IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRESERVATION OF MEAT AND OTHER ANIMAL AND ALSO VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES
Year: 1858

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Davies, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn;
in the County of Middlesex, and No. 28, St. Enoch Square, in the
City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRESERVATION OF MEAT AND OTHER ANIMAL AND ALSO
VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES."-A communication from C. M. G. Magueval;
Chemist, of Lyons, France.
Sealed the 2nd August 1858, and dated the 6th February 1858.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Davies at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
6th February 1858.
I, GEORGE DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of
Middlesex, and No. 28, St. Enoch Square, in the City of Glasgow, Civil
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PRESERVATION OF MEAT AND OTHER ANIMAL AND
ALSO VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES," being a communication from C. M. G. Magneval,
Chemist, of Lyons, France, to be as follows:-
It is well known that organic-substances may be preserved indefinitely if
they are perfectly or completely dried, if they are entirely removed from the
action of the air, or if they are kept at a temperature:below zero. ⚫
They may
also-be preserved by submitting them to the action of certain bodies highly

page_text: absorbent of moisture.
The Inventor of the present improvements has
discovered that talc, either lamellar, crystallized, or otherwise, is a material
highly absorbent of oxygen, water, and the ferments which cause putrefaction,
and that it consequently will preserve and dry by absorption all muscular fibre
or fleshy substances, such as the flesh of wild or domesticated animals, poultry,
game, fish, and other animal substances. It will also dry and preserve
vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, turnips, and other esculent roots
and pulse. Human flesh may also be preserved and mummified by the
employment of this mineral, which, by destroying or absorbing the causes of
putrefaction, will act as a disinfectant in dissecting rooms, slaughterhouses, or
other places where it is necessary to keep animal substances. This Invention
consists therefore principally in the use of talc (whether crystallized, lamellar,
or otherwise) for the purpose of preserving such animal and vegetable
substances by desiccation and the absorption of. the causes of putrefaction.
The tale may be used either in a dry powdered state or made into a paste with
salt and vinegar, and when the flesh is thoroughly desiccated, it may be packed
in cases with dry wood sawdust, and it will keep good and sound for many
months. The tale which is recommended to be used on account of its inferior
cost is that in the form of steatite or soapstone, known in commerce as French
chalk.
PECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Davies in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
6th August 1858..
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
'DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex, and
of No. 28, St. Enoch Square, in the City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Sixth day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight, in the twenty-first year of Her
ŕeign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said George Davies, Her special licence that I, the said George Davies,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others. as I, the said
George Davies, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there-
after during the. term, therein expressed, should and lawfully might make,
"

page_text: use, exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN THE PRESERVATION OF MEAT. AND OTHER ANIMAL AND ALSO VEGETABLE
SUBSTANCES," being a communication from C. M. G. Magneval, Chemist, of
Lyons, France, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George
Davies, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and
ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, and cause the same to, be filed in the Great Seal Patent
Office within six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the
said Letters Patent.
.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Davies, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, that is to say:
It is well known that organic substances may be preserved indefinitely if
they are perfectly or completely dried or desiccated, if they are entirely
removed from the action of the air, or if they are kept at a temperature below
zero; they may also be preserved by submitting them to the action of certain
bodies highly absorbent of moisture. The Inventor of the present improve-
ments has discovered that talc (either lamellar, crystallized; or otherwise,) is a
material highly absorbent of oxygen, water, and the ferments which cause
putrefaction, and that it consequently will preserve and dry by absorption all
muscular fibre or fleshy substances, such as the flesh of wild or domesticated
animals, poultry, game, fish,, and other animal substances; and it will also dry
and preserve vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, turnips, and other esculent
roots and pulse. Human flesh may also be preserved and mummified by the
employment of this mineral, which, by destroying or absorbing the causes of
putrefaction, will act as a disinfectant in dissecting rooms, slaughterhouses, or
other places where it is necessary to keep animal substances. This Invention
consists therefore principally in the use of talc (whether crystallized, lamellar,
or otherwise,) for the purpose of preserving such animal and vegetable
substances by desiccation and the absorption of the causes of putrefaction. The
tale may be used either in a dry powdered state or made into a paste with salt
and vinegar, and when the flesh. is thoroughly desiccated, it may be packed in
cases with dry wood sawdust, and it will keep good. and sound for many
months. The tale which is recommended to be used on account of its inferior
cost is that in the form of steatite or soapstone, known in commerce as French
المط

page_text: Such being the nature and object of the said Invention for "Improvements
in the Preservation of Meat and other Animal and also Vegetable Substances,""
in order that the improvements may be fully understood, I will proceed to
describe more in detail the manner of .carrying the same into practical
effect.
For example, take a piece of beef of about two inches thick and coat it
with powdered talc, making it adhere in all parts by pressure of the hand;
when it is well covered, lay it on a plank and let it stay some hours, taking
care to turn it from time to time; then place it on a rack or suspend it in the
open air with a cord, which may be done without fear of flies, which will not
touch it. The desiccation is spontaneous and natural, and even in hot countries
the meat may be eaten fresh in five or six days, it being sufficient to wash it
in water slightly salted, or to leave it therein an hour or two, according to the
size of the piece. The time occupied by the perfect desiccation depends upon
the thickness of the piece, the season, the climate, and the current of air to
which it is exposed. This phenomenon of desiccation of all substances sub-
mitted to this process is due to the absorption of all moisture drawn by degrees
from the centre of the mass to the exterior by the absorbent body, which
transmits it to the surrounding atmosphere. It is therefore evident that the
stronger the current of air is to which the substances under operation are
submitted, the quicker and more perfect will be their desiccation.
Secondly, salt or sugar, or salt and sugar, (in which case the sugar should
be about one-sixth the weight of the salt, which should be about six per cent.
the weight of the meat,) must be spread upon the meat, especially upon the fat
parts and around the bone, if any, but it is better to remove the bone. In a
few minutes it will dissolve, moistening the surface of the meat, which must
then be covered with powdered tale, which incorporating with the salt will
form a crust, which when dry will fall off by itself. As the salt unites
principally with the talc, the meat is not salted, but it acquires an improved
flavor. Sugar succeeds well, but the meat is more insipid. The meat must
then be dried by simply coating with talc, as above, but the meat should be
allowed to harden well on the plank or board before hanging up.
Another method, which answers equally well, especially for fish, is to mix
vinegar (previously salted) with powdered tale into a thick paste, which is to
be spread evenly on all sides and parts of the fish previously cleaned and
quartered. This paste must be allowed to dry for an hour or two, and the fish
must then be powdered with dry talc, in order to absorb the moisture of the
vinegar. Before using meat thus preserved, this paste must be removed and
the meat be washed in tepid water, wiped with a cloth, and allowed to dry.
'

page_text: To preserve skins, and to prevent the putrid fermentation which usually
soon takes place, it is only necessary to powder them on both sides with talc,
but for those intended for tanning it is better to make a thin paste with tale
and water (previously salted) and spread it upon both sides of the skin with a
brush, laying the coating thinner on the hairy side of the skin. When thus
coated, the skin may be hung up to dry naturally without the least fear of
tainting. To accelerate the desiccation, if necessary, the substance under
operation may be placed under the receiver of an air pump.
Meat or fish thus preserved may be eaten either raw or coocked, or it may
be submitted to the following operation:-The substance is is firstly to be
reduced to a finely divided state by means of a rasping or chipping machine,
such as is used for dye woods, or in any other convenient manner. It is then
to be incorporated with a solution of gelatine (in order to cause the particles
to adhere) and submitted to pressure in moulds, so as to form tablets, which
the Inventor calls "purée de viande." Tablets thus prepared may be covered
with a coating of gelatine, albumen, gum, or other similar material, to protect
their contents from the action of exterior agents.
Joints of ment, game, fish, or other animal substances, preserved by this
process may with advantage be coated with gelatine, albumen, or other
analogous substance, in order to prevent any possibility of injury from handling
or from insects. Another advantage of this is, that by its viscosity the gelatine
assists the cooking of the meat, dilates the fibres, and renders them more
tender and easy of mastication.
For preserving vegetables, such as potatoes, carrots, turnips, beans, peas,
&c., it is necessary to peel them and divide them in pieces, and then to coat
them with tale in fine powder, taking care to make the powder adhere, and
then leave the pieces exposed to the air till perfectly desiccated.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Davies, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Sixth day of August, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
GEORGE DAVIES. (L.S.)