PRESERVED MEAT.

Otago Witness, Issue 846, 15 February 1868, Page 17

PRESERVED MEAT.

The Argue of the 24th .January, publishes' the following correspondence in reference to thenew- method of preserving meat adopted in Victoria— "MrJ.B. Hughes, the promoter of the.new meat company, has received the j subjoined practical soA sensible letter from His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, on the subject of the preserved meat placed on board the Galatea, for the use of her officers and men : — ' Government House, Launceston, 15th January, 1868. Dear Mr Hughes*— l beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Bth instant, which I received just as I was starting for Hobart Town to come here. I tried, the preserved meat which you placed on board the Galatea at Melbourne, and so did my officers and some of my men. A leg of mutton was - placed on my table, which I consider was remarkably good, cutting much firmer than any preserved meat I had hitherto tasted. The officers liked what they used, and the men highly approved of the beef which J gave them" to try. I consider that so far the trial is very satisfactory, but of course it remains to be proved whether the meat will be as good after a longer time of keeping. Should such be the case, always remembering that preserved meat can never be quite equal to fresh, I am certain that many who cannot afford to pay the present very high prices in England would gladly avail themselves of such good food. The meat preserved in tins which is occasionally given to the ships' companies of Her Majesty's ships, more e3pec : ally to the sick, during long voyages, as a change from the salt, is inferior in quality to that which you sent on board, and 1 believe costs the Admiralty eleven pence or a shilling per pound. Should the Admiralty, therefore, approve of your superior article— which I understand you could deliver at sixpence a pound — they would make a great saving, and perhaps would give the men more of it, which would be a gre±t benefit to the Royal navy. When I receive the other cases which you propose to send me, with the tins painted, so as to withstand corrosion by the atmosphere at sea, I will try them on the homeward voyage, when they have passed through changes of climate, and let you know the result. Believe me, yours truly— Alfred. To John B. Hughes, Esq., Melbourne Club.' On the same subject Mr Bradbridee, paymaster of H.M.S. Ga atea, writes "to Mr S. S. Ritchie : — ' Complying with your wishes, that some of the tins of the meat preserved by you should be opened and tasted on board the Galatja durLag her passage to Hobart Tow and Sydney, and a report of the same furnished to you, I beg to inform you tLat on two occasions during our passage to Hobart Town, tins, containing legs of preserved mutton, after being warmed, were placed on the table of the ward-room mess, and partiken of by most of the officers, who tested the excellence of it by partaking largely, speaking of it as being • uncommonly good ;' but, in addition to this, our measman (who is also a profe3sed cook, and very competent to give an opinion) says that this meat apparently contains much nutriment, and is solid, juicy, and sweet ; and provided it withstands the test of a- year or two of preserva* tioa., he thinks it will prove superior to anything of the sort hitherto offered to the public. Again, as the men are the principal consumers of preserved meat on board ship during long voyages, and therefore good judges, I caused a tin of beef to be issued to two of the petty officers' messes. One had it prepared hot (as a pie), the other cold ; and both, of the messes referred to say it was excellent in. quality and flavor. My own opinion coincides entirely, though one great thing is, after the tins have been properly soldered down, to pub them into strong wooden cases (with directions that they are to be carefully handled and atowed), to prevent their being exposed to a knock or a bulge. _Not one of the tins prepared and stowed in cases by our victualling yards at Home have ever come to grief ; whilst only three days ago, on leaving Melbourne, we had a most convincing proof of the necessity of this care, by having our olfactories assailed by a most horrible smell, which, on investigation, proved to be three tins of preserved meat received at the Cape of Good Hope (having been purchased there), loosely packed in casks, and which must have received some damage in handling, sufficient to admit the air, and thus caused the nuisance we had to complain of. On receipt of your further consignment at Sydney I will again report how the remainder have turned out, and also inform you how I will act with regard to making known the merits of your meat-preserving at head quarters.'"

A short while back, we published a paragraph, extracted from a Home or Amer.can paper, representing that cyanide of potassium had been found to act as an efficient substitute for sodium, in admixture with quicksilver, for amalgamating purposes. We are informed that Dr Hector has instituted some experiments, and finds that the cyanide of potassium acts as represented. The fact is nacst important, since the substitute is nearly seventy-five per cent, cheaper than sodium. The expense of the sodium amalgam has stood in the way of its popular use, although experiments in California and the Pacific States have proved its value, especially where iron pyrites is present in the quartz. Iron pyrites is plentiful in Otago, and the potassium amalgam may be found very useful in treating quartz and ores containing sulphur, from which the gold would otherwise be unobtainable, excepting with sodium amalgam.