Little or no change due to time or depth was found in the bacterial content of Wiltshire tank pickle during cure. A decided increase in the number of bacteria occurred on the surface of the sides. Settling of bacteria from the pickle was not responsible for this increase. Of the normal commercial practices of salting the sides prior to cure, and washing and wiping after cure, wiping was the most important in reducing the bacterial population of the surface of the meat.The concentration of sodium chloride, nitrate, and nitrite in the curing pickle decreased most rapidly during the first 12 or 24 hr. of cure. Over the remainder of the curing period, the chloride content decreased at a relatively uniform rate and the nitrite content remained constant within the sampling error. Changes in nitrate were generally less than the sampling error. Although stratification of the salts in the tank was evident even after three hours from the beginning of cure, the actual magnitude of the differences was small and would have little detrimental effect on the bacon. There was no apparent relation between bacterial and chemical changes in the pickle during cure.