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REARING AND FEEDING OF ANIMALS. 4Q3 



county, recommends the following process, the excellence of 

 which he is fully satisfied of by several years experience. It 

 is still his favourite and only method. For curing pork, two 

 hundred pounds fifteen pounds of Liverpool salt; eight gallons 

 of pure soft water; one pound brown sugar; four ounces salt- 

 petre; one quart ley.* These ingredients are to be mixed with 

 the water cold, well stirred and skimmed, and put over the 

 pork cold, no fire being used about the process. The pork is 

 to be packed in a cask, and between each piece sprinkle a little 

 fine salt. Then pour over your pickle, and let it stand until 

 the pork is salted to your taste usually about four weeks are 

 sufficient. The pork should be rubbed with salt, and laid on 

 shelves long enough to become perfectly cool previous to being 

 consigned to the pickle tub. 



Meat that is to be dried and smoked requires less salt than 

 that which is to remain in pickle, on account of the preserving 

 qualities of the pyroligneous acid, which is supplied by the smoke 

 of the wood. The great art in smoking meat well, seems to 

 consist in having the meat dried by smoke and not by heat. 

 The hams of Westphalia, unrivalled in reputation, are managed 

 in this way. The farmers have a closet in the garret adjoin- 

 ing the chimney, made smoke-tight, in which they hang their 

 hams and bacon to dry without the influence of heat or fire. 

 The smoke is conducted into this room through a funnel in- 

 serted in an aperture of the chimney. There are two, one for 

 admitting the smoke, the other for passing it off*. There area 

 number of similar establishments in Chester, Berks and Lan- 

 caster counties. 



The hams of some of the European states are highly extoll- 

 ed. In Germany, Spain, and in some other places they are 

 remarkably fine flavoured, and are frequently spoken of by 

 travellers in those countries. A large quantity of sugar is used 

 along with the saltpetre in curing them, which not only aids 

 in the conservation of the flesh, but also renders it peculiarly 

 mellow. In many of the old countries sugar is very generally 

 put into the water in which the hams are boiled, as it is found 

 to render them more tender. 



The smoked flavour, which by many persons is considered 

 an improvement, may be readily imparted to the hams by rub- 

 bing them with the pyroligneous acid, which acts also as a 

 great preservative of all kinds of flesh from putrefaction. It 

 may now be had in the shops. 



* The same receipt answers for a like quantity of beef, substituting twelve 

 for fifteen pounds of salt. 



