The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1890-12-25
For TIE NkrIo~AL TRIBUNE.
BEALTH HINTS
For Old and Young.
BY FELIX L. OSWALD, " D..
Author Of Physical Education: Household
Remedies The Bible OF Nature" etc
CRATER XCY.
PRESERVED FOOD.


A San Francisco paper tells a story about
man who tarred and feathered lis own dog to
save him from the clutches Of the Chinese
sausage makers. Many Of US resort Co equally
desperate expsdicnts in preserving our viand5,
TO secure them agIius. the ravages Of mice and
maggOt5. From sanitary point OF view the
old drying process has a decided advantage
over more complicated methods The farmers
Of antiquity dsed bushels Of berries, fruit. and
vegetables in the open sun, and in the same
way managed 20 preserve all sorts Of meat as
our Mexican neighbors still DO with strins of
mutton and beef The ctrHs seccr Of the span
ish- American stOcS-f9rm5 is tough 70 a degree
DEFY ing comparison with any substance North
America produces for purposes Of human food
but b. few hours immersion in warm water
that objection can be considerably mod fed,
aud there is no case on record OF dried beef
affecting a whole picnic party with grpes and
vomiting like the canned delicacics OF our
Northern provision stores.
One cause % the change from drying TO salt
ing methods was the circumstance that dried
yiands shrink, losing often as much as 90 per
cent. in weight but it might be questioned il
the loss ia digestibls qualities by the picking
process Is not much more considerable.
smoked or dried herring shrnks one-third,
while salting preserves the weight entire, but
the 5riny pickle peuetrate5 every particle Of
the tissue in a way not % DO got rid Of By the
eject Of purer fuds, and eutailiug on the di-
gestiyo organs an amount of labor evinced in
the sluggish disposition Of salt fsh-eatiag
NorthIaDders and in the scrofulous appearance
OF children obliged 10 par.ake Of the unnatu-
raj diet.
But there are worse antiseptics than brine,
and 10 IS hardly credible that the trhing nutri-
tive properties Of mustard picked cucumbers
and fish can benefit n human stomach as much
as 10 IS injured by the mustard, not % mention
the horrible combination Of pepper vinegar
and Puugent herbs in allspice pckIes
Many inventors of modern canning methods
make trade-seeret of their process, but the
result too often proves that their inventions
can hardly Dc considered improvements in
sanitary sense. Analy of deleterious samples
Of canned provisions has generally failed 70 de-
teet traces OF PutrcfactiOn, and it would, in
deed, seem q puzzle how che germs Of decay
could have penetrated the sir-tight receptacle
or resisted the application Of intense beat FREE
quentIy involved in the canning process. But
1T seems clear that under certain circumstances
all those precautions do not prevent. Canned
fish and other meats" says a prominent vegs-
tartan, are often in a condition unfit for
human food when put up, and are further sub
Jcet % a peculiar kind Of deterioration which
" IS scarcely possible to discover by examina-
ton, bat which often produces most serious
consequences when the meat is eaten. This
condition Of the contents of a can may be fire.
quentiy determined before the can is opened
by observing whether the end bulges outward
or IS drawn in. II there Is buiging the meat
ls bad. P0tted meats are often eolOred for the
purpose OF hiding dirt or to give the cooked
meat more lively appearance. All such meats
are particularly unwbo,esOme. IL has been dis
covered, through the testimony of manufac-
turers, that large Quantities Of horses tongues
and Hanks are worked up into pOtted meats Of
beef. 1t has also been known for a long time
That the meat OK dogs and other animals is used
for purposes Of adultcration. A year or two
ago the discovery was made ia a large Western
city that prominent meat-dealer was in the
habit OF working Cp his hash with large guam
titles Of cat flesh. This fact was discovered by
the large number Of cats which be was known
70 receive daily, and was finally acknOW lodged
By him in Court We can hardly regard these
additions as making the article any worse than
II is originally, since We can imagine no animal
whose flesh would be likely 70 be more IN
wholesome than that Of the swine"
UndOabted cases Of poisoning are however
on record under circumstances where the re-
suit could hardly be attributed TO original de-
iects Of the meat itself, and where the only
explanation seemed the inference that the can
ming process had failed TO prevent a viruIent
deterioration. Canned beef of the best quality
according 10 the testimony of persons not in
terested Ia the defense OF the manufactured
has been known 10 assume a condition almost
fatal alike % men and animals, and the can
poison, a some Of our sanitarianS vaguely
term ID, seems even apt to affect viands Of
the DetcateS3cn varety-chOice meats put
up in small bulk, for luxurious luBeheOn-par-
ties, often at extFayagant prices. / once Joined
party Of thas sort on the hunting grounds of
western Florida, and have never yet ceased 10
congratulate myself on my good luck in declin-
Ing the invitation of a friend who had preached
a whole tray OF wines and canned meats and
wanted Us all to try one particular tidbit:
"FraukfuTter Brat-Wuerste," as the label do
scribsd it-small Frankfurt frying sausages,"
put np in cans holding about a pound and
half apiece. The cans had been purchased at
q Chicago importers aud might have left the
establishment of the original manufacturer
years ago, and besides / wishe % reserve nv
appetite for local and vegetable products, and,
on the whole, decided to decline my share of
the TRANSATLANTIC Injuries. The lunch-party
had assembled about o'clock in the afternoon,
and two hours after all who had partakeu of
the Frankfurt Wants were seized with nausea
and vomiting, soon followed by distinct fever,
burning headaches alternating with chills and
an alarmiBgiy accelerated pulse. The caterer
Of the feast became deiriOU5 that night and
on his partial recovery next morning was in
consolabie and tried 20 explain the mischief in
all manner of way, bat the truth was betrayed
by the circumstance that only one OF our ma
tive attendants had been taken sick-a burly
negro, who IN recOmpeEse Of his efficient serv-
ices bad been presented with can of the fatal
WaTSt. 10 took several Of the victims week
10 get the better Of their trouble and even after
that they remained subject TO night-chills and
u fcyerish pulse, as a proof thar faint Of the
poison still fingered IN their blood. The price
of tine wretched stuff, I remember, was so cents
a can, or nearly half dollar a pound, while
wholesome meat and the very best game-fsh Of
the American continent could have been pur-
chased OF the spot for cents a pound.
Vegetables, somehow, rarely produce such
desperate effects. though some of the methods
employed in their preservation are far from COM
meudable. Canned peaches, for instance are
sometimes preserved by exposing the fruit to
the fumes of burning sulphur, or dilutiHg the
piclle-water with few drops of sui phuric acid
Even pears and apples are occasionally pre-
served in that way, but the GesieeatiOu process
bids fair to supeTseds al other methods, and
might, indeed, be applied to An infinite variety
of fruits and vegetables.
To BE- c0Htinusdl