Author Description

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1909 Excerpt:...British Pharmacopoeia) is obtained from the feet of cattle by boiling with water. In this country the preparation of neat's foot oil is chiefly carried out in small establishments, in which the by-products and waste material of the slaughter-houses are worked up (" tripe shops "). The feet are carefully scraped and washed, the hoofs are cut off, and after the hair has been removed they are boiled with water in jacketed pans heated by steam, the water being kept simmering for eight to ten hours. The oil rises to the top, and is skimmed off from time to time by means of suitable skimmers. The oil is then allowed to settle in a warm place, salt being sprinkled on the top to facilitate the separation of the water. Finally, the oil is washed with water, in order to remove any gluey substances, and filtered. On cooling, some "stearine" is deposited. In the production of the best kind of neat's foot oil having a low cold test, the clear oil is decanted off the "stearine." Such decanted oil has a cold test of about 25 to 28 F. The oil prepared in an establishment standing under the author's supervision was obtained in this manner. On a large scale neat's foot oil is obtained as a by-product in the centres of the meat packing trade, such as in the Chicago stock yards and in the South American establishments. There the feet are taken in their fresh state from the slaughter-houses (" killingbeds "), washed free from adhering blood and dirt, and sawn by a circular saw into suitable sizes for further working up. The chief object of sawing off the feet is to separate the more costly shin bones from the feet proper, which latter yield the genuine neat's foot oil. The fatty matter contained in the shin bones approaches somewhat in co...