GOOD BACON. 



261 



remedy short of paring away the horn as far as it appears unsound, 

 an-1 cuttiii ■■ awav the livid flesh, when ap|.i} the hiue v.tnol as 

 above, until the frctid smell has subsided, when finish the cure^ >th 

 white lead. The sound tlcsh may readily be distinguished from 

 thediseaspd, hv the former's bleeding freely, and the blood and 

 fle^h having' a brijiht and lively appearance, like a fresh cut in a 

 healthy nart of the body, whereas the diseased part will be of a 

 greenish brown, or liver color. At this season of the year, when 

 the hornv part of the hongh is pared off. it will be necessary to put 

 on a bo-t made of sheep-skin, and moderately tied with a woolled 

 string, round the fetlock ^oint. to defend the hough from cold and 

 dirt. The boot ou^rht to be daily washed in strong soap-suds, and 

 every four or five days replaced with a new one. The sheep 

 OM-ht to be dressed every morning, and before each dressing, the 

 diseased part ought to be well washed with warm, strong, soft soap- 

 .uds Prior to driving the sheep into the pen to be dressed, it 

 will be well to sprinkle the pen over with slacked lime, to prevent 

 the disorder being increased by contact with the infectious matter. 

 Much attention ought to be paid to the separating the lame sheep 

 from the flock, and when cured, to their being taken from the lame 

 flock. Attention ought also to be given to the cleanliness of their 

 sheds, and that they do not run on wet ground. Sometime, lamo- 

 ness proceeds from cracks between the houghs, i. e. the skin vvhich 

 connects Ibe two houghs together ; but the milder type of theifoot- 

 rot also often commence^ between the houghs. They are, how- 

 ever ea^ilv distinguished from each other, for in simple cracks the 

 hou-h retains its natural coolness, whereas foot-rot is invariably 

 attended with heat in the hough, particularly about the crown, i. e. 

 the part between the horn and the hair. For simple cracks, soap- 

 suds and white-lead are sufticient. One part oil of vitriol ana 

 three parts water mixed, is used by many instead of blue vitnol 

 Attention ought to be paid to cleaning the issues. Pure water aud 

 as much salt as they.wiU consume, are at all times necessary to the 

 health of sheep." [K h. Farmer. 



GOOD BACON. 



The following is the mode of curing Bacon in Virginia, laid down 

 bv a gentleman of the Isle of Wight county, who had much expe- 

 rience in the process. It is needless to say that Virginia hams en- 

 joy a reputation scarcely short of those from Westphalia. There 

 'is "a considerable quantity of Bacon cured in this part of the coun- 

 try, but often in a manner so iniudicious, that the meat becomes 

 excessively hard, ils flavor is lost, and the palate is regaled with 

 nothing but a villainous compound of salt and smoke. The sug- 

 gestions contained in it may also be of service in the curing of 

 salmon. . 



" To have good Bacon, the pork must be fat ; it may possihlu be 

 too fat, though that is verv rar^lv the case in Virginia. Hogs about 

 !8 months old, which are raised poor, and afterwards well fatted; 



