KENTUCKY FARMING AND CATTLE SHOWS. 
179 
is done in two or three minutes, the hogs are 
turned, and the underside, now uppermost, un¬ 
dergoes the same operation; this completed, 
they are drawn with ropes and pullies on hooks, 
similar to those seen in all slaughterhouses. 
The rough dirt, singed hair, &c., are now 
scraped off; warm water being constantly 
thrown over the carcasses, when another scrap¬ 
ing commences. In a general way, three scrap¬ 
ings, one without and two with water, have to 
be gone over before the skin is deemed suffi¬ 
ciently cleaned. The cleaning finished, the en¬ 
trails, viscera, &c., are taken out in the ordinary 
way, water is thrown over the whole carcass, 
inside and outside, and left to cool; in winter 
time, this will always occur within 24 hours. 
When cold, a man goes round and cuts the 
heads off; he then takes a knife and makes a 
clean cut from the tail along the centre of the 
back bone to the termination of the neck, bar¬ 
ing the whole of the vertebrse; he now takes a 
sharp cleaver, and, beginning at one side of the 
back bone, commences separating it from the 
ribs at the points of their attachment. The oth¬ 
er side is then cloven in the same manner; by 
this means, the vertebrae are cut clear out; he 
then cuts the ham about three inches above the 
knee joint. Thus divided, a side at a time is 
carried to a table where another operator is in 
readiness, who first makes an incision near the 
neck, where the fore ribs inosculate so largely 
with the back hone, commonly known as the 
breast bone; these, together with four or five 
pounds’ weight of the pectoral muscle, or breast, 
are cut out, as it is found by experience that 
this part does not bleed well, frequently con¬ 
taining several of the larger blood vessels still 
gorged with blood, especially in large pigs, and 
in consequence is not well adapted for curing; 
it is an act of precaution always to be recom¬ 
mended; it has also the effect of baring the 
scapula, or shoulder bone. The latter, in tick¬ 
lish weather, is sometimes found a formidable 
difficulty in the way of good curing, or, as it is 
technically termed, 14 striking the meat,” and 
taking the salt, the former term applying to 
saltpetre, and the latter to the common salt used. 
This portion of the breast being taken out, the 
ribs are divided with a fine saw at the point 
named in the first-described mode, namely, 
about the middle ; the upper division is cut out 
with a portion of the muscle attached to them, 
leaving the lower portion of the ribs adhering to 
the side. In Ireland, the piece so cut out is 
called a “ strip,” and weighs according to the size 
of the pig, from two to four pounds’ weight. In 
the west of England, it is called the “ griskin,” 
and usually weighs from five to eight pounds; 
by way of parenthesis it may be stated that the 
griskin is a most delicious morsel. The cutter 
is provided with a semicircular saw; with this 
he dexterously divides the small knuckle of the 
femoris, or thigh bone, and detaches it along 
with the pelvis, or haunch bone. The muscle 
connected with the pelvis and a thin cut from 
the upper part of the inside of the thigh are tak¬ 
en out with the pelvis; by this means, the awk¬ 
ward joint which gives so much trouble to 
housekeepers and others in curing hams is cut 
out, and the curer obtains free access to the 
knuckle, or superior extremity of the thigh bone, 
in order to rub in the saltpetre and salt; with¬ 
out this process, it would be almost impossible 
to cure the whole side of a pig, namely, shoul¬ 
der, belly, back, and ham, in one piece.— Jour¬ 
nal Royal Ag. Soc. 
KENTUCKY FARMING- AND CATTLE SHOWS. 
Before leaving Virginia for Kentucky, I wrote 
you that I expected to be present at the Bourbon 
agricultural show commencing the 24th of 
September, and you were kind enough to express 
a wish that I would give you a description of it. 
Circumstances have prevented me from comply¬ 
ing with your request until this time. 
In going to Kentucky from South-Western 
Virginia, you enter it through Cumberland Gap, 
through which all the stock from Kentucky, 
destined for the Virginia and southern markets 
pass. I will not attempt a description of the 
country, further than to say, that after leaving 
Virginia and passing the gap, the first hundred 
miles in Kentucky is through as uninviting, an 
agricultural region as I ever beheld. It is not 
until after you cross “ The Big Hill,” some 40 
or 50 miles from Lexington, and get fairly into 
Madison county—the great swine county of 
Kentucky—that you enter “ Old Kentuek.” You 
are transported at once, by a ride of ten or 
a dozen miles, from one of the most sterile re¬ 
gions imaginable, into the midst of a rich and 
luxuriant country, the rural beauty of which is 
not surpassed by any other, and must be seen 
to be appreciated. It is here that “ the home of 
the shorthorns” may be said to commence; and 
the cultivation and the stock get better and bet¬ 
ter as you advance towards Lexington. It is 
about 16 miles from Lexington to Paris, in Bour¬ 
bon county, over a good McAdamised road, 
affording a fine drive for the ladies, who attend 
the show in great numbers. 
The show was held in a beautiful grove about 
