THE HOG. 
233 
counties, to take out the ribs also. It is only in porkers that the back- 
bone is thus divided. 
The most approved mode of saving bacon, as practiced by a majority 
of those extensive curers who have kindly favored us with the necessary 
details of this portion of our subject, is as follows : if the swine you 
design killing have been a recent purchase, and have been driven from 
a distance, so as to have become winded or jaded, it is right that they 
should be kept up for a week, or perhaps more, until the effects of the 
journey have been entirely removed, and the animals restored to their 
original tranquillity and primeness of condition ; during this interval 
they should be fed upon meal and water. A difference of opinion ex- 
ists, as to whether this food should be given in a raw state or boiled. We 
have taken some pains to ascertain the truth, and have no hesitation in 
pronouncing in favor of the latter ; at the same time, however, the mess 
should be given in a perfectly cold state, and not of too thick consist- 
ence. Some recommend that a small dose of nitre should be given 
daily in the food for a fortnight previous to killing ; others pronounce 
this to be unnecessary ; but all unite in recommending a very consider- 
able reduction in the animal’s food for two or even three days before 
killing, and a total deprivation of food for at least the last twelve hours 
of life. 
In the country districts of Ireland, the hog is usually secured by the 
hind-leg to a post or ring, the head is fastened to another; the animal 
is thus securely strapped down upon a sloping slab or table, and the 
head is severed from the body by means of a sharp knife. I am in- 
formed that the bacon of a hog thus killed is more easily saved, and is 
superior in flavor and color. 
The ordinary mode of killing a hog is, we are most happy to say, 
gradually approximating to such as humauity would dictate. It is thus: 
a flat stage or table, inclining downward in one direction, is prepared ; 
the pig receives a powerful blow with a mallet upon the forehead, which 
effectually deprives him of sensation ; lie is then thrown upon the 
stage, and a knife plunged into the chest, or rather into that spot where 
the chest meets the neck. The blood flows freely, and is received into 
vessels placed for the purpose. A large tub or other vessel has been 
previously got ready, which is now tilled with boiling water. The car- 
cass of the hog is plunged into this, and the hair is then removed with 
the edge of a knife. The hair is more easily removed if tho hog be 
scalded ere he stiffens or becomes quite cold, and hence some butchers 
cruelly conceive it advisable to scald him while yet there is some life in 
him. The animal is now hung up, opened, and the entrails removed ; 
the head, feet, etc., are cut off, and the carcass divided, cutting up at 
each side of the spine. A strong knife and mallet are necessary for this 
purpose, and will be found to answer better than a saw. 
HOW TO CURE BACON AND HAMS. — One and a half pounds of salt and 
one ounce of saltpetre are enough to salt fourteen pounds of meat, or 
two hundred weight of meat will require twenty-four pounds of salt. 
The following is Mr. Rowlandson’s plan : — “ Having cut up a well-fed 
hog, which absorbs much less salt than an ill-fed animal, and runs very 
little risk of being over-fed, salt, and saltpetre, in the proportions de- 
