IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING ANIMAL AND OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1864

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Alexander Hett, and Frederick
William Basset at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with
their Petition, on the 23rd June 1864.
We, ALEXANDER HETT, of the City of London, Doctor of Medicine, and
FREDERICK WILLIAM BASSET, of Camberwell, in the County of Surrey,
Civil Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN PRESERVING ANIMAL AND OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as
follows:-
These improvements consist in treating the meat or other substances to be
preserved with solutions of certain salts by dipping or steeping therein, or by
otherwise applying the said solutions to their surfaces, and by drying them
externally by exposure to the air, either in its natural state or when heated
by artificial means; when dry on the surface we place the meat or other
substance in a case, tin, or other vessel, and after fastening or closing the
same, we exhaust the air therefrom by an aperture or orifice left therein for
that purpose, we then admit enough sulphurous acid gas to fill the empty
space created by such exhaustion. After leaving the gas in the case, tin,
or other vessel for some time, such period varying according to the size and
weight of the meat or other substance to be treated, we remove it therefrom
and replace it by either admitting or forcing in sufficient nitrogen gas or

page_text: carbonic acid gas, to fill the case, tin, or other vessel, and then solder or close it
hermetically.
In some instances we proceed to fill the case, tin, or other vessel with either
carbonic acid gas or nitrogen gas without first using the sulphurous acid gas,
and then solder or hermetically close it in the usual manner. The salts to be
used are those known as sulphites and hyposulphites, and also those known as
nitrites, and we generally prefer for this purpose that known as sulphite of
potash or potassa, but we do not confine ourselves to the use of this salt.
Another method of treating the meat or other substance with the solution
of these salts which we sometimes adopt is, that, instead of merely impreg-
nating the surface with the solution, we steep the meat or other substance in
a dilute solution of one or more of these salts until it has penetrated through
the whole body of the meat or other substance to do this we sometimes place
it in a close vessel & after exhausting the air therefrom we admit the solution
and permit it to run in and fill the vessel, thus shortening the time required
for the steeping or treatment, and after withdrawing it from the solution and
draining and drying (one or both) the surface, we enclose it in a case, tin, or
other vessel and proceed to treat it with the gas or gases as before described.
Sometimes after steeping the meat or other substance and saturating or im-
pregnating it with a dilute solution as last described, we altogether omit the
enclosure in tins or other vessels, and we suspend the meat or other substance
until the surface is dried and then either pack it in casks, or in order to prevent
the gradual evaporation of its moisture, we employ a protection or coating made
by dipping it either into melted tallow, suet, wax (either by itself or mixed
with other substances to give it tenacity), gum or gelatine, the solution of
gum or gelatine being either used by itself or mixed with treacle or glycerine,
or it may be embedded in such tallow, suet, wax, gum, or gelatine, or it may
be wrapped in cloth, paper, or other coverings, dipped or coated with tallow,
suet, wax, or any of the above-named articles, or be placed in cases or casks
and the vacant spaces be filled by pouring in such tallow, suet, wax, or other
articles.
Another method we sometimes employ is that after steeping the meat or
other substances in the dilute solution before described, we leave it therein in
casks or vessels until it is required to be used in the same manner as meat is
now left in brine or pickle. When we require to pickle, salt, cure, or preserve
meat or other substances by any of the ordinary methods at present employed,
we previously subject such meat or other substance to one of the two methods
of dipping in the solution of the said sulphites, byposulphites, or nitrites, viz.,
either by a short immersion in a strong solution or by a longer immersion in

page_text: a dilute solution, and we then proceed to pickle, cure, or salt or preserve in
the ordinary method at present employed.
Sometimes, we prefer to apply such solution to the meat or other substance
after such ordinary method has been used instead of before using it.