The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-11-27
The Art Of Embalming.

| The Art Of Embalming.
ny Sun.
Two men sat silent in a handsomely
furnished store on leading New York
thoroughfare. A small portion of the
furniture and ornaments pertained to
the living, the remainder to the dead
1t was an undertaker's establishment.
and the younger but more solemn per-
son was professional embalmer In
answer to the reporters questions, he
SAID:
''Gen. Grants embalming was work
of the finest something to be
proud of. 1t was done by the leader
of our profession, and with the best
material in the market. There are
many mortuary directors who profess
to be embalmers, and who know
smattering of the art; but they are un-
worthy of the name. Real embalmers
are few in number, there not being
more than ten in the entire country
To be one, an undertaken must have
a sufficient knowledge of surgery, med
icine and chemistry, and must also
have considerable artistic sense. This
makes rare combination.
The chief element in embaIming
consists in removing large portion Of
the blood from the body and substitut-
ing therefore some powerful antiseptic
! fluid. Many experiments have been
made in respect to these fluids. / can
hardly recall how many Preparations
/ have been tried. Brine, salicyiic acid,
diluted creoso e, solut ons of sulphate
! of zinc, and the iodide and chloride of
me al. You see, the fluid used must
! be nearly colorless. OF else verg ing on
! ll0od colCr, and must not cause dis
coloration. This precludes the use of
sa,ts Of copper, iron, manganese, and
chromium, and also compounds of sui
phur.
! "a solution of chloride of zinc was
at one time in vogue, but in several
| ins ances it produced a ghastly blush
tinge. and so went entirely out of fash
| ion. The so-called Egyptian fluid was
! a Standard pi e2aration for years. It
| was so named by its manufacturer,
who claimed that it was the same liquid
as was used in preparing the mummies
of Egypt. 1t was improved upon, how
ever, by some American chemists, who
now have a pr@c.ical monopoly in sup
plying emba,mers with the fluid. Their
manufacture is styled the Oriental flu
iQ, ana IS made IN boston.
s.In embalming, large vein and
large artery and small force pump,
connected with vessel containing the
antiseptlc fluid, is applied. The Iro-
cess requires from two to four hours.
The natural movement of the circula-
! ton is followed. AS the fluid enters
! the vessels the blood s forced out. The
! longer the time the better the result.
| A short tiIEe enables the operator 10
remove the blood only from the larger
vessels. In longer period the fluid
PASSES from the larger to the smaller
vessels and into the capillaries. This
'stends the skin and produces life
! like appearance.
The cost of the process is from Sl3
upward. Embalming grows more
common every year. In the past
thirty months our establishment has
embalmed about 200 sub. ects. We are
still behind the ancients in our work.
In the ma n. subject well treated
lasts three years. This is a far aver
age. 1t would be longer if it were not
Tor occas onal cases in VIII ch the an
tisept liquids seem to lose Their eff
cacy. There s however, distinguished
chemist in Italy who claims to pe:rify
subjo ct by us ng some silicate pre-
paratior. Though / have not seen the
process employed. yet I have been
shown specimens which resembled pet
rifactons.
"a second duty of the embalmer is
the same as that of an undertaken, to
make the sub .ect as Life like and nat
ural as pcss BILE. There is a divis on
in the profession at this point. Some
endeavor by art to restore almost all
the characteristics of life; ;others merely
endeavor to remove the disagreeable
insignia of death. As for myself
think it proper to conceal the marks
of wounds, accidents or disease. No
art can take away the horror of death.
It's excess makes death the more terri
BILE by contrast
..The embalmer runs the risk of dis
ease and blood poisoning. A subject
once preserve and treated is innoc-
uous; but in the process the germs of
the disease from which he ed are ex-
PEELED in vast numbers in the bloods
The operator in such cases always run
the risk Of contagion and infection.
Blood poisoning is as apt to occur to
the embalmer as to the surgeon. The
danger in all these cases however, can
be guarded against Those who are
attacked are nIne ines out OF ten ig
norant funeral directors, who call
themselves embalmers when they are
not
The Conductors Story.