When ready to be used, the casing should be immersed in luke warm water for a few minutes to soften it. If the walls of the casing adhere to each other so that it is difficult for the meat to enter, water should be forced through to distend the casing. § 67. Filling the Casing Insert the small end of the filler (a tin funnel about six inches long) into the end of the casing. Hold the casing tightly to the filler with the left hand, and with the right hand force the meat through the filler into the casing. It is customary to use the hand for this, but a large wooden spoon would work just as well. A sausage stuffing machine can be purchased for a few dollars, and will do the work of stuffing in a much more satisfactory manner than it can be done by hand. The end of the casing is tied around a tube at the bottom of a jar containing the sausage meat. A disc the size and shape of the inside of the jar is then pressed down on the meat with a lever, and the meat is thus forced into the casing. Such a machine will do the work of five or six men, and if of the right type, can also be used as a lard press. If it is difficult to force the meat into the casing, on account of compressed air, the air should be allowed to escape by punching small holes in the casing with pins. The stuffed casing is usually tied with a string every six inches, cut into convenient lengths, and hung up to dry. § 68. Sunning and Drying The sausage should be prepared in the morning, so that it can be hung up to sun by noon. If it is prepared in the afternoon, there is some danger of its spoiling, especially if the day is not very cold, because it has to be stored over night before it gets much sun. Sunshine and cold north wind are needed to make the best sausage. With five days of wind and sun, the meat becomes hard and firm. In case of rainy or damp weather while the sausage is being dried, it must be hung up in a small room and a small charcoal or wood fire kept burning underneath. If the sausage is not well sunned or dried, it is very likely to spoil, and an effort should be made to get it pretty well dried within five days. § 69. Season and Weather for Making Sausage The time for making sausage is when there is a dry, cold wind blowing from the north. Such weather usually does not occur before the middle of November. From this time to the middle of January is usually the best season. If made earlier, the weather will not be cool enough. If made later, the chances for sunny weather are lessened, and the meat is not apt to cure so well. § 70. Lean Pork Sausage (_Shau Yuk Ch’eung_ 瘦肉腸) This sausage is made the same as ordinary sausage, except that only lean meat is used. § 71. Liver Sausage (_Yun Ch’eung_ 潤腸) In this sausage, duck liver is used instead of lean meat. Otherwise, it is made the same as ordinary sausage. § 72. _Tung Koon_ Sausage (_Tung Koon Laap Ch’eung_ 東莞腊腸)