The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-09-05
HOW ONE WOMAN
 SOLVED THE PROBLEM She Takes Considerable Money Out Of Razor
 back Hogs. SHE KILLS 800 YEARLY. The Work Not Hard, Nor Is It Unwomanly in
 Maryland.
SHE KILLS 800 YEARLY.

ing and curing. She owns a small farm just across the line from the District of Columbia, and disposes oi her sugar-c cured meat to private GUS toners in Washington and Baltimore
 We live simply but comfortably and at the end of each year there is always something to lay by against a rainy day" Miss Smith replied when asked about her success. q now have 4GS hogs for my next seasons killing. Three years ago had 501, and per haps during the next two months may be able to bring my pens up to that number by purchasing hogs from my neighbors.
 T don't care to go much above 500, and if my seasons killing only amounts to 45O, am quite content. It is not easy to pick up just the kind of hogs suited to my trade, and unless I can get just what I want, I'd rather not have them,
 Tn work of this sort it is necessary to keep up the standard of your goods. That is what my customers pay for. They could get all the sugar-cured bacon of the average quality from the large packers. They prefer to buy mine because it is better or at least they fancy it is better.
 ITO hold them as customers I must keep my bacon up to the mark. For that reason I had rather fall few killers short than send out one round ham or a side of bacon with too much fat.
 What do I mean by round ham? That is one of the greatest differences between my hams and those cured by the large packing houses. Their hams are short, almost round on the top and very fat Mine are longer, much fatter and not nearly so fat.
 The difference lies principally in the breed of hogs Perhaps you will laugh when you learn that my hogs belong to what is known in the South as the shoestring breed. They are the sort of hogs that twenty years ago could be found in all Aparts of the South running about the woods almost like wild animals. In some sections they are known as razorbacks.
 Tt was about twenty years ago that I tasted my first razorback ham. As 8 child I had gone to South Georgia with my mother for her health. We became acquainted with the family of an old planter near the little town in which we were stopping, and they Invited us out to their plantation for dinner.
 T remember just how that ham looked and my first impression of 1t when it was brought on the table It was large and yet it was so flat that I hadn't any hope of it's being as good as the ham we had at home.
 When I came to taste 1t my mind for 1t was about the incest meat I had ever eaten. The old planter told my mother it was home cured and after dinner they took us out to see the smokehouse where it was cur- ed and the pigs--killers, they called were reserved for a later slaughter.
 They gave mother their recipe for curing meat and every year after that my father made a point of raising few hogs and curing the meat for mother, Nine years ago, when father died, there were few pieces of that home cured bacon in the house, and when the time came for the division of his little property my brothers wanted it sold because neighbor of fered him good price for it.
 q obected on my mothers ac- count, and managed to keep the meat. Within few weeks the same neigh Dor came to me direct with an offer It was that second offer that gave me the idea by which I now support my self and my mother.
 ''At the time of fathers death I was studying, with the intention of becoming a school teacher. Of course with him gone there was mother to be knew that it would new CT do for me to leave her alone, so l decided to remain with her on the farm and try to make 1t keep us.
 After the division, that was all we had, this farm and the few head of stock, free of debt. When that man came around to try for the second time to buy mothers bacon I thought put my plan.
 "The first thing I did was to write to the old planter in Georgia and ask about getting start in his breed of hogs, telling him my reasons. I re- eeived prompt reply from his son saying his father had died and that he, acting as he was sure his father would have him do, was sending me six pigs of the pure shoestring breed He also inolosed full directions about ,slaughtering and curing them.
 From those six pigs and four grown hogs which he shipped me the next spring all my stock has sprung My business methods have been very simple
 For the first two years went per sonally to first class hotels and to pri- vate customers. I told them of my and asked for small or ders. Having pleased them once, the only question was keeping their trade and supplying the orders that came from persons who had eaten my hams and bacon at their tables.
 T have a great many orders for the coming season that I will be unable to fill Tn several instances the people have written me again asking nae to book their orders for the autumn of l9OS You see, I never deliver goods until they have hung in my smoke house for one year and on special orders for twice that long. For proper curing bacon requires one year.
 After the fresh pork has hung sui