SHRINKAGE OF SOFT PORK. 3 



and since the war, became so serious that appeals were made to 

 various branches of the Government, particularly the U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture and the Federal Trade Commission, to determine 

 the justice of the penalizing market practices.^ In response to this 

 demand the Federal Bureau of Markets began an investigation of the 

 problem early in 1919. 



Some of the leading live-stock markets where southern hogs are 

 shipped in large numbers were visited, and the following differences 

 in prices per 100 pounds live weight were found to exist between hogs 

 suspected of being soft or oily and those expected to produce firm 

 carcasses. 



Place. 



Difference. 



Place. 



Difference. 



Fort Worth, Tex... 

 Birminghaifi, Ala . . 

 Richmond, Va 



$2. 



$3 for oilv and $1.50 for soft. 



$3 for oily and S2 for soft. 



East St. Louis, ill.. 

 Indianapolis, Ind . . 

 Kansas City, Mo... 



$6 to $7. 

 $2. 



$4. 



In view of the fact that there seemed to be no uniformity in the 

 discounts or methods of applying them at any one market, and that 

 great variations prevailed among the different markets, it was 

 deemed advisable to conduct tests which might assist in determining 

 the reason of the discrimination and, if possible, to determine what 

 differences really existed between the three kinds of pork, especially 

 with reference to the shrinkage and merchandising factors. These 

 two factors, therefore, were given careful study and two series of 

 commercial tests were made to ascertain whether the objections 

 cited were material and serious enough to justify the discounts given. 

 The results of the tests and information obtained are described in 

 this bulletin. 



Since this work was completed, the Bureau of Animal Industry of 

 the United States Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with a 

 number of State agricultural experiment stations, has undertaken a 

 comprehensive investigation of the soft-pork problem. This line of 

 research is being conducted to determine primarily the various 

 fundamental causes of soft pork and their relationships, and to 

 develop methods of avoiding or overcoming the soft condition. 

 Related questions, including the shrinkage of pork from hogs of the 

 various degrees of firmness through the packing-house processes are 

 being studied in connection with this work. On account of the 

 comprehensive and detailed character of these investigations it will 

 be some time before results can be published. 



TESTS ON A COMMERCIAL SCALE. 



It was desired to conduct the tests here reported under conditions 

 that would, as nearly as possible, represent the difficulties experi- 



' The prices fixed for hogs by the Food Administration did not include those suspected of being soft or 

 oily. 



