w
such bacon by their method as we can by ours. There is but one way to have
this first-class bacon and ham, and that way is the one herein portrayed.

TO MAKE A SMOKEHOUSE FIREPROOF

as far as the stove ashes are concerned, is not necessarily an expensive
job; all that is required is to lay up a row of brick across one end,
also two or three feet back upon each side, connecting the sides with a
row across the building, making it at least two feet high. As those who
have a smokehouse use it nearly every year, that part can also be made
safe from fire by the little arch built at the point shown in the
illustration, Fig. 19. The whole is laid up in mortar, and to add strength
to the structure an iron rod or bar may be placed across the center of the
bin and firmly imbedded in the mortar, two or three rows of brick from the
top. Of course, the rear of the arch is also bricked up. In most cases,
less than 250 brick will be all that is required.

[Illustration: FIG. 19. FIREPROOFING A SMOKEHOUSE.]

A WELL ARRANGED SMOKEHOUSE.

A simple but satisfactory smokehouse is shown in the illustration, Fig.
20, and can be constructed on the farm at small cost. It is so arranged as
to give direct action of smoke upon the meat within, and yet free from the
annoyance that comes from entering a smoke-filled room to replenish the
fire. The house is square, and of a size dependent upon the material one
may have yearly to cure by smoke. For ordinary use, a house ten feet
square will be ample. There are an entrance door on one side and a small
window near the top that can be opened from the outside to quickly free
the inside from the smoke when desired. At the bottom of one side is a
small door, from which extends a small track to the center of the room.
Upon this slides a square piece of plank, moved by an iron rod with a hook
on one end. On the plank is placed an old iron kettle, Fig. 21, with four
or five inches of earth in the bottom, and upon this is the fire to be
built. The kettle can be slid to the center of the room with an iron rod
and can be drawn to the small door at any time to replenish the fire
without entering the smoky room or allowing the smoke to come out. The
house has an earthen floor and a tight foundation of stone or brick. The
walls should be of matched boarding and the roof shingled. The building is
made more attractive in appearance if the latter is made slightly
"dishing."

[Illustration: FIG. 20. FARM SMO