SHRINKAGE OF SOFT PORK. 7 
Of the 800 hogs used in the tests, the live and dressed weights of 
750 of them are shown in the tables included in this bulletin. The 
carcasses of 50 hogs used in test No. 4 at East St. Louis were selected 
in the cooler and, for that reason, the live and dressed weights could 
not be obtained. 
The 750 live hogs weighed 130, §30 pounds, or an average of 174 
pounds per hog, and the average dressing yield was 68.44 per cent of 
live weight. 
The hogs purchased on the East St. Louis market showed a differ- 
ence in price of $3.10 to $3.40 per 100 pounds between oily and firm 
hogs. On the Fort Worth market the difference was 2 cents per 
pound. 
Total amounts of meats used at Fort Worth and East St. Louis and loss caused by curing, 
smoking, and retaining. 
Fresh 
chilled 
weight 
(pounds). 
Oily ] 14,470 
Soft I 11,447 
Firm 15, 909 
Cooled 
smoked 
weight 
(pounds). 
13, 741 
10, 764 
15, 263 
Loss: Chilled 
weight through 
smoke. 
Pounds. Percent. 
729 
683 
646 
2.30 
5.97 
4.06 
Weight 
at end of 
retaining 
period 
(pounds). 
12,466 
9,624 
13, 706 
Loss: Smoked Total loss 
weight through chilled weight 
retaining through retain- 
period. ing period. 
Pounds. Percent. Pounds. Percent 
1,275 
1,140 
1,557 
9.2S 
10.59 
10.20 
2,004 
1,823 
2,203 
13.85 
15.92 
13.85 
RESULTS. 3 
The results of these tests, considering the large number, and the 
fact that they were conducted in two different packing houses, were 
encouragingly uniform. The shrinkage of the different cuts of the 
three grades of meat, however, varied in proportion to the size and 
thickness of the wholesale cut. Throughout all of these tests, both at 
Fort Worth and East St. Louis, there was a striking similarity in 
shrinkage between the loss of oily and firm meat. The soft meat, 
however, showed a heavier shrinkage than either the oily or firm. 
GAIN IN WEIGHT CAUSED BY PUMPING AND CURING. 
In the process of curing pork in the packing plants practically all 
of the pickle-cured meat is pumped with a curing solution to insure 
that it will reach the bones, and especially the joints. This, together 
with the absorption of the curing liquid in which the meat is kept 
from 30 to 60 days, increases the weight considerably. The pork 
cuts cured by the dry salt method, however, lost weight, although 
they had been pumped. 
3 The total combined results of the tests conducted at Fort Worth and East St. Louis are given here. 
For those who desire to make a more detailed study of the tests, a more complete report will be found in 
the Appendix. 
