PURIFYING TALLOW

\Query. — T. W. C. writes: "I am tanking mutton and beef tallow together at 40 pounds pressure, and would like to know the best way to use your tallow purifier so I can use my tallow with cottonseed oil to make a lard com- pound."

Ans.- — It would not be practicable to use our Lard and Tallow Purifier in the tank. It can be used to greatest advantage in an open jacket kettle. You can treat the tallow in the jacket kettle after it is ren- dered and comes from the steam tank.

HOW PACKERS BRAND THEIR HAMS

Question. — W. Z. writes: How do packers brand their hwtns.

Answer. — Packers brand their hams with Ink made from the following formula:

Glucose 2*4 Ibs.

Lampblack ^ to y2 lb. '

Water 1% Ibs.

Grain Alcohol % pint

Place the Glucose and water in a dish and heat on stove until it becomes thin. Now take the Lamp- black, put it in a separate dish and add enough of the water and Glucose so as to make a thick paste; work this paste up until all of the lumps are dis- solved. Then take the Lampblack paste and grad- ually mix it into the water and Glucose until the desired shade of color is secured. After mixing thoroughly remove from fire and set aside to cool. When cool add the % pint of Grain Alcohol, mixing thoroughly. Keep in a corked bottle or can.

Spread a small quantity of the Ink thus made over a pad which is easily made by taking 10 thick- nesses of cheese cloth and tacking them on top of a flat board. The branding itself is done with an iron brand containing such letters or other marking as you wish to appear on the hams. The branding should be done before the hams are put into the smoke house.

STARTING A BUTCHER BUSINESS

Query. — M. E. A. writes: Will you please forward me another copy of your desirable book, "How to Cure Meat and Make Sausage"? And if it is not too much trouble , I would like to have you advise how it is best to start in the butcher and pork packing business in a small way. I have about $700 capital and wish to ask how is the best way to fit up a retail store without too much expense and yet to have it look good, and also to fit up a sausage kitchen and have everything that a man needs to run the business successfully. I may as well state that I have had lots of experience, but after reading your book and the advice that it gives I am sure that even experienced men can learn a lot by reading it.

Ans. — With such a limited amount of capital, it would be advisable to buy second-handed fixtures. These can always be obtained much cheaper than new ones, and you can get good fixtures which will answer the purpose, but they must be neat, clean and in good repair. If you intend to do your own butchering, our advice is that you make arrangements with some butcher who has a slaughter house, and where you can

do your butchering, and pay him a certain amount for each animal slaughtered. A very important point that we advise you to follow is to sell everything for cash only, as your capital is not sufficient to give credit to anyone. Were you to give credit and make a lot of book accounts, you would soon run out of money and would not be able to buy large stock and supplies for your market. We also advise that you induce your cus- tomers to take their meat home with them, and thus relieve yourself of the necessity of keeping a horse and wagon for delivery purposes. This would save quite an outlay in capital, and a great deal of expense and time. You can then announce with a small adver- tisement in the daily paper that you sell for cash only, and that you can afford to be more liberal with your customers than you could if you carried accounts, and because you do not incur the expense of delivery. Such an advertisement with placards in your store, no doubt, would result favorably. You must remember at all times that your capital is limited and that you must "trim your sails77 accordingly. It is the over-reaching the limits of the possibilities of capital that make the most failures among tradesmen. We would not advise you to advertise meat at a cut price because you sell for cash; people do not want stuff that is cheap, for if you sell stuff at a low price, they imagine there is something wrong with it. Charge the 'same price that all the other butchers do, and in that way, keep their friendship. If a woman gets something that she doesn't like and 'brings it -back, tell her that you are very glad she brought it back, if it did not suit her, because you never want any of your customers to keep

A sausage room can be rigged up very cheap; all you need to start with is a small Enterprise grinder, so that you can grind up your trimmings and work them into sausage, and by working the meat trimmings up into the different formulas that we give in our book, "Secrets of Meat Curing and Sausage Making," you will not have any loss, as all of your trimmings can be worked up to good advantage. You also should make a great display of your own cured corned beef and turn out fine corned beef, so that when your cus- tomers buy it, they are well pleased. The main thing in the success of running a retail market is that the butcher understands how to buy his live stock so that

he gets the right quality of beef and gets it at the right price. If you have good meats to sell you will have no trouble in selling them, but if you have poor goods to sell, you may sell them to a customer once or twice, but the third time the customer will not come near you. The same thing holds good with you; if you were buying some of your supplies from the jobber and the jobber did not send you good goods, you may try him once more and if he again sends you poor goods, the third time you certainly will not buy from him, but you will go to some other jobber who will give you the best goods for your money. Your customers are just as smart and as sensitive as you are, and want the same kind of treatment that you like, so if you will always treat your customers as you would like to be treated yourself if you were buying meat at a market, you are bound to meet with success.

CUTTING UP MEATS— NECESSARY FOB EXPERIENCE.

Query. — J. J. writes: I have decided to go into the meat business and would like to know if you can advise me of some booklet or pamphlet on cutting up meat; also let me know the price of your book, and if you know of a good firm handling butcher supplies and refrigerators.

Ans. — We judge from your inquiry that you are in- experienced in the meat business, and if such is the ease, we would advise that you go to work for some good butcher for a while before going into the business for yourself. You could there learn the prac- tical side of the business, and provided you do not now understand how to cut up meat to the greatest profit, you could acquire knowledge upon these points which would be of more value to you than volumes that could be written upon the subject. We most emphatically advise you to learn the business thoroughly before em- barking into it on your own account. We take great pleasure in sending you our booklet," ' ' Secrets of Meat Curing and Sausage Making,'' which you will find of great value to you in teaching you to cure meat and make sausage.

.. LJ. S.-HL.