get a thirty gallon cask, take out one head, drive in the bung, and put
some pitch on it, to prevent leaking. See that the cask is quite tight
and clean. Put into it one pound of saltpetre powdered, fifteen quarts
of salt, and fifteen gallons of cold water; stir it frequently, until
dissolved, throw over the cask a thick cloth, to keep out the dust; look
at it often and take off the scum. These proportions have been
accurately ascertained--fifteen gallons of cold water will exactly hold,
in solution, fifteen quarts of good clean Liverpool salt, and one pound
of saltpetre: this brine will be strong enough to bear up an egg: if
more salt be added, it will fall to the bottom without strengthening the
brine, the water being already saturated. This brine will cure all the
beef which a private family can use in the course of the winter, and
requires nothing more to be done to it except occasionally skimming the
dross that rises. It must be kept in a cool, dry place. For salting your
beef, get a molasses hogshead and saw it in two, that the beef may have
space to lie on; bore some holes in the bottom of these tubs, and raise
them on one side about an inch, that the bloody brine may run off.

Be sure that your beef is newly killed--rub each piece very well with
good Liverpool salt--a vast deal depends upon rubbing the salt into
every part--it is unnecessary to put saltpetre on it; sprinkle a good
deal of salt on the bottom of the tub. When the beef is well salted, lay
it in the tub, and be sure you put the fleshy side downward. Put a great
deal of salt on your beef after it is packed in the tub; this protects
it from animals who might eat, if they could smell it, and does not
waste the salt, for the beef can only dissolve a certain portion. You
must let the beef lie in salt ten days, then take it out, brush off the
salt, and wipe it with a damp cloth; put it in the brine with a bit of
board and weight to keep it under. In about ten days it will look red
and be fit for the table, but it will be red much sooner when the brine