No. 112.] 293 



The following statement relative to the packing of pork, is 

 quite to the point. It was written by one in whose judgment I 

 have entire confidence, and I can confirm his statement of the 

 appearance of the two kinds of pork from my own observation : 



"Washington, January 30, 1853. 

 It is known to the public that the Secretary of War, a year ago, 

 ordered experiments to be made in packing pork, to test the rela- 

 tive qualities of Onondaga solar salt with Turk's Island. Each 

 hog was cut in two on the back, and one half packed with Onon- 

 dasja solar and the other half with Turk's Island salt. The same 

 c[uantity of each kind of salt being used in each case, and packed 

 in barrels of the same quality. . In short, the treatment of each 

 kind throughout was the same, in all particulars. This pork has 

 been packed for more than 13 months, and a few days since I saw 

 some of ic opened, and it v/as impossible to discover any particu- 

 lar difference between the two kinds of salt, or to see any differ- 

 ence in the quality or preservation of the meat. 



The pork was put into barrels numbered from 1 to 100. The 

 odd numbers being of one kind of salt and the even numbers the 

 other. They were sent out, one of each kind, to every military 

 station throughout the United States, with instructions to be 

 opened after a given time, and certain tests of the meat to be 

 made by a board of officers, under the direction of the officer iu 

 command. Many of these reports have been received at the 

 Commissary's office, and yesterday I took occasion to examine 

 them. The result is, that it is almost impossible to discover any 

 difference. The greatest is in the loss of weight, after being boiled 

 for an hour and a half. As a general thing, there is more loss in 

 weight in that salted with Turk's Island, than with the Onondaga 

 solar salt. In most cases, the meat i*; represented as being un- 

 commonly good. The result of this experiment thus far, is a full 

 vindication of the (juality of the Onondaga solar salt, and shows 

 beyond a (piestion that ii is I'ully e<jual in all resj)ects to the best 

 Tiuk's Island brought to this country for ])a(king purposes. 



In the salting of butter wiih the different kinds of salt it is 



more difficult to get clear ideas. The whole is so entirely a mat- 



■ ter of taste thdt one can hardly dispute anything that may be 



