Ans.—It would not be practicable to use our Lard and Tallow Purifier in the tank. It can be used to greatest advantage in an open jacket kettle. You can treat the tallow in the jacket kettle after it is rendered and comes from the steam tank.
HOW PACKERS BRAND THEIR HAMS
Question.—W. Z. writes: How do packers brand their hams.
Answer.—Packers brand their hams with Ink made from the following formula:
| Glucose | 2¼ lbs. |
| Lampblacke | ¼ to ½ lb. |
| Watere | 1½ lbs. |
| Grain Alcohole | ½ pint |
Place the Glucose and water in a dish and heat on stove until it becomes thin. Now take the Lampblack, put it in a separate dish and add enough of the water and Glucose so as to make a thick paste; work this paste up until all of the lumps are dissolved. Then take the Lampblack paste and gradually mix it into the water and Glucose until the desired shade of color is secured. After mixing thoroughly remove from fire and set aside to cool. When cool add the ½ pint of Grain Alcohol, mixing thoroughly. Keep in a corked bottle or can.
Spread a small quantity of the Ink thus made over a pad which is easily made by taking 10 thicknesses of cheese cloth and tacking them on top of a flat board. The branding itself is done with an iron brand containing such letters or other marking as you wish to appear on the hams. The branding should be done before the hams are put into the smoke house.
STARTING A BUTCHER BUSINESS
Query.—M. E. A. writes: Will you please forward me another copy of your desirable book, “How to Cure Meat and Make Sausage”? And if it is not too much trouble, I would like to have you advise how it is best to start in the butcher and pork packing business in a small way. I have about $700 capital and wish to ask how is the best way to fit up a retail store without too much expense and yet to have it look good, and also to fit up a sausage kitchen and have everything that a man needs to run the business successfully. I may as well state that I have had lots of experience, but after reading your book and the advice that it gives I am sure that even experienced men can learn a lot by reading it.
Ans.—With such a limited amount of capital, it would be advisable to buy second-handed fixtures. These can always be obtained much cheaper than new ones, and you can get good fixtures which will answer the purpose, but they must be neat, clean and in good repair. If you intend to do your own butchering, our advice is that you make arrangements with some butcher who has a slaughter house, and where you can do your butchering, and pay him a certain amount for each animal slaughtered. A very important point that we advise you to follow is to sell everything for cash only, as your capital is not sufficient to give credit to anyone. Were you to give credit and make a lot of book accounts, you would soon run out of money and would not be able to buy large stock and supplies for your market. We also advise that you induce your customers to take their meat home with them, and thus relieve yourself of the necessity of keeping a horse and wagon for delivery purposes. This would save quite an outlay in capital, and a great deal of expense and time. You can then announce with a small advertisement in the daily paper that you sell for cash only, and that you can afford to be more liberal with your customers than you could if you carried accounts, and because you do not incur the expense of delivery. Such an advertisement with placards in your store, no doubt, would result favorably. You must remember at all times that your capital is limited and that you must “trim your sails” accordingly. It is the over-reaching the limits of the possibilities of capital that make the most failures among tradesmen. We would not advise you to advertise meat at a cut price because you sell for cash; people do not want stuff that is cheap, for if you sell stuff at a low price, they imagine there is something wrong with it. Charge the same price that all the other butchers do, and in that way, keep their friendship. If a woman gets something that she doesn’t like and brings it back, tell her that you are very glad she brought it back, if it did not suit her, because you never want any of your customers to keep anything that does not please them.