Untitled

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 1, Issue 21, 11 October 1849, Page 2

There is a great deal of talk this week about the feast at the Bay of Islands. The number of pigs that were killed—the number of men and women that were feasted. It is good that people should meet now and then to have friendly talk, and to hear one another's thoughts ; but it seems a sad thing that so much good food should be consumed at one time. It is sad to think of the women and the chil'Jreu and the old weak raeu, w/io will sit,

for months' to come, hungry and half fed They will have, perhaps, to live upon fernroot till the summer crops are ripe, because the potatoes were nil eaten and piven away at the feast. There will he no pigs to sell to buy clothes—or to buy rice and sugar for the sick children. The pigs were all killed for the feast. It is rery sad to see liow many children die off year by year. They ate fat merry babies, but when they are just able to run about they begin to waste, and they grow thin, and hare pain in the stomach and |>ain at the chest. By-and-bye they die. How can children grow strong on potatoes only ? In other countries many children have no pork or beef, and rery little bread. They eat K potatoes, and are strong; but they hare milk yto drink, and a lump of butter to eat with the potatoes —and once a day they hare a mess of flour and milk. And it is the same with men and women. No one can be strong to work on potatoes only. Many of the Maori people begin to think of this. The men who work on thtf" roads find that they cannot work unless tliey have meat and bread. But the people who live in the villages away from the town will say—" How are wo to get meat for ourselves and for our children ? If we kill a pig it will not keep good more than four or five days, so we ent and eat till it is all gone. This is a great waste. We must sell our pigs to buy blankets and clothes." This is very true> —but if the Maori men will learn to salt' pork they may hare meat at least once a week to eat for many weeks. It is not a hard thing to leam to do. Every man who has a desire to learn will learn. Some men never wish to learn any new thing. They always answer, " What is the good of this for a Maori man, It is rery well for Englishmen. We have no money.'' This is said by some, but many me willing to learn—and for them these directions for salting pork are written. When there is very little fish to be caught, then kill a pig. It' is a good thing to save all tho large fat boar pigs to sell in Auckland or Wellington ; but there are some boar pigs which are not big enough to drive to town. Kill one of these, that you and your wife and your children may have some good meat to make yoa strong, and to. ba a relish foi your potatoes. Two things must he bought before the pig is killed. One is o small cask with a cover ; the price is 2 dollars. The other thing is salt. You niu-t buy I2lbs* of salt, anil a of saltpetre. The salt «ill cost one shilling, the saltpetre sixpence. Kill the pig in the evening,—cut off the head that ihe blood may drain all night. Hang up the pig that it may be well drained. The next morning cut up the pig—cut oIF the legs and the shoulders, the loins, the ribs, and the hack ; sprinkle a litt'e salt over each piece: then prepare the salt water in the cask. Four a large gourd full of cold water into the cask, and add to it half the salt and half the saltpetre. You must crush the'saltpetre that it may melt. This is a sign that the water is salt enough if a raw potatoe will float at the top of the water. If the water is not salt enough, the potatoe will sink to the bottom of the cask. If the potatoe sinks, add more salt to the water in the cask till it will fbat. If there is not water enough to cover all the pieces of pork which you want to salt, add another gourd full of water, and some more salt and saltpetre. The pieces of poik must be covered with the salt water. When the water is ready in the bejin to put in the pieces; wipe each piece first with some fern or clean straw that there may be no blood on it; put the legs in first, then the shoulders, then the ribs and the loins. Cut out the kidneys from the loins and all the fat pieces iiuderneath. These would make the rest of the meat taint in a few days. Tiio back bones may be pot in also. The pieces must be looked at and turned every day in the salt water. You will have some pieces of pork to eat fresh; there will he the head, and the neck, and the kidney*, end many little hits which looked too fat or had too much blood on them to be put into the cask. These wilt make two or three dinners for you and your children—fried in a frying pan or boiled with potatoes, 'f you have a sick man near, you will be glad have a piece of meat for him. . The fat which will be taken from the inside of the pig you can melt into an iron pot, and then pour it into a gourd or a jar. This will be of use in several ways. If you have flour you may mix a handful of fat with some flour and water. Rub the flour and fat together, and then the water, and roll the dough into round puddings as big as potatoes. These puddings will make a good dinner for Sunday. There will be no scraping of potatoes, The puddings will be very good to eat nith a little sugar. If you have no sugar eat them with some salt, or boil some with a little piece of salt pork. The fat will be of use for randies, It is very good, too, to mix with flour and water to make flat cakes. Roll the

dough into thin flat cakes and bake them on the ashes or in your native ovens. When you have salt pork, you will liko to grow cabbages, Boil the cabbage and some slices of pumpkin in the pot with the pork. The salt will do you as much good us medicine, and is much cheaper. When the meat is all eaten, pour the water out of the cask into a large kohua and boil When llie scum comes lo the top, take it oil' with a spoon or a flat piece of wood. Wash the cask with fresh water, and then pour back tho salt water from the kohua into the cask, that will do again to salt another pig.