IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PACKING OF BACON, HAMS, AND LARD, AND IN THE MODE OF PRESERVING BACON AND HAMS
Year: 1870

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to John Morrell, of Liverpool, in the County of
Lancaster, residing at Morelands, Birkdale Park, Southport, in the
same County, Merchant and Provision Dealer, for the Invention of
"IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PACKING OF BACON, HAMS, AND LARD, AND IN THE
MODE OF PRESERVING BACON AND HAMS."
Sealed the 10th February 1871, and dated the 26th August 1870.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said John Morrell at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th August 1870.
I, JOHN MORRELL, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, residing
at Morelands, Birkdale Park, Southport, in the same County, Merchant
and Provision Dealer, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention
for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE PACKING OF BACON, HAMS, AND LARD, AND IN THE
MODE OF PRESERVING BACON AND HAMS," to be as follows:
-1
According to the usual modes of packing bacon and hams for transit
by sea, and in particular for importation into the United Kingdom, they
are packed in salt or in brine, but both modes are open to objection,

page_text: both on account of the expense and because the quality of the goods is
deteriorated. The salt is expensive, having in most cases to be brought
from England, and whilst the weight of the salt increases the freight
of the goods the salt itself is of no value after having been used. The
hams and bacon when cured before being packed are, with the exception
of drying, in the proper state for consumption, and if they could be
delivered in the United Kingdom, in the same state would compete in
quality with English or Irish hams or bacon, but by being packed in
salt they suffer both from the action of the air and also by absorbing
an axe of salt
keep bacon and hams when imported into the United Kingdom for a
greater or less time, and hams and bacon packed in salt are constantly
deteriorating so long as they are kept in the packages in which they
are imported. The effect of the salt, which gradually melts, both on the
passage and whilst in store, is to make them moist, and when the salt
has been dissolved they become slimy, when they are very liable to the
attacks of flies. When they cannot be used promptly they must be
resalted, which, in addition to the expense, further deteriorates the quality.
Whether resalted or not, and however short a time they are kept, they
require to be prepared for the market. The mode of preparing them for
the market varies according to their state, besides drying and washing
they often require scraping and always paring, both of which processes
involve expense, and paring causes material loss of weight. Having
also absorbed an excess of salt they become when dried hard and
woody." Hams and bacon are only packed in brine for transit when,
owing to being cured in hot weather, there is some fear of their not
having taken salt properly, and the result is that the quality and market
value is still more deteriorated than if they had been packed in dry
salt. The curing of hams or bacon in the summer is very objectionable,
as the animals are frequently in an unfit state to be slaughtered, and
is always attended with great risk and expense, and is only resorted to
because the hams and bacon packed as at present cannot be kept in
store without injury, and summer killing has to be resorted to in order
to keep a constant supply for the markets to which they are sent.
The effect of these circumstances is that though a large quantity of
hams and bacon is annually imported into the United Kingdom, principally
from America, such hams and bacon when ready for consumption are
66
.

page_text: considered to be of much inferior quality to English or Irish hams and
bacon of a similar description, and realize only much lower prices, and
are mainly consumed by the lower classes, who are tempted by the
cheapness.
The object of my Invention is to facilitate by an improved mode of
packing the importation of bacon and hams, so that, both as regards
improved quality and cheapness, I am for the first time enabled to
introduce them into the market in a new form, and so as in effect to
constitute imported products of a new character.
I am aware that various schemes have been proposed for preserving
fresh meat on long voyages, but owing to the expense of the process or
the deterioration of the article none of them are applicable to the pre-
serving of hams and bacon. In particular, processes have been used for
preserving meat by first cutting it into convenient pieces and separating
the meat from the bones, and then dusting the pieces with a mixture of
sugar and salt, and afterwards subjecting them to pressure to force out
all the blood and serous matter, or, in place of pressing them, moderately
cooking them before packing, and then packing them in casks which are
first lined with melted fat, and running melted fat into the spaces or
interstices, and afterwards inserting each cask in another cask somewhat
larger, so as to leave a vacant space between the innner and outer casks,
and filling that space with sand or lime or melted fat, and then closing
it, but such a process, owing to its expensiveness and also to the treat-
ment to which it exposes the meat, is not. at all applicable to the
preservation of hams or bacon.
Now my Invention consists in the employment as herein-after described
of lard for packing the hams or bacon. Heretofore lard has been
imported usually from the same places whence the bacon or hams have
been supplied, but it has never been imported in the state or used for
purposes proposed by me. Instead of importing it separately as a
packed article of import I make it serve as a most efficient packing,
and at the same time introduce it in such a state that its value separately
considered as an article of import is scarcely or not at all diminished.
According to my process of packing the lard is run into the packages
in a melted state, and forms an air-tight covering or envelope for the
bacon or hams, and so retains the juices of the meat and protects it from
injury, and being a product of the same animal as the bacon or bams,

page_text: which is an essential condition in my process, it does not impart any
taste to the bacon or hams which could injure their quality. At the
same time by the operation of so packing hams or bacon and lard
together there is effected a saving of the cost of the packages and of
the freight or carriage of the lard, and also a saving of the cost of the
salt ordinarily used in packing the hams or bacon. The packages used
(as they require to retain the melted lard) should be better than those
ordinarily used in packing hams and bacon in salt. They should be
jointed and well secured. When so packed the hams or bacon are not
only of much superior quality to those imported under the present
system, so as to constitute as before stated a new article of import, but
they are chicaper by about the price of the salt-used-in-packing, and-
the lard is cheaper by about the price of the packages and the freight,
and although being a substitute for salt is not injured in quality, and
requires no more preparation for the market than the same pressing,
refining, and repacking as is now practised in lard imported in the
present mode.
My Invention does not require the hams or bacon to be cut up into
pieces, or to be cured or prepared in any different way from the way
in which they are ordinarily cured for consumption, nor does it requirė
them to be subjected to any pressure or to be cooked, or to be packed
in double casks or otherwise than in cases or packages similar to those
in which hams or bacon are now usually packed for transportation.
except that they should be better constructed and secured. The use of
any other sort of grease or melted fat except. lard for the purpose of
packing hams or bacon is not a part of my Invention, which consists in
the use of lard for that purpose.
―:
The mode in which I proceed to apply my Invention is as follows :-
The bacon or hams when properly prepared by salting or curing are
placed by layers in a suitable box, cask, or case, and melted lard is
poured upon and round each layer so as to form a perfectly air-tight
covering or envelope. When arrived at their destination the hams or
bacon if not wanted for immediate consumption can be retained in'
their packages without deterioration in quality, condition, or value,
and when wanted the lard may be melted and run off by the application
of heat. I use steam for that purpose. The lard is run into a vessel.
to cool, after which it is pressed and refined according to the processes.
.

page_text: at present in use and packed in the ordinary mode for sale. The hams
and bacon are then taken out and dried, and when dried are ready for
consumption..
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said John Morrell in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 14th February 1871.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JOHN:
MORRELL, of Liverpool, in the County of Lancaster, residing at More-
lands, Birkdale Park, Southport, in the same County, Merchant,. send
greeting.
Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
day of
, in the year of
WHEREAS Her most Excellent
Letters Patent, bearing date the
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy, in the thirty-fourth
year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said John Morrell, Her special licence that I,
the said John Morrell, my executors, administrators, and assigns,
or such others as I, the said John Morrell, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, should at any time agree with, and no others, from
time to time and at all times thereafter during the term therein
expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and vend,
within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
PACKING OF BACON, HAMS, AND LARD, AND IN THE MODE OF PRESERVING BACON AND
HAMS," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said John Morrell,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe
and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the
same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately
after the date of the said Letters Patent..
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said John Morrell, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement :-
:-
According to the usual modes of packing bacon and hams for transit
by sea, and in particular for importation, into the United Kingdom, they

page_text: arc packed in salt or in brine, but both modes are open to objection,
both on account of the expense and because the quality of the goods
is thereby deteriorated. The salt is expensive, having in most cases to
be brought from England, and whilst the weight of the salt increases the
freight of the goods the salt itself is of no value after having been used.
The hams and bacon when cured before being packed are, with the
exception of being dried, in the proper state for consumption, and if
they could be delivered in the United Kingdom in the same state as
they are in when packed they would compete in quality with English or
Irish hams or bacon, but by being packed in salt they suffer both
from the action of the air and also by absorbing an excess of salt.
.
.
It is often necessary in order to comply with the exigencies of trade
to keep bacon and hams when imported into the United Kingdom for a
greater or less time, and hams and bacon packed in salt are constantly
deteriorating so long as they are kept in the packages in which they
are imported. The effect of the salt, which gradually melts, both on the
passage and whilst in store, is to make them moist, and when the salt
has been dissolved they become slimy, when they are very liable to the
attacks of flies. When they cannot be used promptly they must be resalted,
which, in addition to the expense thereby caused, further deteriorates
the quality. Whether resalted or not, and however short a time they
are kept, they require to be prepared for the market. The mode of
preparing them for the market varies according to their state, besides
drying and washing they often require scraping and always paring, both
of which processes involve expense, and paring causes material loss of
weight. Having also absorbed an excess of salt they become when
dried hard and "woody." Hams and bacon are sometimes packed in
brine for transit when, owing to being cured in hot weather, there is some
fear of their not having taken salt properly, and the result is that the
quality and market value is still more deteriorated than if they had
been packed in dry salt. The curing of hams or bacon in the summer
is very objectionable, as the animals are frequently in an unfit state to be
slaughtered, and is always attended with great risk and expense, and is
only resorted to because the hams and bacon packed as at present cannot
be kept in store without injury, and summer killing has to be resorted
to in order to keep a constant supply for the markets to which they are
sent. The effect of these circumstances is that though a large quantity
of hams and bacon is annually imported into the United Kingdom,

page_text: principally from America, such hams and bacon when ready for con-
sumption are considered to be of much inferior quality to English or
Irish hams or bacon of a similar description, and realise only much
lower prices and are mainly consumed by the lower classes, who are
tempted by the cheapness.
The object of my Invention is to facilitate by my improved mode of
packing the importation of bacon and hams, so that, both as regards
improved quality and cheapness, I am enabled to introduce them into
the market in a new form, and so as in effect to constitute imported
products of a new character and introduce an important improvement in
the trade.
I am aware that various schemes have been proposed for preserving
fresh meat on long voyages, but owing to the expense of the process or
the deterioration of the article none of them are properly applicable to
the preserving of hams and bacon. In particular, processes have been
used for preserving meat by first cutting it into convenient pieces and
separating the meat from the bones, and then dusting the pieces with a
mixture of sugar and salt, and afterwards subjecting them to pressure
to force out all the blood and scrous matter, or, in place of pressing
them, moderately cooking them before packing, and then packing them
in casks which are first lined with melted fat, and then running melted
fat into the spaces or interstices, and afterwards inserting each cask into
another cask somewhat larger, so as to leave a vacant space between the
inner and outer casks, which space is filled with sand or lime or melted
fat, and then closing it, but such a process, owing to its expensiveness
and also the treatment to which it exposes the meat, is not at all
applicable to the preservation of hams or bacon.
Now my Invention consists in the employment as herein-after
described of lard for packing the hams or bacon. Heretofore lard has
been imported usually from the same places whence the bacon or hams
have been supplied, but it has never been imported in the state or used
for the purposes proposed by me. Instead of importing it separately
as a packed article of import I make it serve as a most efficient packing,
and at the same time introduce it in such a state that its value sepa-
rately considered as an article of import is scarcely or not at all
diminished.
'
According to my process of packing, the lard is run into the packages
in a melted state, and forms an air-tight covering or envelope for the

page_text: bacon or hams, and so retains the juices of the meat and protects it
from injury, and being a product of the same animal as the bacon or
hams, which is an essential condition in my process as regards those
imports, it does not impart any taste to the bacon or hams which could
injure the quality. At the same time by the operation of so packing
hams and bacon or lard together there is effected a saving of the cost
of the packages and of the freight or carriage of the lard, and also a
saving of the cost of the salt ordinarily used in packing hams or bacon.
The packages used (as they require to retain the melted lard) should
be better made than those ordinarily used in packing hams and bacon
in salt. They should be jointed and well secured. When so packed the
hams or bacon are not only of much superior quality to those imported
under the present system, so as to constitute as before stated a new
article of import, but they are cheaper by about the price of the salt
used in packing, and the lard is cheaper by about the price of the
packages and the freight. It will be found that the lard so used
provided it be not kept too long or subjected to trying variations of
temperature is not injured in quality, and requires no more preparation
for the market than the same process of pressing, refining, and repacking
as is now practised in lard imported in the present mode. If it be
found that the packages are imported under such conditions that the
lard becomes or has a tendency to become rancid, that inconvenience.
inay be remedied by subjecting the lard before using it for packing to a
process of pressure, so as to express the oily particles to the extent
that may be found advisable. Other convenient modes of preparing
the lard may also be employed.
•
According to my Invention the hams and bacon do not require to be
cut up into pieces, or to be cured or prepared in any different way from
the way in which they are now ordinarily cured for consumption, nor
is it necessary that they should be subjected to any pressure, or be
cooked or be packed in double casks or otherwise than in cases or packages
similar to those in which hams or bacon are now usually packed for
transportation, except that they should be better constructed and secured.
The use of any other sort of grease or melted fat except lard for the
purpose of packing hams or bacon is not a part of my Invention, which
consists in the use of lard for that purpose, as I believe it is the only
substance that can be employed with advantage for the purposes above-
mentioned.

page_text: The mode in which I proceed to apply my Invention is as follows:
The bacon or hams when properly prepared by salting or curing are
placed by layers in a suitable box, cask, or case, and melted lard is
poured upon and round each layer so as to form a perfectly air-tight
covering or envelope. When arrived at their destination the hams or
bacon if not wanted for immediate consumption can be retained in
their packages without deterioration in quality, condition, or value,
and when wanted the lard may be melted and run off by the application
of heat. I use steam for that purpose. The lard is run into a vessel
to cool, after which it is pressed and refined according to the processes
at present in use, and packed in the ordinary mode for sale. The hams
and bacon are then taken out and dried, and when dried are ready for
consumption.
Having now described my Invention and the manner in which the
same is to be performed I claim, the use of the improved mode of
packing applied in the manner and for the purposes hercin-before
described.
In witness whereof, I, the said John Morrell, have hereunto set my
hand and scal, this Twenty-eighth day of January, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-one.
ז זגד מ nmf AfDז
JOHN MORRE
ז'
WILL
(...)