186 



The Jirt of Curing Bacon. 



Vol. IV. 



and then perhaps they would not have suffer- 

 ed as they did, from want of the soil around 

 them being kept open to the influence of the 

 atmosphere. Tliere were about thirty bushels i 

 of beets, the tops were used through the 

 growing season as food for pigs. I 



Pumpkins. — One-fourth of an acre, gra- 

 velly loam, manured all over and ploughed 

 the 8th of June, harrowed until quite mellow, 

 then struck out rows eight feet apart, put a 

 shovelful of old compost every si.K feet along 

 the furrows ; drew a slight covering of earth 

 on to this with a hoe, dropped from four to 

 six seeds thereon and covered them about an 

 inch deep: kept the soil loose with the culti- 

 vator, until the vines began to spread over it, 

 hoed immediately around the hills by hand 

 once, and thinned the vines to two and three 

 in a place. Gathered the pumpkins the last 

 week of October, and fed them off soon to 

 milch cows and hogs, as they are easily 

 affected by frost. 



April 4th.— Planted a patch of early pota- 

 toes in ridges. 



April 18th.— Grafting apple trees. 



May 14th. — Apple trees in blossom. 



May 18th.— Quince do. do. 



June 12th. — Early potatoes do. 



July 4th. — Thermometer 92° in the shade. 



July .5th. — Wheat rusted in a slight de- 

 gree last night. 



July 20th. — Sowed buckwheat. 



July 25th.— Cradled timothy for seed, and 

 mowed the stubble for hay. 



July 30th.— Trimmed all the fences of 

 weeds and briars. 



October 27th. — Pasture yet growing lux- 

 uriantly. Buckwheat crops have been quite 

 light from the drought. Chesnuts plenty. 



October 30th.— The first fall of snow ; a 

 severe frost last night, caused many of the 

 trees to drop their foliage, which until then 

 had remained quite green. Clover seed 

 twenty-four dollars per bushel, 



I have taken these extracts from my jour- 

 nal to show a little t)ie manner in which it is 

 kept. A. E. T. 



Philadelphia County, Dec. 2, 1839. 



Origin of the Word " Farm." — In the 



Saxon times the estate which the Lords of 

 Manors granted to the freemen were at the 

 fir.st but for years, with a tender of a rent, 

 which in those days were of corn or victuals, 

 and thence the leases so made were called 

 formes or farms, which word signifieth vic- 

 tuals; but times ensuing turned the victuals 

 into money, and terms of years to terms of 

 life and inheritance, retaining the rents and 

 those called quit-rents, or the rents of these 

 persons that were acquitted or free. 



From the Mississippi Farmer. 

 The Art of Curing Bacon« 



Messrs. Editors: — It is conceded by all, 

 that the people of Eastern Virginia excel all 

 others in the art of curing bacon, and this re- 

 putation is strictly foimded upon truth. And 

 yet there is no good reason why it should be 

 so, lor I made as good bacon here last year 

 as I ever made in old Virginia. The people 

 of Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee do not 

 make it as well, nor ever will, tmtil they 

 adopt the Virginia methcxl, and every part of 

 that method ; for, to dispense with any one 

 of the requirements, although some appear 

 frivolous to the inexperienced, will prove cer- 

 tainly fatal to your bacon, if intended for the 

 palate of a connoisseur. As the bacon making 

 season is near at hand, I propose to furnish 

 your readers with the most approved method 

 as practised in the Tuckahoe region of that 

 renowned commonwealth. 



In the first place then, let your hogs be 

 well fatted on corn ; for it is impossible to 

 make good bacon out of lean or mast fat. 



It is very desirable that your hogs be killed 

 by the first of January, if the weather suits, 

 as you will thereby have time enough to salt 

 and smoke your meat before the warm wea- 

 ther sets in. At all events, have them in 

 readiness to be killed the first suitable weather 

 after that period. 



Unless the weather should be very cold 

 when you kill, it will be prudent, in this cli- 

 mate, to let your hogs remain suspended in 

 the open air the wliole night succeeding their 

 slaughter. This will insure their being chilled 

 to the marrow. 



You can have nothing better to salt your 

 meat down in than troughs made of the large- 

 est pine trees. Hogsheads answer very well,, 

 but barrels do not answer at all, as it is im- 

 possible to pack whole joints away in them 

 without leaving large vacant spaces, which 

 will prevent the brine from rising over the. 

 meat ; a thing that is absolutely essential in 

 this climate. 



Your trough should be placed upon a per- 

 fect level, which can be done readily by pour- 

 ing a gallon of water into it, and then wedg>- 

 ing up the lowest end until the water is dis- 

 persed over the whole bottom. 



As soon as your meat is cut out, (which 

 every owner of hogs must be presumed to 

 know how to do,) have two heaping tea-spoons 

 fiill of pulverized salt petre rubbed upon the 

 fleshy side of eacl^ joint, and one tea-spoon 

 full upon every neck-chine and jowl. 



Tlien rub your meat well with salt, (Turk|s 

 Island pretty well beaten, or pulverized, )$ 

 the kind I use,) beginning with the hair.S. 

 These should be placed in the bottom of the 

 trough, as closely fitted into each other as 



