| 1,265 | hogs—Net live weight 309,925 pounds at average $0.0533 per lb. | $16,518.90 |
| 1,265 | hogs—Killing expense | 642.50 |
| 13 | condemned for No. 1 grease, weighing 3,158 lbs. and 7 condemned for | |
| hogs—No. 2 grease, weighing 1,908 lbs., at average, $0.0150 per lb. | 75.99 | |
| Total | $17,237.39 | |
| Gain, $733.33, or 58c per hog, or 23c per 100 pounds alive. | ||
Prices on preceding tests are changeable—the percentage yield is practically the same at present.
CHAPTER XXII.
CURING MEATS
Curing Cellars — Hams and Their Treatment — Wilder Hams — Shoulder Meats — Bellies — Overhauling Meats — Fancy Bacon — Shipping Ages — Second Pickle — Dry Salt Meats — Curing Dry Salt Meats — Smoking Dry Salt Meats — Barreled Pork — Curing Barreled Pork — English Meats — Pigs Feet — Pigs Tongues — Pigs Snouts.
Curing Cellars.
—Curing Cellars are pretty generally carried at a temperature of 35° to 36° F., for sweet-pickled meats and 38° to 40° F. for dry salted meats. At times the temperature in the foregoing is lowered to 34° F., but not frequently.
Vessels.
—Formerly tierces were used almost entirely, but the trend has been toward the use of vats or casks, uniform so far as possible in capacity, since it tends to better standardization. The vats can be taken out for airing, washing and sunlight, which is a prime requisite.
Dimensions of a standard vat are about as follows: For 1,500 pounds capacity, 42 inches high, 42 inches in diameter at the head, 48 inches in diameter at the bilge or center of vat. Thickness of stave one inch. Heads 1¹⁄₂ inch yellow pine; five galvanized iron hoops, two inches wide, made from No. 12 iron. Heads to be set flush with the chime, so that the weight of the contents comes directly on the floor.
Vats of this kind seem to last indefinitely and are much cheaper to handle than tierces, saving a large expense in coopering, and making it possible to use the space in the curing houses to better advantage. Cold storage houses should be sufficiently high under the joists, so these vats can be double-decked, one setting on top of the other, leaving about twenty inches of space. When handled in this manner the space in the cellar is used to much better advantage with vats than tierces.