The Red Cloud chief., 1880-09-30
Wholesome Pork.

The truth of the curt adage, 1.-the
devil is in pork" must be quite gener-
ally conceded il its manifestations in a
long list of cutaneous. febrous ana
bilious disorders be takenf for a suihcient
personification Of his satanic majesty.
But as a temperate eater Of the flesh of
properly-grown, home-raised hogs, the
writer protests that such is not necessa-
rily the case, and that pork might take
as high rank in point Of healthfulness
in comparison with other meats as IT
holds in ~palatability. The deleteriouS
consequences attendant on its use are
clearly traceable to the abuse Of man
and to no fault of the creature. The
simple fact is. swine have for untold
generations generally been confined
| and fattened in close styes reeking with
filth, and fed on a confused mess Of de-
composing stuff a part OF which has.
perhaps, been fermenting in the swili
barrel for DAYS or even weeks. 1t IS
| only necessary To mention as coordinate
with this treatment. that wholesale
process by which hOgsare furnished to
the market from distilleries.
II there is any relation between cause
and effect, how a it be expected that
pork produced under such noxious con-
ditions can be a healthful food? 1t Is
a significant fact that these conditions
are so VIGOROUSLY bad that municipal
authority usually prohibits or regulates
the keeping of swine within city linn
its. Even the constitutions of the hogs
themselves have waned under this long.
continued abuse, as trichina, cholera.
kidney and other diseases prevalent
among them attest. 1t is safe to affirm
that the livers of a large majority OF
hogs are pitted and notified with putri-
fying ulcers; yet from its very fire.
quency, few think of pronouncing the
hog unsOund simply because it has a
diseased liver. Another potent fact in
bringing pork into disrepute rs an ar
ticle of general consumption, is found
in the ill-devised system of breeding
pigs with a view of producing a carcass
of thick-sided, clear fat. As a result
the long, deep-bodied, sweet-meated
swine of twenty-five years ago with
their alternate streaks of fat and lean,
are rarely to be found. So universal
has this system of breeding become.
that a strong protest from the pork
dealers of England has been made.
stating in substance, that the hogs OF
yore must be bred again, or the extern
sive trade in bacon in that country must
cease.
The simple remedy for the evils com
planned of is of course found in revers'
ing the conditions. Homeopathy. how.
ever good in other places, will not work
a cure here. l have been long con
vinced that persons of enterprise who
understand the subject would find il
both q lucrative and sanitary move t.
grow hogs according to all the hygienit
conditions requisite to make the pro.
duct healthful and relishable. Theil
market would at first be sought at the
tables of select consumers who would
be as able and willing to pay an &C
valorem price for what might be termed
fancy pork, as for fancy butter. 1t i:
probably too much to expect to success
fully oppose the greed of hog '~raisers
with a mere appeal to the laws of health,
But Independently of this. if intelligent
consumers would demand, and persis
in demanding, a better article, they
would get it, through notions of polio,
if not of philanthropy; and certainly
the great farming communities OF the
West and South. on whose tables porl
is served one to three times a day. car
be taught, in their own behalf at least
to raise swine of the proper stock. IL
fields and clearly kept comfortable
pens, with suitable food and drink. ant
not be satisfied with doing things m
better than their fathers did. A ten
dency in this direction would do muci
in exercising the devil from the pork o
our day and indirectly from the human
system.-Cor. N. Y. Tribune.