News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-12-18
TALKS WITH THE BOYS.
vi. QUAD TAKES HIS YOUNG FAMILY
INTO A SLAUGHTER HOUSE.
And Shows Them How Hogs are Taken
in and Prepared for the Pork Barrel.

| ana SHOWS Tbem HCw HOGS are Taken
in and Prepared for the Pork Barrel.
Yes, I've been there Indeed, ''hog-
killing time" is matter to be remem-
bered for lifetime. We boys were up
at daylight filling the big kettles with
water, bringing up wood, and making
everything ready. After breakfast the
ox-sled was drawn up and covered with
boards, the fires lighted, and the butch
er knives sharpened for work. The fat
| porkers in the pen, unconscious of their
impending fate. growled and complained
over the absence Of the morning meal,
and 1t wasn't SO very soft-hearted in us
to express pity for the animals we had
fed from little pigs.
Wnen the killers were ready the long
fastened pig-pen door was loosened and
one OF the men entered, caught aporker
by the leg and drew him out, and amidst
ms shrleks and struggles the knife was
thrust into his throat. The carcass was
then lifted upon the sled and two or
three men soused it into a slanting bar
rel of hot water and hauled it out again.
Then we all fell to work with chips and
hands and knives to remove the brist,es,
and after the rinsing the porker was hung
up to be dissected and left to freeze.
Things may have greatly changed in
twenty-five years, but in the DAYS write
OF the first hog was no sooner dressed
than we were sent off with fresh meat
for the Tylers and Terrills and Warmers
and Greenes, and all enjoyed it for din
ner and returned the compliment within
fortnight. There was a great muss
around the yard for two or three days,
bigger muss in the house for full
week, ard when the last hog was loaded
for market or in the barrel it was con-
sidered a disagreeab!e job well over
with.
Now, my lads, let's drop into aslaugh-
ter-house i'll Cincinnati Indianapolis or
Chicago, and see if the old-tashioned
methods have been improved Cd. In
stead of finding pen full of hogs we
find them by the acre in the big yard
where they are unloaded from the cars.
From the yard to the top floor of
the slaughter is an inclined
plane. something like what you will find
at wheat elevators in small towns for
farmers teams to drive up. Two or
three boys with switches are kept in the
yard to urge the animals up the plane,
and they rush into the pen at the top ex-
pectiHg square meal of corn.
The pen is presided over by man
whose heart is devoid Of pity for the
whole hog race. He holds in his hand
a steel clasp attached to stout chain.
The clasp works like pair of ice tongs
tho more pull the tighter the grip
while the chain runs over an iron pull
ley on an iron track overhead, and from
thence passes down over a cylinder or
drum worked by handy little steam
engine. Keep watch of the man. With
a swift movement he attaches the clasp
to hind leg, the engine gives a puff
and the animal travels up to the pulley
while you are counting five. There is a
click, and the engine lets go of the pull
ley, and away go pulley ard p'g to-
gether, tie track on which the i5-ner
runs being gradual descent.
There are few direful sq1eals from
the hog as he rolls along, but only few.
The first man he comes 10 is the s5icker,
who is broad -shouldered, strong
armed fellow, with long, sharp knife 70
his hand. One thrust Of the knife does
for the victim, ard he travels along 70
tie scaldirg-vat, and another click
ioosels the clasp and he takes a plunge
no tie hot water. Stout men with
hooks catch and turn him over, and then
sort of gridiron rises up from the bot
tom of the kettle lifting lie body with i.
and dumping it upon a broad belt
VII ca carries him 20 scraping machine.
Up to few years ago the scfapicg
was done by four men, two of whom
scraped one side and passed the body
along to be scraped on the other. the
modern invention takes the hog in head
first, lying on his back, and the scrapers,
worked by steam, rob him of every
blstle and push him out at the other
cad almost as quickly as you can pass
an ear OF corn through a corr-saeller.
He then comes to,ss- man -ssho sewers the
head, splits open and cleans the skull,
and las this part Of him ready for
market while you count fifteen. While
he is doing ais the headless hog is run
up to another pulley and sent Jogging
along to the butcher. Three or four
strokes OF the knife down the belly and
the hog is what you might call dressed
A hose pipe rinses him out, and the
pulley runs him down into the cooling
room to JOIN his hundreds of dead COM
panions. Just three minutes and half
from the time he entered the pen he is
hanging il the cooling room.
The intestines of the animal travel off |
in different direction, the livers to be
sold to hotels and restaurants or made |
into sausage, and no portion to be |
wasted. The trying watts ex-
tract grease from such parts as cannot |
be worked up, and the refuse from the
watts is used as fuel to run the engines. |
When the carcasses in the cooling-room |
are cold they go into the hands of the |
packers. These men cannot do their |
work as rapidly as the killers, but every |
labor saving invention is brought into |
use to tighten the work and prevent
waste of time. AS the carcass is lowered |
to table, five seconds work separates |
the hams, another five the shoulders, |
and hams go one way, side-pieces |
another and shoulders third. The |
hams are to be rubbed, smoked, sacked,
and labeled, the shoulders smoked or
packed, the side-pieces packed IN the
cleaness of barrels as pork, Or prepared
to become breakfast bacon, and from
the moment the house opens in the |
until the whistle blows at |
night there is not an idle man nor an
idle moment. Everything goes like |
clock works obliged to. If a pig,
running down from the catcher to the
sticker, or from the sticker to the watts,
should halt for five seconds, or drop |