THE EMIGRANT'S HAND-BOOK. 333 



steam, at a pressure of five pounds to the inch, it will re- 

 quire from eighteen to twenty hours to try off a tubfull of 

 any given quantity, steam in proportion of course ; sixty 

 pounds pressure would do it in one-third the time. The 

 great advantage of steam is, the whole of the lard or tal- 

 low is produced, and there is no danger of burning either. 



The quality of the lard is good, but not equal to leaf 

 lard or suet ; the carcass fat does not contain as much 

 of the concrete principle, (stearin.) Whole hog lard 

 cannot be refined and made hard without a portion of the 

 oil is extracted. I take from twenty to forty per centum 

 of the oil; then the balance goes through several wash- 

 ings in pure rain-water by steam, after which it is refined 

 lard. The expense is not more than one quarter cent 

 per pound, but it is of more value to us than common lard, 

 as we have a great deal of trouble and expense with it ; 

 and in only extracting a portion of the oil, we would lose 

 by it, did it not command a better price in the market, 

 which it should from its purity. 



The custom has been to decompose the lard in acid and 

 neutral salts. When the affinity between the parts is de- 

 stroyed, separate them by means of canvas bags placed 

 in powerful screw presses. If you wish to make candles 

 of the residue, the pressure is continued until all the oil, 

 by this means, is forced out. The contents of the bags 

 are then subjected to the action of a powerful hydraulic 

 press, and the stearin pressed to dryness. 



To produce the winter oil, expose the decomposed lard 

 to the cold, in the same manner that the crude sperm oil 

 undergoes to produce the winter-strained oil. Upon an- 

 alysis, it is found that the lard oil contains 79 2-10 car- 

 bon, and pure sperm oil, 79 5-10 ; making three-tenths 

 of one per centum difference ; the other equivalent of 

 nydrogen and oxygen are the same, excepting the differ- 

 ence of the three-tenths. For all uses, (excepting paint- 



