Show THE COUNTY AGENTS COLUMN by MORGAN P mckay CANNING MEAT AS FARM PRACTICE the practice of slaughtering hogs and curing meat is an economical farm practice and should be gener ally followed Is not the difficult task that many are prone to think it Is the slaughtering of hogs and the curing of meat are relatively simple tasks and with a very little practice one can perform them quite efficiently there are two meth eods of curing pork the brine method and the dry method the brine method Is aas ier because it Is easier to cure meat in brine and because meat cured in brine does not dry out so much when it Is stored as does that which is cured by the dry method A large stone jar is probably the best vessel in which to cure meat because it Is so easily cleaned hard wood barrels are also suitable it if properly cleaned the following formula is becom mended 4 gallons of water 8 ibs lbs of salt 2 pounds ofa afi sugar and 3 oz of saltpeter the ingredients should be thoroughly mixed after which the vater is added and then boiled until the in sture is dissolved any scum should be removed the brine should be made the day before lit it Is to be used to insure its being cold not over 40 F at the time pt t is to bc b put on the meat in packing the meat each piece should be rubbed with salt the ham and the shoulder packed first and the bacon on top all pieces should be packed with the skin side down with the exception of the top piece after the meat has stood this alway way tor for 24 hours drain oft off the 11 quor and pour on the brine the br ne should be poured down the side between the barrel and the in meat eat the next step is to weight the meat down with hardwood or hard burned tile or brick to prevent it from floating limestone or pine should never be used on the fourth day the meat should be taken from the vessel and re packed repeat this process every seven days until curing Is complete ha hams ins and shoulders weighing from 12 to 20 pounds should be le left in the brine ab about out three and one halt half days per pound provided the meat Is to be kept throughout gout the summer A shorter time awill be required if the meat Is to be used immediately sides and bacon weighing from 12 to 16 pounds should stay in the cure tor for two and one half days for each pound after the meat has been in the cure tor for the required length of t t me it should be taken out of the cure and soaked in warm water tor for two hours A brush may be used to re move any surplus salt the meat should be strung with stout corda cord and bull hung up to dry for another 24 hours the pieces must then be hung so that no two touch TO GUARD diar DISEASE records kept during the past year indicate that and canni are responsible for heavy mortality in many flocks in the fall of the year when the pullets be gin to lay and they are being contin ed in the laying pens heavy mor clity tilita from and cannibal ism is especially noticeable while the exact cause and the treatment tor for have not been definitely determined a cir cular published recently by the washington agricultural experiment station Is cited calling attention to the following conditions any one of which may increase the number of blowouts in flocks inherent weakness and forcing of young birds for production inflammation of the oviduct caused by constipation too heavy fat or fat condition of the young birds the laying of abnor mally large eggs in order to avoid these conditions it is a good plan to bring pullets into production gradually after they have reached the age of 5 months and are ol 01 standard weight A constipated condition can usual ly be overcome by providing plenty of green feed milk in some form and by the use of epsom salts at the rate of three fourths of a pound to each adult birds since the feeding of heavy corn may produce an condition the laying ra tion tor for pullets should not be made up of over 50 per cent of yellow corn and to avoid soft shelled eggs see that the ration contains plenty of minerals and vitamin D although lAl though it is not easy to distin aguish aish between blowouts and pic kouts in the flock the battel is usually due to cann and I 1 ases of may encourage cannibalism in the flock but canni Is usually due to over crowd ins ing poor ventilation lack of exer cise else insufficient green feed or arreg ul arties artles in care and management if careful attention to each of these details does not give relief cannibalism can usually he be checked by darkening the coop or by demov ing the them tip of the upper beak with a knife any birds that are bleeding from the comb or any other part of the body should be removed from the flock immediately FOR I 1 professor harry meat spec of the agricultural college will be in the county on nov 26 to hold a killing cutting and curing demonstration will be at fillmore housewives of the county the first demonstration denon den on twit be at fillmore to begin at 9 00 a in andi and the sec see ond nd will be held at delta beginning at 2 00 p in more home grown food is being used now than ever before and it is of vital interest to lvery person contemplating curing any meat this fall and winter to see one of these demonstrations |