| 摘要 |
The wilting of cut plants is prevented, without inhibiting their faculty of forming scenting essential oils, by irradiating the cut plants with high speed electrons having a velocity equivalent to more than one million volts. The irradiation may be from several directions at once and should be carried out during one or more short periods lasting less than say 10-4 second. The plant may be placed in an electron permeable sealed container and may be cooled below 0 DEG C. before irradiation. The sealed container may be evacuated or may contain an inert gas and may be rotated during irradiation to facilitate exposure of the entire surface. A suitable dose of radiation is between one and one and a half million "rep" (Roentgen equivalent physical units) during a period not exceeding 2 minutes. The source of radiation and the sealed container should be of the type described in Specification 673,924. The Specification as open to inspection under Sect. 91, comprises also irradiation with corpuscular rays in general, irradiation of organic substances, particularly oils and foodstuffs such as castor oil and fish, to give them a pleasant odour in place of unpleasant, and the formation of scenting essential oils by irradiation of cut plants and extraction of the oils therefrom after storage. This subject-matter does not appear in the Specification as accepted. |
