In the early days of the fresh meat branch of the packing industry, it became apparent that new methods of handling and disposal at destination were necessary; obviously, fresh meat could not be received in carloads and dis tributed to the retail dealer, through an ordinary, unrefrlgerated warehouse, as had been the cus tom with cured meats. To meet the necessities of the case, refrigerated rooms were built, with systems of overhead tracking, on which quarters of beef and carcasses of small stock were stored and handled, suspended from trolley hooks. In connection with these refrigerated rooms, or beef coolers, as they came to be known in the trade, there were built suitable shipping rooms, offices, etc. These distributing houses were, as a rule, built adjacent to railroad tracks, enabling the direct discharge of meats from the cars. As the business began to assume some magnitude, it became evident to the packers that great care in the construction, maintenance and operation of these distributing houses was of the utmost importance; it was therefore desirable that a packer own houses for distributing his fresh meat, thus being in position to control, absolutely, conditions of cleanliness and temperature. The earliest fresh-meat packers did not engage in the other branches of meat-packing; but as soon as it became apparent to the older packers, who had previously confined their fresh-meat business to the locality of their packing houses, that the new method of distribution was successful, they began to enter the fresh-meat business aggres sively, which in turn forced the pioneers of fresh-meat packing to add the other branches to their business, because a packer having all kinds of meat product to offer to the retailer had an obvious advantage. This diversification caused, in turn, the development of the distributing house, the addition of smoke-'houses for smoking hams and bacon, store-rooms for canned meats, lard, etc., until to-day the leading packers own, in the principal cities of the country, their dis tributing houses, where the retailer may obtain any form of animal food-product, including many by-products. There are more than two thousand such houses scattered throughout the United States. This branch house system of distribution, by its economy and thoroughness, and its adaptability to supply a wide variety suited to all the local needs, has been one of the prime factors in the growth of the meat-packing industry.
The beginning of this branch of the packing industry was coincident with the successful ap plication in a large way of refrigeration to railroad cars. The first cars were, however, comparatively crude, and the modern refriger ator car, as used to-day by practically all of the packing companies, has reached its present state of development by a steady growth of improvements made from time to time. This matter of perfection of the refrigerator car has been one in which there has been great rivalry among the various packers, and to this com petition is due the high efficiency of the present refrigerator car for carrying fresh meat. The building, maintenance and care of these refrig erator cars is the of one of the most im portant departments in connection with the vari ous packing companies. The cars must not only be kept in first-class running order so as to make them suitable for operating on fast trains, but they must be kept in a high state of clean liness. The icing of the cars is also a very important feature and has to be done with the utmost care. Before loading, the cars must be iced at least 24 hours in advance, so as to he thoroughly cooled. They are then re-iced at the
time of shipment and are re-iced in transit as necessary, depending upon the length of the journey. Immediately after unloading, the car is scrubbed with soap and hot water, all hooks are wiped clean and the car is ventilated so that it will return home in a sweet, clean con dition.
_ Curing and Preservation by Salting, Smoking, The preservation of meat by salting, smoking, etc., was the first method ex tensively practised, and the term °pacicing," now applied to the whole business, formerly had a narrower meaning and was used in connection with this branch exclusively. In fact this was, in the early days, the only branch.
From the earliest times meats have been cured 'by salting and smoking and in principle there is nothing essentially different in the prac tice of the modern packing plant from the curing processes used by the packers of earliest days. The business is now conducted on a much larger scale, and with more care as to conditions, particularly as to refrigeration and sterilization, so that meats are now cured with less salt than formerly, or to use the trade expression, mild cured.
The two methods of curing with salt are known as °pickling° and °dry salting," and these terms,are relatively descriptive. In pick ling, the meat, after being cut into hams. shoulders, etc., is submerged in pickle or brine and kept under the surface with weights or other devices, so the salt in the pickle is diffused through the meat. This causes the strength of the pickle to decline and the meat must occasionally be removed, and placed in a fresh hogshead with restrengthened pickle. The usual time of cure varies with the size of the joints or pieces of meat, but ranges usually between 30 and 45 days. The pickle is made of various strengths for various cuts of meats, but is generally 40° to 50° salometer, and for hams, bacon and the finer cuts of meat contains sugar as well as salt and a small percentage of saltpetre. Meats for con sumptioa in the United States are generally cured in sweet pickle.
The process of dry-salting is to pile the joints or cuts of meat closely in layers on the curing floor, first rubbing them thoroughly with salt, and sprinkling salt between the layers and on top. The piles are made three or more feet in height, and the meat is left for 10 days, when it is overhauled, rubbed again with salt and re piled; and this overhauling is repeated again in another 10 days. The time necessary for the curing by the dry-salt method is substantially the same as by the pickling method. The dry salting method is used for most meats for ex portation to Great Britain, and the method is frequently spoken of as °English cure," being the standard method in England.
Hams, shoulders, bacon and side meats are, after curing, generally smoked. The process of smoking is also quite old and its origin un known. The meats are hung in brick houses or compartments in tiers, as closely together as practicable without touching, a slow fire of wood is built beneath, and the meats kept in the result ing smoke for 12 to 48 hours. They are then cooled, wrapped, boxed and made ready for shipment. Hams and bacon, also shoulders, generally have a brand burned in the skin be fore wrapping. For shipment to hot climates the pieces, after wrapping in paper, are also or sewn up in cotton sheeting, and coated with a thick pasty solution of China clay, barytes or the like, and then dried: This forms an air-tight, vermin-proof covering. Hickory and sugar maple are the best woods for smoking.