Infiltration--the New Process For Presserving Meat

üav some months past n new proces of curing ineat by infiltration lias been iu voguo, 'find bas ttttiaoted a good deal of attention. TLe ïuethod is simple aud económica!, and bas rnany ndvautacres over the old and usually adopted mode. At Cushtnan's warehouse, oa Twentyfourth street, nenr the Hudson liiver, meat has been put up by the now prootiss for uiauy months, uud h.is pruved lar superior to that curod in the usual style. By iuvitation we paid a visit to tlie warehouse yesterday, and wituessed tho procese of infiltration, a number of hogs and a beef beiug slaughterud wliile we were present. Dr. Courtenay Atwood explained the process of iufiltration in so succinot and lucid a manaer that we appeod the substance of hia remarks: " I am about to exhibit to you tho practical operation of the process for the preserva tinn of meat lor f'ood by iufiltra'.ioD, devised by my fiiend Dr. Morgan, Professor of Anatomy at the Royal Ooilege of Surgeons in Ireland. Tho salting of meat by the ordinary plan is effected by the application of brine or dry salt to the surface of differentnized pieees, aud it is a self-uvidetit faot, as well as one provcd by experiment and investigation, that a considerable portiou of the. nutriuient contained in the tlesh is io this wy abatraeted fiom it ; that part, namely, which is held in solutiou by the animal j ui oes, A large qunutity of albumen, for instunce, can ba asily deteeted iu the briue which bas been used to cure meat by the old method. The propjrtion of nouiishuient thus destroyed has been estimatcd by Baron Liebig, as not less than one-third of the original anaount. The injurious eflects of a continuad use of salt ineat for f'ood have been proved to depend not on the preseuce of the salt, but on the absence of those nutritious elementa abatracted by the ordinary mode of cure. Dr. Murgao'a procesa coutásts in the introduction of the brine or other proserviug fluid into the substance of the rueat ihrough those natural chanuels which convey the blood during lifa to reath the minuteet part, and being ot uniform consistence the liquid is capable of penetrating even thosa structures which are impervious to the blood globuie.s. Tho heart frorn its phywical consrtuotiou, divided as it id into two distiuct chambers, which communicnte t)nly through the pulmonic and systematic cireulations afford us the mast perfvct nioans of effecting this object. The animal is first killed by a blow on the head frorn a blunt instrument, in ord.r to avoid injuriog any important vessel, and' the chest isopeocd so as to espose the heart surroundud by its iuvesting membrane tho pericardium. Ou removing this membrane the septum dtviding the two ehambers from eaeh other isreadily iudicated, and by opening one ot these bj' separate incisions a complete ci-cuit of the entire animal ia at our disposal communicating with tha outer air at these aperture. When the blood has ceased to flow, a pipe is introduced through the opening in the left ventricle into tho aorta, the main artery of the systeimc circulaüon, aud there ürmly seoured by a ligatuio which embraces ïdso the pulmonary artery to prevent the escape of the fluid into tho Iung8 and out of the aniinal's mouth. This pipo is fnrnished with a wtop-coek and connteted with a hose eaaing from a tauk coutaiuiug the preserving fluid, at an elevatiou above the tablo on wbicb. tho operation is performed sufficient by the weight of the column of liquid to overeóme tho resistance of the bloodvessels. Tho fluid is thon turned on the stopcock, and in a few momeuts'-ill appear at the right side of the heart, issuing from the incisión with soma foro. Wheu the blood has been entircly rinsed out and the animal heat destroyed, a clamp is appüed to the right t--ide and the opening there cotnpletely closed up. The fluid will then disteud the vessein, and wheu this is aconmplislu.-d the pipe , is withdrawu from tho aorta, the 1gaturo tighteued, and tho opei aliou complete. The meat is ready for uo or transportation as noon as the brine has had time to souk through tlie variou tissues, which will re(juire b'.nt very Mrdrt pt-riod. With regard to the efficiency ot ihiH process to produce a pennaueut auru, I can state tbat Dr. Morgim opoi-. atod on sixteen osen tor tlie British Admiralitv at Deptfoid, in Jaimary anc] Febrnary, 1864, and the moat wns csamined by iho aiithoritioB in S'ptembur of the samo year, and fnuud to bü in a pfiíeet statu ot pr suryution. Also in August he prepared shecp aud oxen with equa'í success beforo a commission appoiuted by tho Frenuh Govurnment at Rpehöfort, iu the heat of a Continental Sunimer. I have myself picparec] peveral hogs o thie city. aiid the DUeine% ' l&M üh' tublishuiont has boon eontined for several inoüths to tho use of Dr. Morguu'a process It is. evidon', and we havo proved by czperiiuent, that if tho animal be suffering at the time of his death f rom uny iv&tuamkteJtf disease or obstiuotion of the circulation, the amount of pressi're require for henlthy aniiimls ! is iusuffioient to propel the fluid through tho diseased s'.ructures, und thus un sound meat is at odcü detected aud cast usidü tis uutit ïur iio. Ttie advnutagea of thia procesa, tlicn, ure ucientifically with regard to the eü'eol j of' the lood upon the health of consumera ; and that all the nutriment designed by tho Creator ia retained ua coniplett'ly as though tbe meat vvere catüu f'resl], aud that diseascd aniinils canuot readily beso cured ; whilo, financially, there is a great suving of expense o niaterials, labor, aud tlie tiiae rcquired to prepare tho stock for the tnarket, and the same operation euros the hides as well as the meat It hus been pronouuced by Baron Liebig, the most eminent Europoau authoiity 011 tho cubject of food, to be the "long sought for, and tho most important improvoment of the usual method of cure or sulting." He states that it is " based on correct scientific principies ; simple, rapid, economical, and, il alter tho operation the flesh be put to dry. most perfect, and that it will provo a blessing to the army and navy. The process is iu activo use in Suuth America and Australia as well as hero, aud will soon, I h:ivo uo doubt, ba the rneans of introducing a mrist wholesomc article of diet to the American people at a reasonuble rate. The experimenta made and operations performed wero very satisfactory, and seem to substantiute all the Doctor had said. Cueap meats are greatly to be dosired, and we cannot eee wbythis proaoss of infiltration will Dot secure tbetn to ns with the advanUige of greuter nutriment, botter flavur nnd superior power of preservution. The process is well worthy of atten tion, and will, we believe, ueretise in popularity in proportion to the exteiit of jts comprehension.