SLAUGHTERING AND CURING 519 



skim rises remove it. Continue to do this as long as any 

 skim rises, and when it ceases, allow the pickle to cool. 

 When the hams have remained the proper time immersed 

 in the mixture, cover the bottom of a clean, sweet barrel 

 witli salt about half an inch deep. Pack in the hams as 

 closely as possible, cover them with the pickle, and 

 place over them a follower with weights to keep them 

 down. Small hams of 15 pounds and less, also shoul- 

 ders, should remain in the pickle for five weeks ; larger 

 ones will require six to eight weeks, according to size. 

 Let them dry well before, smoking." In winter curing 

 boiling the brine is not so essential. 



DRY SALTING BACON AND SIDES 



"For hogs weighing not over 125 or 130 pounds each, 

 intended for dry curing, one bushel fine salt, two pounds 

 brown sugar and one pound saltpeter will suffice for each 

 800 pounds of pork ; but if the meat is large and thick, or 

 weighs from 150 to 200 pounds per carcass, from a gal- 

 lon to a peck more of salt and a little more of both the 

 other articles should be taken. Neither the sugar nor 

 the saltpeter is absolutely necessary for the preservation 

 of the meat, and they are often omitted. But both arc 

 preservati\'es ; the sugar improves the flavor of the bacon, 

 and the saltpeter gives it greater firmness and a finer 

 color, if used sparingly. Bacon should not be so sweet 

 as to suggest the 'sugar cure;' and saltpeter, used too 

 freely, hardens the tissues of the meat and renders it 

 less palatable. The quantity of salt mentioned is enough 

 for the first salting. A little more new salt is added at 



