Litchfield enquirer. [volume] (Litchfield, Conn.) 1829-current, 1843-04-06

ed with an exceedingly sharp cleaver, about
2 feet long, and 8 inches wide. Two other
men passed up the Hog on to the block, pla-
cling MIN upon his side. One Gutter cuts off
the head, the other the hams, each at SIM
gle stroke. The hams are passed to the
Ham Trimmer at an adjacent table, who
trims them ready for sailing. The head Is
sou"times sold to the Soap Boiler, in which
case it is thrown into heap near the door,
IT, b. handy tor him-at other times it is used
in making Prime Pork, and is then passed to
a ha'M TO split, ami wash, ready for the
Packer. The sides and shoulders, still left
on the block, and are split in two lengthwise
Of the Hog through the centre of the back
bone. The leaf lard is then trimmed out
the shoulders cut from the side. and passed
| into the cellar, to he cured in bulk in dry
salt. The side, if from a heavy, fat Hog, is
split, ench side, into four parts lengthwise
with the rib the pieces Of strips thus cut be-
ing about 6 inches wide and y long. The
thlckeSt strips Ut the sides have the butt end
of the rib aud back bone taken out, and made
into Clear pork-the lighter, thinner sides
are sometimes cut up for Prime Pork or thin
Mess, but are most commonly cured with
the shoulders, and made into Bacon. The
usual days work for n set Ot 50 hands is to
block-but 500 have been cut up on one
block at Duffield's Pork House, equal, of
course, to 1000 on two blocks. which can
be cut in one day of IL working hours and
in fact Hogs have been cut up in one min
ute.
Such is the system and eXI elition obser-
we'd in the more extensive Pork Houses, that
500 Hogs received into the Pork House one
day, are all ready for shipping the next day,
(within "a hours) including the weighing,
cutting, packing. rendering the Lard, and
branding, and all in as neat, clean, hand
some style, as is done any where in the
world. This has been done in Cincinnati.
The different grades Of Barrelled or Pick
led Pork known to the trade, and to the In
spection Laws, are, first in order and quality,
Clear Pork, Prime, Chine, Tor Rump, it be-
ing only one end of the Chine) and Joles.-
AS to the minuti@ of these different sorts of
Pork, we are not familiar enough with the
business to give them; besides, it might be
prying too much into the secrets of the trade
10 enquire. We can, in general terms. how
ever, say, that the Barrel Pork, packed by
our Cincinnati Packers, will compare with !
the best packed in the United States, as to
quality, weight, suficiency of salt and co.,
perage, and for keeping almost any length |
oflime-not excepting the Irish Pork.
The mode of rendering Lard is very SIM
pie, the leaf and trimmings being merely cut
up with cleavers into peices 2 inches square,
and thrown into large iron kettles of 100
gallons each. After it has cooked about 8
hours, it is strained, and pumped up into
Coolers of 300 TO 500 gallons, cooled to about
100 degrees Fahrenheit, and then drawn into
kegs or barrels as wanted.
Most of our large Pork Houses are capable
Of disposng of 1000 Hogs per day. although
hey seldom desire SO many employing for
that purpose about IS hnnds at an average of
about 81 90 per day. Some houses have cut
and packed this season over 10000 Hogs.