Or the top of the jar may be cov ered with a layer of melted tallow, lard, or paraffin to keep out the air.
To Preserve Meat from Plies.—In addition to the germs that cause pu trefaction, fresh meat is liable to be visited by flies and other insects for the purpose of depositing their eggs, and these will, in warm weather, quickly hatch and produce maggots. A cloth moistened with vinegar pre vents the approach of insects.
Or the meat may be rubbed with ground pepper or ginger. It may also be protected by a coating of waxed paper. To prepare this paper, melt with gentle heat 5 ounces of stearic acid. Stir in 2 ounces of car bolic acid and add, in a thin stream, 5 ounces of melted paraffin, stirring constantly. Remove from the fire and continue to stir until the mixture sets. Again melt with gentle heat, and apply with a brush to suitable paper. Wrap up the meat in the paper and seal.
To Preserve Fish.— To keep fish fresh without ice for any length of time is very difficult. But if ice is not available, wash inside and out with a solution of equal parts of vinegar and water. Lay the fish on an earthenware platter on a stone floor. Place in the inside of each fish ki cheese-cloth bag containing fresh charcoal in small lumps, about the size of small peas or large gravel stones, and wrap in cloth moistened with vinegar, or equal parts of vine gar and water. 'In very hot weather remove the cloth and bag of charcoal two or three times a day and dip the fish into cold salt water. Afterwards wrap up as before.
Or if the fish shows signs of decay, immerse in a pickle of vinegar and water.
To Sweeten Tainted Meat—Apply a solution of chloride of soda by means of a soft clean brush or sponge. With this quickly wash over the tainted portions and rinse immediately with fresh water. Afterwards broil or roast the meat so as to expose the tainted portions to a high tempera ture and char them with the heat.
Or if they are to be boiled, place half a dozen lumps of charcoal, the size of an egg, in the water.
Or place a quantity of pulverized charcoal in a cheese-cloth bag, and place these in the kettle. All odors will be absorbed by the charcoal and thc meat will be sweet and clean.
Or hang the meat on a nail in a box, or suspended inside of an in verted barrel. Place beneath half a teacupful of table salt in an earthen ware bowl and add by degrees 2 ounces of sulphuric acid at the rate of I ounce each 15 or 20 minutes, un til all has been added. The resulting fumes will disinfect anything with which they come in contact. But care must be taken not to breathe them. Afterwards rinse the meat well with a solution of 1 tablespoon ful of baking soda or borax to a gal lon of water, To Keep Frozen Meat. — In cold climates and in winter, meat may be preserved indefinitely by allowing it to freeze. But it must not be per mitted to freeze and thaw frequently, and must not be thawed out too quickly when required for use. To preserve meat by freezing, first ex pose it to the weather until thor oughly frozen through and through. Wrap in waxed paper or cover with a cloth coated with shellac or other varnish and pack in an ordinary flour barrel between layers of hay, straw, or excelsior, pressing the whole as tightly and solidly as possible. Place the barrel in a bin or packing case, and surround it with a layer of 5 or 6 inches of dry sawdust.
To thaw frozen meat when re quired for use, place it in a moder ately warm room at cl, distance from the fire, and allow it to thaw gradu ally.
Or better still, soak it 2 or 3 hours in cold water.
If thawed too quickly it Will be un fit for use.