VI.] KEEPING PIGS. Dl 



spread the gospel abroad, worked himself, in order to 

 have it to give to those who were unable to work? 

 Upon what, then, do these modern saints ; these evan- 

 gelical gentlemen, found their claim to live on the 

 labour of others. 



149. All the other parts taken away, the two sides 

 that remain, and that are called flitches, are to be 

 cured for bacon. They are first rubbed with salt on 

 their insides, or flesh sides, then placed, one on the 

 other, the flesh sides uppermost, in a salting trough 

 which has a gutter round its edges to drain away the 

 brine; for, to have sweet and fine bacon, the flitches 

 must not lie sopping in brine; which gives it that sort 

 of taste which barrel-pork and sea-jonk have, and 

 than which nothing is more villanous. Every one 

 knows how different is the taste of fresh, dry salt, 

 from that of salt in a dissolved state. The one is 

 savoury, the other nauseous. Therefore, change the 

 salt often. Once in four or five days. Let it melt, 

 and sink in ; but let it not lie too long. Change the 

 flitches. Put that at bottom which was first put on the 

 top. Do this a couple of times. This mode will cost 

 you a great deal more in salt, or rather in taxes, than 

 the sopping mode; but without it, your bacon will 

 not be sweet and fine, and will not keep so well. As 

 to the time required for making the flitches-sufficiently 

 salt, it depends on circumstances ; the thickness of 

 the flitch, the state of the weather, the place wherein 

 the salting is going on. It takes a longer time for a 

 thick than for a thin flitch ; it takes longer in dry, than 

 in damp weather ; it takes longer in a dry than in a 

 damp place. But for the flitches of a hog of twelve 

 score, in weather not very dry or very damp, about six 

 weeks may do ; and as yours is to be fat, which 

 receives little injury from over-salting, give time 

 enough ; for you are to have bacon till Christmas 

 comes again. The place for salting should, like a 

 dairy, always be cool, but always admit of a free cir- 

 culation of air : confined air, though cool, will taint 

 meat sooner than the mid-day sun accompanied with 

 a breeze. Ice will not melt in the hottest sun so soon 



