Every pound above that went to the company and was loss to the men.
I have heard that "guessing pigs" was an old-time sport among farmers.
To test their skill, each farmer would guess the weight of a grazing pig.

Then they would catch the porker, throw him on the scales, and find out which farmer had guessed nearest the mark.

Sunday clothes used to be badly soiled in this sport.
But the iron worker does not guess his pigs.

He knows exactly how much pig-iron he put into the boil.

His guessing skill comes into play when with a long paddle and hook he separates six hundred pounds of sizzling fireworks into three fire balls each of which will weigh two hundred pounds.
The balls are rolled up into three resting places, one in the fire-bridge corner, one in the flue-bridge corner, and one in the jam, all ready for the puddler to draw them.
My batch of biscuits is now done and I must take them out at once and rush them to the hungry mouth of the squeezing machine.