238 SOUTHERN PORK PRODUCTION 



in similarly shaped carcasses are also quite noticeable. 

 Even in those carcasses possessing the same degree of 

 condition there is a marked tendency on the part of some 

 to place it on the back, while others show more of a 

 tendency to deposit it on the inside of the ribs and around 

 the kidneys. In the cut carcasses there is also marked 

 differences in the degree of marbling, even when the 

 quantity of fat on the back is the same. The color of 

 both the fat and the lean presents marked contrasts. The 

 grain of the meat, the quality and size of the bone, and 

 the degree of moisture presented on the cut surface are 

 other respects in which the carcasses will be found to 

 differ greatly. In some carcasses, especially where the 

 hog is old and fat, the meat will separate from the bones 

 if the cooling has not been begun soon enough after 

 slaughter; or, if the carcass has not been cooled to a 

 sufficiently low temperature, the same result may be seen. 



Classification of hog carcasses. This lack of uni- 

 formity necessitates a classification where the slaughter- 

 ing is carried on on a sufficiently extensive scale to justify 

 specialization. The butcher and packer are, of course, 

 primarily interested in these variations, as they are used 

 in determining the specific use for which the carcass is 

 best suited. The different ways in which carcasses may 

 differ are in age, size, condition, color of lean, shape, 

 thickness of fleshing, thickness of external fat, distribu- 

 tion of fat, color of fat, grain and texture of meat, hard- 

 ness and size of bone and in soundness and quality. In 

 the large packing houses the carcasses are placed in va- 

 rious classes dependent upon the above qualities. The 

 most complete classification that has been made of hog 

 carcasses is that by Hall reported in Bulletin 147 of the 





