Begin at the flanks and skin along the midline until the side is nicely started. Then, with a sharp knife held nearly flat against the surface, and the hide stretched tightly, remove the skin down over the sides with steady, downward strokes of the knife. It is important that the skin be stretched tight with no wrinkles in it. Care should be taken to leave the covering of muscle over the abdomen on the carcass. Its presence on the hide is not entirely objectionable, but the carcass looks better and keeps better with it on. In “siding” a beef, it is customary to go down nearly to the backbone, leaving the skin attached at the thighs and at the shoulders. Skin over the buttock and as far down the rump as possible. Care should be taken at all times to avoid cutting into the flesh, or tearing the membranes covering it. If the meat is to be kept fresh for any length of time, mould will form in such cut places and will be hard to clean off. A coarse cloth and a pail of hot water should be handy while skinning, and all blood spots should be wiped from the surface. The cloth should be wrung nearly dry for this purpose, and the less water used the better. Open the carcass at the belly with a knife and pull the small intestines out to one side. Open the brisket and pelvis with a saw or sharp ax. Raise the windpipe and the gullet and cut loose the pleura and diaphragm along the lower part of the cavity. The carcass is now ready to raise. Make an opening with a knife between the large tendon and the bone just above the hocks. Insert the ends of a single tree in the openings thus made. Hook one end of a block and tackle in the ring in the center of the single tree and hoist until the hind quarters clear the ground several inches. A gambrel, similar to the one used in hanging up a hog carcass, though larger and stronger, may be used instead of a single tree. While the carcass is in this position, loosen the rectum and small intestines and allow them to drop down over the paunch. The fat lining the pelvis and the kidney fat should not be disturbed or mutilated. The intestines are attached to the liver, from which they may be separated with a knife. The paunch is attached to the back at the left side. It should be pressed down with sufficient force to tear it loose. Let it roll out on to the ground or floor, and cut off or draw out the gullet. Raise the carcass a little higher and take out the liver, first removing the gall bladder. Remove the diaphragm, lungs, and heart, and finish skinning over the shoulders, arms and neck. Wipe off all blood and dirt with a cloth. Split the carcass into halves with a saw, a cleaver, or a sharp ax. Wash out the inside of the chest cavity with warm water, and wipe it dry. Trim off all bloody veins or any scraggy pieces of the neck, and leave the beef to cool before cutting it into quarters. § 29. Treatment of Hides