78 MISCELLANEOUS FARM SUBJECTS 



greater consequence than the conserving of our forests and mines. 

 (111. Col. B. 26; Y.B. 1909.) 



MEAT ON THE FARM. 



Nearly all farmers kill more or less meat for family use, espe- 

 cially hogs. To properly cure the meat for future use requires close 

 attention and some skill. The following general directions will be 

 found useful : 



Casings. Sausage casings are the intestines of hogs, cattle, or 

 sheep which have been emptied and cleaned. They are turned inside 

 out and soaked in a solution of lye or limewater, thoroughly washed, 

 and then salted down. When cleaned and put up by a reputable 

 packer they are as good as when cleaned at nome, and when they 

 can be bought at a reasonable price it hardly pays to clean them for 

 home use. The casings from different animals are used for the 

 various kinds of sausages. Beef casings are of three kinds, rounds, 

 made from the small intestines ; bungs, made from the large intes- 

 tines; and middles, made from that part of the entrails leading 

 from the bung to the rectum. The rounds are used for bologna, the 

 bungs for bologna, ham, and blood sausage, and the middles for 

 bologna and summer sausage. Hog casings are made from the 

 small intestines of the hog, and are used mainly for pork link sausage. 

 Sheep casings are from the small intestines of sheep, and are com- 

 monly used for wienerwurst and other small sausages. 



Smoking of Meats. Pickled and cured meats are smoked to 

 aid in their preservation and to give flavor and palatability. The 

 creosote formed by the combustion of the wood closes the pores to 

 some extent, excluding the air, and is objectionable to insects. 



House and Fuel. The smokehouse should be 8 or 10 feet high 

 to give the best results, and of a size suited to the amount of meat 

 likely to be smoked. One 6 by 8 feet will be large enough for 

 ordinary farm use. Ample ventilation should be provided to carry 

 off the warm air in order to prevent overheating the meat. Small 

 openings under the eaves or a chimney in the roof will be sufficient 

 if arranged so as to be easily controlled. A fire pot outside of the 

 house proper with a flue through which the smoke may be con- 

 ducted to the meat chamber gives the best conditions for smoking. 

 When this can not well be arranged a fire may be built on the floor 

 of the house and the meat shielded by a sheet of metal. Where 

 the meat can be hung 6 or 7 feet above the fire this precaution 

 need not be taken. The construction should be such as to allow 

 the smoke to pass up freely over the meat and out of the house, 

 though rapid circulation is at the expense of fuel. 



Brick or stone houses are best, though the first cost is greater 

 than if they are built of lumber. Large dry-goods boxes and even 

 barrels may be made to serve as smokehouses where only small 

 amounts of meat are to be smoked. The care of meat in such sub- 

 stitutes is so much more difficult and the results so much less satis- 

 factory that a permanent place should be provided if possible. 



The best fuel for smoking meats is green hickory or maple 

 wood smothered with sawdust of the same material. Hard wood of 



