No. 112.] 277 



tion from holding or retaininsj its juices. Beef properly salted 

 retains its bulk, oversalted it becomes shrivelled. Pork over- 

 salted will not gain so much in weight as if properly salted, i. e. 

 it will not absorb and hold as much pickle. 



Question 5. Why is saltpeter used and what is the effect of 

 using too much ? 



,^ns. Saltpeter is used to fix or give a natural cherry red color 

 to the lean of meats, it has no visible eftect on fat ; too much im- 

 parts a fiery dark red color to beef, detrimental to its sale and in- 

 jurious to its flavor. 



A French chemist of celebrity asserts that its use in the cure 

 of meats is the principal cause of scurvy in those with whom 

 salt meats are a principal food, as sailors on long voyages. So I 

 will leave this questiorf to the chemist to whom it properly belongs, 

 remarking that my observation has been drawn rather to the effect 

 of saltpeter on the appearance of the article; appearances having 

 more to do with its value as merchandise, than the intrinsic nu- 

 tritive quality. 



Question 6. Have you ever observed the rind of pork to be 

 partially or wholly destroyed when a^sufficiency of salt had been 

 used? 



Question 7. What is the cause of this? Is it peculiar to some 

 kinds of salt ? 



Jlns, The rind of pork as a general rule becomes softened by 

 the action of pickle, it is one of the sure indications of the length 

 of time the pork has been barrelled. I have seen the rind entire- 

 ly decomposed or softened in pork packed with a sufficient quan- 

 tity of salt, after being in barrel two years, but accounted for it 

 on the ground that the pork was packed from very young hogs, 

 such as are known as spring pigs^ which would give an age of 

 nine or ten months, and in which case tliere was an evident want 

 of bone and fiber owing to tlie rapid and extreme fattening. 



The want of sufficient salt and lying in weak pickle is in most 

 all cases the cause of such decomposition, and pork in tliis con- 

 dition is generally tainted. 



