118 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS. 



April 10, 1915. 



THE PIG-RAISING INDUSTRY. 



SUGGESTED BACON FACTORY FOR THE 

 WEST INDIES. 



Tlif need for greater agricultural diversification in most 

 of tin Wesl [ndian islands, and the importance at the present 

 t in i. i.t In, ;il food production, have led to the formulation of 

 a scheme by Dr. Francis Watts, C.M.G., whereby a new 

 industry may be added to those already existing. This new 

 industry consists in the production, on co-operative lines, of 

 pork and bacon 



In the recently issued number of the West Indian 

 Bulletin, a paper on the subject states that there appears to be 

 no reason why. as the outcome of the development of 

 refrigerating machinery, bacon and pork products should not 

 be raised in these islands to Hud a market in Europe and 

 America. These markets haveforsome years been feeling the 

 effect of a diminution of supplies, so that prices have advanced 

 over 30 per cent, in the last five years. New sources of supply 

 an urgently needed, and it is evident that the time is 

 opportune for the West Indies to come forward as a furnisher 

 to a market likely to be faced with somewhat short supplies 

 for some time to come. 



It is maintained that success depends upon entering the 

 new enterprise on a large scale and on co-operative lines. 

 It is suggested that companies might be formed to purchase 

 pigs from growers on a profit-sharing basis, on similar lines to 

 those On which the large sugar factory companies ileal with 

 sugar canes anil sugar. 



Looking it the subject from a West Indian point of view, 

 it i- seen that there are many facilities for greatly increasing 

 the number of pigs raised in these islands. Much land 

 hitherto unsuitable for cane or cotton could be used for pig 

 raising, [n the matter of f I supplies, provision crops of 



a diverse nature can be easily grown. Then there are many 



bj products and waste products that may be taken advantage 

 of: for instance, molassesand filter-press cake from the sugar 

 factories. Besides, we can add materials like bananas, coco 

 nut proline!-, and many other substances which are now 

 wasted. In considering the utilization of these materials in 

 the way suggested, it should be remembered that the pig is 

 the most efficient meat-making machine there is. 



Turning to the animals themselves, it is stated in the 

 papei thai there would be no difficulty in raising in each 



island 20, > to 30,000 pigs in a season. The best I. reeds 



would pi found to be the Duroc Ji rsey, Poland 



China, Berkshire, and Tamworth. In regard to meat.it 

 I, been suggested that bacon produced in the West Indies 

 may possess the defect known as softness. It is however 

 well known that softness is a feature appearing not only in 

 warm climates, but also in cold. Recent researches have 

 appi ared to h ive demonstrated that softness is largely trace 



able to the methods of feeding and that certain oily f Is, 



i/e products and oil meal maj accentuate 

 this feature. Opportunity has recently been taken to 



mine the fat of pigs raised in several West [ndian isla 

 The results appear to show that under present conditions oi 

 f ( i ,!,,,._. the ' ■ tends to exhibit firmness rather than softness. 



A BACON FACTORY IN RHODESIA. 



To show thai a factor) similar to thai proposed 



u wmk successfully in a warm climati tin 



following article and abstract have been taken from 



the Rhodesia Agricultural Journal for December 

 L914. 



The concern is run bj the British Smith 



Africa (' pany. The pigs are bought up direct, not 



on a profit-sharing basis as has been suggested for the 

 West [ndies 



It will be noticed that the factory is run on quite 

 a small scale, which is an encouraging feature from the 

 West Indian pi nut of view: — 



The new Bacon Factory is now in working order, and 

 the products, weare pleased tosay, have met with a very good 



reception. Pigs have been forthcoming fairly freely, but the 



capacity of the factory, which can deal with up to 300 pigs 

 a month, has not yet been tested. The quality of the 

 animals sent in has been very good, ami so far only one beasl 

 has been condemned on account of disease. 



The factory is a very substantial building, ami the 

 outer walls are of such a thickness that the interior is always 

 cool. The main building consists ol -ticking pen. pig-ties, 

 slaughter house, picking house, sausage loom, bacon washing 

 house, smoke room, and office. The pig- are received at the 



factory siding and turned into an enclosed run. They are 

 weighed straight off the truck and purchased by live weight. 

 The pigs are afterward- turned into the sties, of which there 

 are three, each capable of accommodating ten pigs. These 

 sties are nicely completed with Wrick floors, and are well- 

 drained, thus ensuring the acme of cleanliness. It may be 

 mentioned that the refuse from the sties and the runs will he 

 conveyed to the adjacent land-, which are to lie placed under 

 irrigation with a view to breeding and feeding pigs on the 

 premises. The pigs are kept in the sties for twenty-four 

 hours ami are then passed into the sticking pen. Thence 

 the carcase- an- conveyed by mean- of overhead tracking to 

 the dumping table ami the scalding tank. A clever arrange- 

 ment lifts the carcase bodily from the tank on to the scraping 

 table, where it is cleaned and disembowelled. From this 

 point the pig i- taken hy means of the tracking in another 

 weighing machine, where its dead weight is recorded. The 

 backbone is afterwards taken out of the carcase and the two 

 -id. - an- placed in the chilling rooms. 



The insulated chambers consisl of the chilling rooms, 

 airlock curing cellar, and bacon stoic These rooms are 

 constructed in the most modern manner, and are capable of 

 holding the required temperature for several day-. The 

 temperature in t lie chilling room range- between 30 and •">■"> 



degrees, and it ha- a capacity for dealing with seventy-five 

 pigs a week. The -ide- of bacon are hung on iron bars, and 

 thepri.ee-- of chilling takes two days t" complete. Passing 



from thi- i .the side- enter the curing chamber, where 



they remain fourteen day-, subsequent 1" which they are 

 Smoked in the -moke room, and the bacon is ready for sale 



about eighteen days after the pig has keen killed. The ail 

 lock referred to i- a chamber between the chilling room and 

 the curing chamber, and it is SO arranged that when the- main 



entrance door to the chambers is opened the hot air from 



without cannot penetrate into either the chilling or the 



curing rooms. This serves to maintain the temperatures in 



cither room at a uniform degree. The wall- of the chambers 



are insulated w ith charcoal. 



What is required at the present time is more pigs. 

 There i- no doubt that in due course these will be forth- 

 con ire that the breeding of pig- for the 



factorj will be found a very profitabla undertaking. The 

 attached circular, issued by the Acting Commercial Repre 

 sentativi i British South A.fri i I ompany, gives full 



particular- as to the condition- under which pigs are received 



