factory. Municipal, state, or national inspection should be frequent, thorough, and entirely removed from any possible influence of the packing business itself. Competent veterinary experts should pass upon the state of health of each carcass, and any one found diseased in any way should be subjected to a further careful inspection to see whether it should be admitted, under proper label and notification, as human food or consigned to the fertilizer heap. It is only by such inspection as this that the consumer can secure adequate protection. After the meat is once in the can inspection will only reveal whether or not preservatives and coloring matter have been used, or whether the contents of the can are spoiled or in a state unfit for consumption. No examination of the contents of the can will reveal in a satisfactory manner the state of health of the carcass from which the meat has been secured or the sanitary conditions under which it has been prepared. It is hoped the new methods of inspection established by the Secretary of Agriculture will secure the desired purity of meat products.
LARD.
The fat of swine, properly separated from the other tissues, is known as lard. The process of separation is termed "rendering." Various methods of rendering are practiced, all depending, however, upon the use of heat, which liquefies the fat and gradually frees it from its connective tissues.
Parts of Fat Used for Lard Making.—In the making of lard the highest grades are produced from the fat lining the back of the animal and that connected with the intestines. The sheets of fat which are found lining the back of the animal furnishes a variety known as leaf lard. All parts of the fat of the animal not used in the meats themselves may be used in the manufacture of lard. In the preparation of the carcass, the parts cut off in trimming the pieces and containing fat are sent to the rendering tank. The leaf lard is also removed by tearing it off from the back of the animal, and the intestinal fat is separated from the viscera in like manner. There is probably no question of wholesomeness between the lards made from different parts of the carcass. The lard differs in its chemical composition and its physical consistence as determined by its location in the body. Inasmuch as it is important that lard should have a certain degree of consistence even in summer time and not become too soft or liquid in character, the lard which has a high melting point is preferred, especially during the summer. The lards made from the feet and some other parts of the hog have lower melting points. The different kinds of fat from all parts of the animal might be mixed together and a lard made therefrom representing the average consistence of the fat of the whole body. A small quantity of stearin is often added to raise the melting point, but the addition of this substance without notice must be regarded as an adulteration.
