Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1912-08-23

sues, that Is, the lean meat, but as
the work is not hard. the muscles
grow without becoming tough and
stringy. Allow them a good range
up to the time of killing, and do not
fatten them in pens. They fatten as
well when left out in the fields and
keep healthy. AS they fatten they
travel less, but this travel converts
much of the food into muscle or lean
meat instead of altogether into fat
as Is the tendency when penned, as
illustrated by the western meat. To
have the best meat and that which
brings the best price and which has
| the most flavor, and with the fat and
lean properly intermixed and proper
! toned, YOU must let the hogs have
plenty of exercise and then kill them
| before they are too fat Have them
fat, but not so fat they can hardly
walk. There is no economy in hay-
ing them too fat and the meat is not
so good
To secure sound meat be sure to
kill only in cold, frosty weather.
After November / is safest. Allow
to hang up all night to drain and
thoroughly cool. The hog cuts out
nicer and keeps better if stiff when
cut out"
There are various excellent ways
of curing the hams The following,
used for many years with success on
the farm Of Colonel Chas. SCHUYLER,
commissioner of agriculture of Lou
isiana, is described in a bulletin of
the Louisiana station:
When hogs are fat, select any time
during the month of December. Janu-
airy, or first half of February, when
weather is clear, wind from the north
to northwest, with the thermom eter
registering below IS degrees Fab
renheit at sunrise. Have your water
hot and scald as soon as hog is dead.
Hang up and disembowel the animal
just as soon as it is cleaned. No
butchering animal should ever be
permitted to cool off until after it is
disembowled. Cut up the carcass as
soon as it is through dripping. Saw
or split the backbone. Let it and the
spare rib remain on the side, and
make them as long as you can. Hams
and shoulders small. Hams to sell
readily should weigh from Is to IS
pounds
To half bushel fine salt add half
pound pulverized saltpeter. one
pound finely ground black pepper,
four pounds sugar; mix thoroughly.
Rub ham with mixture. Pack in box
skin side down. Apply double hand
full of mixture to flesh part of e1ch
ham. Then apply plenty of clean
salt never permitting the meat to
| touch. without sal being betwee3.
covering all parts and filling every
creyice, and let them remain in the
salt six weeks.
After being in salt six weeks, Sc
lect a clear day, string each ham, and
dip in a boiling solution of one
pound beraX dissolved in Is gallons
of water and hang up high in a dark
smokehOuse (the higher the better)
and smoke, using green hickory
wood Smoke daily for two weeks
or more. as preferred. By April 1 at
least, hams should again be dipped
in boiling water, to cleanse them
from all impurities, wrapped in pa
per- then cloth, and this painted with
some cheap mineral paint. Hang up
again and leave until used or sold.
Two methods which have been sue
cessfully used by Virginia farmers
are described by DR. Magruder as fol-
lows:
CD On the fleshy surface of each
ham rub in thoroughly fine salt
peter; use one tablespoonful to a 15-
pound ham, and vary the amount ac-
cording to size of ham. Then pack
away for four to six hours, with
flesh side up, in order to give the
saltpeter time to strike in then take
up and rub well with salt and pack
away, using plenty of salt. AS they
are packed away they should be
pressed into plump, symmetrical
shape while soft. Pack near top Of
bulk, and never over two and a half
or three feet deep. If they are
packed deep and have other meat put
on top of them, they will be mashed
flat and out of shape They remain
packed in plenty of salt for six
weeks, when they are taken up, well
washed, and when nearly dry about
one teaspoonful of powdered borax
is sprinkled over the fleshy surface
from large pepperbox The borax
| is TO keen off skiDOars Tbav aro