The Bedford gazette. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1805-current, 1866-12-21
VOL. 61.--WHOLE No. 5,377.


KILLING HoGs.-We copy the fol-
lowing from the Germantown TeJe-
graph =" Killing hogs is a business in
which the whole community is inter-
ested, and perhaps a small portion ac-
quainted with. 1t is termed butcher
ing,' and is often carried on in butch
ering style, while it isa business worthy
of being conducted in decent and Sci
entidc way. | do not propose going
into a long programme Of telling how
to catch hog, and how to hold him,
&C., but to throw out few hints.
Do not suffer the hog to be run over
and worried by men, boys and dogs,
getting his blood and flesh heated, just
before killing. | believe that is one
cause of meat spelling. Sometimes we
drive hog or two to a neighbor's so as
to "kilI together" as it is termed MAX
ing use of the same force, same fire and
other fixings; and we have known the
hams and shoulders of hogs thus driven
to come out little short before the next
summer was over.
Let the hogs be killed with as little
noise, and worriment, and excitement
as possible. A Jerseyman has one man
to go into the pen select his victim, and
shoot him, or with a broad faced ham
mer like a shoe makers hammer)
knock down the hog, when other men
comeimmediately and stick, others drag
out, and go to scalding, and so on with
a large number of hogs. ..rs.
ScaIding machines have become very
common, and are good Institutions but
every body has not got one, and still
use tubs. / like the tub, and want moth
ing better for ordinary times; but
wanta robe and tackle, and one or two
hands to help work the hog. /
would not allow hog put into water
while there is a sign Of life in him but
when dead, make an opening to the
gambrel strings and hook in, hoist the
hog and dip him head and shoulders
into the scald; do not let him remain
more than a second or two, lest the hair
sets" hoist him and air him, and if
needful, dip him, again and again, till
done; then hook into thelower jaw, and
scald the hinder parts. | like slow
scald5 the best, as least likely to 'set
the hair" While the hind parts are
getting scalded, theface may be clean
sed, Too little attention is generally
given to cleaning the head, as also the
feet, leaving them for the women to
worry over by the hour in some cold
outkitchen. As soon as the hog is hung
up and washed off, let the head be taken
off and set upon Il barrel or block and
regularly shaved and cleaned.
And now, whilespeaking of the head,
| want to say how | cut up a head. |
lay it on its side and take off the jaw or
lower jaw; 1 then saw down across the
face, above the eyes, but careful to run
into the eye sock cts, and on through,
leaving the eye ballswith thesnout end,
so that there is NO further trouble with
gouging the eyes out of the face piece ;
then, without any further separating OF
the parts, startinss between theears, saw
up and downwise,, not caring to extend
further down the snout than to the saw
mark across the face, but clean through
at the other end. Now, having done
with the ears for handles, | cut them
off, then take ou t the brains for pick
ling-skin the sn out, and take off the
flesh for scrapple, and throw the nasal
organs away. The faces are to be corn
ed. l use a saw, but never an axe, in
cutting up a hog; consequently the
meat is clear of splinters and chips OF
bones. In Ginning a hog" toeool, l. saw
down the ribs instead of hacking them
with hatchet. A small size hOghook
fattened, answers very well for taking
off the hoofs and toe nails of a porker-
or you may use a pair of pincers.