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8 



®l)c jTarmcr's iUoiitl)li) bisitor. 



1 trust, be lenient in your criticisms on tiiis, my\ 

 first ;illen]|>t at » first essay on the suhjecl ; irjore 

 (jurticiihirly when 1 id! yon, I ;ini prompted by 

 no other niolive liiiin to increase tlie vuhie and 

 interest of yonr invidnahle |nd)liciilion ; to iii- 

 etruct your readers, and lo open ill".' eyes ol the 

 many peisuns enfiayed in liie husijiess to tlie 

 ininutiie tlitit ujust he ohserved, and ihe ditVicnl- 

 ties lliat must he oveicome, in order to pursue 

 the trade snccessl'uUy. 



Ude, in liis celehraled hooli on Cookery, in 

 givin*; instructions how to make lline soup, sij;- 

 niticantly says, " tirst ca;ch the hare." Jt is not 

 of more importance to cattdi tlie hare to make 

 the soup, than it is in pnttinu up heel' for the 

 British marki t, to first livl llie heef of the ri^'lit 

 size and (pialiiy. 'J'lio (|ualiiy is lound amonjtst 

 the liillest and best le<l cattle you can obtain ; 

 and the sizi.' must raujie helweeu (JOO and 800 

 lbs., beiri;; lliat w.'iich invariably cuts up lo the 

 best advanuii:!' ; having more prime pieces, holh 

 in «eighl and number, compared uitli the whole 

 weijiht of the caieass, than any other size we 

 can select. Having; obtained the cattle, oiu' next 

 cure mnsl he lo have ihem propejiy killed; and 

 here ii is of ureal impoiiance lo yonr success in 

 curiuii, that not only tly blood of each animal 

 should be well and thoroujjhiy drawn, lint lliat 

 every animal should he allowed sufficient time to 

 rest off its jfimney, say liom 24 lo 46 hours, ac- 

 cordiiijx lo cucumslances, so as lo allow the fever 

 couse()ueiit on driving any dislancu, to subside, 

 belbi-e you kill it. 



The business of packins is divided into two 

 parts; the first is lo cure the meal ; the second, 

 is to preserve il when cored. In the packing 

 house, the first pieparaliou that should be made 

 for business, is the making of the brine in wliicli 

 Ihe beef is to be cured. By way of |iarenlhesis, 

 it may as widl be here noted, that neither Kana- 

 wa, Zanesville, or Goose Creek salt should be 

 allowed to touch your meal, either directly, by 

 mixinre wiib oilier sail, or indirectly ihrough Ihe 

 inediuiii of brine, for so sure as ;tny of ihese 

 sails are used, so sure will your meat become 

 slimy like fish, and be iniperledly cured. The 

 best salt I know oi; for curing, is the Liverpool 

 coarse s»i:k salt, as it is called. The brine should 

 be made for at leasl 10 or 14 days helbre it is re- 

 quired; it should be madi^ in huge vats or hogs- 

 heads, with .L sufficient quanlity of finely pow- 

 dered saltpetre added, to give lliii beef that red 

 color, which so pleases ihe eye tVoui long haliit; 

 it should be allowed to settle down and refine, 

 and when drawn off into the tubs wheri! the 

 beef is to be cured, it should be clear, and en- 

 tirely liee from any sediment or iiii|iurity. The 

 slrenglh should also be lesleil, which, in ihe ab- 

 sence of a regular brine tester, may be done 

 accurately eiiou;;li by placing the half of a hog's 

 bead, weighing from 7 lo 8 lbs. in the brine, 

 which must float pcrpendirvliirh/, llie snout two 

 inches above liie surlace, before the brine can be 

 inonoiinced strong enough. 



The next o|.eraiion in the packing bouse, is 

 Ihe eulliug up of llie beef inlo 811). pieces, aliont 

 which it is impossible to give any specific direc- 

 tioii.s, as the unmher of pieces must entirely de- 

 p(Mid on llie size, weight, and ihickness of the 

 animal. This deparlineut of the business musl 

 be guided by llie hand and eyi^ of the practical 

 Iradesnian, and direcled solely by his good judg- 

 irienl. One thing may here he remarked, lliat it 

 is always well lo leave two prime pieces of every 

 carcass, say off llie slaiidiiig ribs, whole and un- 

 ciii, 10 weigh from '4'-l to :i8 lbs., .■ind cured in 

 that way, for ivvo ri;isiins; first, when cnl up to 

 the proper size .-.Her they are cnred. it leaves a 

 treshue>s and bloom on ihose pieces for llie 

 beading, which gives lo ihe purchaser, on open- 

 ing the tierce for inspection, a eerl.iin guaranlee 

 that the meat was handled by a Iradesnian; imd 

 secondly, il will liicililale the scaling of the 

 meat much, iis should ;j7 pieces be in tbi; scale, 

 wanting one piece more lo weigh 8 or 10 lbs., 

 more or less, thai piece can be cut oil' ihi.-i larger 

 one lo a great iiiciMly, and avoid the delay and 

 trouble of tossing a pile of meat over lolinnt up 

 one piece from the many, of the exact weight 

 wauled. In scidiii:: your meat it is not neces- 

 sary lo put mure tli.-iu the exact weiglii .'{04 lbs. 

 in, as beef when cured, and put into tierces, will 

 regain fully 5 per cent, of llii^ 10 per cent., it 

 will have lost in the process of curing. 



As your beef is cut, llie course pieces of the 



fore ()uarler, siiidi as the clods, stickings, anil 

 shoulder pieces, should be sehclc'd and well 

 ruhlicd with dry s.ilt, anil pnl inlo pickling tubs 

 by ihemselves; the roUiid, riinip, and jump |iieces 

 of the hind (piaiters should in like manner be 

 sell i-led, well rulibed with dry sail, and put into 

 pickling tubs by ihemselves, and then your prime 

 parts, such as ribs, sirloins, plate and brisket 

 pieces, should be selected, and put into the pick- 

 ling lubs by themselves, and withiiut beini; rubhiJ. 

 Those piei'es being the most lender, and leasl 

 veiny pans of the heelj will cure more easily and 

 (piicker than Ihe coarser pails, hut after remain- 

 ing a week ill the h-iiie they should be drawn, 

 and if the brine has not siifHcieiilly stricken, 

 then and not till llicii, should ilinse pieces be 

 ruhlied with dry .-alt. The courser pieci's should 

 he drawn and ex.uiiiiied every filth day al least, 

 and if the sail should not have sufiieiently 

 stricken, .-iiid the impurities be not well exlrac- 

 led, then llic^y should he irenlly rnbhed a second 

 lime, and llie' :iir allowed lo act liir an hour or 

 two al leasl, on the mciit and sail, beliire ihey 

 an; relumed into the brine; the wlioh; of the 

 meal in the curing lubs must be well covered 

 wiih brine, and the air entirely excluded lioiii il. 

 Uiiilern good sti.le of the almospliere, and with 

 proper liamlliiig of llie meal, il will he cnred and 

 ready lo put into the tierces in bom 14 to ](J 

 days, but of' this the pr.icliced eye and hand of 

 the tradesman can alone lie the jiidi.'i', for I know 

 of no words to exjilain the feel .-inil look of meat 

 when cured, or when not siifHeienlly cured ; 

 practice and comparison alone, aided by close 

 ohseiviiiion. is the only certain wiiy of arriving 

 at that judgment. 



The propriety (if sorting the meat of the three 

 rpialities us poinied out, and having each ipiahly 

 cnred separately, I shall endeavor lo ex(ilaiii, so 

 as lo be understood and appreciated by every 

 person |)0ssessed of any common sense and ex- 

 perience. First, the finer or middle pieces of 

 every unimal, il is well known, are much more 

 easily cured than the coarser pii^ces of the e.\- 

 tremilies of either the fore or hind quarter, hence 

 Ihe jiropriely of keeping them separate, as nine 

 limes out ol ten il is wholly unnecessary lo do 

 mine; lo iliein (the finer pieces) lliaii simply to 

 place lliem in the brine, where they will cure 

 without any rubbing, while it is necessary lo rub 

 tin: other pieces once al leasl, and sometimes 

 olteiier vviih dry sail, in order lo extract tlior- 

 oiiL'hly those impurities which the lean of every 

 animal ooutains in a very much laiger piopor- 

 liou, llian the falter p'arl of' ihe same animal 

 docs; and il is for the same reason, right ;iiiil 

 necess,'iry, lo separate the pieces cut off ihe ex- 

 iri-niily of tie tore (piailer from those cut off ihe 

 exireniily of the hind f|uarl(;r, because the meat 

 of ihe fore (]iiarler contains more of lliose im- 

 piiiilies, whlili must be extracted before it is 

 eiind, than does the meat of' llie hind quarter, 

 and conseipieiitly the meat of Hue quailers re- 

 i|iiires more care and handling in order lo ciue 

 it, than does the meal on any oilier part of the 

 caic.-iss of the animal; hence this ehissifieation 

 will enable the ciirer lo give 10 each sort of meat 

 the reiiuired handling necessary for its preserva- 

 lion, without inlerleriug with the other jiarls, 

 which, if treated the same w.-iy, (I now spi'ak of 

 the liner pieces,) would have their natural juices 

 cMraclcd, become hard, and what is I'omiiionly 

 bill erroneously called over-cured. There is also 

 another reason why this classification should be 

 made; ilisihis: 'J'hat it saves much lime ami 

 labor, when llic meal is selecling liir the scale, 

 by having (■.■ich (pmlity in scpar.ite hulk; the se- 

 leelor bus hut to go to either, in order to lay his 

 iiuiid at iiiice iipiiii the ]iailicular piece he waills, 

 wiilioui losing lime iir wasting labor in tossing 

 over a pih; of meal promiscunusly cured. 



When yinir meat is cured, lh(; next process is 

 llie packing il away (iir piesn valion inlo the 

 tierces, about which 1 deem il unnecessary lo say 

 anything; because when the meat is selected 

 and scaled, tlu; pa''king il is a mere mechanical 

 proces.s, in w liicli a man can jdone become a pro- 

 ficienl liy pniclice and experience. It may be 

 Mill ihoiigh lo remark, llial w hen your meat is 

 taken out cif the curing tiilis, it shoiihl be washeil, 

 and I'iihh'd of the impurities extracted by the 

 salt, iiiid generally in a greater or less degree 

 ilcpiisited oil the surface, and which can he hot 

 and most easily done, with the aid of water and 

 a good hickory brooiTi ; Ihn jiacker shoidd ahvays 



have by him him a knife, and whenever he oh- 

 serves an incrusialion of those impurities mi the 

 meal, which the washing had not taken of)', he 

 should use his knifi? lo scrap'e it off, iind if scra- 

 ping did not ed'eel il, be should cnl il off. 



When your tierces are packed, ihey must llion 

 be heailed and ihorongbly driven down in Iheir 

 wooden hoops, rolled by, and each tierce have its 

 bung linle bored, and then brined with pure, 

 clean brine, made and tested in llie way before 

 described, except ih.it no .ruHpelre slioidd be put 

 in il. Il is of liie iilmosi inipojtauce that this 

 brine should be made si;veial days before, in 

 order that not only the impurities of the sail, hut 

 lliose of the water also, should have lime lo 

 setth;down into a serlimciii, and lliis si'ditneiit i 

 should not be disturbed when the brine is drawn I 

 off. The waul of ibis pncaulion, has been the \ 

 cause of much ciimplui;il, and injury lo lh<! meat \ 

 when exposed for sale, from the fiicl that when 

 the brine was put on wiihoiil firsi being allowed 

 to clear itself, tlie impurities <d' both the salt and 

 the water settled upon the meat, and made it 

 both slimy and dirty. The tierces should remain 

 at leasl 14 diiys in this sl.ile with the bungs open, 

 and whatever tlie casks may have absorbed of 

 the brine, should he re|ileuished once, if not 

 Iwice every day, and this I'ontinned niilil the 

 cfisks will absorb no more ; and licit the biine 

 remains as slalionary and uiidimlnislied, » Inn 

 filled, as ihough il stood lii a glass holtle. TIh' 

 necessity for lliis precaution is olivioiis; first, if 

 your slaves are not in this way allowed to ln-- 

 coine saturated with brine, and the brine reph ii- 

 islied helbre llie I'asks are finally coopered and 

 shipped, you can have no gur.iulee fur your casks 

 not leaking on the voyage; and secondly, should 

 this absurption be allowed lo lake place, on the 

 voy.'ige, your tierces in ,'i short lime will heconie 

 hall empty of brine, and wherever your meat 

 then comes in contact with the slave, it will ex- 

 iracl from the wood its coloring matter, — will 

 become stained and di,s<'oloied, and for the want 

 of brine, the meal will become hard and r.ancid, 

 and piihaps mouldy too. Your tierces after 

 slaniliiig al least 14 dajs will take no nioie brine. 

 They are then ready for the bungs, which should 

 be put in willi a coarse ilolli around lliein, and 

 tightly driven ; over each liimg a pi(;ce of tin 

 should be luiiled on, but great care must be oh- 

 served that the tticks w iih which it is fastened 

 are so short as not to go ihrongli ihe slave ; as, if 

 they do, a leakage will take place that may do 

 nincli harin. 



Then comes the finisliiiiu' stroke lo the whole, 

 namely, tin; puniiig on your iron lioop.s, and the 

 final coopering of your tierce. .As few coopers 

 are in the haliil of doing such work in the 

 United Statics, I shall explain llie process, so that 

 all may imderslaiid, and perlbrin it, if they will. 

 Ill the first phice, car(! should be taken lo clear 

 your house of all sail and brine, in order thai the 

 hoop iron may be kept as free bom il as possible, 

 10 pieveiil its rust and corroding. 'Ihe tierce up- 

 ended, the cooper l.'ikes ofi' the three first wooden 

 I'liime hoops, he then lakes bis liooii iron and 

 belts II round the place of the /?rs/ hoop, anil 

 takes its accurate measure; llieri,' he then cms 

 it to the leiiglh, and rivets il, which call only bo 

 well done on the fiice of a small anvil, or un lliu 

 side of a inetal hall'-liimdred weight; be then 

 puts his hoop on, (havim; e.ised il, by a few blows 

 on llie inside of one edge, to the, shape <if the 

 cask,) and drives it lo the berth of iho second 

 wooden hoop, leaving roum for a wooden guard- 

 hoop oil the outer cd;;i' of the ehiine ; hi' ihen 

 strips lli.il end ol' the lirrce of ,ill the ii-mainiler 

 of it;i woollen hoops, and take.- his booji-iion and 

 measures around the berth of ihe //iiV(/ wooden 

 bulge hoop, cuts, rivets, and shapes it, and iheii 

 puts it on and drives il down, lo the place of the 

 scroHf/ bulge hoop; this done, he then puts on bis 

 wooden guard bulge hoop, which passes over the 

 iron one, and drives it to its place, niid then 

 drives oil the remainih'r of bis wooden hoops, 

 finishing with a guard chime hoop oiilside llii) 

 ii'iiii one, and so proceeds on until the whole is 

 coopered. It is iiecessnry here lo remark, that 

 no iron driver, used perpendiinlariy, as coopers 

 use llirir wooden drivers on wooden hoops, will 

 ever diivi' an iron hoop to lis pliice. 



The Cluing and piickiii:; of pork difi'eis some- 

 what from thai of beet, biii llie length to which 

 this article already ex'en.ls, prevents, iiielioni 

 going inlo iliai siilijcci m piescut, nor is it so 



W<\f 



