4 BULLETIN 928, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
EXPERIMENTAL WORK. 
GENERAL PLAN. 
Four series of experiments were carried out, one each with hams, 
sweet-pickle bacon, dry-cure bacon, and beef hams. These experi- 
ments were carried on in one small but modern meat-packing estab- 
lishment and in three large establishments, which will be designated 
as X, A, B, and C, respectively. The general plan of the experi- 
ments was the same for each establishment. At each plant the work 
was conducted as nearly as possible in the same manner as was regu- 
larly followed in curing the several kinds of meat under investiga- 
tion. In each experiment one package of meat was cured according 
to the regular practice in the establishment, while to each of the 
other packages an equivalent amount of each of the sugars under 
investigation was added in place of the sugar regularly used. In 
other respects all the packages at one establishment were handled in 
exactly the same manner. 
EXPERIMENTS WITH PORK HAMS. 
These experiments were carried on at each of the four establish- 
ments, but the one conducted at establishment X was of a prelimi- 
nary nature and not so extensive as those carried on at the other 
plants. 
PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENT AT ESTABLISHMENT X. 
Three tierces of hams were cured at establishment X—one without 
sugar, one with granulated sugar, and one with cerelose. The chilled 
hams were packed in tierces, as follows: Tierce 1, a mixture of 84 
pounds of salt and 7 ounces of sodium nitrate was sprinkled over 
the faces of the hams as packed; tierce 2, the same quantities of salt 
and sodium nitrate, and in addition 44 pounds of granulated sugar 
were sprinkled over the faces of the hams in the same way; tierce 
3 was packed in similar manner except that a like quantity of cere- 
‘lose was substituted for the granulated sugar. The tierces were held 
48 hours in a curing cellar at 35°-37° F. and were then headed, filled 
with 80° plain brine and held at the temperature stated until cured. 
The tierces were rolled on the fifth, fifteenth, and thirtieth days after 
packing. The cured hams were weighed, inspected for soundness, 
soaked 74 hours in water to remove excess salt, and smoked 114 hours. 
Two smoked hams from each tierce were selected for test purposes. 
A brief record of the experiment appears in Table 2. 
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