The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-05-24

numbers of calves, sheep and hogs.
The supply comes mostly from Illinois
and Kentucky. Chicago being the dis
point in the cattle trade of the
West Few State cattle are ever
here. These beeyes will
average in price from seventy-five
to one hundred dollars per head, fine
Christmas animals ranging from one
hundred to one hundred and fifty dol
lars. They Will weigh from eight hum
dred to fifteen hundred pounds gross,
and will generally net from sixty-four to
sixty eight per cent. of their live weight
A bullock is useful from the tips of
his horns to the end of his tail. No part
of him is wasted, but all is put to some
use and given commercial value.
Most of the slaughtering is done along
the East River, between Forty-third and
Forty seventh streets, and it is interest
ing to observe the progress of an animal
from the time it reaches the slaughter !
house until it is ready for the cook. In
the locality named the weeks killing
amounts to six thousand head, besides
about fifteen thousand calves and sheep.
The slaughtering is done by the Jewish
method all the slaughterers are Jews,
who follow the business for life, and
who perform the duties under special
license from the synagogue. No Jew
can XIII without a license. The old
Mosaic law is carried out to the letter,
its principles being the avoidance of
torture and the freeing the carcass of all
blood. The method is as follows: The
animal is driven into small pen or in
closure, into which opens door, from
the gallows or windlass. A rope from
the gallows is dexterously fastened
about the left hind leg above the hook
joint, and passed in front of the right
leg A turn of the windlass
tightens the rope and draws
the animal backward into the
open door, gradually raising its
hind feet from the ground, until
in its struggles to get its right foot
over the robe, and unable longer to
resist the sideways pressure, it falls over
on its left side, Its hind parts suspended
in the air, and only its head and shout
ders remaining on the floor The
butcher then comes with a marderous
blade of the finest steel, two inches wide
and two feet long, square pointed, and as
sharp and keen as a razor. He grasps
the now passive animal by the nose,
and by sudden movement turns the
head over tiIlthe tips of both horns rest
on the floor. The position is such that
the throat is stretched and the animal
cannot turn back its head. With a
single stroke of the knife the head is
nearly severed from the body. Another
turn is given to the windlass and the dy-
ing animal hangs there till life is ex-
tinct and every drop of blood is drained
from the body. 1t is skinned in the
usual way; and once more the Jewish
slau9hterer assumes control. Ii is his
duty to open the carcass and test its
quality. When an aperture is made he
inserts his hand and arm to feel if the
lungs, liver and heart are in their proper
places and in good condition. The
lungs may be grown to the ribs, the
liver may be swollen with gall, the
heart may be diseased, but he can tell
instantly their condition. Ii all is right
inside he pronounces the animal
Goshen" and places leaden seal
upon it; if otherwise, he calls il
'-Trafer" and it goes into the sale as
second or third-class. No strict Jew
viii buy beef that has not the leader
seal on it, and he never eats the fore
quarters lest some blood may remain
there. Gentiles are not so particular.
When the intesunes are removed, the
fat, lower joints and head are cut off
and the carcass is sawed in half, dowI
the backbone, and hung in the sales
room. These halves are then carefully
trimmed, the coating of fat, called thu
rail" is stretched over as much a.
possible, and held by wooden PIN
driven into the flesh. The thin tissue O
flesh over the ribs, outside, is carveC
with fancy figures, leaves, flowers o.
| latticed, and the natural contraction
caused by cooling, turns up the Gu
edges. This part of the beef goes 10 tn
| retail dealers The head is skinned ant
1 boned, the tongue is cut out and sold
and all the flesh that can be got Off i
used for sausage. The bony part goe
into the manufacture of fertilizers, an,
is turned into ground bone. The horn
are converted into combs, umbrella
tips, horn jewelry, whistles and toys
The slug" or inner surface of tn
horn, is used for making glue and fer
tilizers. The feet are also used TO
making glue and neats-foot oil. Ever
one knows what becomes of the hide
The best of the hair, which comes off il
the tanning process, is carefully washe
and dried and baled, and is sold for tn
manufacture Of shoddy blankets. Tn
poorer quality of hair is worked int
mortar by brick-masons and plasterers
The switch or long tHft of hair 6
the end of the tail, is used for maxim
hair mattresses. The heart and live
are eaten by those who are fond of then
The fat goes into oleomargarine or int
oil, the manufacture of which has grow
to wonderful extent.
4 Every drop of blood is saved and cor
verted into fertilizers with the intestine
and offal. Large factories are built fo
the purpose, and at Forty-fourth stree
and East River is one estsbhshmeI
which uses the blood and refuse froi
5000 beeves every week. The offal
used fresh every day. 1t is not above
to lie over long enough to becom
tainted; thus the usual fearful odors
the slaughter house are avoided. I'll
blood is caught in barrels and haule
into this factory, where it is poured int
large tank on the ground floor, frol
which it is pumped into immense vertie'
boilers situated on the second floor, the
lower ends reaching down through Ii
floor into the drying" room. Whe
filed, these boilers are hermeticall
sealed and subjected to draining pr
cess under a pressure of eighty pount
to the square inch.E 1t requires but
few minutes to cook blood, thel
being SO much albumen in it that it SOC
coagulates when heated. 1t is the
drawn off at the bottom of the boilers
the drying room, when it is put I'M
huge sacks of cocoa-matting and sui
jected to hydrostatic pressure, whic
expels all moisture and leaves the bloc
q dry, dusty substance, more resembli1