Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1918-04-04
BRINGING HOME THE PIG

bringing home the pig. IhlS was &C
complished by the aid Of a grain sack,
after he had been secured from some
neighbcr who happened to have a sur
Mus. It required much inspection and
very much talk, also a couple dollars
or so, to close the bargain, as no one
wanted a "runt," and the owner was
loath to part with likely animal on
his arrival at the farm, his lOrdship
was given a bath and thorough scrub
bling in the wash tub. His mouth was
then inspected for the presence OF
"bIack teeth" which if found, were
duly extracted with a hammer and
twenty-penny Spiked cut spike III
these days and his tail shortened to
an inch in length, under the supposi-
ton that the energy devoted to keep
inc a tail in curl could better be APP
piled to growth. A short piece OF wire
was then twisted into his nose to pre-
vent his tearing up the dirt floor OF
his rail pen, and TO this he was then
consigned. with nothing to do but eat,
sleep and grow. And maybe, under my
mothers skillful management, that
pig didn't grow. Anyhow he was not
long in attaining q weight Of around
300 pounds, when he was thought big
enough to kill For this feat the neigh
bors turned out, with the result thai
our household larder was soon re-
DIenished by a barrel OF Sid0pOrk, d
quartet Of generous hams and shout
ders in a separate pickle, big jar OF
pure lard, some spareribS frozen up
for state occasions, a goodly supply Of
tOOths0me sausage and sOuse or mead
cheese. There was also plenty Of
tenderoin for immediate c0nsump-
ton, while the neighbOrs were always
remembered by some portion. The
standard price for salt pork in those
days was around ten cents, though
during the war the price ran much
higher; indeed, have a record of a
sale of a Chester White hog in '65 by
my mother, which brought eleven
cents per pound alive, the sale total
ing $36. The same record shows the
purchase of a fine mich cow for $25.
THE SOAP BOILING
Several important events were or
yearly occurrence during the spring
months on our old farm. Among them
we're soap boiling, candle dipping, ham
smoking and house cleaning These
are not named in the order Of their
occurrence, but according to their inl-
portance. The first big thaw that
filled the pond holes and furnished
plenty of water, marked the opening
of the campaign, soap boiling taking
the lead The first thing necessary
to the making of soap was the leach.
This was a rather large v shaped box
set in a shallow inclined trough to
conduct the I've to the vessel set to
catch it. The box was supported by
q frame of posts set in the ground and
thus maintained in an upright posi-
ton. In setting up" the leach, lit
tie straw had been placed in the bot
tom, upon which the ashes had been
dumped from time to time as the
stoves were cleaned When filled and
the "sign was right" for soap boiling,
the leach was wet down. A small
depression was made in the top of the
ashes, and a dipper Of hot water was
poured therein. This was repeated at
frequent intervals until the leach
started" to run I've. Then cold wa
ter was used, the I've meanwhile be-
ing collected in & big caldrOn kettle.
After the leach had been run off"
came the all-important day on which
soap boiling was to take place. 1t is
safe to say that nobody laid abed that
morning, except father, for there was
a fire to build under the big kettle, the
soap tub and soapgrease to bring
forth, breakfast hustled out Of the
way, and all things gotten in shape
for what was to follow. The soap
grease, like the ashes. was the accum-
ulatiOn of months and was compound
that nowadays would be consigned to
earth in short order for sanitary rea-
sons, but as Familiarity breeds con-
tempt" it was thought to be 0. X, and
possibly was no worse than some of
the cholera hog fat used nowadays III
soap making When the I've in the
kettle had come to a boil, a sufficient
quantity of grease was added, mean
while taking great pains that it did
not "boiI over" and the boiling proc
ess continued until the grease was
"eaten up" by the I've, and small
portion tried" in a saucer with
spoon, showed a jelly-like substance,
when it was considered done, if it did
not $50 back" as it sometimes did
from not having the ingredients IN
proper proportion. In this case a sec
ond boiling was necessary. The soap
was invariably kept in soft wood
fish key, as an oak tub would soon be
destroyed by its strength. The close
of the day brought my mother a sup
ply of soap to last a year for all pun
poses, without the outlay of cent.
N. G. ABBOTT.