CURING CELLARS -- HAMS AND THEIR TREATMENT -- WILDER HAMS -- SHOULDER MEATS -- BELLIES -- OVERHAULING MEATS -- FANCY BACON -- SHIPPING AGES -- SECOND PICKLE -- DRY SALT MEATS -- CURING DRY SALT MEATS -- SMOKING DRY SALT MEATS -- BARRELED PORK -- CURING BARRELED PORK -- ENGLISH MEATS -- PIGS FEET -- PIGS TONGUES -- PIGS SNOUTS. =Curing Cellars.=--Curing Cellars are pretty generally carried at a temperature of 35° to 36° F., for sweet-pickled meats and 38° to 40° F. for dry salted meats. At times the temperature in the foregoing is lowered to 34° F., but not frequently. _Vessels._--Formerly tierces were used almost entirely, but the trend has been toward the use of vats or casks, uniform so far as possible in capacity, since it tends to better standardization. The vats can be taken out for airing, washing and sunlight, which is a prime requisite. Dimensions of a standard vat are about as follows: For 1,500 pounds capacity, 42 inches high, 42 inches in diameter at the head, 48 inches in diameter at the bilge or center of vat. Thickness of stave one inch. Heads 1¹⁄₂ inch yellow pine; five galvanized iron hoops, two inches wide, made from No. 12 iron. Heads to be set flush with the chime, so that the weight of the contents comes directly on the floor. Vats of this kind seem to last indefinitely and are much cheaper to handle than tierces, saving a large expense in coopering, and making it possible to use the space in the curing houses to better advantage. Cold storage houses should be sufficiently high under the joists, so these vats can be double-decked, one setting on top of the other, leaving about twenty inches of space. When handled in this manner the space in the cellar is used to much better advantage with vats than tierces. Into a vat of the dimensions named, should be put 1,450 pounds of meat. It will take practically sixty-eight gallons of pickle to fill the vat on a basis of 21¹⁄₃ pounds of meat to be cured, to each gallon of pickle. =Hams and their Treatment.=--In the handling of product there is no part of the animal that requires as close and skillful attention as does the ham during the curing process. It is a thick, compact body of meat and it takes considerable time to chill, it becomes tainted very soon if not properly chilled. If the heat is removed, and the curing agent does not reach the interior promptly, decomposition sets in. As before stated the first chilling of the carcass has everything to do with the curing of this meat. If hams are properly chilled in the cooler, the balance of the process is comparatively simple. If they are only partially chilled from lack of proper attention or because of improper coolers, no curing agency will bring the hams out in a satisfactory condition.