The modern packing house

by F. W. Wilder

Scores.

—A score in a hide is made by cutting into it when removing, far enough to damage the grain of the leather, and when it comes from the tannery, scores show very plainly and in many cases one-half of the thickness of the leather is lost by this defect. Hides taken off properly, should not show these imperfections, in fact, should be as smooth as though slipped off the animal, were that possible, instead of by a knife, and with skilled workmanship such is the case. One man doing one particular operation continuously, the “take-off” of hides has been so improved that less than ten hides out of a thousand are found to be “No. 2” quality when taken out of the cellar in a well-regulated house.

The “take-off” of the hides particularly should be watched by the killing foreman and the workmen’s attention drawn to the slightest defects continuously, as much depends upon the reputation a house may have for its take-off. Many of the small scores which are found to materially damage the hide when tanned are invisible when the hide is taken out of the packer’s cellar, as owing to discoloration, salt, etc., it is impossible to see many of them, but they are all visible when the leather is turned out. Consequently, if a house has a reputation for bad “take-off,” buyers usually aim to buy the hides from a plant with a good take-off. Hence it will be seen that in this particular department it means a great deal to have a good reputation for “take-off.”

FIG. 52.—DIAGRAM OF HIDES.

Prod Pole Damage—Clean Floors.

—Outside of the “take-off” there are several other points which should be watched carefully on the killing floor in the handling of this particular article. The hides should not be damaged with prod poles by the men handling cattle in the pens. The floors should be kept as clean as possible, especially where the cattle are thrown out of the knocking pens, as blood is very objectionable on the hides. It is liable to cause decomposition when the hide is in pack, and if it does sufficiently for the hair to slip on the hides, it becomes a “No. 2.” Another bad feature is that a bloody hide will discolor the flesh side of the skin next to it in pack, and it is always advisable to get the hides out as bright and clean as possible, as buyers prefer them so.

Another reason why they should be kept as dry as possible is that the hides are weighed as taken off for general record and also for estimating the cost of the beef. If the hides are allowed to get wet they will absorb four or five pounds per hide, which if deducted from the calculations, will represent a false credit of 40c or 50c per head on the cattle. It is best to keep them as dry as possible, so that weights used for figuring and record purposes may be accurate. If the hides go into the packs excessively wet, when shipped, they will necessarily show an excess shrinkage from green to cured weights, causing confusion as to actual shrinkage.

Leather Yields.

—While it is advisable to have hides carry as much moisture as is acceptable to the buyer, it is not profitable to have them too wet, as the buyers watch such matters and if a lot of hides from a certain house do not show the yield in leather which they should, purchases made after that from such a house are made proportionate to the yield, hence the additional weight that may be gained is more than lost in the price realized. There is a happy medium to be sought in this matter where the seller gets all that he is entitled to and the buyer is satisfied with the yield he obtains.