REPOBT OF THE J3UHEAU OF AKBIAL rNDUSTEY. 369 



for at least twenty-four hours. After that they are brought out and 

 packed in tierces in a pickle composed of sirup, sugar, saltpeter, salt, 

 and other ingredients, and are allowed to remain in this pickle in the 

 chill-room from sixty to seventy-five days before they are deemed 

 sufficiently cured to be smoked. They are then taken out of the 

 pickle, washed, and taken to the smoke-house. Usually this is a 12- 

 inch brick building, three stories high. It is divided into floors by 

 movable racks, which are withdrawn after the hams have been hung 

 upon hooks on rafters provided for that purpose* A fire of hickory 

 or maple wood the latter is regarded as giving the better flavor 

 is kindled below, the smoke-house is closed, and the hams, etc., are 

 smo* d for forty-eight hours. They are then ready for market. No 

 cured meats are sent out that have not undergone at least thirty-five 

 days' pickling a period of time sufficient to destroy all germ life. 

 The great bulk of the cured meats remain in pickle, or otherwise 

 under vigorous treatment, for a much greater length of time. 



Periodical inspections of hams, etc., are made by officers of the 

 Chicago Board of Trade, and it is always optional with purchasers 

 to cause such inspection to be made before delivery. The principal 

 packing-houses have repeatedly offered to co-operate in establishing 

 a uniform system of inspection of their meats by the General Gov- 

 ernment, prior to shipment, and a measure is pending in Congress 

 with that end in view. They conduct their business with the ut- 

 most publicity, and permit visitors to enter any part of their estab- 

 lishments to witness the operations in progress. 



CANNED MEATS AND SOUPS. 



The canned-meat industry of Chicago has developed into gigan- 

 tic proportions. The cannery of Armour & Co. has a capacity of 

 putting up in one day 225,000 pounds of corned beef, 50,000 pounds 

 of fresh boiled beef, 10,000 lunch tongues, 4,000 ox tongues, and a 

 multitude of minor products. This firm has been awarded for the 

 past three years in succession the contract of supplying the French 

 Government with canned "bceuf bouilli" for army and navy use. 

 Other establishments have almost equal canning facilities. 



Cattle killed for canning are usually well fattened native cows, and 

 Texas and other range cattle, such as are usually ranked in the mar- 

 ket as good butchering cattle. Corned beef, after being first salted 

 and cured in the chill-room, at a temperature of 38 F. , is taken over 

 to the cannery and cooked by steam in hot water. It is then put 

 upon the chopping-table and cut up. Hand labor is employed for 

 this purpose, because it is necessary to select the parts of the beef 

 that go into the cans, and to throw out the gristle and other unsuit- 

 able portions. The best cuts of table beef are selected for canning 

 purposes. This process over, all the rest of the manipulation is 

 done by machinery. The cans are placed in a receiver and are 

 charged from the bottom. A steel plug or plunger presses the beef 

 compactly into the cans. They are then weighed, and any shortage 

 or overplus is rectified. A circular orifice is left in the bottom of 

 the can. Upon this a disk of tin plate, with a small hole in the cen- 

 ter, is laid, overlapping the orifice, and firmly soldered round the 

 rim, leaving the little aperture in the middle still open. The cans 

 are next placed in a steam bath for about 30 minutes, which creates 

 a vacuum. As soon as the air is thus expelled from them, the re- 

 maining opening is quickly soldered, and the can is then air-tight, 



. 12057 A I 24 



