The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1872-01-19
PERFUMES.
How they PreTent Decav.

How they Prevent Decay.
Ink, paste, leather and seeds art
among the common articles which suf
fer from mouldiness, and to which &
remedy is easily applicable. With res.
| pect to articles of food. such as bread
cold meats or dried fish, it is less easy
to apply a remedy, on account of the
taste. Cloves, however, and other spi-
ces whose tastes are greatful, may
| sometimes be used for this end and
that they act in consequence of this
principle, and not by any particular
antIseptic virtue, seems plain, by their
preventing equally the growth of those
minute cryptogamOus plants on ink
| and other substances not of an animal
nature. The effect of cloves in pre-
venting the mOuldiness in ink is, in
deed, generally known; and it is OBJ
tanned IN the same way by the oil of
laVendar, IN very minute quantity,
or by any other of the perfumed oils.
10 preserve leather In the same man
ner from this effect Is a matter of great
Importance, particularly in military
storehouses, where the labor employed
IN cleaning harness and shoes is a
cause of considerable expense, where
much injury is occasionally sustained
from this @ause. The Same essential
oils answer the purpose.
1t Is a remarkable confirmation of
this circumstance that Russian leather.
when is perfumed with tar of the
birch tree, is not subject to mouldi-
ness, as must be well known to all who
possess books thus bound. They even
prevent it from taking place in those
books bound in calf, near to which
they happen to lie. This fact is partic-
ularly well known to Russian mer-
chants, as they suffer bales of this arti-
Gle to lie in the London docks, In the
most careless manner, for a great
ie4gth of time, knowing well that they
can sustain no injury of this nature
from dampness, whereas common cuF-
ried leather requires to be opened,
cleaned, and ventilated. Collectors of
books viii not be sorry to learn that
few drops of any perfumed oil viii in
sure their libraries from this pest.
With regard to paste, lavender, or
any other strong perfume, such as pep
permint, aniseed, bergamot, are per
fectly ehectaal for years, hoWeYes the
paste is composed. A good paste is
made of flour, in the usual way, but
rather thick, with q proportion of
brown sugar, and small quantity of
corrOsiEe sablimate. The use of the
sugar is to keep it flexible, so as TO pre-
vent its scaling off from smooth sur
faces and that Of the corrosive sub
Innate, Independently of preserving it
from insects, is an effectual check
against itslformatiOn. This salt, how
ever, does not prevent the formation of
mouldiness. But as drop or two of
tbs essential oils above mentioned is a
complete security against this, all the
causes OF destruction are efectually
guarded against. Paste made in this
manner, and exposed to the air, dries
without any change to q state resem-
bling horn, 80 that it may at any time
be wetted again and applied TO use.
When kept IN oloss-coYered pot, it
may be preserved ip state for use at
all times.
The same principle seems also ap-
pllcable to the preservation of seeds,
particularly IN cases where they are
sent from distant countries By sea,
when 1t is well known that they often
perish from this cause. Dampness, Of
course, viii perform its Office at any
rate, If moisture IS not excluded yet
it IS certain that the growth of the veg
etables which constitute mould, accel-
crate the evil; whether by retaining
the moisture, or by what means, is not
very apparent. This, in fact, happens
equally in the case of dry rot in wood,
and, indeed, IN all others where
this cause operates. It is a curious IL
lustration of the truth of this view of q
remedy that the aromatic seeds of all
kinds ere not subject TO mould, and
that their vicinity prevents it in others
with which they Feplaoed. They also
produce the same effect, daily, even in
animal matter, without it being sus-
pected.
In concluding these hints we might
add, in illustration of them, that GIN
geFbread and bread containing CARA
way seeds are far less liable TO mOuldi-
~ss than plain bread. It is q matter
D ny Of consideration how far -four
MGrS - preserved by some projscs
of this kim.
---=s1ssSzz===-==-