Types and Market Classes of Live Stock 345 



ing table showing the relative weights and values of the green (fresh 

 or uncured) cuts from a 250-pound hog. The prices are those pre- 

 vailing in March, 1923. 



Green (fresh) cuts from a hog having a live weight of 250 pounds 



Market price 



Per cent of of green cuts Value per 



Wholesale cuts live weight per pound cwt. of 



Cents live hog 



Regular hams 13.75 15 $2.06 



Skinned shoulders 10.00 10 1.00 



Jowl 3.00 8H .26 



Bellies (square cut and seedless) 12.50 13 1.62 



Fat backs 10.00 9 .90 



Spare ribs 1.00 73^ .07 



Loins 10.00 13 1.30 



Miscellaneous i 3.00 5 .15 



Leaf fat (unrendered) 3.00 lOM -32 



Cutting fat (unrendered) » 6.00 7 .42 



Heads 4.50 3?^ .16 



Total 76.75 8.26 



1 Includes feet, neck bones, tail, and a small amount of lean trimmings. 



2 Includes small fat trimmings from hams, fat backs, bellies, and other cuts. It is rendered into lard. 



High-priced and low-priced cuts. — There is less variation in the 

 prices of the wholesale cuts of pork than is true of beef, mutton, or 

 lamb. The loin, rib, and round of the beef carcass constitute 50 per 

 cent of the carcass weight and 70 per cent of the total value. The ham, 

 loin, and belly of the 250-pound lard hog constitute 47 per cent of the 

 carcass weight and 60 per cent of the total value. All of the larger 

 cuts — hams, shoulders, bellies, fat backs, and loins — sell readily at good 

 prices, whereas it is difficult to dispose of some of the cheaper cuts 

 from cattle and sheep. A study of the swine carcass emphasizes the 

 importance of good development in all parts of the hog, though more 

 especially in the back, loin, sides, and hams. 



Weights of finished products. — The table and chart, shown on 

 next page, from Swift and Company's 1922 Year Book, shows the 

 weights of the finished products from a 250-pound hog. 



Cured pork products. — Only about 1 or 2 per cent of the hogs 

 slaughtered by the large packing houses are sold as whole carcasses. 

 About three-fourths of the wholesale trade in pork consists of various 

 cured meats and fresh cuts, the remainder consisting principally of 

 lard and a small percentage of sausage and canned meats. Only about 

 20 per cent of the domestic trade and 5 per cent of the export trade in 

 pork products, other than lard, consists of fresh meat. ^ The various 

 curing processes perfected by American packers enable them to store 

 a large amount of pork during the winter season of heavy receipts for 

 disposal in seasons of light receipts. Some of the time in storage is 

 consumed in curing. Pickling requires from 30 to 100 days, and the 



ilii. Bui. 147. 



