The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1909-11-16
HAMS.
The Only Perfect Ham; the Only Per
feet Sauce.

To the Editor: Some contributors
to the Washington Post have recently
been telling how to raise, corn and
to COO q ham.
production of a ham or rather the
ham, I, though but an humble disciple
of Epicurus, most strongly dissent.
OF course there are hams AMI hams
(socalled) from the near-la-d ham
of Chicago to the all wood ham Of
Connecticut. But your genuine ham,
the ham for which the mouths of the
wise have watered from the begin
ming groweth only under the curved
spine of the razor-back-the North
Carolina razor-back. Whether the
divine flavor of this han is the direct,
out-and-out gift Of the Gods. or
whether it is the result of the pic
turesque menu of it's original owner
the reverent does not pry into any
bliss that SAUNDERS in four fingers
old old Nash brandy. He knows that
it is there; that it is good and governs
himself accordingly.
Nothing can be simpler than the
evolution from piglet to platter Of
such a ham, certain adjuncts and ac-
cessories being at hand, Of course.
First get YOU raZOr-back. Turn him
out into the woods. Unless your
fence is horse high, bull strong and
pig tight he will save you that trouble.
He will turn himself out. There he
will look to his own menu. The
over curious affirm that while it en-
braces about everything short of light
wood knots and Indian f1ints, running
the whole gamut from black-berries
to black snakes. taking in wild ber-
ries, wild nuts, wild roots, wild herbs,
corns and beech mast, that at once
the observation-disclosures and the raisor-
d. attire Gin short the cause and rea-
son for being) of the razor-back is
the pine root. That the very reason
hat on top he bulges i a razor
blade is because his pack bone has
been sprung by the perpetual impact
of his snout against rocks in his
mining operations for pine roots. This
and kindred subterranean operations
also explains why ne is most per cent
snout. But that bulge whence comes
his classic NAME, concerns the scien-
fist rather than the epicure-the man.
Or rather concerns the man only in
that it is the nature mark Of the only
genuine brand Of hams.
Well, in the fall when the water
melon has become ancient history and
the scuppernong, but a memory;
when the honk of the southbound wild
goose reminds US that our three re
naming friends, the possum, the
- w < "AAN DooA 49,
forsake US ~by-and-by, it is time enough
to turn our attention to razOr-back
By the gift of a little corn and the
promise Of much more we toll him
through a slip-gap into a ten rail pen,
staked and ridered. There as a
peace offering we fling down sweet
potatoes galore and later some corn.
Then when we can do without spare
ribs and Cuttings and lei no lon
Oar and when the moon ana the
weather is right, we speak to Unc'
Ceph or Unc' Primus as the case
NAV be. Our Wee sma' hour dreams
that night may be p~unctuated with
a suueal or so. But we need know
nothing till we peep smoke-house-
ward at daylight. There Porous
duly gambrelled will swing from the
same pole whence time out Of mind
nave swung his fOrbears.
Dinner that day will Of course be
made memorable by haslet stew;
breakfast the next morning by spare
ribs and brains; dinner by backbone
pie and supper by fried sausage and
SO on till b~y-and-by Cuttings and
sauce will brim our overf1oWing cup
of blessings.
But taken captive by the mere
thought Of these delights, I wander
from my subject. While all the
above is about or if you will a-gullet,
mater familias, duly assisted, gives
attention to the meat and especially
to the hams.
After being subjected to divers
rites and rubbing they are laid away
in state (and in salt). Then in the
f~ullness Of time comes a reverent
raising aloft by means Of virgin white
oak splits and then a long incense
burning Of hickory chips, and then
a. prayerful rObing in blackstrap
Oong sweetening) and powdered black
pepper. And then a still longer lying
in state. In fact this last must be
as long as we can hold Il potato
in vulgar parlance IS long as we car
contain ourselves. The longer the
wait the greater the results.
When the palate downs the man
then turn over to Aunt Dinah or Aunt
Tarracv as the case may be. the ham