The advocate., 1897-10-06
For the Farmer,
PAOKERg LTaHT- weight HOGs.

llrAfMAA N@AAAE1
considerably lower prices, induced their
being substituted for pure lard, and now
they are regularly established articles
Of commerce, accepted by both urban
and rural trade. Their manufacture has
been encouraged and stimulated, as in
stanced by the statistics furnished by
one OF the most prominent packers,
which show that their production OF
lard aggregated nearly 60,000,000 pounds,
and the number OF hogs killed was
given as but 100000, suggesting the yield
0f lard to have been nearly eighty-five
pounds, or about eleven gallons, to the
hog. This Is pretty good showing, and
1t would probably surprise many Of the
Old-timers to learn the high stage Of the
art at the present day and our grand
mothers, who thought five gallons a
tolerably good yield, would think this
quite improbable. However, to the ini-
tiated, this Is not especially surprising,
III that 1t has gotten to be matter of
common remark that the so-called lards
(cOmpOunds) can be manufactured quite
aa well in lumber yard as In packing
house. AS a fact, there Is a brand Of
go-called lard, with a remarkably large
sale all over the United States and
Europe, which Is made by firm who
kill no hogs at all, but advertise soaps"
as among their specialties But the
foregoing will probably suggest to some
4 extent why the short, chunky, broad
backed, thoroughly fat hog no longer
brings a premium or is even In general
request, and sometimes must be sold at
- hn
change In fashion, which has had such
disastrous effect upon the prices of
pure lard that 1t Is possible to-day to
buy the most prominent brands Of rem
dered, strictly all leaf lard, in choice
new oak tierces, iron bound (Which lat
ter cost the packers about 80 cents per
hundredweight of its contents), at Az
cents per pound, and possibly in some
Instances as low as cents, while the
inferior grades Of pure lard may be OBJ
tAlned at a considerably less cost. 1t
is probably unnecessary to add that
these prices yield positive loss to the
packer, and consequently he desires as
little OF the lard product as he can get
And lard is not the only item with which
Dame Fashion has interfered.
Up to about ten years ago the whole
sale buyers of the South were well
suited to have their purchases of short
ribs or 'middlings" delivered to them
at seventy pounds average, and their
long ribs at 100 pounds average; they
even stipulated for thick, fat meat. Grad
ually and steadily the inquiry for long
ribs has ceased entirely, and the short
ribs are stipulated to be Of lower av-
erages almost every season, until now
fcrty-pOund average Is usually de-
manded, and as this great staple cut
usually the most prominent in packing
house Operations) Is about 36 per cent
ot the gross hcg, 1t will be readily seen
that 1t requires hog Of not over 225
to 2SO pounds to yield the required low
average. Up to few years ago sides
OF this average were cut entirely into
what we call fancy domestic cuts, viz,
breakfast bacon and lOins, the break
fast bacon from such side being about
twelve pounds. Even this, however,
seems to be no longer permissible, for
where in the city trade the twelve-pound
piece OF breakfast bacon, and in the
rural trade the fourteen-pound, seemed
N 10 give perfect satisfaction, we to-day
n frequently receive OEueIS aEOm OuE Cuun-
try customers stipulating that their
breakfast bacon must not be over eight
N pounds to the piece. When 1t Is consid-
cred that the breakfast bacon is but 10
per cent. OF the gross hog, 1t will be
readily seen that the two pieces OF
breakfast bacon OF sixteen pounds will
Macessltate the cutting from hog of
mot over 100 pounds live weight, The
0Eher cuts are all tending toward smaller
n nieces, and 1t looks now as II the time