TO THE PROFESSION.
In presenting this book to the American undertakers, the object is to instruct, as well as to create interest in the profession, by developing scientific facts which are necessary to promote the avocation of an undertaker to the rank which it deservedly ought to occupy.
The several chapters, which may at first sight seem dry and superfluous, are nevertheless essential to a clear and thorough understanding of the several processes of embalming given in this book. Had these seemingly arid dissertations been left out altogether, the work of embalming and of preserving bodies would have proved a sore puzzle to many; and it was found necessary to elucidate the modus operandi of each process, by giving reasons for the use of the chemicals, their mode of action, and the results to be expected by a careful and discriminate use of them.
The names of the chemicals and the quantity to be used was not found sufficient in instructing undertakers; but, to satisfy the investigating propensities of all, and to make every one thoroughly conversant with the means employed, the nature and properties of the different chemicals used have been explained at length.
As to the chapters devoted to anatomy, the arterial circulation and the different parts of the human structure, they will be found indispensable in this work, and, when thoroughly understood, will be found to greatly facilitate the work of the operator.
How can the embalmer find the point of injection, or go on with his work, if he be totally ignorant of the places of the different organs, the courses of the veins and arteries, their relations and relative positions? It is, then, an undeniable fact, that without this knowledge the embalmer will accomplish his task more or less well, and without knowing with any degree of certainty if the process of injecting is complete, or if the parts intended to be injected have been reached by the fluid.
Closely allied to this are the conditions of the body after death, as governed by circumstances which may affect it, and thereby modify the treatment thereof—admitting that different modes of treatment are required by different cases. How, then, is the undertaker to discriminate, if he be not warned beforehand, or if his knowledge does not teach him what course is the best to follow? And how is this knowledge to be gained, if he has not made it a point to study at least that part of the human organism with which he may have to deal?
As the different processes given in this book for the preserving and embalming of bodies are founded upon practical experiments, based upon purely scientific principles, it becomes, then, necessary that these principles be fully explained, so as throw sufficient light on points which might otherwise remain obscure.
What has been said about anatomy applies equally well to the study of animal chemistry. The constituents of the human body, fluid and solid, have all more or less different properties, as also their composition varies to a great extent. It is, therefore, a point of material importance for undertakers to know and understand their formation, the causes which may accelerate their decay or putrefaction, and also the means which may be employed to the best advantage to counteract their tendency to disintegration.
All the points above mentioned being understood, it follows therefrom that the knowledge thus imparted will prove of great utility to the profession, although it may appear at first sight an unwarrantable waste of time and a mass of technicalities.
It may also be useful to repeat here certain injunctions as to the dangers to be encountered in the handling of the dead, and also of the proper care to be exercised by undertakers in avoiding to rush heedlessly into danger and aggravate the perils of their calling.
The public at large have but a very imperfect idea of the dangerous, and even, in some cases, repulsive, character of our profession. The undertaker, and the perils attending in many instances the discharge of his duties, as a general thing, are very seldom thought of by those outside of the profession. To a great many the business of the undertaker has something dreadful and appalling about it; and without very well understanding themselves the nature of the feeling, it is always associated with the horrible.
This impression, which seems to have grown in the minds of the majority, is altogether an erroneous one, which ought to be eradicated from public sentiment. Undertakers, as a class, are men useful to society; their calling, far from being horrible and loathsome, as the ignorant and shallow minded are pleased to call it, is one which requires a great deal of self-denial, and which often brings to the surface the finest traits of human nature.
Granted that our profession is one fraught with dangers, it becomes incumbent upon professionals to protect themselves against them by all the means that knowledge, experience and science may suggest. One great mistake, and one which has been repeated too often, is the false security some may place in the use of strong liquors to combat and render void the deadly effects of contagion. This has been a stumbling block to many; and without incurring the accusation of being a fanatic in regard to temperance, we may safely assert that a great many of our professionals have fallen victims to the effects of alcohol, which, being used at first as a sort of medical preventive, soon assumes full sway over the mind, and baffles their best efforts to resist it.
If we are to look anywhere for a preventive of contagion and infection, we must look to the directions and remedies which medical science holds in store; and also to the undisputable fact, that in the caution used and the care exercised in handling bodies, assisted by a discriminate judgment, lies our best pledge of safety.
As it has been remarked before, the different modes of preserving and embalming bodies given in this book are not mere speculations as to probabilities, nor are they simply mere recipes picked up at random; but they are the results of long practice and successful experiments, which have demonstrated, in a most satisfactory manner, that the advantages claimed for these same processes are well founded and worthy of credit.
The long chapter on chemistry and physiology is, therefore, not only essential to the full understanding of the methods given, but it is also intended as a proof of the judicious selection of the chemicals that are employed in the operation of embalming, as also of the system upon which this operation is based.
It must not be supposed that all the known modes of embalming and preserving bodies are to be found in this book, nor was it ever intended to have it so; only those that are known to be reliable, and which have been found to give entire satisfaction, have been elucidated.
There are other methods, which are also said to be good; but, until they are found by actual and practical experiment to be worthy the merits claimed for them, they shall not be made public. However, should they prove to be equal, if not superior, in one way or another, to the methods herein illustrated, we will bring them out in the course of time to the notice of the profession.