Dresden enterprise and Sharon tribune. (Dresden, Tenn.) 1907-1997, 1916-07-28
YOU CAN HAVE FRESH
MEAT EVERY DAY
If You and Your Neighbor Get To.
gether and Form Meat Club.

DIVISION OF EXTENSION, University OF
Tennessee.)
To those farmers who live at dis
lance from the market the securing of
fresh meat daily is quite problem.
Many are content to depend upon
sailed OF smoked meat. However, the
thoughtful farmers wife knows full
well that the continued use Of meat
sailed or smoked leads to a loss Of APP
petite. She can remedy this lack of
fresh meat by urging her husband to
join a fresh meat club, or, ii one does
not exist nearby, to get him to organ
ize one in the neighborhood.
The operation of the club is extreme.
ly simple and democratic-no officers,
constitution, bylaws, nor dues. Each
member of the club verbally agrees to
furnish the club with beef of a GER
tain age and approximate weight when
his turn comes, to pay for the butcher
ing of the animal, and to deliver por-
tions of it to other members of the
club. One of the members of the club
is chosen to do the slaughtering. Some
member volunteers to furnish the first
animal to be slaughtered. On the Fri
day following the butcher goes to this
members farm, slaughters the animal
and divides it into as many parts as
there are members. Each part is
weighed and the weight is written on
tag which has been attached to the
meat. This tag contaiRs the name of
the member who is to receive the
meat. He makes record of the name
on the tag, the weight, and the portion
of the animal from which the meat
came, in book. The butcher is usually
paid about a dollar and a half for
slaughtering and keeping the record
of each animal The hide is kept by
the farmer.
On Saturday, the portions of meat
are then delivered by the farmer who
furnished the animal to each member
as indicated on the attached tag. This
gives the farmers wife a chance to
have a fresh piece of meat for the
Sundays roast beef.
On the following Friday the butcher
visits the next member who is to fur
nish beef to the club The butcher
again marks the weight of each piece
on the attached tag, with this differ
ence, however, each member gets a
portion from another part of the ami
NAL than he got the previous week In
this way each member will get cuts
from the various parts of the carcass
by the time the butcher has made the
rounds of all the members.
After each member has furnished an
animal, the butcher ascertains the
total number of pounds OF meat each
member has received from the club
The difference in weight between what
he has received and what he has fur
nished is then computed If he has
furnished more than he has received,
he is paid eight or ten cents a pound
for the surplus. On the other hand,
if he has furnished less than he has
received, he is charged a similar
amount for the deficit.
+ Where the family of member Is
small, arrangements are usually made
with the butcher so that only one-half
of portion of meat is assigned weekly
to it. In meat clubs, where grown
beef is furnished, the number of mem.
bers is about twenty or more. Where
the members furnish calves or sheep,
then smaller number usually COM
pose the club.
The great problem in the south is to
store the most satisfactorily for a
week, J. e., keep it cool enough so as
to prevent spelling. This difficulty is
eliminated by the formation of ice
clubs, which will be described in a
later article.
The advantages of fresh meat club
are.
1. There are no dues, nor officers,
2. 1t provides fresh meat for the
whole week, and for every week in the
year.
3. Each member receives cuts from
all the portions of the animal
4. Each member receives just as
much meat as he furnishes, or is com
pensated for the difference in cash; on
the other hand, he pays for all meat in
excess of what he furnishes.
5. If, for example, there are twenty
members, then the single member fur
nishes one animal in twenty weeks |
and also makes deliveries to the other
members once in the same period of
time.
g. The cost per pound of meat con-
sumgd is only a small fraction of a
cent higher than price per pound Of
live animal This is quite contrast
in price to meat bought at retail on
the market
T. A neighborly feeling develops
which is primarily essential to the
progress of higher forms of organized
rural efforts.
The Division of Extension of the
University of Tennessee stands ready
to be of service to any community
which wishes to organize such meat
club, and invites correspondence on
the subject
The Corn Club boys of Tennessee
are teaching their fathers how to grow
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