252 THE BACON CURING INDUSTRY. 



scene of operations of a large number of small curers, who cured long sides 

 for the Dublin )narket. This particular " cut " of bacon is still being turned 

 out although with waning prosperity. 



The greatest impetus given to bacon curing was undoubtedly the rapid 

 advance made by the dairying industry in Ireland generally, the province of 

 Munster being particularly forward in this direction. One of the best ways 

 to utilise the waste products of the dairy was, no doubt, in pig-feeding, and 

 consequently the pig became a necessary adjunct to every dairy farm. The 

 largest curing centre in Ireland is Limerick, the annual turnover there being 

 about equal to that of Cork and Waterford together. These cities come next 

 to it and each deals with about *he same number of pigs. Next come Belfast, 

 Londonderry, Dublin, Tralee, Enniscorthy, DunJalk, Ballymena, and New 

 Ross. The system of marketing in the North of Ireland differs very con- 

 siderably from that in the centre and South. In the North the farmers kill 

 and clean the pigs themselves, and bring them to the markets. The " offal " 

 of the pig in Ulster is utilised as food at the farm l.cuse where the pig is fed, 

 which is a distinct advantage to the small feeder in providing a wholesome 

 and economical addition to his diet. All through the rest of the country the 

 pigs are sold " on their feet," that is to say, they are driven or conveyed to 

 the markets alive to be sold to the buyers who purchase either for the 

 home curers or for exportation to the bacon curers or fresh pork butchers 

 in England. 



The farmer who keeps a breeding sow generally markets the bonhams or 

 *' slips," as they are sometimes called, at ten weeks old, after which they are 

 kept by the purchasers who feed them until they are sixteen weeks old, 

 when they are sometimes brought to the market a second time and sold as 

 " stores." The purchaser of the stores feeds them until they are properly 

 finished which should be, if the best results are to be attained, when they 

 are between five and a-half and six months old, and then disposes of them 

 at the markets or fairs to the regular pig buyers, who buy either as commis- 

 sioners for the home or English curers. The purchaser of the fat pigs 

 sometimes buys on his own account to sell the pigs again by dead weight at 

 some of the Irish bacon factories. The original breeder, or more probably 

 the man who purchased the bonhams at ten weeks old, frequently feeds the 

 pigs until they are fully finished and ready for the bacon curer. This has 

 been found the most general as well as the most profitable way of dealing 

 with the fattening of pigs. In districts of small farms where each farmer 

 fattens one or two pigs, it is universally the system pursued. 



Of late years a system has come into vogue around Limerick and Water- 

 ford of sending the pigs when fattened direct to the curers either in the 

 owners' cars or by rail from long distances. Most of the large merchants 

 have agents in the surrounding towns, who quote the current prices each 

 week. The farmer hands his pigs to the agent, who attaches a numbered 

 tin label to an car of each animal, loads and consigns them at the railway 

 station to the bacon curer, giving the owner a receipt which notifies (a) the 

 numbers on the labels which have been attached to the pigs' ears ; (d) the 

 conditions on which they are received, and the current price for each quality 

 of pig. The agent sends the same particulars to the firm for which he acts. 

 The animals are killed and weighed on the day following their purchase, and 

 cheques for the amounts they realise are at once posted to the owners to- 

 gether with a ticket showing the weight of each pig, and the quality in which 

 he was classified. 



