26 BULLETIN 1086, II. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
Table 12.— Retaining period of pickle-cured skinned hams, Fort Worth. 
Oily. 
Soft. 
Firm. 
Weight 
cooled 
smoked 
meat 
(pounds). 
Weight 
of meat 
24 hours 
after 
smoked 
(pounds). 
Net weight at 
end of— 
Loss during re- 
taining period. 
Green weight through 
retaining period. 
Lot 
No. 
6 days 
(pounds). 
19 days 
(pounds). 
Pounds. 
Per 
cent. 
Total loss. 
Per 
cent 
yield. 
Pounds. 
Per 
cent. 
13 
16 
19 
22 
650 
678 
616 
588 
643 
669 
616 
581 
626 
646 
596 
553 
591 
598 
564 
514 
59 
80 I 
52 
74 
9.08 
11.80 
8.44 
12. 59 
64 
84 
64 
88 
9.77 
12.32 
10.19 
14.62 
90.23 
87.68 
89.81 
85.38 
2,532 
2,509 
2,421 
2, 267 
265 
10.47 
300 
11.68 
88.32 
14 
17 
20 
23 
764 
697 
651 
633 
759 
691 
643 
622 
732 
664 
614 
593 
689 
618 
569 
551 
75 
79 
82 
82 1 
9.82 
11.33 
12.60 
12.95 
85 
87 
97 
91 
10.98 
12.34 
14.56 
1417 
89.02 
87.66 
85.44 
85.83 
2,745 
2,715 
2,603 
2,427 
318 
11.58 
360 
12.92 
87.08 
15 
18 
21 
24 
687 
596 
747 
652 
680 
591 
738 
644 
659 
570 
704 
615 
613 
535 
660 
576 
74 •■ 
61 
87 I 
76 i 
10.77 
10.23 
11.65 
11.66 
72 
49 
101 
72 
10.51 
8.39 
13.27 
11.11 
89.49 
91.61 
86.73 
88.89 1 
2,682 
2,653 
2,548 
2,384 
298 
11.11 
294 
10.98 
89.02 
During the retaining period of the skinned hams the loss was oily, 10.47 per cent; 
soft, 11.58 per cent; firm 11.11 per cent, which shows that oily meat shrunk 0.64 per 
cent of the total weight less than firm and 1.11 per cent less than soft. 
The total shrinkage from chilled weight through the 19-day retaining period as 
shown in Table 12 was oily; 11.68 per cent; soft, 12.92 per cent; firm, l0!98 per cent. 
In other words, the oily lost 0.7 per cent and soft 1.94 per cent more than the hams 
classed as firm. 
Comparing the total shrinkage of skinned hams with the total shrinkage of hams 
not skinned, it is found that — 
Oily skinned hams lost 0.41 per cent more than oily hams not skinned. 
Soft skinned hams lost 0. 78 per cent more than soft hams not skinned. 
Firm skinned hams lost 1.22 per cent less than firm hams not skinned. 
PICNICS (SHOULDERS) PICKLE CURED. 
The demand for certain cuts of the shoulders made it impracticable to make tests 
on the same cut at both Fort Worth and East St. Louis; consequently, all of the tests 
at Fort Worth, with one exception, were made with the shoulder cut known as New 
Orleans shoulder and cured by the dry-salt method, while the cut known as picnic 
was used at East St. Louis and cured in sweet pickle. The shoulder cut of one test 
at Fort Worth was made into picnics and was pickle cured. 
The pumping records of the one test of pickle-cured picnics at Fort Worth show 
that the percentage gain was almost double that of the East St. Louis tests of the 
same cut. The variation is not great between firm, soft, and oily at each plant, but 
it does show how one plant varies from another. 
