edded in the ice in Siberia: from a comparison of
its skeleton with those of existing species, Cuvier inferred that this
animal must have been antediluvian; and yet, so completely had the
cold prevented putrefaction, that dogs willingly ate of the still
existing flesh. At St Petersburg, when winter is approaching, the fish
in the markets become almost like blocks of ice, so completely are
they frozen; and in this state they will remain sound for a lengthened
period. Dead poultry, and other articles of animal food, are similarly
kept fresh throughout the winter in many rigorous climates, simply by
the powerlessness of the attacking agents, when heat is not one of the
number. And that which nature effects on a large scale, may reasonably
be imitated by man on a more limited one. It is customary to pack many
kinds of provisions in ice or snow, either for keeping them in
storehouses, or for sending them to market. Thus it is with the tubs
of poultry, of veal, and of other kinds of meat, which, killed in the
country districts of Russia in autumn, are packed in snow to keep cool
till sold at market; and thus it is with much of the salmon sent from
Scotland to London. Since the supply of excellent ice from Wenham
Lake, commenced about nineteen years ago, has become so abundant and
so cheap, it is worth a thought whether the preservative powers of
cold might not advantageously be made more available in this country
than they have yet been. In the United States, housewives use very
convenient refrigerators or ice-boxes, provided with perforated
shelves, under which ice is set, and upon which various provisions
are placed: a large uncooked joint of meat is sometimes kept in one of
these boxes for weeks. Among the celebrities of the Crystal Palace,
many will recollect Masters's elegant ice-making machine, in which, by
combining chemical action with centrifugal motion, ice can be made in
a few minutes, let the heat of the weather be what it may. This
machine, and the portable refrigerators manufactured by the Wenham
Company, together with our familiar, old-fashioned ice-houses, might
supply us with much more preservative power, in respect to articles of
food, than we have hitherto practically adopted.

If, instead of watching the effects produced by abstraction of _heat_,
we direct attention to the abstraction of _moisture_, we shall find
that antiseptic or preservative results are easily obtainable. All
kinds of bacon and smoked m