MR MAY'S BACON OURING FACTORY AT RICHMOND.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XXVIII, Issue 155, 5 July 1894, Page 2

MR MAY'S BACON OURING FACTORY AT RICHMOND.

1 A representative of this paper paid a visit) a day or two ago to Richmond, when he ' inspected Mr W. R. May's bacon curing factory. The curing rooms, which are | opposite Mr May s large general store, can* 1 not boast of any e-reat architectural beauty, 1 but they are quite good enough for the purpose for which they are used. The pigs are delivered to Mr May dead and dressed, ; ready for salting. The price paid this season has been 3|d per lb. The pigs after being weighed are cut up, the hams and sides being taken into the salting room where they are laid upon and covered with salt, sugar, and saltpetre. Each lot as it is placed is duly docketed, a tioket being 1 placed beside it stating the May and the 1 hour when placed in tbe room. After 1 leaving this room the bacon and hams are washed, dried, and then put into the smoke room Mr May has had this room so fitted up that the bacon and hams are very quickly smoked. After the curing process is over each piece is wrapped in muslin and is ready for export. In warm weather however, they are sown in canvas and protected with a packing of oat husks. At .the present time there are over 600 sides, and the proportionate number of hams in stook. Mr May says that his ohief difficulty ließ in the faot that he oannot get a suffioient number of pigs. Unless he can procure at least 500 per annum he will be" foroed to relinquish the curing bu__n___,-; Thiß, of oourse, would be a great lo_s to the distriot. In answer to a question put by our representative, Mr May said he wanted farmers to breed pigs to weigh about 150 or 160 lbs when killed. The best kiod of pigs he thought wai a pure bred -Berkshire, unless a cross between a Berkshire and a Yorkshire; A great many farmers had an v idea that very fat pigs made good bacon. This was a mist -k-. Mr & 7 thinks anything over 160 or 170 lbs too heavy, aod be wishes farmers to pay more attention to the breed of pigs, bo that a more Oven tone should prevail. Mr May expresses surprise at the apathy shown by the majority of farmers in the Waimeas, H. is oonvinoed tbat at 3£d br 3|d per lb dead weight there is money in pig raisiup, and in spite of this faot he has the utmost diffioulty in getting the desired number. Mr May is no new ohum at the curing business, as will be seen when we mention that in 1891 he oured in Eaiapoi . 2100 pigs payiDg to the farmers over £4000, or roughly speaking £2 a head. ; Dovedaja and Ngatimoti have furnished Mr May with some very mc?, evenly weighted pigs, and amongst the farmers who had gone in for this industry Mr May mentioned the names of Messrs C. Remnant, P. Best, and J« Bartlett. Mr May referred to the advantages which the local farmers would derive _ny paying more attention to nig raising, _fe emphasized the fact' that what was possible in Canterbury, was equally possible in the Nelson district, and he hoped before long that Nelson would not only supply its local market, but that Nelson bacon would become a well-known article of merchandise all over the colony . It is to be hoped that the farmers in the' Waimeas will turn their attention more to this industry, and that when next winter comes round Mr May will not have difficulty in securing all the pigs he needs. For many 'years a large amount of Canterbury bacon has been sold in Nelson, which seems a great absurdity, when one thinks of the large number of farms in the vicinity. ; Whi 'at writing abont the subject we may state that overfeeding is a fatal injury to pigs, espeoially young ones, Tbe result is that the pigs breathe with dtfßQalty. aad stagger about grasping for breatb^then fall oyer -in convulsion., and die, \ Sometimes these attaoks pas_ off and the piga recover, but they inorease in intensity, aid finally kill the pigs. Tbe trouble is by avoiding exaeeaive" feeding, of sour food. It is difßoult fco o\_rs . * The best retpedy ig to Btop feeding _bge_lwr, giving ouly a little thiu.Blop for fc, drTtik hutil . the etomaoh recovers its h«-l_h_-l* a__t_o_u The beet f loot, fnr fcig pe_s il c_d-_.£i_sl_nfc_, 1% Is d_yj and mayl»e"__|USf %_|f _le»>)»

recently on the relative merits of factory *•-- butter and that made in the ordinary wayj •- V on the farm. It is claimed on the onej hand that the bntter made at the factory from separated cream is wanting in that fine nutty flavour which is the chief recom mendation of good butter; and on the other that the butter made in the usual way on the farm is in every respect inferior to the factory article. .... Many arguments on either side might be nsed to prove the truth of both contentions. - The chief recommendation of factory butter is its uniform reliable quality, which is a most important one, seeing the difficulty in procuring farm butter that is eatable. By far the greater proportion of the butter made on the farm and sent to the market is totally _nfit for human food. The evil-smelling, rancid abomination that passes under the name of butter in many cases is unfit for human use. As for putting it on the table, that is quite ont of the question, and when used for making pastry it only spoils good human - - food by its abominable, flavour. There % arenbtable exceptions.. but the pioture I "' '- v "isave given of a great deal of the farm butter is not overdrawn. It is to be deplored tbat eo much good human food is spoiled for . the want of a little praotioal knowledge iu. the manipulation of bntter and cream.! Anyone who haß witnessed the conditions under whioh much of the butter on the farm is made will not wonder at so muoh of it being high flavoured and nauseous. Tbe time has arrived when the farmers' wives stand in need of expert instruction in the art bf butter-making. Itinerant dairy schools could put the farm wives on the right track, and Che oonßumera would reap the benefit. Faotory bntter beiDg reliable in oharaoter, the demand exoeedß the Bupply, and so the bulk of the consumers, in country towns at all events, have to fall baok npon the rancid abomination sold in tbe ■tores under the name of butter. If the farm butter made aoeording to good system, there is no reaeon wby. every pound of it •"• 7 should not be good. It would pay the farm wives to make good butter if they only knew how, aB tbe labour expended ia not shy greater, and the better prioe in the etores would make up for any extra trouble.