240 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Sepr., 1898. 
A RECORD MILK YIELD. 
ProrrraBe dairy farming consists not only in feeding, housing, and generally 
caring for the herd, but also in judiciously culling it. It does not pay to keep 
and feed a poor breed. All farmers will agree with this axiom, but many do not 
act up to it. The result is that these careless dairymen say that the business 
does not pay. If they would act like the Victorian farmer mentioned by the 
Australasian of 23rd July last, they might be equally successful. This géntle- 
man pays especial attention to culling his herd, and he is credited with haying 
secured a return of £9 15s. 4d. per cow for the milk disposed of at the factory, 
while, including the profit made from pigs fed’ on the return skim-milk, the 
amount per cow is brought up to £11 5s. 8d. Such an average, with’a herd of 
say fifty milkers, should enable the farmer to maintain that the industry does 
pay. We have known dairymen in Queensland to milk 100 cows for a 
yield of 100-gallons, and think they were doing well. The four-quart cow 
ought not to exist in the present enlightened age, when experts are travelling 
over all parts of the colony lecturing and instructing the dairy farmers, and 
when grand dairy cattle can be seen and studied at most of the rural and city 
exhibitions. 
BACON-CURING. 
WE are indebted to an exchange for the following recipe for bacon-curing, 
which, at this season of the year, willno doubt be of interest to our agricultural 
readers. ‘The process for real hard-curing is as follows :—When the meat is 
cold enough to cut up, take 1 1b. saltpetre (pulverise it thoroughly), 8 1b. best 
bay salt, 1b. sal prunella, 11b. of best spice, and rub the rind of the hams, 
sides, and shoulders well with this mixture. Runa probe wire down the leg 
bone of the hams and shoulders, and pack the opening as soon as possible with 
the mixture. Sprinkle it on the flesh, and pile with rind down, repeating the 
operation every day. When they have drained for five days, in order to allow 
the blood to escape, they should be moistened daily with a solution of 8 1b. of 
sugar, Sb. of salt, LIb. of spice, and 2 quarts of strong vinegar. Should the 
usual reddish tint be not required, the saltpetre can be left out of the mixture 
after the fifth day, as it is more for colour than a preservative from this period 
to the end of the process. An ounce of best washing soda is now added to 
the first mixture to give that soft mellow bite so highly relished in a well- 
cured ham. The quantities given in both mixtures to be used are not for any 
certain weight of bacon, but merely to show the ratio of the mixture to be 
used during the process of curing. ‘The bacon should be well rubbed on the 
rind and flesh every day for three weeks, and as much of the ingredients of 
the first mixture rubbed in as possible, and the pile changed every day. 
The top of the pile, whether it be hams, sides, or shoulders, must be put in the 
bottom, and vice versd. Each section should be kept separate. Care must be 
taken to keep the rind always down, and to sprinkle and moisten on the flesh 
side before the next layer is put on. At theend of the third week the rubbing 
and turning is done every second day for a fortnight; should the pigs be very 
large, every third day until the end of the progress, which ends in the eighth 
week. The salt should then be washed off the hams, sides, and shoulders, and 
then they should be hung up in a cool, draughty room for three weeks to dry. 
When thoroughly dry the bacon should be hung up in the smoking-room, where 
it should remain forty-eight hours for the object of smoking. <A. very close 
and perfectly air-tight room should be used for this purpose. Sawdust is far 
superior for the purpose than any other material. When thoroughly soaked, 
it should be removed from the smoke-room, and immersed in water at a 
temperature of 150 degrees for five minutes. The rind is then scraped with a 
knife as the sections are taken from the water, and the scragey parts of the 
flesh neatly trimmed, the sides rolled, and the hams and shoulders shaped and 
neatly dressed with a very sharp knife. Some do this before smoking, but it 
will be found better to do it at this stage. The rind is at this stage well 
