CHAPTER XVI 

 THE MUTTON CARCASS AND THE PELT 



Mutton and lamb supply a wealthier class of consumers than beef, 

 pork, or veal. Lamb is ordinarily considered something of a delicacy, 

 while beef and pork are looked upon as staple articles of food. The 

 proper handling of mutton and lamb necessitates more careful and 

 quick slaughtering than is required in the case of beef or pork, and good 

 refrigeration facilities are also very essential. The public taste for 

 mutton and lamb was not created until the development of the re- 

 frigerator car nor until the erection of large-scale chill rooms was made 

 possible by artificial refrigeration. The year 1875 marked the advent 

 of these great aids to the packing business. Mutton differs from pork 

 and beef in that it is almost entirely a fresh meat product and does not 

 lend itself to salting, pickling, smoking, or drying as do pork and beef. 

 Hence mutton became a world commodity only after the development 

 of artificial refrigeration and refrigerated transportation. Still another 

 reason for the comparatively recent demand for mutton and lamb is 

 found in the fact that, up to 1870, the great majority of all sheep in 

 America were either purebred or grade Merinos. Good mutton be- 

 came plentiful only after the use of mutton rams became general on 

 farms and ranges. Lamb is usually superior to mature mutton in 

 flavor and general palatability, and the demand for lamb far exceeds 

 the demand for mutton; the wholesale trade consists of two or three 

 times as much lamb as mutton. 



Slaughtering. — Sheep purchased by packers are driven to the 

 packing plant and allowed to rest a few hours, because animals killed 

 while in an excited condition or immediately after exercise do not bleed 

 out thoroughly. They are then driven into a small shackling pen, and 

 a shackle is placed around the hind leg. Two at a time, the sheep are 

 raised by a large revolving wheel to a point overhead where the shackle 

 automatically unhooks from the wheel and starts down a gently in- 

 clined rail. The animal moves to the "sticker,'" who quickly dispatches 

 the sheep by a single thrust of a double-edged knife. Briefly, the 

 operations consist of bleeding, and removal of pelt, feet, head, wind- 

 pipe, gullet, and all internal organs except the kidneys. After passing 

 through many hands, the carcass reaches the cooler, the dressing re- 

 quiring about half an hour. 



Method of dressing. — Prior to the World War, a number of styles 

 of dressing sheep and lambs were used, but during the period of the 



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