HOG. 



food, constantly lie down, and have 

 the sloniarh distended. Jn this case, 

 two heads of garlic, nii.xed witli six 

 oz. ol' fresh butter, will aflbrd relief, 

 given every six hours. 



" The most formidable of the dis- 

 eases to which swine are liable is 

 inflammation of the lungs and other 

 internal parts ; this disease has been 

 known to destroy a fourth of the hogs 

 in a distillery in the course of a few 

 weeks. The chief indications of the 

 disease will be the distressing cough, 

 the heaving of the flanks, and the re- 

 fusal of all food. Bleeding must be 

 l)rom|)tly resorted to, and moderate 

 purges cautiously administered. The 

 safest aperients are castor oil, or Ep- 

 som salts, after which the following 

 powder may be given : antimonial 

 powd., 2 grs., nitre, half a drachm. 



" In cases of murrain, a species of 

 leprosy, which prevails chiefly in hot 

 seasons, the best advice that can be 

 given is to keep the animal cool, and 

 not to suffer any animal food to be 

 given. 



" The health of swine is to be es- 

 timated by their cheerfulness, by the 

 gloss upon their coats, their skin 

 being wholly free from eruption. If 

 pigs snort on being disturbed, it is 

 an excellent sign of sound health and 

 good keep. The state of the excre- 

 ment or digestions will generally in- 

 dicate pretty correctly the thriving 

 condition of the animal ; for, unless 

 these are of a firm consistence, the 

 hog will not fatten rapidly. If store 

 or stock pigs are kept well and in 

 good condition, it will prevent most 

 of the diseases to which the animals 

 are subject, and they will also thrive 

 and fatten at half the expense when 

 shut up for that purpose. From the 

 confinement of the hog, and the na- 

 ture of his food, a description of in- 

 digestion takes place, with cutaneous 

 eruptions." 



HOGSHEAD. An old measure 

 containing 63 wine gallons. A large 

 barrel in which sugar, tobacco, and 

 coarse produce are packed, contain- 

 ing from 10 to 14 cwt. 



HOG'S LARD. The fat from the 

 kidneys, over the chines, intestines, 

 376 



&c., is converted into lard for family 

 use and sale. Being separated from 

 skin and lean, it is to be put into a 

 copper or iron boiler, with water, and 

 melted thoroughly, being constantly 

 stirred with a wooden bat, lest it be- 

 come burned : a handful of salt is 

 added to the 100 lbs., and stirred in ; 

 as soon as it is well boiled it is to be 

 removed from the fire and passed 

 through a colander and closely woven 

 strong cloth into the wooden or earth- 

 en-ware vessels in which it is to be 

 kept. By straining in this way, all 

 the pieces of skin are separated. The 

 cracklings are well pressed in the 

 colander to obtain all the fat. A lay- 

 er of salt may be placed above the 

 top of the cold lard, the vessels closed, 

 and stored in a cool cellar. The 

 cracklijags serve to fatten poultry, or 

 may be kept for domestic soap. " _ 



Lard consists q{ 38 stearin and 62 

 elain in 100 parts. These are now 

 separated for commercial purposes, 

 the formef resembling spermaceti, 

 aiW making admirable candles, the 

 latter afTording the lard oil so exten- 

 sively used for lamps, wool dressing, 

 and mecliinery : it sells at from 75 cts. 

 to $1 the gallon. Indeed, lard itself 

 furnishes a good light when burned 

 in suitable lamps with short wicks. 



From the low price of hogs in the 

 West, it has been found profitable to 

 render the carcass, excepting the 

 hams, into lard ; the lard is subse- 

 quently divided into the oil and stear- 

 in ; these processes are simple, and 

 fully explained by the following pa- 

 per of .Mr. Stafford, of Cleveland, 

 Ohio. The skin is removed from the 

 parts steamed. 



" The average Ohio hogs (common 

 breeds) will produce, when tried by 

 steam, 50 per cent, lard, after de- 

 ducting the hams and shoulders. 

 The plan now generally adopted is, 

 not to take out the shoulders ; the 

 sale for them is limited, and price 

 low ; the covering of fat will produce 

 more in lard than the expense of cu- 

 ring would warrant. The mixture 

 of the China and Berkshires, fed upon 

 potatoes or any other vegetable con- 

 taining starch as a principal food. 



