Answer.—Ropy brine can come about even when pure cane sugar is used in curing. This condition is caused by germs which develop in the brine and cause the brine to thicken. You will find that the barrels which contain your brine are infected with germs. The best way to get rid of these germs is to first empty the barrels; then put the barrels into a vat and boil them. Also scrub the barrels inside and outside. For this purpose they should be rinsed with boiling water to which has been added Freeze-Em, 4 ounces to each gallon, and afterwards a last rinsing with our Ozo washing powder, or soda, in the water that you use for washing the barrels. After the barrels are thoroughly washed and rinsed with cold water, they should then be put out of doors where the sun can shine upon them and in them for several days before they are again used and placed in the cooler.
Barrels in which corned beef is cured should be made of hardwood. If you are using a syrup barrel or a molasses barrel, you will find that the pores of the wood have become filled with syrup or molasses, which causes the brine to become thick. We think this is the cause of your trouble.
The best barrels to use are tierces that are made of oak, such as lard is shipped in by the packers. The wood of these tierces becomes saturated or filled with lard, and the lard prevents the brine from penetrating or soaking into the wood. Be sure that whatever barrels you use are made of hardwood, and not of white wood or other soft wood, of which many kinds of barrels are made.
HOW TO MAKE FERTILIZER FROM BEEF BLOOD
Question.—J. E. P. writes: Please tell me how to utilize and handle beef blood so as to make fertilizer out of it. I am killing from ten to fifteen head of cattle each week, and thus have quite a quantity of blood.
Answer.—Blood in a packing house is handled as follows: It is first drained from the killing floor into vats and when the vats are filled, live steam is turned on and the blood is boiled until congealed. It is then put in large powerful presses and all the water pressed out, the congealed blood remaining in the press cloth. From the presses it is put through a fertilizer dryer and then is known as dried blood.
Where you only kill 10 to 15 head of cattle a week, it would not pay you to dry the blood in this way. A very fine fertilizer, however, can be made from the blood either for your own use or to sell by boiling the blood in a kettle over a fire or else putting it into a tank and blowing live steam in it; then separate from the water as best you can and mix with black earth, spreading it out thin in the sun to dry. The boiled blood should be mixed with about its own weight in black earth. This makes a wonderful fertilizer and ought to bring you many extra dollars.
ICE VS. ICE MACHINE IN SMALL PLANTS
Query.—F. S. writes: “I would like to know if an ice machine can be had small enough for a retail meat market and would it be profitable to take the place of an ice box? If you can do so, please give me this information and where I can get the ice machine. Ice here for a summer’s use will cost about $75.”
Ans.—You state that the cost of ice for the summer season in your market would be about $75.00; therefore, it will not pay you to put in an ice machine, as the cost of operating such a machine for an ice-box would be a great deal more than $75.00 for the season. For instance, if you could obtain electric power or a gas engine for operating the ice machine, you could figure on using at least $7.50 to $10.00 a month for power alone. In addition to this, you would have the expense of repairs and the wear and tear on the machinery, also the cost of ammonia and the interest on your investment. For a small plant, it is always cheaper to use ice for an ice-box, when it is possible to secure the ice at a reasonable figure.