The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1861-11-26 00:00:00

Sporting intrlligtnre.

W. JACI/SON, TRH " AMERICAN Drzi."—Thi far
famed pedestrian, new in this 'sear and yellow leaf,'
is about to retire ; but, previous to his doing so, a
benefit for lion took place on Monday, at the West
London Cricket Ground, Old Brompton. Jackson's
performanoes have been of a wonderful kind, having
beaten the hest runners both here and in America. His
recent match with Deerfoot must be in the memory of
our readers.

81/MICTIIING LIKE SPORT.—The official returns of the
quantity of gain° and wild animals killed during the
Iportingowaaon of 1,460-1, in Rol:ends and Moravia,
give the following figures :—tititas, 1610; deer, 2.609 ;
roebucks, 10,695 ; wild boars, 547; pheasants, 47.133 ;
groum, 511; partridges, 759,112; other birds, 56.625;
bares, 6115,215 ; rabbits, 7,01E1; otters, 144; badgers,
227; wild eats and ether boasts of prey, 33,620; birds
of prey, 268,078—forming • total of 1,843,021 head.

The Duke of Stith-rland'a estates, in the county of '
the manic name, embrace an area of about Lux, 6,11111r0
miles, with • population of more than 20,000.
EXTRAORDINARY ADYENTCRE AT MIDNIGHT.
During one of the •ights of the late storm, • young
lady, whose 1111111110 is, of course, withheld, Residing iu the
vicinity of York, left her home under the following
strange circumstances :—The family retired to rest as
uses", and in the morning the daughter was missing,
and could not be found. It subsequently appeared that
she liar' got up and left the house in nothing but her
night-dress, and in that state had travelled on foot some
four or five miles towards York. Next day she was
found by some men lying under • hedge, and partly
covered with grass and barest, almost 'leaved to death,
and as nearly as lossible in a state of nudity. She
received what attention nes then possible, and visa
carried to the nearest farm•house, where site was places,'
in blar,kets, and other remedial measures were adopted.
After a lapse of some time also was al.le to speak again,
and her name and address were discovered. After a
little tone she was II:Willed to her friends. The young
lady was said to be a soniumnbulist.
Pin-Cuaistel IN TUX Wt./Irate STATUS or AMERICA.
We are much iutereited to-day, by the examination of
one of those monster pork-soring establishments for
which the Western States are remarkable. We are
first brought by our cicerone to the slaughter.hourres.
which are a little distance from the town of 'Anon, and
where the live pip bought by the firm carrying on the
trade receive their quietus, sod are prepared for the
bands of the curer. This process is here the perfection
of espedition and the division of labour. From 110nle
bplillredi of hogs congregated in • wide pen, a dozen
are dtiven at a time into a small enclosure where
No. 1 stands armed with his axe. He strikes them
in the head, one after the other, as rapidly as he can
raise his arm ; the half-dead animal is then Milne-
' diately drawn into a second enclosure; and it is there,
by another band, stabbed and bled. Manure being in
this country of scarcely Any value, the blood is allowed
to run to waste. Scalding the carcuses in large tanks
of water bested by steam, scraping them, and hanging
theirs up to 000 l in rows., fifty or a huudred, complete
the operation, and the whole is accomplished—the ,
, work of felling, stabbing, scalding, scraping, gutting,
washing, and hanging up—at the rate of a pig per
minute ! After hanging for one bight when the
weather is cool, the carcasses are removed to the curing
and packing house. The beads, with the entrails, are
thrown into large kettles which are supplied with ,
water by • boiler and steam engine, for the purpose of
extracting from them, by twenty-four hours' boiling, all
the stearine and oil which they contain. The bristles
and hair are preserved for brushes, mattresses, and
plairtering, and other purposes. The bones, with the
blood, ale not of Lb. value they would be with us, and
are allowed to accumulate until they form • very for-
midable mound. In a similar way, and at the same
time. shout a thousand cattle are slaughtered, the
killing season being usually the last two months of the
year. The packing•hease is a separate and still more
, extensive establiskinent. Here all the caressed, wish
such as are bought from the fernier*, are cured mad
packed for market. Brought its at a large doorway they
are first weighed and paid for at the rate of 21d. or ad.
per pound. Such are froun are piled up, some bun.
&eds together, between stoves, the heat of which soon
fits them with the rest for the cleaver. The subse•
queut process of cutting, curing, and packing into
barrels is marvellously expeditious. Betide a large block
two men stand armed with cleaver,. So powerful and
expert are they that usually at • single stroke the bead
is severed from the trunk. The trunk is then split
longitudinally by a simultaneous blow from each of the
cutters, and with • few more strokes each half is cut
into pieties fitted for the barrel, with or without the
shoulders according to the price of time article, the barns
being kept apart and deposited, for the time, in • cool
collar. The whole work does not occupy inure than a
minute for each pig, and when the supply is regular,
they are disposed of at the rate of 60 an hoar or WO in
• single day ! An assorter then selects the pieces, arn
cording to their description, for clean, mesa, and prime
(or the lowest quality of) pork ; lie passes them to •
packer whose duty it is to Salt them and place them in
the barrels ; and by coopers each barrel is headed,
hooped, an& after the admission of the proper quantity
of brine, finished for market. The barrels are of the
SIMS sins and make as herring barrels ; the salt is from
Turk's Island, one of the West Indies—very large and
purple-coloured crystals; and the brine is made by
simply allowing water, which is forced up by horses
power, to percolate through large tanks of the salt,
passing into the barrels by india-rubber tubes. There
is no tune expended in rubbing salt into the nieat • it is
pat at once into the barrel, with about lialf•a-bushel to
every barrel or two hundred weights of pork • and the
rest of the work is done "right away." For tile disposal
of the lard there is a large room furnished with kettles
and coolers, and liere even the " cracklins" are nude
use of, being convertible,after being subjected to &great
pressure so as to take the last particle of lard out of
them, into prussiate of potash. Time hams, having been
rubbed with salt, are piled up for four or five days,
when they are put into • pickle consisting of Liverpool
salt, ulipetre, and molasses, the molasses being in the
proportion of one-eighth. In this they remain for six
weeks, when they are smoked for seven days with tier
wood and put into hogsheads, the usual number of
hogsheads being 250 or 300, holding forty-five hauls
each, or for the house market they are enclosed in
brows pa?er or cotton bags manufactured for the pur-
pose. The feet are shipped to Chicago to be converted
into glue; and of the trimmings of the barns and other
parts sausages are made wholesale by machinery. In-
eluding tho work at the slaughter...house, tile whole is
done (and we have also to add the curing of 2,000 ones)
by from fifty to sixty Well—tlos reduction to the lOwest
possible limit et the amount of manual labour employed
being the aim, es it is the peculiarity, of all American
factories. Calculating the price of work st Id. per lb.,
and the average weight of pigs to be 260 lb., there is
thins every year disbursed to the farmers of the district
by this one establishment,and for this single commodity
about £40,000. In connection with the work there is ,
oleos cooperage employieg about thirty men. The pork
barrels are made of white oak imported from the North.
ern States, and of native hoop.. A man way make
more, but the manufacture of three of these barrels con-
stitutes a fair days' work, and as for each barrel the
workman receives balf-adollar or 2s. of our money. his
average wages are 36• per week. Flour harreis, which
are also made at the Cooperage, stool thinner staves of
different descriptions of wood, shaved by machinery,
and boopeihiai
llwpitnih
.o the .d
asn
h,Withr a t
this aid
staves,oae..,tt man ing
ciiuiii,;
chine, w
snake twelve of such barrels in a day, realism' about
the ism* weekly wages. In heatiag the barrel+ they
taken teen' wide fini-plitee,and fired inshle,bat not
watered, and, preparatory to training them, • reps,
e pbroocurinp tisheti:e,end,E,• offthue
staves h is wrought
together.light Otherwise aewindimirwisethi
in a herring-borrel cooperage..." 4. 11., on John
iareag Jeerria/.
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