Part 2

A direct conflict with the mourners in regard to some point of funeral etiquette will not place the undertaker in a very enviable position, whereas a sensible suggestion, deferentially offered to their better judgment, will win a ready assent and establish his reputation as a man thoroughly posted and well qualified for the business. Should the point be insisted upon by the family, and although it may be, in the undertaker’s opinion, a breach of established rules or customs, it is his duty to quietly submit and thereby show his moral sense of the solemnity of the occasion, which is ill-timed for a controversy of any kind.

Some undertakers have been known to extol the cheapness of their wares in the house of mourning, drawing aside some of those present and stating confidentially that such a casket never was sold so low, and were it not for the particular regard they entertain for the family, the regular price would have been charged. This mode of philanthropic advertising has seldom brought any trade to the one that had resorted to it. The best advertising medium for an undertaker consists in the manner his business is carried on, in the style and appointments of his livery, and above all in his own deportment in public, the integrity of his character, and his punctuality in meeting his business engagements.

As the assertion was made at the beginning of this chapter that every man cannot be an undertaker, the above enumerated qualities requisite to the make up of a first-class professional will prove conclusively that such is the case.

Before fully entering upon the text forming the subject of this book, I have thought it advisable as an introduction, to stimulate the zeal of undertakers in self-improvement by illustrating, in brief outlines, the necessary qualities of a popular sexton and exposing _per contra_ the faults others are guilty of. Let not therefore, the reader accuse me of severe criticism, for my aim has been only to try and elevate our profession above its common standard.

That the duties of an undertaker require a larger quota of delicacy, tact, and knowledge of human nature than generally falls to the lot of most men, no one will deny; but it is also a well known fact that, unless he be the busiest professional in one of the largest cities, an undertaker has ample time for SELF-IMPROVEMENT and CULTURE.

It is high time the business of undertaking be truly, and really, raised to the rank of a profession; let every undertaker be convinced that his calling is a solemn and responsible one, and our ranks will soon be free from the few interlopers who, so far, have impeded our progress toward a just recognition from the public for a class of men whose services are often very little short of self-sacrifice.

The physician has an office of great responsibility thrust upon him; into his hands we blindly confide the lives of relations and friends, hoping and expecting that his medical knowledge, his experience and skill, may save the existence of some one dear to us.

And after science has been baffled and death claims his victim, the undertaker is the one to whom we look to perform the last sad duties. To him we intrust the care of the beloved remains, relying entirely upon his experience and good judgment in such matters, to carry out in a manner becoming to this age of christian feeling, the ceremonial of sepulture with the deferential respect due to the dead.

EMBALMING.

It has been a custom among ancient nations to preserve the bodies of the dead for a long period of time. Even to this day we find traces of it in the mummies of Egypt and the sarcophagi of Etruria. Their method of achieving this result may not have been strictly in accordance with the principles of modern science; certainly their success would hardly be satisfactory to the more refined taste of our generation. Still their discoveries in this art have been such that they have commanded the respect of modern savants. They also show conclusively that the sciences of chemistry and physiology, even at that remote period, had attained a certain degree of prominence among their scientific men. Many of their discoveries were no doubt accidental, still we must give them credit for the spirit of investigation which actuated their researches, and carried them on undaunted through the many disappointments they must certainly have encountered before they satisfactorily solved the problem.

The imagination is carried back to the time when the mysterious worship of Osiris and Isis was flourishing on the banks of the river Nile, when the Sphinx uttered, or was thought to utter, the sacred oracles of Thormes, and before the pyramids had entombed a long generation of kings.

A great number of persons cannot revert to the science of embalming without placing it among the lost arts; to them a mummy is the contemporary of a mysterious past dimly perceived through the long vista of succeeding generations; a tangible proof of that much vaunted ancient civilization, which as they express regretfully will never be found again. A thorough elimination of the subject would convince those unsophisticated mourners that the loss is not quite an irreparable one. Let us divest a mummy of his bitumen-coated and fire-scorched bandages; we will then have before us a mass of blackened and hardened cement-like substance, shrunken and emaciated to almost a skeleton, and bearing semblance to the form of a human organism, only so far as the shape of the osseous frame has retained its symmetry. The lips have shrunk apart so far as to expose the row of white teeth, the sockets of the eyes are empty, the cheek bones are prominent, the whole covered with patches of the dark and almost petrified epidermis. Such is the picture a mummy presents to our view when denuded of its envelope

It is not to be wondered at, therefore, if some associate this repulsive image with the idea of modern embalming. Our present object in preparing bodies is two-fold: In the first place we desire to keep perfect for a certain length of time the remains of those who have been dear to us while living; but when desiccation has begun, when the roundness of the lines loses itself into the more angular shrinkage of the tissues, then we may take, and without any feeling of horror, a last look at the body, and consign it, not to slow, foul corruption, but to the gradual drying of the organic substances, without the horrible accessions of decay and putrefaction.

In view of all this, and with the help of modern chemistry, it is not singular that the art of embalming should have received a new impetus in this country and Europe, especially here, where it is customary to send back and over long distances the bodies of those that have died far from home. This usage has already brought about some astonishing results. The large majority of our first-class undertakers have taken the matter in hand; they vie with each other in trying to perfect themselves in an art which is daily growing into favor. Almost every day a new antiseptic is, if not discovered, at least brought to exercise its functions in the preservation of organic substances. Of late, new methods have been inaugurated on all sides, and among the number there are certainly some which are deserving all the merits claimed for them.

It behooves all professionals to exert their ingenuity to bring this science to a satisfactory issue. Many of the preparations sold under the name of preserving liquid are good; others are not. How then are undertakers to discriminate? By what means can the merits of the one, and the utter worthlessness of the other, be determined? There is but one way, and that is an infallible one, of finding out the best method and preparation, and that is simply by experimenting, until the real means, which is the only true one, has been hit upon.

It may also be objected to, with reason that a certain process has been known to work effectually in some cases, whereas the same method employed in a similar manner has proved a signal failure in another instance. To this but one cause can be assigned, and that is the utter ignorance on the part of the operator of the properties, antiseptic and otherwise, of the materials he is employing, also of the different conditions, which will according to existing circumstances modify their action and govern their effect. To use a certain preparation simply because it is highly recommended by some, without knowing the constituents thereof, is very little short of foolhardiness. How is it possible for the operator to employ it with discrimination and judgment? Should he be successful, well and good; the end would be obtained without he being the wiser for it. Should it be otherwise, and the result prove unsatisfactory, how is he to account for the failure, and how to guard against a repetition of the same in the future?

A good embalmer, one that really understands his business, does not have recourse to ready-made preparations for preserving bodies; but he chooses the chemicals according to the properties each is known to possess. His experience of their relative actions teach him beforehand how they will work out the result he anticipated. I do not mean that every undertaker and embalmer should be an Orfila in regard to Chemistry, nor is it expected that his knowledge of Anatomy should enable him to fill the chair of demonstrator in a dissecting room, but to achieve real, legitimate success, an embalmer ought to possess a thorough knowledge of the drugs he is manipulating, their individual effects, singly and collectively, and under different circumstances, upon subjects of different natures. A certain amount of the acquaintance with the anatomy of the human body is not only required, but strictly necessary; a gash of the knife upon some vessel of the arterial system might jeopardize the success of an otherwise satisfactory operation.

It is this rudimentary knowledge of Physiological Chemistry and Anatomy we shall endeavor to explain in this book, with complete instructions upon the best methods which have been heretofore and are now employed in the preservation of bodies.

THE LABORATORY.

Before fully entering upon the subject of Embalming, it may not be out of place to make mention of the room devoted to that purpose.

As a general thing, undertakers will find it to their advantage to have set aside, either in the rear part of their store or at some other convenient point of the building, a room of moderate dimensions, exclusively for the purpose of preparing bodies. It may also be used either for the purpose of holding inquests, post mortem examinations, and as a morgue.

Although the purpose for which it is intended, be that of a laboratory or room where the embalming of bodies may be carried on, undisturbed by the traffic of the warerooms or the office, it will be found useful for the above named objects. Very often physicians, who may be wanting to investigate the immediate cause of death in some of their patients, and who cannot prosecute the necessary investigations either in their own office or at the house of the deceased, will avail themselves, with pleasure, of the opportunity thus offered to them. The advantages of this arrangement to the undertaker are obvious and require no explanation.

The room should be well ventilated and lighted, and everything so arranged as to be within reach; a sink with a water faucet should occupy a corner of the room; in the center an embalming board, with longitudinal grooves, on trestles, the head elevated about a foot higher than the feet, so as to allow all liquids to run down and be collected in a pail at the lower extremity, without unnecessarily soiling the floor; a closet or cupboard for chemicals, which, by the way, ought always to be kept locked up. It is also necessary to keep a certain amount of the preparation used in daily practice, already mixed for use at a moment’s notice. The preceding recommendation will prevent mistakes, and do away with the confusion generally attendant upon a hasty call.

A very useful custom, and one that cannot be too highly praised, is that of keeping all needful articles for laying out and keeping a body, in a neat morocco satchel, which can be carried about in the hand without the least inconvenience. The contents should include all that is necessary to preserve bodies, say for five or six days, without the use of ice. The annexed list will furnish the explanation:

Two sponges for washing purposes. They can be, when dry, kept in a very small compass; these should be thoroughly cleaned after using, and immediately returned to their place.

A small post mortem case, containing a cartilage knife, two scalpels, one catheter, one pair scissors, chain and hooks, nippers, hook to raise arteries, and four crooked needles, assorted; also a skein of surgeon’s silk. These instruments should be carefully cleaned before returning to the case.

Two pint bottles containing antiseptic solution for injecting stomach and bowels. I have here mentioned two pint bottles, in place of a quart bottle, for this reason: the two former are easier carried, less liable to break, and thus more convenient than the latter.

An eight-ounce vial, containing a concentrated solution for the complexion; it can be diluted to suit when using.

Some cotton for stopping air passages and rectum.

Two cups for collecting blood from the jugulars, should the veins be so congested as to require emptying of their contents.

An eight-ounce, black rubber syringe, for injecting either the stomach, lungs or bowels; this should be well cleansed after using, and also the leather forming the head of the plunger be saturated with glycerine; it will keep it moist and free from getting sticky, which generally happens when oil is used for that purpose.

A bottle of some pungent, aromatic, acidulated liquid, which will serve, not to absorb, but to disguise the smell, always more or less unpleasant, of a corpse.[1]

An eight-ounce bottle containing tannic acid to dust in cavities of the thorax or abdomen before closing the wounds.

And last, but not least, a one-ounce bottle of liquid muriate of ammonia, which is invaluable to cauterize any scratch, abrasion of the skin, or cut, on the hands of the operator while at work.

I would here advise that some adhesive plaster be also a part of the contents.

The following chapters on chemicals may be found, by some, dry and of no consequence; but to a sensible person, and a shrewd undertaker, it will be apparent that, unless possessed of some knowledge of physiological chemistry and morbid anatomy, it will be impossible for him to judge, with any degree of certainty, what means are to be employed to secure success in embalming. It will also be found, by the more enlightened mass of the profession, that a thorough examination of the causes of putrefaction and the means to counteract the same, are essential to a successful practice.

How, then, can such means be resorted to? How is it possible for an undertaker to prosecute the business of embalmer satisfactorily, if he has not in his hands all the information necessary to perform his labors, with credit to himself and satisfaction to his employers? The only resource he has consists in the complete knowledge acquired from study and experience, and the following chapters will pave the way to the desired result.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] I have found by experience that vinaigre de bully, an imported toilet article, completely answers the purpose in this case, when slightly sprinkled over the clothes of a corpse.

DRUGS AND CHEMICALS.

As it is of the utmost importance for the operator to get familiar with the drugs or chemicals he is called upon to handle, the history and properties of each one will be detailed at length in the following chapters:

_Acetic Acid._—The acid liquid distilled when charcoal is prepared from wood, in close cylinders without access of air, contains this valuable acid in a very impure state; by subjecting this to further distillation the liquid is collected which is known as wood vinegar, or pyroligneous acid. By saturating this acid with lime, acetate of lime is produced, which by decomposition with sulphate of soda, furnishes sulphate of lime and acetate of soda; the latter salt being crystallized in a state of purity yields, by distillation with sulphuric acid, pure hydrated acetic acid in solution in water.

Acetic acid is also produced by the oxydation of alcoholic liquids, especially cider and wine, and in this impure and diluted form is called vinegar. In chemical works it is generally classed among the derivatives of alcohol.

_Camphorated Acetic Acid._—This is largely used as a pungent and refreshing perfume, to remove fetid odors from bodies. Take of

Camphor, half ounce, Acetic Acid, 6½ fluid ounces.

Pulverize the camphor by means of a few drops of alcohol and dissolve it in the acetic acid.

_Aromatic Vinegar._—This is another pungent and reviving perfume, formerly deemed a preventive of contagion, and which will be found very useful in removing foul smells from the chamber of death. Take of

Camphor, 2 ounces, Alcohol, sufficient quantity to pulverize the Camphor, Oil of Cloves, 1 fluid ounce, Acetic Acid, very strong, 12 fluid ounces.

_Acetone, or Pyroacetic Spirit, and Pyroxilic Spirit, or Wood Naptha._—These are products of the distillation of wood, which are separated from the acid liquors after they are saturated with lime by simple distillation and rectification.

Owing to its cheapness, pyroxilic spirit has been extensively used in England, as a substitute for alcohol in the arts and manufactures.

_Uses of Crude Pyroligneous Acid._—This acid having been incidentally described as the source of the acetic acid of commerce, it may be proper in this place to notice its uses. It acts on the principle of an antiseptic and a stimulant; the former property being chiefly due to the presence of creasote.

Several cases in which it was successfully employed in the preservation of animal matter are reported by Dr. T. Y. Simmons, of Charleston, S. C. The crude acid has been so advantageously used for the above purpose that Mr. Wm. Ramsey was led to perform with it some very interesting experiments. Some fresh fish, simply dipped in the acid and afterwards dried in the shade, were effectually preserved, and when eaten, at the end of eight months, were found very agreeable to the taste. Fresh beef, dipped in the acid in summer for the space of a minute, was perfectly sweet the following spring.

_Carbolic Acid, or Phenylic Acid._—It occurs in castor and the urine of many domestic animals.

Coal tar is distilled, the product between 300° and 400° is saturated with a strong solution of potassa, the oil is removed, the salt decomposed by muriatic acid; the carbolic acid washed with water, dried with chloride of calcium, rectified, cooled to about 12° F., the liquid decanted and the crystals quickly dried. It is in long colorless needles; not very soluble in cold water; more so in hot water; in all proportions in alcohol and ether; also soluble in concentrated acetic acid.

_Commercial Creasote._—When obtained from coal tar is always contaminated with phenylic acid (carbolic acid.) Indeed, it is said that phenylic acid has been sold for creasote, which it closely resembles in properties. How far these properties may be similar, deserves to be studied; for if they should prove to be the same, the fact would lead to its substitution as a substance to be easily obtained pure, for the variable creasote.

Of all the properties of creasote, the most remarkable is its power of preserving animal matter; this property has suggested its name, derived from two Greek words which mean flesh preserver. Dr. Christison finds that creasote water is as good a preservative of anatomical preparations as alcohol, with the advantage of not hardening the parts; it is probably to creasote that the antiseptic properties of pyroligneous acid are owing.

_Tannic Acid._—Some powder of nut galls is macerated in a bottle, with just enough ether to moisten it, for 24 hours, and then expressed in a powerful press; and the process of maceration and expulsion is repeated in the same way until the powder is exhausted; the liquors are mixed, the ether distilled off, and the residue dried by means of a water bath.

Properties: Pure tannic acid is solid, uncrystallizable, white or slightly yellowish, inodorous; very soluble in water, and much less soluble in alcohol and ether, and insoluble in the fixed and volatile oils.

Tannic acid precipitates solutions of starch, albumen and gluten, and forms with gluten an insoluble compound which is the basis of leather.

_Chromic Acid._—To 100 parts, by measure, of cold saturated solution of bichromate of potassa, 150 parts of sulphuric acid are added and allowed to cool; the sulphuric acid unites with the potassa, and the chromic acid crystallized in deep red needles, very soluble and deliquescent.

It is a powerful oxydizing and bleaching agent. Small animals, as mice, etc., after being immersed in the acid were so completely dissolved after 20 minutes, that no traces were left of either their claws, hair, bones or teeth.

_Sulphurous Acid._—It is prepared by exposing to heat a mixture of one part concentrated sulphuric acid with one part of mercury, or one-third part of copper filings, washing the gas by passing it through a little water, and condensing it in water which is well cooled. Professor Proctor directs the gas evolved from four ounces of copper turnings, and eight fluid ounces of sulphuric acid, to be condensed into four pints of water.

Sulphurous acid is a gas which dissolves largely in water and has a smell of burning sulphur.

_Liquor Chlorinated Soda—Labarraque Disinfecting Solution._—It is prepared as follows:

Chloride of Lime, 1 pound, Carbonate of Soda, 2 pounds, Water, 1½ gallons.

Dissolve the carbonate of soda in 3 pints of water by the aid of heat; to the remainder of the water add, by small portions at a time, the chloride of lime, previously well triturated, stirring the mixture after each addition; set the mixture by for several hours that the drugs may subside, then decant the clear liquid and mix it with the solution of carbonate of soda. Lastly, decant the clear liquor from the precipitated carbonate of lime, pass it through a linen cloth and keep it in bottles secluded from the light.

It is a colorless alkaline solution, having a faint odor of chlorine, and an alkaline taste; it owes its antiseptic properties to containing hypoclorous acid which is readily liberated by the addition of even a weak acid and, on exposure to the air, by the absorption of carbonic acid.

One of its principal uses is to purify the air in dissecting rooms and hospitals, in which case it acts by decomposing sulphurated hydrogen, against which gas when inhaled, it is also an antidote.

_Nitrate of Lead._—Take of litharge 4½ ounces; dilute nitric acid one pint. Dissolve the litharge to saturation by the aid of a gentle heat; filter, and set the liquor aside to crystallize; concentrate the residual liquid to obtain more crystals. This is a beautiful white salt, of a sweet astringent taste and soluble in 7½ parts of water and in alcohol. It has recently been found useful in the correction of fetid odors, dependent upon the presence of sulphurated hydrogen or hydrosulphate of ammonia, which it decomposes.

It will not prevent the putrefaction of animal matter, but it will be found extremely useful, as a disinfectant of putrescent animal fluids.

_Ledoyen’s Disinfecting Fluid_.—Which is greatly esteemed abroad, is a solution of this salt in water, in the proportion of two ounces of salt to one pint of water.