Cooley's Cyclopaedia of Practical Receipts Volume I Part 196

=EFFLORES'CENCE.= The spontaneous conversion of a crystalline solid into a dry pulverulent form. Crystals which in a dry atmosphere lose their water of crystallisation, and become crusted over with a mealy powder, are said to be EFFLORESCENT.

=EGG.= _Syn._ OVUM, L. A body produced in the females of birds and certain other animals, containing an 'embryo' of the same species, or body, from which a similar animal may ultimately be produced. The eggs of the common domestic fowl are nutritious and easily digestible; and when lightly cooked by boiling and eaten with a little salt, are admirably adapted as an aliment for the sick and delicate. When boiled hard or fried, they are rendered less digestible, and possess no advantage in this respect over butcher's meat. A new-laid egg, beaten up in a cup of tea, coffee, or chocolate is an excellent ingredient in the breakfast of a person with a poor appet.i.te, and is very supporting. A gla.s.s of wine, beer, or porter, similarly treated, along with a biscuit, has been recommended as a light and nutritious luncheon or supper, well suited to the debilitated and dyspeptic. Raw eggs may be advantageously subst.i.tuted for cod-liver oil in all the cases in which this last is ordered, occurring in persons with delicate or irritable stomachs. The addition of fresh salad oil vastly increases their medicinal virtues. A fresh egg is said to contain about the same amount of nourishment as 1-1/2 oz. of fresh meat and 1 oz. of wheaten bread, but in a more digestible form.

_Composition of the contents of the egg._ Water 7402 Alb.u.men 1408 Oil and fat 1025 Mineral matter 165 ------- 10000

_Composition of the white of egg._ (Thompson.) Nitrogenous matter 2040 Fatty matter Saline matter 160 Water 7800 ------ 10000

_Composition of the yolk._ (Thompson.) Nitrogenous matter 1600 Fatty matter 3070 Saline matter 130 Water 5200 ------ 10000

=Egg, White of= (ALb.u.mEN OVI), is officinal in the B. P. Yelk of egg (_vitellus ovi_) is an ingredient in the BRANDY MIXTURE (MISTURA SPIRITUS VINI GALLICI) of the London College. It is also a popular application to chaps, cracked nipples, abrasions, &c., and is largely used to render oleaginous substances miscible with water, in the preparation of emulsions.

The average weight of the new-laid egg of a hen is about 2-1/2 oz., and its sp. gr. is 1080 to 1090; the white generally weighs about 1-1/2 oz.; the yolk, a little under 3/4 oz.; and the sh.e.l.l and skin, 1/4 oz. Dr Prout found that an egg, on being kept for 2 years in a dry situation, lost 544-3/10 gr., from the evaporation of a portion of its water through the sh.e.l.l. By boiling in water an egg loses from 2% to 3% of its weight.

_Choice._ The larger end of a new-laid egg feels cold when placed against the tongue. New-laid eggs appear semi-transparent when placed between the eye and a strong light, and have a small and perceptible division of the skin from the sh.e.l.l, which is filled with air. This mode of examination among the trade is called 'candling.' When they shake they are stale. The eggs of turkeys and pea-hens are much esteemed for some purposes; those of ducks and geese are coa.r.s.e and inferior.

Sound eggs will sink if put into a solution, consisting of 1 oz. of salt in 10 oz. of water; in the same solution indifferent ones will float, whilst bad or worthless ones will swim even in pure water.

_Pres._ Eggs may be preserved for any length of time by excluding them from the air. One of the cleanest and easiest methods of doing this is to pack them with the small end downwards, in clean dry salt, in barrels or tubs, and to place them in a cool and dry situation. We have eaten eggs thus preserved that were more than a twelvemonth old, and that had been for some months on shipboard in a tropical climate, and which yet retained all the peculiar sweetness of new-laid eggs. With a like intention, eggs are placed in vessels containing milk of lime or strong brine, or are rubbed over with b.u.t.ter, lard, or gum water, all of which act by excluding the air. Eggs for keeping should never be laid on their sides, and when kept in the air should be occasionally turned to prevent the yolk attaching itself to the side instead of floating in the alb.u.men. Some persons place the eggs in a netting or on a sieve or colander, and immerse them for an instant in a caldron of boiling water before packing them away. The practice of packing eggs in damp straw, or anything else that can convey a flavour should be carefully avoided. The sh.e.l.ls of eggs are porous, and readily admit the pa.s.sage of gaseous substances, especially of fetid odours. It is from inattention to this point that a large number of the eggs imported from the coast of France have a less delicate flavour than those of our poultry yards. Damp chopped straw, as well as most other organic substances exposed to warmth and moisture, readily ferment or putrefy; and during fermentation a considerable increase of temperature takes place, as any one may readily perceive by examining the common hotbeds in our gardens, which are merely ma.s.ses of organic matter in a state of decomposition. Eggs, as long as they retain the embryo of the future chick in a vital state, possess in themselves a certain degree of warmth, which tends materially to promote the decomposition of the substances they are packed in, particularly in the presence of moisture.

A correspondent of the 'Chemical News' says: "Eggs may be kept fresh for a whole year by subjecting them to the following process. The fresh eggs are carefully placed in a mixture of five kilogrammes of alum, dissolved in five litres of water, heated to from 45 to 50 C., and left in that liquid for from thirty to forty minutes; the eggs are next drained, and in the meantime the solution of alum is heated to boiling-point. The eggs are again immersed in the liquid and kept therein from ten to fifteen seconds; after having been drained and cooled, they are packed in either dry bran, sawdust, cork-dust, sifted ashes, or in cotton-wool."

M. Durand, of Blois, proposes to preserve eggs by coating them with silicate of soda.

_To Preserve Eggs fresh for many weeks._--As the eggs are taken from the nest, brush each one separately with a thin solution of gum Arabic, being careful to leave no portion of the sh.e.l.l uncovered by it. The half of each egg must first be done, and left to become dry before the remainder is touched, that the gum may not be rubbed off any part by its coming in contact while wet with the hand as it is held to be varnished, or with the table when it is laid down to harden.--ELIZA ACTON.

_Eggs to boil in the Sh.e.l.l._--Eggs brought from a cold place and suddenly plunged into boiling water are very frequently liable to crack, and thus to allow of the partial escape of their contents. In winter it will be found a good plan to hold them for an instant over the steam of the saucepan before they are placed in it, which they should be, very gently.

By boiling for three minutes, the whites will become in a partially solid state. Exactly five minutes will harden the whites and leave the yolks liquid. Eight or ten minutes will render them hard. Eggs should always be boiled in water sufficient to entirely cover them. They should be boiled 15 minutes for salad-dressings.

_Eggs, to Poach._--Take for this purpose a wide and delicately clean pan about half filled with the clearest spring water; throw in a small saltspoonful of salt, and place it over a fire quite free from smoke.

Break some new-laid eggs into separate cups, and do this with care, that the yolks may not be injured. When the water boils, draw back the pan, glide the eggs gently into it, and let them stand till the whites appear almost set, which will be in about a minute; then without shaking them move the pan over the fire, and just simmer them from two minutes and a half to three minutes. Lift them out separately with a slice, trim quickly off the ragged edges, and serve them upon dressed spinach or upon minced veal, turkey, or chicken; or dish them for an invalid upon delicately toasted bread, sliced thick and free from crust; it is an improvement to have the bread b.u.t.tered, but it is less wholesome.

Comparative time of poaching eggs: swan's eggs, 5 to 6 minutes (in basin, 10 minutes); turkey's eggs, 4 minutes; hen's eggs, 3 to 3-1/2 minutes; Guinea fowl's, 2 to 3 minutes; bantam's, 2 minutes.

_Obs._ All eggs may be poached _without boiling_ if kept just at simmering point, but _one boil_ quite at last will a.s.sist to detach them from the stewpan, from which they should always be very carefully lifted on what is called a fish or egg slice. There are pans made on purpose for poaching and frying them in good form; but they do not, we believe, answer particularly well. If broken into cups slightly rubbed with b.u.t.ter and simmered in them, their roundness of shape will be well preserved.--ELIZA ACTON.

=Egg, Elas'tic.= Take a good and sound egg, place it in strong vinegar, and allow it to remain for 12 hours; it will then become quite soft and elastic. In this state it can be squeezed into a tolerably wide-mouthed bottle; when in, it must be covered with water having a little soda dissolved in it. In a few hours the egg will be restored to nearly its original solidity; after which the liquid may be poured off and the bottle dried, the whole being kept as a curiosity to puzzle one's friends for an explanation how the egg got there. ('Parlour Pastime.')

=Egg Flip.= _Prep._ 1. Beer, 1 pint; eggs, 3 in no.; sugar, 2 oz.; nutmeg and ginger, q. s. to flavour; the eggs are broken into one half of the beer, the sugar added, and the whole beaten well together; the mixture is then placed in a clean warmer, and heated over the fire to nearly the boiling-point, and stirred one way all the time, care being taken not to let it either boil or curdle; the other portion of the beer and the spices are then added, and the whole mixed well together.

2. As above, but adding a gla.s.s of spirit. Some persons also add a little lemon peel.

=Eggs, Packing, for Shipboard.= The following plan is now adopted by many firms shipping eggs:--"In the bottom of the box may be placed bran, cut hay, and sawdust. Tear up old newspapers to about 8 or 10 inches square.

The paper should be about medium--that is, not too stiff nor too soft.

Place one of these pieces of paper on the hand, and on this an egg, on one end; close the lower hand so as to bring the paper up all round the egg; with the other hand crumple the loose corners and edges of the paper down over the other end of the egg; lay another piece of paper on the hand, on which place the same egg, but the other end up; bring up the new paper and crumple down as before. This gives a good cushion to both ends, and a fair one over the centre. Repeat this till you have six thicknesses of paper, reversing the egg each time, and always keeping it on the end. This gives you a ball about 3 to 3-1/2 in. thick by 3-1/2 to 4 in. long. Care should be taken not to press the paper too closely to the egg while covering.

Place on one end in the box or basket; place alongside and press them together close enough to prevent their becoming loose in the box, fillings at the ends and on top with crumpled paper."--J. P.

=Egg, Glaire of.= _Prep._ Separate the whites from the yolks, and whisk them to a froth, let them stand 24 hours, and strain them through muslin.

Used as a glaze or varnish by bookbinders and others.

=Egg, Liquid.= _Prep._ (Jayne.) From lime, 1 bushel (slaked with water); common salt, 2 or 3 lbs.; cream of tartar, 1/2 lb.; water, q. s. to form a mixture strong enough to float an egg. Used to preserve eggs, which it is stated it will do for two years, by simply keeping them in it. Simple milk of lime answers quite as well.

=Egg Wine.= As egg flip, but using equal parts of white wine and water, instead of beer.

=ELA'IDINE.= A fatty compound of eladic acid and glycerin, formed by the action of nitrous acid or nitrate of mercury on olive oil. It is neutral; melts at 90 Fahr.; and is very soluble in ether, scarcely so in alcohol.

It is one of the components of CITRINE OINTMENT. By saponification it is resolved into its two const.i.tuents.

=ELA'IN.= See OLEIN.

=ELAIOM'ETER.= _Syn._ OLEOM'ETER. An instrument for ascertaining the specific gravity of oils. See HYDROMETER and OIL.

=ELAL'DEHYD.= A peculiar crystalline substance which forms in ALDEHYD when kept for some weeks at a temperature of 32 Fahr. It melts into a colourless liquid at about 38, in which state it is miscible with water, alcohol, and ether. It is isomeric with aldehyd, but its vapour has about three times the density of that substance, whilst it neither combines with ammonia nor comports itself with pota.s.sa and solution of silver like aldehyd.

=ELAOP'TENE.= See OIL (Volatile).

=ELAT'ERIN.= _Syn._ MOMORDICINE. The active principle of ELATERIUM. It was discovered by Dr Clutterbuck in 1819, but first obtained in a state of purity in 1830 by the late Mr Hennel.

=Elaterin.= _Syn._ ELATERIUM. (Dr Morries.) Obtained by evaporating tincture of elaterium (made with rectified spirit) to the consistence of thin oil, and throwing it in boiling distilled water. When cold, the crystalline precipitate is collected, and dried with a gentle heat.--_Dose_, to commence with 1-16th of a grain.

_Prep._ 1. (Dr Morries.) Elaterium is digested in hot alcohol, the resulting tincture filtered, evaporated to the consistence of thin oil, and then thrown into boiling distilled water. When the whole is cold, the precipitate is collected and purified by redissolving it in alcohol and precipitation by water, as before.

2. (Hennel.) The alcoholic extract of elaterium is digested in ether, and the residuum dissolved in hot alcohol; crystals form as the solution cools.

3. An alcoholic tincture is evaporated to the consistence of a syrup, and thrown into a mixture of equal parts of liquor of pota.s.sa and water at a boiling temperature. Almost pure elaterin separates as the liquid cools.

_Obs._ Elaterin forms delicate, white, silky crystals, having a bitter taste; it is fusible at about 365 Fahr.; tastes bitter; odourless; neutral; insoluble in water; and dissolves readily in hot alcohol. Its medicinal action is similar to that of elaterium, differing only in its greater activity.--_Dose_, 1/16 gr. to 1/20 gr.

=ELATER'IUM.= _Syn._ SQUIRTING CUc.u.mBER. In _pharmacy_, 'the fresh unripe fruit' of the wild cuc.u.mber, '_Ecbalium officinarum_--Richard,' Ph. L.

(_Momordica Elaterium_, Linn.). According to present usage, the word is more generally applied to the feculence deposited from the juice of the wild cuc.u.mber. It is thus applied in Ph. B. E. & D. See _below_.)

=Elaterium.= B. P. _Syn._ EXTRACT OF ELATERIUM, E. OF SQUIRTING CUc.u.mBER; EXTRACTUM ELATERII (Ph. L.), ELATERIUM (Ph. E. & D.,) L. The feculence of the juice of the above fruit.

_Prep._ 1. (Ph. L.) Slice wild cuc.u.mber before it is quite ripe in the long direction, and strain the juice, very gently expressed, through a fine hair sieve; then set it aside for some hours, until the thicker part has subsided. The thinner supernatant fluid being rejected, dry the thicker portion with a gentle heat. The processes of the other colleges are essentially the same.[272]

[Footnote 272: At the Mitcham Gardens, elaterium is manufactured in much the same way, only that considerable force is used in the expression of the juice, and the product therefore less potent, though more in quant.i.ty.

The manufacture usually commences about the second week in September. (Dr Royle).]

2. (Dr Clutterbuck.) The cuc.u.mbers (fully ripe) are cut longitudinally, and sprinkling with cold water, and the juice allowed to strain through a fine sieve into an earthenware vessel. The seeds and surrounding pulp are next placed on the sieve, with the split fruit, and washed repeatedly with cold water. The washings being received in the same vessel with the juice, the whole is allowed to repose for a few hours, when the clear portion is decanted and the sediment spread thinly on fine linen, and dried by exposure to the air and a gentle heat avoiding the sunshine or a bright light. Quality very fine. Forty fruits, by this process, yield only 6 gr.

of elaterium.

3. (Apothecaries' Hall.) The fruit, slit into halves, is placed in hempen or horsehair bags, and submitted to slight pressure in a tincture press.

The juice, as it runs off, pa.s.ses through a fine hair sieve into a cylindrical gla.s.s jug or jar, where it is allowed to remain for two hours, when the clear supernatant liquor is poured off, and the thick portion containing the sediment is poured on a paper filter, supported on linen, and allowed to drain, after which it is dried by a gentle heat in a stove.

The product has a green colour, and const.i.tutes the finest elaterium of commerce. A darker and inferior article is obtained from the liquor, poured from the first sediment by placing it in shallow pans, and allowing it again to deposit.

_Prop., &c._ Elaterium is sold in thin cakes, and when pure has a pale-gray or greenish-gray colour, floats on water, is easily pulverised by pressure, and forms with rectified spirits a rich, green-coloured tincture. Elaterium obtained as a second deposit (ELATERIUM NIGRUM), is dark and inferior. Alcohol dissolves from 50% to 60% of good elaterium.

"When exhausted by rectified spirit, the solution, concentrated, and poured into hot dilute solution of pota.s.sa, deposits, on cooling, minute silky, colourless crystals (of ELATERIN), weighing from 1/7th to 1/4th of the elaterium operated on." (Ph. E.)

_Obs._ To procure a fine sample of elaterium it is necessary to remove it as soon as it is deposited, as a heavy mucilage falls down soon afterwards, which materially injures its quality and appearance. English elaterium is the best. The foreign is uniformly adulterated with chalk or starch, and coloured with sap green.

_Dose_, 1/16 gr. to 1/2 gr., formed into a pill with extract of gentian and liquorice powder; as a hydragogue and cathartic in dropsies, twice a day, repeated every other day for a week or ten days. Its use must be avoided when there is much debility or any inflammatory symptoms. Larger doses than 1/2 gr. of pure elaterium are poisonous. The _antidotes_ are emetics, followed by demulcents, opium, and stimulants.