338 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[December, 
Fig. 1.—OUTSIDE OF CARCASS OF HOG—SHOWING THE CUTS. 
Sundry Hints on Hog Slaughtering. 
Slaughtering may be most conveniently clone 
as soon as the weather is so cold that meat will 
keep well. Give the hogs no breakfast. Have 
an abundance of boiling water ready, say two- 
thirds of a barrel to a barrel for one or two 
hogs, according to size—a large half hogshead 
tub half full, for a 180 to 250 pound hog—and 
add about two or three pailfuls of boiling ivater 
for each additional hog to keep up the temper¬ 
ature, taking out an equal quantity, if necessary. 
The water ought not to he boiling hot when the pig is 
scalded. If it is too hot the skin will be partially 
cooked and the hairs will stick fast. It is best 
to try it by dipping an ear, or the nose first. It 
is usual to add about one twelfth part of cold 
water. Scald as soon as the hog has done bleed¬ 
ing and is dead; remove the bristles at once; 
never let a hog lie after scraping, but put in the 
gambrel and hang him up. If left to lie the 
blood will settle in the flesh and skin where it is 
subjected to pressure. If there are several hogs 
to kill there should be hands enough to stick and 
scald some, while others are being scraped and 
dressed, otherwise much more hot water will 
be required, or the animals will cool too much. 
The sooner the insides are taken out the better, 
for the easier will it be to remove the fat from 
the entrails. This is readily done, when one gets 
the knack, with a sharp knife held still while 
the entrail is drawn across it.—'When the hog 
is hung up make a clean straight cut from 
the vent to the breast bone, cutting through 
the “ Aitch,” or pelvis bone, (A, fig. 2), be¬ 
tween the hams, first, and then, passing two fin¬ 
gers of the left hand into the cavity of the abdo¬ 
men, draw the belly out; hold the knife with 
the right hand between these fingers, and as it 
cuts, follow down with the left drawing the 
walls of the abdomen out so as not to cut the 
entrails. Then splitting the breast bone, (If) cut 
through to the sticking place, and put in a brace 
to hold the sides apart. In cutting the breast 
bone be very careful not to let the knife touch 
the stomach and defile every thing with its con¬ 
tents. Now grasp the intestine at t^e vent and 
cut it clear; holding the entrails in the left 
hand, let their weight aid the right hand in tear¬ 
ing them free from their attachments. At the 
skirt, or diaphragm, the stomach being removed 
with them, it will be necessary to use the knife 
to sever the connection; then, lowering them 
down, cut off the gullet at the throat and lay 
them on a table to be cleared from the fat while 
warm. The liver may now be disengaged, by 
working it off from its attachments next the 
kidneys, and then it is removed with the heart 
and lights (lungs), cutting off the windpipe at 
the throat. Finally wash out and wash off the 
carcass with cold water and let it hang to cool. 
Clean the intestines while they are still warm. 
When the carcass is perfectly cold, it is ready 
for shipping or cutting up, and may be kept for 
many days in cold weather. When a hog is to 
be cut up, first lay it upon its back; cut off the 
head as shown in fig. 1; then, split the carcass 
cutting straight through the backbone from the 
tail to the neck with a cleaver and knife. It is 
best to saw the bone sometimes, especially if 
frozen. The leaf fat and kidney fat with the kid¬ 
neys, (K,) seen at fig. 2, are now taken out, using 
the knife only to loosen them from the skirt (P) 
and tearing them off towards the hams. Then 
take off the hams. Cut from the tail, and saw 
the small “Aitch” bone at the loin; then cut 
rounding to the flank so that they will need 
little trimming. Next take off the shoulders 
cutting straight across 
the side, as shown in 
fig. 1. Trim off the 
spare rib from the 
shoulder,cutting close 
to the ribs on the side, 
and straight to the 
end of the spines; this 
leaves a good portion 
of lean meat on the 
ribs. Loosen the ten¬ 
derloin at the rear 
and tear it out. Then 
cut off the flank (ff) 
and brisket (£) in one 
piece, and cut in two 
if desirable. The thick 
clear back fat ( 0 ) is 
now cut off from the 
rib-piece ( E) and loin 
(F) which, left in one 
piece, are cut as need¬ 
ed for use fresh, or cut 
into two or more 
pieces at once. The 
cheeks (B) are remov 
ed from 
the pate 
(A) by a 
cut pass¬ 
ing from 
the mouth close under the eye (see fig. 1), and the 
jaw is cracked in the middle. Thus the cheeks 
are held together and are conveniently hung up. 
They are cured like hams and shoulders. Head 
cheese is made of the pate and trimmings. The 
feet (/, /,) are cutoff at the hocks and knees, as 
shown iil fig. 1 , and soused. In the preparation 
of this article we are indebted for practical hints 
to Th’s. F. DeVoe, butcher, author, and historian. 
, 2.—INSIDE OF CARCASS. 
Patience.— Nothin "^teaches patience like 
Nature. You may go around and watch the 
opening buds from day to day, but each takes 
its own time, and you can not urge it on faster. 
The Good Done by Farmers’ Clubs. 
There is probably not a single reader of the 
American Agriculturist , who does not believe that 
he knows something, or how to do something, 
better than anybody, in his neighborhood, at 
least. And we may say that this is true gener¬ 
ally. There is no man who gives his mind to 
his work that does not come to entertain cer¬ 
tain views or follow certain practices in which 
he excels other people. Once in a great while 
a man gets an idea which may be worth “ pat¬ 
enting,” and publishing to the world in this 
way; but usually the best thing one can do 
with a really good idea is to tell it to his 
neighbors, that, if it be an agricultural matter, 
the agriculture of the neighborhood may be 
benefited. This having of secrets, and “ know¬ 
ing enough to keep a good thing to one’s self, ” 
is all very well, if a man gets a good idea out of 
his own head only by accident, and but a few 
in a lifetime; but for a man of average clever¬ 
ness to hold on in this foolish way to his good 
thoughts and ways of doing things, is absurd. 
We think where one good idea is found there 
are “ plenty more where that came from, ” and 
if it was the last idea we ever expected to have, 
we would act on that principle. Now, consider 
what an advantage the farming of a neighbor¬ 
hood would gain if all the thinking farmers 
should make common property of their choice 
thoughts. This is just what a farmers’ club is 
good for—to collect the experiences of all, and 
the results of the reading of all, and have them 
brought together for discussion; to collect and 
distribute choice seeds, grafts, etc.; to try new 
implements, and thus decide upon the merits of 
each, onde for all. In the same way varieties of 
grain or other crops may be tested to ascertain 
their value, samples being given to one or 
more members of the club, who should report 
the results, and preserve seed for distribution, if 
worthy. We have pleasant evidence now and 
then of successful farmers’ clubs in various parts 
of the country, and would be glad to hear more 
frequently. The Beverly (Ill.) farmers’ club, for 
instance, was formed in November 1860. It 
subscribes for a number of agricultural journals, 
holds weekly meetings, distributes seeds and 
plants, etc. Its Corresponding Secretary, through 
his correspondence with agricultural societies 
and farmers’ clubs, secures many new and 
valuable documents and seeds. He writes to the 
American Agriculturist thus : “ Some of the orig¬ 
inators of this society came to this part of the 
country when it was an unbroken prairie, cov¬ 
ered with luxuriant grass, and glowing with nu¬ 
merous and beautiful flowers. It lias been the 
practice of this society to hold (at the appro¬ 
priate seasons) fruit shows, flower shows, and 
molasses shows. At these shows our rare and 
beautiful flowers, choice fruit, and samples of 
excellent sorghum syrup manufactured in the 
neighborhood, have been displayed. We an¬ 
ticipate that the meetings the coming winter 
will be very interesting. Wool raising, flax 
growing, stock raising, and agricultural educa¬ 
tion, a subject which has been considered be¬ 
fore—all important questions—will be discus¬ 
sed.” There ought to be such a club in every 
school district in the United States, even in the 
cities. There would be plenty to talk about. 
See the “Constitution of a Farmers Club” 
on page 287 of the October Agriculturist. 
The Persians, as ancient writers inform us, 
used to teach their sons to ride, pay their debts, 
and to tell the truth. That was a long time ago. 
