206 ANNUAL REPORTS. OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Four hundred and eighty-seven of the hogs were slaughtered at 

 the abattoir on the Beltsville farm, 90 at a commercial plant at Okla- 

 homa, Okla., and 18 at a commercial plant at Atlanta, Ga. All car- 

 casses and products were graded by a committee of three experts, and 

 chemical tests were made of fat samples. 



The conclusions reached from the work done up to that time were 

 formulated as follows by a conference of representatives of the 

 agencies cooperating in the soft-pork investigations held at Atlanta, 

 Ga., in April, 1923 : 



Three years of continued investigation of tlie soft-pork problem by the North 

 Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, and South Carolina experiment stations in coop- 

 eration with the United States Department of Agriculture showed that when 

 hogs started at a weight of approximately 100 pounds were fed on peanuts for 

 a period of 60 days a soft carcass was produced, and that it was impossible to 

 produce a hard carcass by feeding corn and tankage or corn and cottonseed 

 meal to these soft hogs for a subsequent period of 60 days. 



Since the four years' work has been summarized the results show that 100- 

 pound pigs softened on peanuts during a period of 60 days are made firmer by 

 subsequent feeding of hardening feed. However, it is yet impossible from these 

 data to recommend a practical method of producing a strictly hard carcass 

 from such hogs. 



SLAUGHTEB AND CUBING TESTS. 



As most of the experimental hogs in the soft-pork and, other inves- 

 tigations finally reach the Beltsville abattoir for slaughter, a con- 

 siderable volume of meat is handled in the course of the year and 

 opportunity is afforded for making slaughter and curing tests and 

 collecting data. 



Slaughtering was done on 32 separate dates, and 623 hogs were 

 killed. The average live weight of these hogs was 187 pounds. 

 Their average cold dressing percentage, reckoned with head and 

 ham facings on, leaf fait and kidneys in, was 79,95 per cent. Data 

 have been obtained on the dressing percentage, chilling shrinkage, 

 and cutting yields for different weights and classes of hogs, on the 

 proportions of bone, skin, and offal obtained in slaughtering opera- 

 tions, on rendering yields of fat, and on the effects of different 

 methods of curing and smoking on the quality and weight of pork 

 cuts. 



The sale of meats belonging to the Government yielded $7,586.02. 

 Receipts from the sale of carcasses from the cooperating stations 

 were paid to the respective stations. 



OTHEB WOBK RELATING TO SWINE. 



In cooperation with the Agricultural Engineering Division of the 

 Bureau of Public Roads special studies have been made in the design 

 and construction of self-feeders. 



Experiments to determine the effect of lice and worms on the fat- 

 tening properties of hogs are being continued, in cooperation with 

 the Zoological Division. 



Studies of the possibilities of serum-virus immunization of suck- 

 ling pigs against cholera are being made in cooperation with the 

 Biochemic Division. 



