286 [Assembly 



Not one of them has the least faith ia any distinction between the 

 sexes of cattle, as affecting their beef. On tlie contrary, they are 

 all very sure, from positive experienccj that no such distinction 

 exists. All cattle will give beef .liable to discoloration, under 

 certain circumstances, and certain requisites are necessary in all 

 cases to secure an article w^hich will maintain its cherry color 

 through several years of keeping. The wood of which casks are 

 made is liable to affect the color Oak staves, Avhen green, con- 

 tain an acid which is certain to act upon whatever the cask con 

 tains, and certain kinds of oak timber are more difficult to season 

 than others, so much so as to be unfit for beef packing. Our casks, 

 nevertheless, are made of thoroughly seasoned white oak or ash j 

 and it is not probable that any difficulty arises from this source. 

 The burning or charring the interior of the casks, sometimes colors 

 the brine, but it is not thought to affect the meat. 



But the thing which gives to meat the right or wr8ng color, is 

 the pickle or brine in which it is kept; and the principal ingre- 

 dient in the brine uhich affects the color is the saltpeter. If the 

 quantity u§ed of this article he wrongs the color will not be right ; 

 so say all our packers ; nothing else will compensate for it. It is 

 not meant that no difference will appear from poor beef, or beef 

 which is rapidly falling away at the time of slaughter. Perhaps, 

 also, beef killed when in heat after hard driving or violent e:ser- 

 cise, might show it in the color, though the opinion is that it 

 would not. But the circumstances here mentioned, are not sup- 

 posed to occur in our beef-packing, in a sufficient degree to 

 work any material change The beef slaughtered here for long 

 keeping, or the foreign market, is fatted on the open prairie, 

 sometimes with the addition of a little corn, driven in by easy 

 stages, and slaughtered when cool. But the greatest care is exer- 

 cised in regard to all that affects the quality of the brine and the 

 pickling of the meat. The best qualities of Rock, Turk's Island, 

 or St. Ubes salt are employed. The precise quantity of saltpeter 

 is added, and the w^hole is carefully scalded and skimmed three 

 times, the meat being changed each time, before it is packed. 

 Our packers for the English market have no difficulty in regard 

 to the sale when the meat is thus put up. 



