Formerly this work was done by hand, a man to each barrel. Now a
barrel is rolled into the mouth of the groove in which the chain moves
and the chain does all the rest. When cattle are to be slaughtered
they are driven into narrow passage ways beside the pens, each com-
partment being only large enough to hold two animals. The cattle are
killed by the stroke of a l^rge hammer; death is immediate. Directly
opposite the steers as they fall is a sliding door which is lifted, the floor
is raised behind, and they are rolled out on the floor of the beef house,
when they are immediately suspended by a chain quickly put around
the hind legs and pulled up by machinery, when a gang of men begin
work on each animal. The head is cut oft' and the tongue removed by
one man, the feet stripped by the next, the eutraUs are removed by an-
other, the hide stripped off by one, and a general finishing touch given
by another. After dressin g, washin g, and weighin g the carcass it is slid
down to the chill room, a spot large enough to hold 15,000 beef car-
casses and it is kept constantly at a temperature near the freezing
point There are about 1,200 men employed in the beefhouse,andits
daily capacity is 5,000 head, equal to an average of 8;!^ steers every
minute for a day of ten hours. The entrails are separated, cleaned, and
cured being chiefly for sausage skins. The tongues go to the canning



46 AGEICULTUEAL DEPRESSION.
