating 209 Plating with gold 209 Silver-plating metals without a battery 210 Cost of electro-plating 210 Another process for silver-plating 210 Polishing Cream, for cleaning silver-plate 211 To plate copper and brass with tin 211 To plate or "galvanize" iron 211 To plate with copper 213 To pl;>te with tin 214 PLASTERS— Adhesive and Strengthening Plaster 162 Irritating Plaster 163 POTATOES— Poisonous potatoes 217 Preservation of potatoes 216 PRESERVING DEAD BODIES 232 PRINTS— To prevent prints from fading 176 PUTTY — To remove from broken windows 203 PYROLIGNEOUS ACID— For meat 112 For eggs 23 SIRUPS— Simple Sirup the basis of other sirups 123 Simple Sirup subject to vinous fermentation 124 Alterative Sirup 234 Cough Sirup 234 Liver Sirup 235 Soda, or Flavored Sirups 125 Blackberry Sirup 127 Cream Sirup 126 Cotfee Sirup 128 Cinnamon Sirup 129 Ginger Sirup 126 Lemon Sirup (genuine) 125 Lemon Sirup (imitation) 125 Mace Sirup 129 Nutmeg Sirup 129 Orange Sirup 126 xiv PONTENTS. Soda, of Flavored Sirups — Continued. page. Orgeat Sirup 128 Peach Sirup 128 Pine Apple Sirup (genuine) 127 Pine Apple Sirup (imitation) 127 Raspberry Sirup (genuine) 127 Raspberry Sirup (imitation) 127 Rose Sirup 128 Sarsaparilla Sirup 126 Strawberry Sirup (genuine) 12^ Strawberry Sirup (imitation) 127 Vanilla Sirup 128 Coloring for sirups 129 Cochineal coloring — to make 129 Carbonic acid gas in soda-water 130 SILICATE OF SODA— Liquid silicate of soda — its manufacture 227 STEARIN 91 SOAP— Antiquity of its origin and use 170 The general composition of soaps 170 Two varieties of soap — hard and soft 170 Transparent Hard Soap, perfumed 171 White Bar Soap, perfumed 171 Almond Soap 172 Soft Soap from Hard Soap (quick process) 172 Improved Soft Soap 172 Soft Soap — common 172 Perfumed Glycerin Soap 216 Carbolic Acid Soup 232 STAINS— To remove from silk, cotton, linen and other fabrics, and to restore their color 176 (See, also, Cloth Renovator.) 178 To remove ink-stains and iron rust 194-195 STONE - Artificial Stone and Marble 206 To prepare artificial stone 207 Preservation of building stone 207 STIMULATING DROPS 233 STARCH POLISH 203 TANNING— Skins of animals — -of what composed 164 How tannin is produced 164 Converting skins into leather — three methods 164 The Indian process 164 Qualities of leather properly tanned 165 Philosophy of tanning 165 Preparing skins for tanning 165 Compound dressing, for keeping leather soft and rendering it water-proof 166 PONTENTS. XV Tanning — Continued. page. Tanning the skins of animals with the hair or fur on 167-188 How to renovate furs 167 How to color furs or hair pelts 168 Tanning skins with the hair off 169 TINCTURES— Their character and manufacture 150 Tinctures from Gums, Herbs and Roots — Tincture of Blood root 1 51 Tincture of Black Cohosh 152 Tincture of Camphor (spirits of camphor) 150 Tincture of Catechu 150 Tincture of Capsicum (cayenne pepper) 151 Tincture of C olu m b 152 Tincture of Ginger 151 Tincture of Guaiacum 150 Tincture of Golden-seal 152 Tincture of Lobelia (Indian Tobacco) 152 Tincture of Myrrh 150 Tincture of Opium (Laudanum] 150 Tincture of Peruvian Bark 152 Tincture of Prickly Ash 152 Tincture of Rhubarb 151 Tincture of Senna 151 Tincture of Henna, Compound (Elixir Salulis) 151 Tincture of Spearmint (Spirits of Mint) 153 Tinctures from Essential Oils — • Tincture of Anise 153 Tincture of Cinnamon 153 Tincture of Lavender 154 Tincture of Peppermint 153 Tincture of Sassafras 153 Tincture of Spearmint 154 Tincture of VVintergree-n 153 Coloring and preparing tinctures 154 TOILET POWDER 216 TOOTH POWDER 215 VARNISHES— Black Shellac Varnish 196 Copal Varnish 197 India Rubber Varnish 197 Orange Shellac Varnish 196 Red Shellac Varnish 197 Shellac Varnishes of other colors 197 Transparent Varnish, for iron and steel 197 VINEGAR (Acetum)— Ancients manufactured it from wiue 139 Effects of its moderate and excessive use 139 How formed by chemical action, its changes and their products., 139 — 140 Cider vinegar — how made 115-140 Clarifying vinegar with milk 140 xvi pontents. The Manufacture of Vinegar — page. Its chemical philosophy 141 Quick processes — Nos. 1 and 2 141 Quick process No. 3 142 Slow processes — Nos. 1 and 2 142 Instantaneous process 142 Vinegar generators — mode of constructing 142, 143, 144 To decolorize vinegar 145 Vinegars derived from fruits 140 Vinegars refined by boiling 146 Vinegars refined by distillation 141} Gooseberry Vinegar 1-17 Rhubarb Vinegar 147 Adulterations of vinegar 147 How to detect sulphuric acid in vinegar 148 Wine vinegar — its properties 148 Sirups not to be run through generators 148 Vinegar — standards of strength 149 Powers of saturation, and how numbered 149 WAX— Grafting wax for trees 201 lied, blue, black and green sealing-wax 201 Improved red sealing-wax 201 WASHING COMPOUNDS— Objections to borax and sal-soda 174 Washing Compound 174 Improved Washing Compound 174 Objectionable articles used in washing 175 To clean clothes 216 WATER— Made soft for washing 175 To settle and purify muddy water 176 WHITEWASH— For walls 204 WINES— Domestic Wines 13-5 i\pple Wine 137 Blackberry Wine 136 Currant Wine 135 Elderberry Wine 137 Ginger Wine 138 Isabella (or Catawba) wine 137 Port Wine (imitation) 136 Port Wine (" genu- wine ") 136 Raspberry Wine 137 Rhubarb Wine 135 Strawberry Wine 137 Tomato Wine 135 WEIGHT— (Comparative) of various substances 202 WOOD-GAS— Products of Oak Wood 203 YEAST-CAKES— (See Baking Powder) 180 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS