The herald., 1897-12-26
MARKETING OF MEAT
THE SPACIOUS STALLS OF THE
FIRST BUTCHER
Of Southern California-Simon Maier
and His Men-The Cold
Storage Vault


pigs feet, young pigs, beef from the
wind-swept plains of Arizona or green
alfalfa fields of the upper San Joaquin.
Meat of all kinds and sizes from all parts
of the Golden State can be seo.l hang
ing in the spacious stalls of the first
butcher Of Southern California. Simon
Maier, with his twenty years experience,
has proven conclusvely that applica-
ton and sound business sense can bring
success to the man who works. From
the primitive methods of twenty years
ago there has been evolved the present
magnificent plant for killing and curing
meats in the most approved manner. In
every way labor is saved and the waste
of the early slaughter houses entirely
eliminated. Everything about an
animal is put to some use, and strange as
it may seem, an element of art has
crept into this business and the butchers
vie with each other as to who can turn
out the cleanest and must artistic beef.
There are beeves hanging in the shop
today that show skill in the use of
the knife that is seldom found outside
an engravers office. Lard that is white
as driven snow under the skillful hands
of Mr. Maier's men takes on fantastic
shapes and shows what can be done in an
artistic way with greasy subject. But
ter ball lambs that at two months old
might weigh twenty-five pounds are one
of the features of this handsome ex-
hibit
Sugar cured hams, bacon with the
Irishman's requisite of a streak of lean
and a streak of fat Fancy dressed
calves and sheep, large and small, ten
der and sweet, all are to be found under
the spacious wall of their magnificent
shop in North Spring street. Courteous
treatment, honest weights and goods
just as represented are the features
of their shop.
Mr.. Maier having built up his trade
by years of hard work, keeps it by being
just to his customers. One hundred and
twenty-five employees attend to the bust
ness of this great plant and they are
most efficient in their particular lines of
work From the time the beef leaves
the range until it is safely hung up in
the ice box it is handled carefully in
order that there may be no loss or de-
teroration in the class of meat. Their
beef is all stall fed and competes favor
ably with the stall corn fed meats of
Kansas City and Chicago, while the Cal
ifornia mutton is known through the
length and breadth of the land as par
excellence.
On the 21st four siX-horse and one four
horse loads of meats went to the crown
of the valley, and that is only sample
of what they sell. Southern California
little realizes what an establishment we
have in our midst The packing house
of S. Maier is a plant up to date in every
way and the work is almost entirely
home product. They have a capacity of
800 cattle, 200 hogs, 600 sheep day, but
as yet have never been pushed to the
limit. From the slaughter room the
beef is taken to the chill room, where it
stands in a temperature of 80 degrees.
After it hangs for a sufficient time there
it is transferred to the cold storage
vault, where a temperature of As degrees
is maintained. Beef such as makes one
mouth water hangs in excellent condi-
ton. One of the most interesting parts
of the whole plant is the room where
the tools stand that handle the offal.
tallow and lard. The offal is
steamed, dried and ground, maxi
ing one of the best fertilizers on the
market, which fact is amply proven by
their not being able to keep up with the
demand for it.
The lard after being melted goes into
the receivers next to the treating tank,
where the refining stock is put in. This
mixture is constantly stirred by blasts
of air. Next the mixture is forced
through the filters which are built to
stand a pressure of $50 pounds to the
square inch. From the filter If not en-
tirely clear it goes again to the mixer and
again through the filter, after which it
passes over the chilling coil, over the
roll which is filled with cold brine into
the agitator, from which the rotary
pump takes it to the faucets where the
packages are filled. Soon will the
Orange Blossom brand of kettle rem
dered leaf lard be known throughout the
entire southwestern country as a home
product to be proud of. From the offal
secured different kinds of fertilizers are
made, as ground blood, ground bones
and bones and blood mixed. Glue stock
and meats foot oil are some of the prod
ucts of the great plant.
The entire plant is lighted by electric
ity generated by their own dynamo.
Their stables are filled with fine horses
and are neat and clean. In fact every
thing about the place shows the care and
attention that is given to detail. The
foremen of the respective departments
are men chosen for their knowledge of
that particular work and are thoroughly
up to date. first-class men. The strik-
ing part of the whole establishment is
the cleanness of their meats. They are
absolutely clean and in striking contrast
to the method of a few years ago. They
keep constantly on hand about 800 beef
cattle, 1000 sheep, 800 hogs and are in a
position to fill orders at any time for any
amount of meat needed in this part of
the United States. During the past
summer they shipped 1000 dressed sheep
per month to Denver, Col, and made
good profit on the deal. The government
takes no chances in any establishments
in the butchering business in the United
States, and everything in the Maier
packing house is examined by Special
Examiner A. j. Rorick, and all meats
passing out of the place are absolutely
healthy or they are condemned and made
into fertilizers.
In the near future they intend making
lard compound, cottolene and every
thing that in any way pertains to that
branch of the business. There Is no
reason why they may not with the facili-
ties they have at hand manufacture all
kinds of canned meats and beef extracts
and keep pace with the times in up to
date first-class work. Whatever they
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