Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1878-11-15
Killing Hogs.

A Bucks County farmer writes in the
Germantown Telegraph: Killing hogs
is a business in which the whole com
munity is interested, and perhaps small
proportion acquainted with. It is term
ed "butchering, and often carried on in
a butchering style, while it is business
worthy of being conducted in a decent
and scientific way I do not propose
going into long programme of telling
how to catch hog, and how to hold him
etc, but to throw out few hints.
DO not suffer the hog to be run and
worried by men, boys, and dogs, getting
his blood and flesh heated just before
he is killed. | believe this is one cause
OF meat spelling. Sometimes we drive
hog or two to neighbours, SO as to
kill together, as it is termed, making
use OF the same force, same fire, and
other fiXings; and we have known the
hams and shoulders Of the hogs thus
driven to come out little short before
the next summer was over.
Let the hog be killed with as little
noise and worriment and excitement as
possible. A Jerseyman has one man to
go into the pen, select his first victim
and shoots him, or with a broad-faced
hammer Qike shoemaker's hammer)
knocks down the hog, when other men
come Immediately and stick, others
drag out and go to scalding, and so on
with a large number OF hogs.
Scalding machines have become
very common and are good institution:
but everybody has not got one, and still
use tubs. | like the tub. and want
nothing better for ordinary times; but |
want rope and tackle and one or two
hands to help work the hog. | would
not allow a hog put into hot water while
there is 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 shoulder into the
scald; do not let him remain more than
a second or two, lest his hair sets; ="
hoist him and air him, and if needful,
Hlp him again and again until done; then
hook into the lower jaw and scald the
hinder part. like slow scalds the best,
as less likely to set the hair While
the hind parts are getting scalded the
face may be cleaned Too little atten-
ton 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 out kitchen. As soon as the
hog is hung up and washed off let the
head be taken off and set upon barrel
or block and regularly shaved and
cleaned
And now, while speaking of the head,
| want to say how | cut up a head.
lay it ON its side and take off the jowl
Cor lower jaw, | then saw down across
the face just above the eyes, being care
full to run into the eye sockets and on
through, leaving the eyeballs with the
snout-end, so that there is no farther
trouble with gouging the eyes out of
the face piece; then without farther
separating of the parts, starting be-
tween the ears, saw up-and- down wise,
not caring to extend farther down to-
ward 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 out the brains for picking, skin
the snout and take off the flesh for
scrapple and throw the nasal organs
away. The faces are to be corned. |
use saw, but never an axe, in cutting
up a hog, consequently the meat is clear
of splinters and chip of bones. In
Ginning hog" to cool, | saw down the
ribs instead Of hacking them with
Ratchet A small-sized hog hook fiat
tened answers very well for taking off
the boots and toe-nails of porker, or
you may use a pair of pincers Do
mestic Butcher.