25.1.40

No thaw. Still & not cold.

11 eggs. (3 pullets definitely laying).

24.1.40

No thaw. Rather windy.

6 eggs (not counting 1 broken one). Sold 1 score @ 3/6.

23.1.40

Evidently a little more snow in the night. Milder, but no thaw.

6 eggs. Am not counting one that was laid on the floor of the pullets’ house & was broken. There were 3 there altogether, so at any rate 2 pullets are laying.

[NEWSPAPER CUTTING]

HOW TO MAKE MACON

Smoking mutton, to take the place of bacon, by the method suggested here, is an old and worth-while practice

SMOKING – and thus curing – mutton to take the place of bacon is not new. Country people not so many years ago were in the habit of regularly hanging legs of mutton, and shoulders, too, to cure in the wood or peat smoke of their kitchen chimneys. Here, for those who can, and care to try the method, is the procedure to follow.

Choose a large, fresh leg of mutton (or a shoulder) and have it trimmed to the shape of a ham. Let it hang for about three days and then ‘salt’ it with a preparation comprising 1lb. of common salt, 4 oz. of moist sugar and 1oz. saltpere, well mixed which warm before a fire. Rub this well into the flesh, taking care that no part escapes the salting. Place it in a deep dish and repeat the process every day for a fortnight. Then drain away any moisture and hang it up for a week.

Smoking, which follows, may be done in several ways. One is to obtain a high-sided cask out of which the top and bottom have been struck. Stand this on end and about half-fill it with sawdust (pine should not be used), and from a bar fixed across the top suspended by a wire a red-hot iron (an old flat iron will do very well), which must be buried deep in the sawdust.

This will cause a dense smoke to rise. The mutton must be hung over it and covered with a thick cloth so that none of the fumes escape. Occasionally damp the sawdust lightly and every day re-heat the iron.

Another, and better method where conditions admit, is to hang the mutton right in the chimney over a wood fire. Coal must not be used. Allow the smoke to find its way deeply into every part of the joint by frequent turning. If possible pinewood should be avoided, as it tends to “flavour” the meat, but almost any wood may be used – kept damp by an occasional sprinkle of water – and allowed to smoulder beneath the mutton day and night for a week.

Yet another method, for those who posses an outhouse or shed, is to hang the mutton from the roof and below it make a peat fire. Shut the doors and make as “smoke tight”. All that is then required is replenishment of the peat when necessary.

The meat, when prepared this way, will keep for a very long time if stored in a cool place.

22.1.40

Some more snow last night, making about 4”. A little also today. Not actually thawing today, but definitely less cold. Put oilstove in the kitchen, whereupon the pipes unfroze, disclosing the fact that one is burst. Kitchen & small room flooded 1” deep before I discovered what was happening.

Wood pigeon walking about in kitchen garden & unable to fly, presumably from hunger & cold. Did not care to molest it, though it was pecking at cabbages etc.

8 eggs. Sold 1 score @ 3/6.

21.1.40

Colder, more wind, & a good deal of light & rather damp snow. Tom Ridley says the best way of thawing out pipes is to run a blowlamp along them.

12 eggs (best for some months past).

Said to have been 21° frost yesterday.

 

 

 

[1] 21° frost equals 11°F. The weather was so cold that the Thames froze for the first time since 1888. Peter Davison

20.1.40

No thaw. They are now skating on the pool in the Warren. Potatoes brought in from the shed are frozen right through, with thick crust of ice under the skin. These were ones that were not covered up. Have not looked at those that are.

7 eggs. Total this week: 57.

Sold 1 score @ 3/6

19.1.40

No thaw. A little more snow last night. Cannot unfreeze kitchen tap but unfroze the waste pipe by pouring boiling water down the straight part & hanging hot water bottle over the bend. Tried to dig a hole to bury some refuse but found it impossible even with the pick. Even at 6” depth the ground is like a stone.

9 eggs.

18.1.40

No thaw. Unable to unfreeze pipes etc. Saw a little owl today – have not previously seen any of these round here.

11 eggs.

17.1.40

No thaw. A little snow in the night, making about 1 inch depth. Last night seemingly the hardest frost of all, as even the village pump was frozen. Snow very dry & crunchy. Dung in the hen houses frozen quite hard, so broke this up & scattered on another strip, which will do for beans or peas.

5 eggs. Sold 25 @ 3/6 score.

16.1.40

No thaw. In the afternoon violent & very cold wind & a little snow.

6 eggs.