PRODUCTION OF PORK AND BACOFCURING.

Otago Witness, Volume 25, Issue 2321, 25 August 1898, Page 4

PRODUCTION OF PORK AND BACOFCURING.

With t] c certainty of a very considerable extension ' of potato cultivation this season, and the probability of a much lower range of prices for next reason's products than has prevailed for quite two yeai«, fanners will do well to consider in time whether or no pigs would prove a most profitable investment for the utilisation of lower-priced or unmarketable potatoes and inferior qualities of grain. Theie is the promise of a continuance of rerau»erati\ c prices for pig meat, because of the export outlet, and it is needess to observe /hat again and again has the pig been strongly commended as the most profitable meat-producer the farmer has afe his disposal by authorities possessing unquestionable claims upon thoughtful attention. As a result of reliable experiments farmers are provided with the interesting and striking information that whereas some 60 per cent. on the- average of the fasted live weight of a fat ox becomes available as butcher's carcase, and rather less in the case of sWp, a fat pig affords, tinder similar conditions, about 83 per cent. Thus we see beyond question the pig, v/ith ifc-i xapid feeding and high rate of increase is certainly one of the farmer's most piofiiable and economical investments, and well entitled to general favourable opinion. Careful investigation has proved that of all animals raised on the farm pigs furnish the largest quantity of fat and the smallest proportion of nitrogenous matters.

It is the remarkably powerful assimilative functions they display in conjunction with ilic con'-entrivted a/id easily-digested food farmers arc in the habit of giving fattening pigs' that enables them i-o consume moie noiirishment in proportion to (heir weight than either sheep or cattle. This being the cjse, they will obriouMr enough alsogain weight •with greaier rapidity. Furthermore, the pi# wit]) Us larger food consumption is required to r-pend a smaller umonnt on heat mid work, hone:: ;> larger quantity reimins for storing as increase. Again, not only is the acquisition of -weight quicker, but 'he increase yielded is very materially greater in proportion to the 'food consumed. The constitution anrl attributes of a pi£,'s digestive apparatus confer upon it the prowsrty of particularly active assimilative powers. In these H, U unmistakably distinguished from animals of the ruminant order. Still wlien conditions for permitting iu.«t comparisons prevail, evidence is forthcoming which demonstrate^ that the more exclusively digestive capabilities of pigs are fully equal to those enjoyed by others. II is well known that pips are able to digest vegetable fibre as a constituent of their diet if it is supplied in a favourable condition. It is so supplied when they have access to grass and clorer pastures, or when they are given vetches, rape, and the like, but when fattening a form of nourishment whose principles are more concentrated is required. Clearly, therefore, adequate reasons are abundant in support of the contention that the pig is inherently aixl especially a profitable animal. It is quite true that we can never hope within the colony for such a demand as would make of bacon-curing an important industry ; but in the opinion of many practical men production may be so extended as io found an export trade in hams and bacon on a secure and permanent basis. This would solely depend upon the conditions and place in the agriculture of the colony that pigs would bo allowed to occupy in the economy of the farm. It is not an industry

peculiar to any country, but notwithstanding the natural advantages enjoyed in this colony, and which contributed to the success of the frozen mutton trade, and are now bringing our diiry products into prominence, it is difficult to make those most interested believe that our rcsor.rces in bacon-produc-tion are as great as they really are. Bacon-curers almost invariably profess the possession of some special knowledge of the ail, but Mr Loudon M. Douglas, who has equipped and is concerned in the working of some of the most important factories in England, sscouls the idea. Tie mites: "The" mere technical details of curing are not the property ol" any country or of individu.U.-s. They can be acquired easily enough by those willing to learn, and there is a suilicency of means always available for doing .«o. The processes ore ro longer secret, and a knowledge of thuu can be easily acquired." In England, Wiltshire bacon is a pronounced favourite, its greatest rival being that produced in Cumberland. But the liking for Cumberland bacon, outside the northern counties, is an acquiied taste. "li is highly charged with salt as a mlo, owing to the primitive methods in use where it is produced, but these oldfashioned ways will have to go and give place to the modern methods."' The following is a description of the Wiltshire process of curing, which is simple enough in itself, consisting as it does- for the most part of adding preserving substances to the meat, xnd allowing time for such, materials to saturate "he meat. After slaughter, the intestines and offal being removed, the carcases are cleaixed. The head and fore feet are completely severed, the kidney fat and vertebral column removed, and the sides disconnected. '1 hesa are allowed to cool in the hangng house fur about six hours. They are then placed in a chill room for about 12 hours, until the meat registers on a meat-testing thormomeoer. The blade bones me now removed and the sides trimmed and taken to the cellars. Oh beina; taken to tha cellars the sides aro io.it! on a, be^ch an-d pumped at a mrifoim pre' sure of about 401b per square inch ac various places wiih pickle made from the formula — 501b salt, 51b granulated saltpetre, 51b dry antiseptc, 51b cane sugar (in winter only) -to this add 20gal of water and .stir till all the material is dissolved. Th? strength as shown by the saiinoraeter should be about 95cleg. If such is not indicated add ?ali ar.d stit" until it is. A mixlure of equal quantities of saltpetre and dry antiseptic having been previously prepared, the sides ai o first rubbed v/ith a portion of the pickle used for pumping, and are then laid on the cellar floor. So in a of the mixture of dry a;iti,«ei)tic and .saltpetre is next sprinkled over the whole of the inside or cut f-urfaees. The quantity is usually ju^t sufficient to slisriitly cover the whole. Salt finely ground is now sprinkled all over the same surface, and. tho side U permitted co lie in that position for seven or eight days, when it will be cured, and may then be washed or baled for trans-port, or the sides may be washed and dried as "pale-dried bacon/ or they may be smoked and sold as wnokcl bacon. It is nepe&Peiry to explain that the "dry antiseptic" consists of boracic acii noiUralhed with borax. Tho mixture is dried and concentrated at a high temperature. At the same time chemical combination takes place, and the resulting compound is nearly three aud a-half times os soluble as boracic acid. Dry antiseptic is now a reaular article of commerce, and may be readily purchased.

A somewhat different process is used in the curhi" of hams, although in principle it is the same. The hams are cut according to the parsiuulnr description v> anted, after the sides have been chilled. Tivjy nro then flung into a pickle tank, filled with pickle made according to the, formula ahoady They are alloverl to re/naiii there until next morning, when they aio taken out and pz-c?sed so tint the blood may be cleared out of the blood vein. The object of putting them into the pickle is 1o -pm\e this blood away. They may bo pumped or not, accoiding to the t?.,sto of the enrer. The same mixture of antiseptic and saltpetre is sprinkled over the cut surfaces, and ilio whola is covered with salt. At the end of three days the hams are taken up again and pressed, so as to remove any blood tint may have remained in the blood vein. They are then laid down and covered with fine salt, and are left in this position for about 15 days. A very good rule applying to ham=s is that they require a day for every pound weight to cure.

The foregoing description of curing refers exclusively io wca-i; that will be in consumption after the lapse of a lew months'. The kerning of me--t for a year or so reouires a rather different treatment. The time in salt has (o be extended for about a week in either cose, and the hams or bacon requiie to be dried.