IM- PROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES
Year: 1869

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Martin Olsson, of No. 69, Richmond Road,
Barnsbury, in the County of Middlesex, for the Invention of "IM-
PROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES."-A
communication from abroad by Henrik Gahn and Elof Esaias
Edgvish, both of Upsala, in the Kingdom of Sweden.
Sealed the 30th November 1869, and dated the 21st June 1869.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Martin Olsson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
21st June 1869.
I, MARTIN OLSSON, of No. 69, Richmond Road, Barnsbury, in the
County of Middlesex, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES,"
to be as follows:-
This Invention has for its object improvements in preserving animal
and vegetable substances, and consists in employing boracic acid for
this purpose.

page_text: In the case of meat the meat to be preserved may either be dipped
into or sprinkled with a solution of the acid, or the acid in its crystalline
state may be rubbed into it either alone or mixed with salt or other
material.
For preserving meat for a considerable length of time I employ
boracic acid together with salt. For 100 lbs. of boneless meat about
2 lbs. of the acid mixed with about 2 lbs. of salt, should be carefully
rubbed into the meat; the meat should then be evenly and closely
packed in a wooden cask, a portion of the mixture having first been
strewn over the bottom of the cask aud afterwards over each layer of
the meat. A loose cover with a light weight upon it is then put upon
the top of the meat and is left for from 3 to 4 days till sufficient brine is
formed to well cover the meat; the loose cover is then removed and a
thin layer of fat is poured over the brine to prevent the formation of
mildew.
When the object is only to preserve meat for a short time the
simplest plan is to dip it for 15 to 30 minutes in a pure solution of the
acid, and afterwards to let it hang, when it will keep fresh for from
2 to 3 weeks.
Eggs dipped for a few minutes into a solution of boracic acid will
keep fresh for a long time.
Perfectly sweet milk mixed with an extremely small quantity of a
solution of boracic acid will also keep much longer than milk not
mixed with it.
Vegetables also may be kept fresh for several weeks by soaking them
for a time in a solution of horacic acid provided they are not subsequently
allowed to dry up.
Boracic acid will also be of great service to brewers and wine mer-
chants, as the formation of vinegar may be prevented by adding a small
quantity of the acid to the beer or wine.
Fresh butter mixed with a small quantity of the acid will he prevented
from turning sour or rancid.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Martin Olsson in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 21st December 1869.
TO ALL. TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, MARTIN
OLSSON, of No. 69, Richmond Road, Barnsbury, in the County of Mid-.
dlesex, send greeting:
WHEREAS er most. Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-first day of June, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine, in the thirty-
third year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said Martin Olsson, Her special licence
that I, the said Martin Olsson, my executors, administrators, and
assigns,, or such others as I, the said Martin, Olsson, my executors,
administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others,
from time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein.
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING
ANIMAL AND VEGETABLE SUBSTANCES," a communication to him from abroad
by Henrik Gahn and Elof Esaias Edgvish, both of Upsala, in the
Kingdom of Sweden, upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said Martin Olsson, 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 Martin Olsson, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
the following statement thereof, that is to say:
This Invention cousists in using boracic acid for preserving food and
like substances of animal or vegetable origin from turning putrid; sour
or rancid.

page_text: This acid is without doubt one of the most powerful antiseptics
hitherto discovered, and contrary to most other substances possessing
similar qualities, it has the great advantage of being almost tasteless,
absolutely free from smell, and not in any way injurious to health.
The chemical action of horacic acid when used for the above purpose
consists in preventing or staying any process of fermentation caused by
absorption of the oxygen of the air, but it does not materially, if at all,
interfere with alcoholic fermentation or the formation of mildew; these
processes being apparently dependent on other causes.
The acid can be applied for the purposes of preservation, first, alone
in its dry crystalline form; secondly, in the same way, but mixed with
other dry or liquid substances; or, thirdly, dissolved in water or some
other fluid, the general rule being to use the dry acid when a permanent,
and the solution when only a temporary effect is required.
The acid used should be refined or chemically pure, not such as is
generally sold and still less in the form of common borax. When the
acid is used as a solution care must be taken to have the latter well
saturated.
The best solution for ordinary purposes consists of the acid dissolved
in water, one imperial gallon of the latter absorbing about 6 ounces
avoirdupois of the former at a temperature of 60 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.
As it however takes some days to dissolve the latter quantity without
artificial heat, the melting process may be accelerated by using hot
water, but it ought not to reach the boiling point, as in that case the
strength of the acid is somewhat reduced by evaporation..
The articles that in particular may be preserved by the application of
boracic acid are meat, game, and poultry, fish, eggs, butter, vegetables,
milk, and malt liquors.
I will proceed to give general directions for the treatment of each
of these articles.
The processes which I describe are those which I prefer, but they can
of course be modified without departing from my Invention.
For preserving meat for ordinary household purposes it is sufficient
to soak a joint from 15 to 30 minutes in the above solution (6 ozs. of
acid to 1 gallon of water), after which it is hung up to dry, and will

page_text: remain fresh for a fortnight or longer. If the meat need only be kept
for a few days a simple dipping or thorough wetting of the joint is
generally suflicicut except in very hot or muggy weather when a
repeated application of the solution is advisable.
When it is required to keep meat for any length of time, for instance,
in order to import it from remote countries, or to provision ships for.
long voyages, the acid must be applied dry in the same way as salt, and
used thus alone in sufficient quantity it effectually prevents putrefaction
for almost any length of time. It has however a tendency gradually
to dissolve the membranes forming glue, which in the course of a few
weeks begins to affect the taste of the meat unless some admixture is
used for counteracting this effect. Of different substances that have
been tried for that purpose pulverized salt or alum appear to be the
most advantageous, a mixture of 1 lb. of the latter with 2 lb. of the acid,
having in particular shewn satisfactory results; 3 lbs. of this mixture are
sufficient to preserve 100 lbs. of meat, and it may be applied in the
following manner-The meat after being boned and cut into pieces
of moderate size is placed in a cask or tub, the mixture being strewn on
the bottom thereof, and also between each layer, and on the top of the
meat; the meat is then covered with a loose lid and a weight about
twice as heavy as the meat itself superimposed and left for a few days
until sufficient brine has been formed to well cover the whole. The
weight and the loose lid are then removed and the cask or tub closed
up in the usual way, care being taken to have it well filled and made
as tight as possible so as to prevent the formation of mildew. The
latter may also be precluded by pouring molted tallow or fat over the
meat.
Another mode of preserving meat for some length of time is to inject
into the veins of an animal after it has been killed and flayed, but
before it is cut up, a solution of boracic acid, either pure or mixed with
alum or salt, and afterwards to soak the whole carcase in a similar
solution. To make this method more effectual the carcase ought to be
packed in such a manner as to exclude the access of the air as much as
possible.
In preserving game and poultry. The treatment prescribed for meat
may be applied in this case, care being taken to have the entrails drawn
first, and the inside well wetted with the solution.

page_text: For preserving fish. When required to be kept only for two or three
days, it should be gutted and then dipped (but not left immersed) once
or twice in the solution, or occasionally sprinkled with the same. To
preserve it for some time the dry acid may be, by preference, used
mixed with alum and sugar in the proportions of 2 lbs. of acid to 1 lb.
of alum and 2 lbs. of sugar.
Shell fish, as oysters and lobsters, may also be preserved, the former
by being kept and the latter by being boiled in a solution of the acid.
For preserving eggs, they should be steeped in the solution for half an
hour, they will remain fresh for some time, even if exposed to a high
temperature.
Vegetables may he kept fresh for some days by being dipped in or
sprinkled with the solution and not allowed to dry up before required
for use.
Different kinds of perishable fruit, for instance, pineapples, melous, etc.,
can likewise be kept a long time beyond the regular season by being
packed in the dry acid.
Boracic acid is particularly adapted for preserving milk sweet, and
can be used for this purpose either in its dry form, or as a solution. In
the former case to oz. should be dissolved in a gallon of milk while
it is still tepid, and in the latter one gill or two may be added to a
gallon, the quantity depending of course on the state of the temperature
and the length of time the milk is required to be kept.
In the preservation of malt liquors boracic acid possesses the property
of preventing acetic but not alcoholic fermentation; it is of great value
for brewers and distillers, and can be applied dry or in a liquid form, as
with milk, and either in making the beer or spirits, or mixed with it
afterwards according to circumstances.
Although the acid to some extent removes incipient decay or acidity
no satisfactory result can be obtained unless the article to be preserved:
is perfectly fresh when it is applied.
Having thus described the nature of my said Invention, and the
manner of performing the same, I would have it understood that what
I claim is, the combining or treating meat, game, poultry, fish, eggs,
butter, edible vegetables, milk, malt. liquors, and such like animal and a

page_text: vegetable substances with boracic acid, either alone or mixed with other
substances, and thereby preserving such substances, as herein-beforo
set forth.
In witness whereof, I, the said Martin Olsson, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twentieth day of December, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.