Wichita eagle., 1888-12-26
FROM HOOP TO CAN.
The Lightning Processes of Turning An
mails Into Solid Food.

TIE Lightning Processes OF Turning AM
mails Into Solid Food.
Nh Libby said to me:
Tho timekeeper has just been down giving
it to me for putting you up stairs. lie said:
It's shame to put that young lady up there
in all that grease. Give her nicer work
Who is sheg l told him was just obeying
orders and knew nothing about you Come
On now, and I'll show you the whole
process of making a cow into can Of corned
beef.n
We passed down into the slaughter houses,
saw some high stalls and a man with mai
let passing from one to another. There was
that dull, sickening thud, e gate was lifted,
steer jerked up by the hind legs and its
throat cut Then it was pulled clear up out
Of sight 70 bleed and be drawn.
The next time it appeared the hoofs and
head had been taken OFF ready to skin. At
least dozen men waited their turn for au
animal to come down on the endless chaln
hanging still by the hind legs. The hide was
removed. The next men split the backbone
and the two halves were passed on to be
washed and wiped.
After this process the two halves swung
into a chute and down an incline plane to the
cutting room. Here the first man made cut
between the fourth and fifth ribs; another
followed with saw and separated the fore
from the hind quarter The hind quarters
went on to the cooling rooms to be shipped
for dressed beef, while the fore quarters were
thrown on the cutting blocks. Passing from
one cutter TO another, every man making q
certain cut, the whole piece was cit up,
stripped of the bones, and sent 10 the curing
rooms to be made into coIned beef.
The assortment is wonderful-every part is
utilized The bones go to the fertilizer; the
shank bones to factory for making knife
handles, etc. the suet and fat into tallow;
the hoofs to glue factory, kidneys, hearts,
etc, are canned into minced scallops or sold
TO local dealers; tongues are disposed of in
the same way, and the oxtails are cooked
into soup
After curing, the corned beef In large
pieces is shipped in barrels, the smaller pieces
being cooked and canned by the packers.
The hind quarters of beef, after being
cooled, are shipped in refrigerator cars to all
parts Of the country. One department con-
tains supplies for the local trade, the best
beeves being dressed in halves and bought by
retail butchers
Down in the basement immense engines run
night and day, also an ice machine by which
any cold temperature is maintained in the
cooling rooms. Going into these the Their
mometer was found to stand below freezing
point Hundreds Of barrels of meat lay in
the store rooms ready to ship. Twelve gun
bred cattle are handled every day and con-
verted into marketable form.
In the tin shop all the cans are made in
dozen sizes and shapes. A pattern shears
cuts out can at one clip; another cuts and
stamps and turns the edges of the top and
bottom 4 third machine grasls the strip
in its iron embrace and seams il while man
feeds the machine and soldiers the seams The
tops and bottoms are fitted on; the round
cans fed to revolving soldering machine,
which drops them when soldered, and the
square ones ere soldered by hand Scrap tin
is cut up into caps by another mechanical
arrangement And the useless scraps are
sold, the tin melted OF 20 be used again.
After labelling the cans gre packed in boxes
and the nails driven in with machine that
fasteus whole row at one blow. 1t is all
machinery-nlachinery the use for merely
mechanical men is dying out constantly, and
q new race with intelligence enough TO guide
the mechanism Of machinery is taking their
place.
One of these days there viii be brainy
man or woman lwhy nos9 who VIII make
patent labeler and varnisher. Then super
ciiious, well dressed young woman, who
would scorn the position OF typewriter, VIII
stand and feed machine that turns out blue
topped cans with all the wriggiing yellow
lines put straight, and all the consultations
OF yellow stars performing their prescribed
or5itS-Nora Marks in Chicago Tribune