Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1894-03-10
HOG sLAuGHTEAINc.
Farmers. why Don't You Use Mechanical
Appliances For This Prrposes

Farmers. why Don't you Use Mechanical
Appliances For This Prrposes
| There is no necessity to have Z crowd
of men about to kill and dress q few hogs.
There is no reason why q farmer with
his dozen pigs may not make use Of sane.
of the simple mechanical appliances that
are used by the great siaughterers. Of
course it is not suggested that he should
have any costly apparatus, but there are
some readily made devices by which one
man may do as Euch as three or four,
and, with one helper. the dozen pigs may
be made into finished pork between
breakfast and dinner, alll without any
excitement or worry or hard work.
1t is supposed thas thu pigs are in pen
or pens, where they may be easily roped
by moose around one bind leg. This
being done, the animal Is led to the door
and guided into . be-. having slide
door to shut it in The bottom of the
box is hinged lid. As soon as the pig
is safely in the box and shut il by slid
ing down the back door and fastening it
by hook, the box is turned over, bring
ing the pig On his back. The bottom of
the box is opened Immediately. and one
seizes q hind foot to hold the animal
while theoiher sticks the pig in the usual
manner. The box is turned and lifted
off from the pig. which. still held by the
rope, is guided to the dressing bench.
All this is done while the previous pig is
being scalded and dressed. or at such
part of the work that as soon as one pig
is hung and cleaned the next one is ready
for the scalding.
The scalding vat is a wooden box with
sheet iron bottom, SO that q small fire
may be kept under it to maintain the
proper heat Of the water This is $50 de-
grees T. or 50 G. Or the vat may be re-
plenished with hot water from an adj
jacent boiler. This vat is placed close
against the dressing table, so that the
carcass may be rolled upon barred
table that is immersed in the hot water
the full depth. This barred table may be
made in various ways. 1t may consist
of Stats, fastened at each end and the
middle to chains by strong staples so
that it is pliable, and the hog may be en-
braced by it and easily turned out of the
water by two short rope handles, or one
attached to pulley block on a bar over
it.
As the carcass is dressed it is lifted by
a hook at the end of a swivel lever mount
ed ON post and swung around to the
hanging bar. placed conveniently. This
bar has sliding hooks, made to receive
the gambrel sticks, w.ich have a hook
permanently attached to each so that
the carcass is quickly removed from the
swivel level to the slide hook on the bar.
The upper edge Of the bar is rounded
and smootled and creased to help the
hooks to slide on it. This serves to hang
all the pigs on the bar until they are
cooled. If four persons are employed,
this work may go on very quickly, as
they may divide the work between them
and one pig be scalding and cleaning
while another is being dressed. The en-
trails should be dropped into a wheel
barrow as they are taken from the ami
NAL.
Where 10 or 70 pigs are dressed every
year it will pay to have suitable build
ing arranged fer it. An excellent place
may be made in q driveway between a
double corn crib, or in wagon shed or
an annex to the barn where the feeding
Pen is placed. The building should have
stationary boiler in it, and such appar-
atus as has been suggested and wind
lass used to do the lifting. Henry Stew
art in American Agliculturist.