f jBlllMUWIIIIinMB l li l imilWl il W lB iM i B I MJl^ I nd SB AN DRY l^txa fork Hate O^olbgie of AgrtcuU«« At Gfarnell Iniaerstti} Mitatn. iS. $. Cornell University Library SF 395.C65 Swine husbandry .A practical manual for t 3 1924 003 697 558 Cornell University Library The original of tliis book is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003697558 SWINE HUSBANDRY. K Practical Manual for the Breeding, Rear- ing and Management of Swine, ■WITH SUGGESTIONS AS TO THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF THEIR DISEASES. By F. D. COBURN. NEW, REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION. ILLUSTRATED new Vorkt Orange ludd Company, 1919 ■ OBLANOiB JUVU VXiUPAMW FBII7TED nt V. B. A. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. »ntroductoi7 g CHAPTER II. Value of the Hog Product _ 14 BREEDS OF SWINE, THEIR CHARACTERISTICS AND WORTH. CHAPTER III. The Poland-Chinas _ , 21 CHAPTER IV. The Chester Whites _ 34 CHAPTER V. The Berkshires _ 43 CHAPTER VI. TheSufEolks 1 54 CHAPTER VII. The Essex.- 63 CHAPTER VIII. The Yorkshires. — ChesWres, or Jefferson County Swine, of New York. — Lancashires. — Victorias. — Neapolitans. — Jersey Reds. — Durocs. 69 CHAPTER IX. Relative Merits of the Suffolk, Essex, and Berkshire. By E. W. Cottrell- - _ 80 RAISING AND FATTENING SWINE. CHAPTER X. The Boar— How to Choose and How to Keep Him 89 CHAPTER XI. The Sow and Her Pigs 95 CHAPTER XII. Castrating and Spaying _ 105 CHAPTER XIII. Pasture and Summer Food 108 CHAPTER XIV. Fattening 118 CHAPTER XV. Cooking Food for Swine — Food Cookers 127 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVI. Hog Houses and Pens - 140 CHAPTER XVII. Slaughtering, Curing, and Preserving 149 CHAPTER XVIII. Hog-Feeding and Porli Making 158 CHAPTER XIX. The Effects o" Cold Weather on Fattenint^ Swine. — Experiments made at the Kansas State Agricultural College Farm, by E. M. Shelton, Professor of Agriculture 184 CHAPTER XX. Feeding for Fat and Lean 193 CHAPTER XXI. The Gradual Disappearance of White Swine from American Farms. .207 CHAPTER XXII. Seme General Observations. — Rooting and itsPrevention.— Ear Mu- tilation and Ear Marks. — Sows Eating their Pigs.— Quarrelsome and Fighting Hogs. — Condition of Sows for Breeding. — Is it Profitable to Cure Pork ? — Reports of Remarkable Growth. — Prize Animals for Breeding. — Foodinj Cootod Wheat.— Hogging-ofl Corn Fields. — Relation between the Prices of Com and Pork. — Records and Recording. — Standards of Excellence and Scale of Points.— Cost of Pig and Pork. — Stock Yards Receipts. 213 DISEASES OF SWINE. PR.'iOTIC.^L INFORMATION AS TO THEIR CAUSES, SYMPTOMS, PREVENTION, AND CURE. CHAPTER XXIII. Diseases of Swine and Their Treatment. — Introductory. — Anthrax Diseases or "Hog Cholera." 239 CHAPTER XXIV. The So-called " Hog Cholera." By Doct. H. J. Detmars 253 CHAPTER XXV. Tlie So-called "Hog Cholera." 273 CHAPTER XXVI. Various Diseases Common to Swine. — Worms. — Trichina spiralis. — Kidney Worms. — Measles.- Mange.— Lice. — Common Cough. — Pneumonia.— Quinsy or Strangles.— Nasal Catarrh. — Inflamma^ tion of the Brain, Epilepsy or " Blind Staggers." — Apoplexy. — Paroplegia. - Diarrhoea or Scours. — Constipation. — Eversion of Recti'm.— Rheumatism. — Los of '''"'is 289 PREFACE TO THE THIRD REVISED AND ENLARGED EDITION. Once more has come from its publishers a reminder that the most recent edition of Swine Husbandry has all been sold, and the request that some intended reyision shall be speedily prepared, with a view to early supply- ing the demand which has been continuous since the work was first announced. With an aim to haying it as nearly as may be abreast of the times, rarious changes have been introduced, and additions made for this issue of facts which were only recently available. The figures in the introductory chapter have been brought down to the latest dates possi- ble. The chapter (somewhat amplified in this edition) of experiments by Prof. E. M. Shelton, at the Kansas State Agricultural College, on "The Effects of Cold upon Fattening Swine," and that by Prof. W. A. Henry, of the Wisconsin Experiment Station, on "Feeding for Fat and Lean," will be found not only especially inter- esting and instructive, but also the most suggestive recent additions to swine literature. For their arrange- ment and careful revision especially for this volume, grateful acknowledgment is hereby made. To- Mr. Charles B. Murray, editor of the Cincinnati Price Current, Hon. L. N. Bonham, and secretaries of the various swine breeders' associations, the author is also indebted for very valuable data furnished. F. D. COBUBN. E^ANSAS City, Kansas, 1897. (6) PREFACE TO FIKST EDITION. In pi-eparing this work, I hare acted upon the belief that no one man, or any half-dozen men, know all there is worth knowing on a subject so extensive and important as that of Swine Husbandry ; still, there are many men who know something concerning some branch of it, which they have learned by long experience, careful study, and close observation, and who have acquired their knowledge under precisely such conditions and circumstances as to- day surround many other men, who have neither experi- ence nor sound advice to guide them. It has been less my object to make an original book, filled with fine theories, and the limited experiences of one individual, than to condense in one small volume, from all available sources, the conclusions and ideas of the most practical, successful, observant men who have fol- lowed the business in our own time, and in our own coun- try, leaving the reader free to form his own conclusions, and pursue such methods as shall, with the light before him, seem most rational and profitable. As to the choice of breeds of swine, I have my prefer- (G) PKE^ACE TO FIRST EDITlOK. 7 ences, which will be found freely expressed elsewhere, but I can fully appreciate the fact, that a breed exactly suited to the wants of farmers in one locality, might not meet the needs of those in other portions of the country, who make pork for different purposes, and under widely dif- ferent circumstances, and for different markets. So long as mankind differ about so many other matters, it is idle to expect them to agree upon any one breed of swine, or upon one manner of breeding and feeding as being altogether the best. Each breed has its champions, and each, in proper hands, under favorable circumstances, with congenial food and climate, has proven itself entirely satisfactory ; while animals of the same breed, but with different treat- ment and surroundings, would have been found in every way unsatisfactory, and discarded for what their owner considered positive knowledge of their worthlessness. I am confident that each of the leading breeds has its place and its merits, and for this reason I have not un- dertaken to exalt any one of them over another. One person, by a lucky purchase of animals of a certain breed, and by proper management, attams unusual success, and from that time is satisfied in his own mind, that he pos- sesses a breed incomparably better than any other; at the same time, some other person, with a breed of entirely different characteristics, has been even more successful, and knows, at least to his own satisfaction, that he pos- sesses the one breed worth having, and cares not to be told that some other may also be valuable. If this book shall serve to encourage the keeping of better swine, in a better, more rational, and consequently 8 PKEEACE TO PIKST EDITION. more profitable way, my labors will not have been in Tain. To the many correspondents, breeders, and friends, who proffered assistance and encouragement, and to the nu- merous journals I have quoted — which I have aimed to duly credit — I am under lasting obligations, and any suc- cess this effort attains will be largely due to them. From the Hon. John M. Millikin (present State Treas- urer of Ohio), especially, much valuable information has been obtained. F. D. COBUEN. Pomona, Kansas, April, 1877. SWINE HUSBANDRY. CHAPTEE I. TNTBODUCTOET TO THE EBVISKD EDITIOlf — SOME STATISTICS, The United States Secretary of Agriculture, in his Annual Eeport, estimated the number of hogs in the United States in 1896 to be, including pigs, 43,843,759, of an average value of $4.35 each, or a total value of $186,539,745; the highest average valuation per head being in Ehode Island, 19.80, and the lowest, in Florida, $3.16. Of the total number, there were, in the fourteen States that may properly be designated as the Mississippi valley, viz., Wisconsin, Ulinois, Indiana, Ohio, Ken- tucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Minnesota, Iowa, Ne- braska, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas and Louisiana, 26,949,957 head, or nearly 63 per cent. The average value per head ranged from $6.37 in Wisconsin, to $3.53 in Arkansas, the total value being $119,156,111. In the same report, the corn crop in the United States for the year 1895 is figured at 3,151,138,580 bushels, worth $544,985,534, of which the fourteen Mississippi Valley States mentioned above produced 1,691,408,775 bushels, the farm valuation of which, counted at 33.3 cents per bushel, or $375,369,569, represented 78.63 of the total corn crop, and 69 per cent of its value for the entire Union. It is no doubt safe to say that few persons have any proper conception of the immensity of the swine-produc- ing interest in the United States, or are aware that nearly one-half in numbers and more than one-half in u> SWIN-B HUSBANDRY. value of all the swine in the world, are reared and fat- tened in this country. The distribution of the world's supply, according to the most recent available returns, is shown in the table below, which gives the number in the United States in 1896, in the United Kingdom in 1896, British North American Provinces in 1894, and in other countries having 100,000 or more somewhat earlier : United states 42,842,759 Russia 9,242,997 Gennauy 12,174,288 Austro-Hungary 8,353,339 France 6,860,962 Spain 4,352,000 United Kingdom 2,878,801 Switzerland 565,781 Italy 1,800,000 B. N. A. Provinces 1,702,786 Roumania 926,124 Portugal 720,000 Belgium 646,375 Australasia 1,027,714 Denmark 829,131 Sweden 682,178 Holland 543,900 Argen tine Republic 360,000 Greece 175,000 Cape Good Hope 228,764 Norway 120,737 Total 96,023,625 The gradual variation in the number of swine in the United States during the twenty-five years prior to and including 1896, is well shown in the following figures. These are the estimates by the United States Department of Agriculture, of the number in January of each year : 1881 36,227,603 1882 44,122,200 1883 43,270,086 1884 44,200,893 1885 46,142,657 1886 46,092,043 1887 44,612,836 1888 44,346,526 1889 50,301,592 1890 51,602,780 1891 50,626,106 1892 52,398,019 1893 46,094,807 1894 45,206,498 1895 44,166,716 1896 42,842,759 1872 31,796,300 1873 32,632,000 1874 30,860,900 1875 28,062,200 1876 25,726,800 1877 28,077,100 J878 32,262,600 1879 34,766,200 1880 34,034,100 Mr. Charles B. Murray, editor of the Cincinnati Price Current, who is the most prominent authority on figures pertaining to the subject, estimates the number of hogs packed in the United States in the twelve months ending March 1, 1893, 1894, 1895 and 1896, as shown below : 1895-96. 1894r95. 1893-94. 1892-93. Packed in the West 15,010,000 1,290,000 677,000 463,000 173,000 2,867,000 20,480,000 16.003,000 1,748,000 698.900 475,000 178,000 2,517,000 11,605,000 1,678,000 685,000 402,000 136,000 2.483,000 12,390,00!; 1,784,00" 649,00" 455,00" 128,000 2,790,000 Other New England packing. Other Eastern packing Receipts, N. Y., Phlla., Bait. . Total 21,619,000 16,789,000 18,196,000 INTKODUCTORT. 11 These figures represent only the organized pork pack- ing of the country, done in cities ; and to obtain the ag- gregate number slaughtered, there should be added those killed by farmers for home consumption and limited neighborhood sale, in weight about two-thirds as much more, and in numbers a somewhat larger proportion. The exports of live hogs from the United States to foreign countries are reported by the ]!fational Bureau of Statistics, for each of the twenty-five years named below (ending June 30th), as follows : 1871 8,770 1872 66,110 1873 99,720 1874 158,881 1875 64,979 1876 68,044 1877 65,107 1878 29,284 1879 75,129 1880 83.434 1881 77456 1882 36,368 1883. 16,129 1884 46,382 1885 55,025 1886 74,187 1887 75,383 1888 23,755 1889 46,128 1890 91,148 1891 95,654 1892 31,963 1893 27,375 1894 1,563 1896 7,130 The exports of bacon (including sides, hams and shoulders), pork and lard, to foreign countries, as oflB- cially reported by the Statistical Bureau, for each of the twenty-five years ending June 30, were : AverageBx- Bacon, lbs. Pork, lbs. Lard, lbs. port Value, cts. per lb. Total value. 1871 71,446,854 39,250,750 80,037,297 12.06 $22,992,023 1872 246,208,143 57,169,518 199,661,660 8.99 45,426,619 1873 396,381,737 64,147,461 230,534,207 8.88 61,274,987 1874 347,405,405 70,482,379 206,627,471 9.38 58,500,639 1875 250,286,549 56,152,331 166,869,393 12.08 57,184,630 1876 327,730,172 54,195,118 168,405,839 12.32 67,837,963 ^877 460,057,146 69,671,894 234,741,233 10.64 81,371,491 x87B 592,814,351 71,889,255 342,766,254 8.60 86,687,858 1879 732,249,576 84,401,676 326,668,686 6.90 78,738,674 1880 759,773,109 95,949,780 374,979,286 6.89 84,838,242 1881 740,944,545 107,928.086 378,142,496 8.49 104,660,066 1882 468,026,640 80,447,466 250,367,740 10.37 82,852,946 1883 340,268,670 62,116,302 224,718,474 11.32 70,966,268 1884 389,499,368 60,363,313 265,094,719 9.75 69,740,466 1885 400,127,119 72.073,468 283,216,339 8.59 64,883,110 1886 419,788,796 87,267,716 293,728,019 7.13 67,126,408 1887 419,922,955 85,869,367 321,533,746 7.45 61,668,685 1888 375,439,683 58,900,153 297,740,007 8.10 59,299,852 1889 400,224,646 64,133,639 318,242,990 8.52 66,716,097 1890 608,490,956 80,068,331 471,083,598 7.35 86,281,174 1891 699,086,666 82,136,239 498,343,927 7.19 84,908,698 1892 684,776,389 80,714,227 460,045,776 7.66 85,116,566 1893 473,936,329 53,372,366 365,693,601 9.46 84,654,822 1894 603,628,148 64,744,628 447,566,867 9.19 93,433,682 1895 558,044,099 68,266,893 474,895,274 8.22 89,696,768 12 SVrmS H0SBANBRT. The quantity and value of lard oil exported in the twenty-five years subsequent to and including 1871, end- ing June 30, is stated as follows : Year. Gallons. Value. Value per gal. 104.09 Tear. Gallons. Value. Value per gal. 1871 147,802 163,850 1884 712,698 604,218 70.75 1872 633,147 432,483 81.12 1885 916,157 555,426 60.63 1873 388,836 298,751 76.31 1886 973,229 600,011 51.38 1874 252,577 203,317 80.50 1887 975,163 619,274 63.25 1875 140,594 147,384 100.64 1888 930,616 509,514 64.73 1876 140,323 149,156 101.93 1889 861,303 542,897 63.03 1877 347,305 281,551 81.07 1890 1,214,611 663,343 54.61 1878 1,651,648 994,440 60.21 1891 1,092,448 662,986 51.53 1879 1,963,208 1,087,923 52.87 1892 901,675 496,601 66.08 1880 1,507,590 816,447 54.15 1893 486,812 336,613 69.14 1881 830,256 658,576 66.79 1894 681,081 449,571 66.00 1882 506,259 434,124 ■ 85.75 1895 653,421 304,093 55.00 1883 379,205 353,184 93.14 The following table shows the distribution of American hog products by exportation to the principal purchasing countries, and the quantities taken by each, and their value, during the year ending June 30, 1895 : Countries. United Kingdom France Germany Belgium Netherlands Denmark , Sweden and Norway. Spain Italy Cuba Hayti Forto Rico British West Indies.. Mexico Brazil Colombia Venezuela British Guiana •.. Pern Quebec, Ont., etc.t . .. Nova Scotia, etc Newfoundland, etc... All Other Total Value •Hacou, lbs. 436,010,562 9 842,048 15,137,893 40,026,963 9,631 ,192 458,019 2,618,924 60,316 20,915 9,067,529 332,032 1,079,033 596,378 297,599 22,582,582 98,902 680,551 263,803 18,316 7,124,426 66,798 203,228 1,825,490 558,044,099 $48,736,860 Pork, lbs. 14,268,862 236,600 2,149,850 258,000 491,282 167,900 462,640 1 3,507,550 3,288,200 7,469,033 2,068 1,123,292 83,314 25,200 2,885,190 15,100 4,757,080 1,208,443 2,020,340 3,849,949 58,266,893 $4,138,400 Lard, lbs. 474,895,274 $36,821,606 * Includes sides, hams and slioulders. t Includes Manitoba, Northwest Territories and British Columbia. Below is seen the total number of hogs packed in the West during winter seasons, and cost of hogs per one IlfXEODUCTOET. 13 hundred pounds gross, for fifty years, according to Cin- cinnati Price Current special reports : Season. No. Cost. Season. 1869-70.. 18G8-69.. 186T-68.. 1866-67.. 1865-66.. 1864-66. 1863-64.. 1862-63.. 1861-62.. 1860-61.. 1859-60.. 1858-59.. 1857-58.. 1856-57 1855-66.. 1854-55.. 1853-54.. 1852-53.. 1851-52.. 1860-51.. 1849-60.. 1848-49.. 1847-48.. 1846-47.. 1846-4C.. No. Cost. 1895-96.. 1894-95. . 1893-94.. 1892-93.. 1891-92.. 1890-91.. 1889-90.. 1888-89.. 1887-88. . 1886-87.. 1885-86.. 1881-85.. 1883-84.. 1882-83.. 1881-82.. 1880-81.. 1879-80.. 1878-79.. 1877-78.. 1876-77.. 1875-76.. 1874-75.. 1873-74.. 1872-73.. 1871-72.. 1870-71.. 6,815,800 7,191,520 4,884,082 4,633,620 7,761,216 8,173,126 6,663,802 6,483,852 5,921,181 6,439,009 6,298,996 6,460,240 5,402,064 6,132,212 6,747,760 6,919,456 6,950,451 7,480,648 6,505,448 5,101,308 4,880,135 6,566,226 6,466,200 6,410,314 4,831,558 3,695,261 $3.68 4.28 6.26 6.64 3.91 3.54 3.66 4.99 5.04 4.19 3.66 4.29 5.18 6.28 6.06 4.64 4.18 2.86 3.99 5.74 7.05 6.66 4.34 3.73 4.12 6.26 2,035,312 2,499,873 2,781,084 2,490,791 1,785,955 2,422,779 3,261,105 4,069,520 2,893,666 2,155,702 2,350,822 2,465,552 2,210,778 1,818,468 2,489,502 2,124,404 2,534,770 2,201,110 1,182,846 1,332,867 1,652,220 1,660,000 1,710,000 800,000 900,000 $9.22 8.18 6.36 6.78 9.34 11.46 5.36 3.36 2.42 4.67 4.73 6.02 3.89 4.75 4.60 3.37 3.35 4.81 3.66 3.00 2.13 3.75 2.60 2.85 3.90 The following table indicates the average gross weights of hogs packed in the West during winter seasons for fifteen years, the average pounds of lard yielded per 'hog, and their cost per one hundred pounds alive. Season. 1895-96. 1894-95. 1893-94. 1892-93. 1891-92. 1890-91. 1889-90. 1888-89. 1887-88. 1886-87. 1885-86. 1884-36. 1883-84. 1882-83. 1881-82. Gross Weight, Lbs. of Lard, Cost Alive, per hog. all kinds. per 100 lbs. ' 240.71 35.53 $3.68 232.73 33.62 4.28 248.20 36.07 6.26 227.73 31.66 6.54 247.64 34.69 3.91 239.75 33.45 3.54 250.92 36.37 3.66 263.46 34.76 4.99 242.30 31.06 5.84 251.31 33.54 4.19 258.98 35.22 3.66 266.51 36.02 4.29 251.44 33.26 6.18 267.02 35.43 6.28 262.70 36.44 6.06 The average live weight of hogs, average cost per one hundred pounds live weight, and percentage yield of lard from those packed at the points named, in the win- ter seasons of 1894-95 and 1895-96, is shown as follow: ' 14 8WINE HUSBANDET. Average Weight. Chicago Kansas City... Boutli Omaha. St. Louis [iidiaiiapulis . Cincinnati .... Milwaukee .. . Cndaliy Cleveland St. Paul Cedar Kapids. Ottumwa Louisville... . Sioux City Detroit Bt. Joseph — Nebraska City Des Moines.... Keokuk I/lncoln .Ul points 1895-96. 243.53 268.25 224.73 213.60 233.46 243.91 239.50 190.00 225.00 244.00 226.00 224.21 264.00 211.00 265.00 278.00 256.00 235.00 249.00 240.71 1894-95. 246.61 234.29 208.95 223.61 226.97 235.57 228.22 224.00 188.00 230.00 226.00 218.00 227.91 220.00 215.13 240.00 235.00 222.00 215.00 215.00 232.73 Cost, 100 lbs. 1895-96. 1894-95. «3.81 $4.36 3.57 4.16 3.55 4.13 3.68 4.28 3.62 4.34 3.71 4.35 3.67 4.46 3.68 4.35 3.85 4.40 3.65 4.16 3..'i2 4.16 3.50 4.15 3.67 4.39 3.46 4.16 3.80 4.35 3.45 4.16 3.53 4.16 3.50 4.09 3.50 4.19 3.51 4.00 3.68 4.28 Li.rd percent. 1895-6. 1894-95 15.28 14.20 14.44 14.11 14.76 18.57 12.70 11.60 13.30 13.43 13.27 13.30 11.85 13.63 13.94 12.91 13.38 14.41 13.72 11.16 14.44 15.69 15.02 14.62 14.26 16.42 16.65 12.55 11.48 12.70 14.22 13.93 13.27 13.70 15.15 13.27 16.09 11.03 15.23 14.04 13.26 14.76 OOMPAEATITB VALUE OF THE HOG PKODUOT. 15 CHAPTER IL COMPAKATIVE VALUE OP THE HOG PRODUCT. The importance and value to our people of the swine grown in the United States, compared with other kinds of live stock, as shown by official figures, and records that are beyond question, are quite astonishing to those who, for the first time, have them brought to their at- tention. So long as these animals bring to the coffers of Americans more money than any other single agricul- tural product, unless it may be wheat or cotton, they are certain to occupy a very high position in the estimation of the producers. Of the money-producing value of swine, as compared with cattle, Hon. John M. Millikin, of Ohio, one of the most experienced and intelligent ob- servers in this direction that our country has ever had, several years ago made some careful estimates, based on authentic data, that reveal what to many will be a con- dition of affairs not before suspected. Basing his figures on the United States Census for 1870, he says : "The number of cattle then in the country was 23,830,508, and of swine 25,703,813. In the five stock producing States of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri, there were 6,031,819 cattle, and 10,446,198 swine, the excess of the latter over the former being about or up- wards of 70 per cent. In view of the above, from which source do the people of the States named derive the largest amount of money per annum? "The question cannot be answered with entire accu- racy, because there are no certain data by which to determine the number or percentage of each kind of ani- mals sold, or the price realized for each head, and yet the 16 SWINE HUSBANDEY. result can be closely approximated. Cattle are usually^ sold at ages varying from three to six years ; milch cows and working cattle, which constitute 42 ppr cent of the entire number, as above stated,'"gen'erally attain an age exceeding six years before they are sold to go out of the country. As cattle, including all classes, have to arrive at an age above three years, it is safe to say there are not more than one-fourth the number enumerated sold in each year. With hogs it is quite different. They are shipped off at an average age of about fifteen months, and it is therefore fair to assume that at least four-fifths of the hogs enumerated in 1870 were sold within a year frbm the time of enumeration. " Upon these data let us make a calculation : "Upon the hypothesis stated, that one-fourth of ti.e cattle enumerated would be sold during the year, there would be sold 1,507,954. Estimating the average value of the same as consumed upon the farm, or sold anci shipped at $30 per head, they would amount to the sum of $45,238,630. The total number of hogs in the above States being 10,446,198, four-fifths of which were sold during the year, would make the number sold 8,356,952. Estimating these on the farm, when sold or consumed, at the moderate price of $8 per head, the to- tal value is $66,955,672, making the excess received per annum for hogs, over amount received for cattle, in the five States named, $31,717,052. " I am aware that the above showing will be satisfac- tory to only a few persons, and that it will be sharply criticised by others. I have made it upon the above data, with a view to seeing what the result would be, and not with a view of depreciating the value and advantages of raising cattle, nor of unduly exalting the business of rais- ing pork." At the present time, Chicago is considered the greatest live stock market in the world, and the statistics of the '•■ VALUE OF THE HOG PEODUOT. 1? live stock trade there, for the year 18'513, disclose the startling fact that swine not only brought more money into the pockets of the people than any other description of live stock, but more than all other kinds together, as may be seen by an examination of the following table of actual receipts and actual sales in the open market : Jteceipts. Saks. Cattle 761,438 $35,264,260 Sheep 291,734 875,000 Horses 30,280 2,028,902 - 4,387,750 53,153,000 From these figures, it is seen that the value of the hogs marketed there, exceeded that of all other live stock by nearly $15,000,000, and this does not include any part of (fhe value of the dressed hogs, lard, barrelled pork, and cut meats received, the cash value of which amounted to $8,444,494, in the same period, making a total value of *^1, 597,494. rChicago also boasts of being the leading grain market of the world, and during the same year (1873), her trade was a prosperous one, the receipts aggregating 10,000,000 bushels more than in the previous year, and the estimated value of this vast quantity was $63,500,000, scarcely $2,000,000 more than thp *alue of the hogs and hog pro- ducts handled in the same market in that year. The value of the hog product exported in 1872 from the United States, exceeded $45,000,000, of which England alone took $33,347,167, — more than the entire exporta- tion of cattle products for the same year. With our fertile, and seemingly inexhaustible soils, both upon the broad prairies and countless creek and river Dottoms, the great staple crop is, and ever will be, Indian com — the grain above all others best adapted to the pro- duction of pork ; and it is by and through these enor- mous corn crops that we do and can hold the pork markets of the world at command. Those who prepare for pork-making with well defined 18 SWINE HUSBANDKT. plans, and pupsue them with system and regularity, keep- in'g none but the best breeds and their crosses, can be quite certain of realizing more satisfactory prices for their corn, taking the seasons together, than by selling it at ruling prices, even at their own doors ; while if hauled from home, its cost is increased in proportion to the dis- tance, from five to fifteen cents per bushel. To illustrate the importance of raising the better grades of hogs, we will use some figures from a circular issued by the "Cincinnati Merchants' Exchange" a few years since, which says : " Whole number of hogs packed during the past season, at the principal points in the United States, was 4,783,403 ; aggregate weight, 1,349,630,955 pounds, or an average weight of 282' |, pounds. The total amount of money paid for same was 155,818,711." — If well bred, well fed, well cared for, and properly fattened, they should have averaged one hundred pounds more per head, adding to the aggregate weight 478,240,300 pounds, which, at four cents per pound, would have added to the wealth of the producers, in a single year, the snug sum of $19,129,- 613. Truly no insignificant increase of one year's receipts, and on the same basis amounting in twenty years t& $383,593,340 — money enough to lift the mortgages from the farms of a large number of worthy gentlemen who think that one hog is just as good as another. BREEDS OF SWINE. THEIK CHARACTERISTICS AND WORTH. CHAPTEE III. THE POLAND-CHINAS. Probably no questions have been more frequently pro- pounded to agricultural and live stock journals, than those as to the origin, history and correct name of the large spotted hogs, exceedingly popular in the Western States, and which are called, by different breeders, and in different localities, by a great diversity of names. Among the names which have been given them, are : "Magie," "Batler County," "Warren County," "Mi- ami Valley," "Poland," "Poland and China," "Greai Western," "Shaker," "Union Village," "Dick's Creek," "Gregory's Creek," "Moore," and others; and inquiries are frequent as to their characteristics, and if all the hogs thus named are not the same breed, which is best ? The wranglings and discussions, by the breeders and friends of the different strains of these hogs, as to their origin, the most suitable and expressive name for the breed, and who should have most credit for efforts to perfect and bring them into popular favor;; would, if published, flU volumes. The following, prepared by Hon. L. N. Bonham, who has for many years been not only a citizen of Butler county, but a breeder of these hogs, and who has made them and their history a lon^ study, was adopted in 1887, by the National Swin6 Breeders' Association, as the official history of the breed, and hence it is given here as the accepted version, in lieu of what has before been published on this great and foremost family of pork makers : The Poland-China hog originated in the Miami valley, and it is nowhere apparent that it originated from the purpose or work of any one individual. The conditions of soil, climate, produce, and markets of that region, all favored the business 21 33 CTVUSTE HUSBANTir J.^ . =^ wmgBmi/i^^ —- WiK^^^m — ~- v^BmwW .ail y 1 ~ ^HR™ - — ^l|^ r" '^ \- : _ -— X-' • — f L^ : THE P0LAND-CHIKA3. '23 of swine growing, and, as a result, early in the history of Ohio Cincinnati became, for a time, the greatest pork-packing cen- ter in the world, and made pork producing the most profitable feature of farming in the surrounding country. The farmers of Kentucky and Ohio were deeply interested in the common effort to meet the demands of the market, and secure the best possible rewards for their labor and enterprise. Before the advent of improved roads, canals and railways, the concentration of farm products into animals that could be driven to market, induced a general improvement of not only the swine, but the cattle also, of that region. Under the com- mon law of selection, as well as by importation of improved breeds, by the peculiarly favorable conditions of climate, feed and water, by the influence of trade and fashion, the Poland- China breed of swine originated and developed from the com- mon hog of the Miami valley, until it has become the leading breed of the State and many parts of the country. It is greatly to be regretted that in the earliest history of this breed, we had not, in Ohio and in the West, such facilities for making a record of the work done and means employed by the farmers of the Miami valley, as we now have in the nu- merous and able stock journals and agricultural papers of this day. Prior to 1839 there was no paper in the West specially inter- ested in agriculture or live-stock matters. Hence most of the earliest history of the breed, and of swine raising in the West prior to that date, is purely traditional. Happily, however, about the time the interest in pork growing became the lead- ing feature of agriculture in the Miami valley, the Western Farmer was started in Cincinnati, in September, 1839. Its editor, Thomas Affleck, was a man of intelligence and a lover of stock. Associated with him was Charles Foster, who was skillful with his pencil as well as with his pen, and left many well executed cuts and descriptions of animals of southern Ohio and northern Kentucky. The written testimony of these two men may be accepted as the most accurate and valuable of any now available. The history of the English breeds has been better preserved in the writings of Prof. Low, and earlier English writers. That of the Berkshires is, perhaps, best known of any existing breeds. It is valuable as a help to show how breeds originated. The history of these two best known breeds illustrates forcibly A principle in breeding announced by Frof. Brewer, of New 24 SWINE HUSBANDBX. Haven. It is this: "A breed of animals is never made by crossing two and only two distinct breeds, and preserving the better qualities of both. I am not aware," he says, " that there is any such case on record, among .ill the countless breeds of our domestic animals. But new breeds are often made of several original breeds by a selection from the mon- grel progeny." The evolution of the Berkshire from the old English hog, the Chinese, the Neapolitan , the Siamese, Illustrates this prin- ciple, though it has occupied nearly a century of time and study of many Indefatigable breeders. Its history is full of interest to all breeders of swine, because it is better under- stood, being more fully recorded in the cuxTent writings of this epoch than that of any other breed of swine. Now, as this breed is so important a factor in the early history ol; swine breeding in the Miami valley, we may first consider it, to better understand the part played by the several breeds em- ployed in the make-up of the one breed, which, following the law of " survival of the fittest," has survived and superseded all the others, and has become the chief in the counties and State where it had its origin. THK BEEKSHIRB ELEMENT. By noting characteristics of the several breeds employed in the early formation of the Berkshire breed, one may see why they were used, and where the lop ears, sandy or reddish- brown color, spotted with black, described by Prof. Low in 1843, came from. Then, by following along down a quarter of a century, one will see how, by selection, these undesired features were eliminated, and how, by judicious crossing and selection, have been substituted the erect ear, the solid black color, artistically relieved by the clean white on the face and ' feet and tip of the tail. No artist's brush could place the colors more deftly and in more complete harmony. The art of the breeder is further handsomely illustrated in the molding of the approved form, the graceful outline, and in securing a harmony of colors now accepted as that of the ideal standard Berkshire. But this was reached only by persistent and long-continued selection and use of crosses intended to eliminate or correct the unde- sirable characteristics of the early specimens of this noted breed. A. B. Allen says that in 1841, aged men in Berkshire, England, told biin that *h.e breed had been known by them IHE POLAKD-CHIN^AS. 2d from earliest childhood, and yet he and they were still using Siamese crosses — so persistent were the original colors and traits and tendencies to reversion to the hateful characteristics of the old English hog, such as slow feeding, coarseness of ear, hair and form, and the mixed, uncertain colorg. Prof. Low tells of the use of the Chinese boars as late as 1843, to refine and improve the feeding quality of this long-known breed. . MONGRELS, OR MIXED BREEDS. The Bedfords, or Woburns, are spoken of in the Oenesee Farmer of 1838, as having strenuous advocates in Massachu- setts and near Baltimore. In Bedfordshire, England, the Duke of Bedford, who was a successful breeder of Berksliires, is spoken of as an advocate of the Bed'^ords as a most prolific breed. In Massachusetts, the name of Woburn was given the breed. Youatt says of them (p. 96) : " Some admirable pigs were sent to the great cattle shows of London. They were crosses of various kinds, in which it appeared to us the Sufl^olk strain was prevalent." Affleck (p. 86), in his chapter on hogs in Ohio and Kentucky, says: "The variation in the character' of the half dozen different sorts of Bedfords is also great in size, color and form." He believes those in America were descended from an importation by a Mr. Parkinson, an Eng- lishman, who lived near Baltiinore some eighty odd years ago. These were most probably a mongrel from' use of Berkshire and Sussex hogs. As bred in Kentucky and Ohio in 1840, Mr. Affleck says: "They vary a good deal in appearance. The head, neck and ears are fine, the latter somewhat rounded and leaning forward and outward; the shoulder generally good, though from close breeding there is a sinking back of the shoulder in a majority of them ; the back otherwise re- rnarkably fine, slightly arched, very broad, the ribs coming finely out and supporting the belly better than is common in any other breed; the loins slender, but high above the shoul- ders to a very great degree ; the rump drooping rather sud- denly ; the ham large, but not as thick and round as it might be ; twist fair ; the flank in some good, in others badly tucked ; the legs generally so good as to resemble those of a deer much more than of a hog; the bones stout and, though large, not too much for an animal of their size, which is equal to 500 or 600 pounds at eighteen months or two years, with good keep ; 26 SWINE HUSBANDRT. the skin good and the handling very fine; the hair long, coarse and harsli ; said to fatten kindly at any age and upon a less amount of food than any others." The celebrated Banter pigs were of tiiis breed, and fed against a pair of imported Berkshires, " beat them a long way." As to color, "some were white and some were sandy, with numerous Inrse black spots.'' The same writer says of the improved Berkshire of 1840, he fully believes " they will sur- pass the Woburns on similar keep." He says: "The improved Berkshire more nearly approaches the ne plus ultra of a per- fect animal of this kind than any other. His form is perfect ; his legs are, however, too frequently faulty, though by no means always so." The Berkshire was first introduced into the Miami valley in 1835, by Mr. Munson Beach and Mr. John Beed, from Albany, N. Y., the former bringing a boar, Dick Johnson, and the latter a sow, Superior. BYFIELDS. In 1838, the Oenesee Farmer speaks of a formidable rival to the Bedfords as having arisen in the eastern part of Massachu- setts. Essex county claims the honor of originating it as fol- lows : " A farmer in Byfield found, accidentally, in the mar* ket, a pig of remarkable appearance, and this laid him the foundation of the breed known as the Byfield breed." Mr. Affleck described them as he found them in Warren and Butler counties, Ohio, in 1843, where then they were highly esteemed as a cross with the Russian. He says: "By fields are of great size, white, with heavy lopped ears, flat-sided, but of great length, and others that are beautifully white, their ears small, pointing to their nose, broad back, deep chest, large jowl, short nose, dished face and thin hair." (P. 86, Affleck.) Different grade crosses of these and Russian, and ; again with the Chinas, have produced the large hog known as the Warren County hog. THE IRISH GRAZIEE. In 1839, three Irish pigs were brought to Cincinnati by the father of W. W. Greer, of Oxford, Ohio. These pigs were brought, as thousands of others have been before, to America by emigrants from all parts of the world. Mr. Greer, Sr., lived near the seacoast, where they raised vast quantities ot potatoes, on which the hogs were raised and fattened. Martio (p. 98) says of Irish pigs : " The plan of fattening on potatoes THE POLAND-CHISTAS. 37 is not calculated to do justice to the most approved breeds." He further says (p. 98): "Latterly the introduction of some of our best breeds (from England) with which to cross the old Irish swine, had been attended with decided success, although there is room for further improvement. Berkshire, Suffolk, Yorkshire and some Chinese boars and sows have been intro- duced " Thus we see that the so-called Irish Grazier imported into Ohio was a mongrel. These Greer pigs went into the hands of William Neff, a pork packer of Cincinnati, with whom Mr. Greer was employed in cutting pork the first winter of his residence in Ohio. Mr. Neff also imported other Irish pigs and sent them into Warren County, where their impress on the swine of that region was marked and favorable. Mr. Affleck, speaking of the boar, Poppet, imported by Wm. Neff, said : " He would weigh about 450 or 500 pounds when matured, and is a very finely formed animal." Some of that importation and their descendants carry their ears pricked; they have fine length, a splendid barrel, good legs and very fair hams. The hair is scant, though fine, and the skin un- pleasantly scurfy but handling well. The cross of the Berk- shire boar and Irish sow was called Bettys, and wa« considered, by many, better stock than either. In this connection, Mr. Affleck said, in 1843: "The Berkshires, Woburns and the Irish Graziers seem to us the most likely to be of most use, and are certainly those attracting most attention at this time" (1843). In the Western Stock Journal of 1870, published by J. H. Sanders & Co., at Sigourney, Iowa, T. J. Conover said : " The Irish Grazier is white, with a few spots of black ; upright ears, light jowl, fine coating, and would fatten at any age. They are the stock of hogs that gave the Poland-Chinas their fine coating and symmetrical form." He also said : "John Hark- rader took an interest in the Irish Grazier and commenced an improvement on that breed." THE RUSSIAN HOG. Of this breed, Cuthbert Johnson, in his Cyclopedia of Rural Affairs, after describing the several fresh breeds of swine, speaks of "other European breeds." Among these he names the Polish and Bussian breed as one and the same, and de- scribes it as being " generally small, and of a reddish or yel- Vowish color." Albert D. Thaer^ of Germany, in hia great 28 SWINE HUSBANDRY. work, The Principles of Agriculture, 1810-12, in enumerating and describing the breeds of swine in North Germany, says: "The breeds of swine best known in North Germany, but nev- ertheless crossed in various ways, are the following : Molda- vian, WaUachian and Bothnian pigs, distinguished by great size, dark gray color and very large ears. "The next class named is the Polish, or, more properly speaking, Podolian pigs, also vgry large, but of a yellowish color, and having a broad browflgstripe along the spine. These two races furnish very large pigs for fattening, but they re- quire a proportionately large quantity of food ; besides, they are not very productive; the sows seldom have more than three, four or five young ones at a birth." We are all well aware that what Thaer has here said of this Polish or Podolian pig of North Germany has been the reliance of some who have tried to argue the Russian hog out of exist- ence. Though the two tawny breeds agree in the stripe down the back, Thaer says: "The Polish breed seldom has more than three or four or five young ones at a litter," while it is notorious that the Reds and their English ancestors are most prolific. It is not probable that they are of similar origin. That there was a large white breed, known by the farmers of Ohio as much as seventy-five years ago as the Russian hog, there is abundance of living and written testimony. James E. Letton, of Millersburg, Ky., in 1840, wrote the following de- scription of them: "Their color is generally white, with long, coarse hair ; head long and coarsely featured ; their ears are not so broad as the common variety of the country, yet longer and narrower, and come regularly to a point, project- ing forward, and they do not appear to have so much com- mand of them as other breeds; they have fine length and hight, their bone is large and fine ; they stand well upon their pastern joints and trackers ; quite Industrious ; they are th-ok through the shoulders, indifferently ribbed (or suddenly in- clined down); their plate or kidney bone rather narrow and ovahng than otherwise ; liams pretty good, though not so good as the Irish, the Bedford or the Berkshire. Yet prefer- able as is the variety, they do not grade so well as many others ; they want more time to bring them into market than the above breeds. Give them from eightepn to twenty months' age, they will make very large hogs ; they are quite prolific, their usual number being from nine to twelve pigs a litter. I have found their cross with the above-named breeds THE POLAND-CHINAS. 29 to be a valuable acquisition to their grazing, aptitude to fatten and rapid growth at the same time." That this Russian hog was extensively used as one of the earliest crosses for the im- provement of the swiae of Ohio and Kentucky, is evident from extant writings and Jiving testimony. In no other description of breeds can we fvnd the counter- part of that back and loia which has cost us so much time and care to correct. Mr. Letton well described it as " inditlerently ribbed, or suddenly inclining down, their plate or kidney bone rather narrow and ovaling than otherwise." The old Harkrader sow had this Russian back, as well as the oolor, the large, fine bone, and the strong, short pasterns and trackers. How this hog came to the Miami valley and Ken- tucky is not known. His source and' coming are indefinable, but that this so-called Russian hog was highly esteemed as one of the first crosses to improve the common hog of the country, there can be no question. As to the color, Mj-. Letton says they were " generally white." T. J. Conover said, in 1870 : " The Russian hog was sandy and black, with white," but, like hogs generally of that date, , their color seems not to have been clearly defined. THE CHINA. The breed which did the most for the improvement of the hogs of the Miami vaUey, as they did for the improvement of swine in England, is the China. The first iatroduction of this breed in Ohio was in 1816, by the Shakers of Union Village. They were called the "Big China hogs." They were bought in Philadelphia by John Wallace, trustee of the Shaker society near Lebanon. There was one boar and three sows. One sow had some sandy spots on her, in which appeared some small black spots. The boar and other sows were white. By their use on the mongrels by the Russian, Byfleld and common hogs, came the Miami Valley hog. That this Shaker importa- tion of Chinas was pure China stock, there is reason to doubt. Nevertheless, they impressed, in a wonderful degree, their offspring with a quicker feeding quality, that seemed to be the leading idea in the improvement of that period. There are frequent allusions to China hogs and their value, by writers in the Genesee Farmer, The Cultivator and Western Farmer, prior to 1843. They were used and esteemed in the East and West, and made their impress on all breeds with which they were crossed. The use of the China has been ben- 30 SWINE HUSBANDET. eficial in correcting coarseness of form, in quieting the restless disposition, and increasing tlie tendency to fatten at any age, and refine the texture and quality of flesh. THE RED HOG, CALLED "POLAND." There was another element that we cannot omit, which seems not only to have been the very apple of discord among some of our friends, but its impress among the hogs of Ohio and the West is almost as marked as that of the noted Tam- worth boar on English breeds. Their color and vigorous growth seemed to attach themselves most persistently to their posterity, and were potent on all crosses. Whether they could be called a distinct breed we will not here discuss. Affleck and Millikin claim not, but that one Asher, of Chester, Butler county, Ohio, a native of Poland, had red hogs which he claimed to have imported from England, there is strong proof. There was frequent allusion to them in the writings Of that day, and to the name Poland given to hogs of their type after 1838. We have a letter from B. G. Schenck, of Franklin, Ohio, in answer to inquiry by L. N. Bonham. He says : " I remember once to have spoken of the rod hogs and pigs I saw when a boy, at an old Polander's down near Chester. I re- member to have gone with my father to this Pole's to see those red pigs, and I remember now just how they looked. They were of a bright, sandy color, with small black specks all over them. They resembled, in make, according to my recollection of the pigs I saw there, and those raised from the pair my father bought at that time, the Berkshire of to-day, except that they were a little deeper in the body, had a flatter rib, and were shorter in the legs. I remember the Polander telling my father that they were the sandy Berkshires, of England, and that he had imported them. I remember the old imported sow and a yearling sow, a pig of hers. They both had litters of pigs at the time. My father crossed them with his hogs, and for years after there would be a pig with the features of the Polander's hogs. I still think that the name Poland, in our Poland-China hogs, came from this old Polander." Here we have an element that has made a lasting impression on the hogs of the valley and the whole country. The sandy or reddish color is one that has characterized so many of the breeds in their early history, that it has wonderful staying qualities. It never has been a popular color. The early Eng- lieh breeders did not fancy or seek to perpetuate it, nor have THE POLAND-CHIlirAS. 31 American breeders. Yet in the early history of swine in America, when color counted but little and growth and feed- ing qualities much, the law of selection did not then exclude animals of sandy markings as it now does, since fashion makes the old markiags unfashionable. That the law of selection, regardless of color, produces prof- itable hogs, we know. The record of weights made in fatten- ing establishments of an earher day will make this clear. The books of Wren & SchafiEer, of Middletown, Ohio, show that they packed, in 1879; a lot of thirty-eight Poland-China hogs, averaging six hundred and thirteen pounds gross at twenty- one months old, all fattened by one man in Butler county. From a table at hand we quote gross weights of six hundred and twenty-flve raised in Butler county, Ohio, and sold to packers in 1870 : One lot of 80 averaged 674 ponnds. One lot uf no averaged 616 pounds. One lot of 38 averaged 670 pounds. One lot of 48 averaged 613 pounds. One lot of 42 averaged 617 pounds. One lot of iO averaged 604 pounds. One lot of 20 averaged 601 pounds. One lot of 45 averaged 636 ponnds. One lot of 76 averaged 493 pounds. One lot of 60 averaged - 490 pounds. One lot of 40 averaged 713 ponnds. One lot of 12 averaged 773 pounds. To show that Ala breed had. in 1870, attained unsurpassed excellence in their readiness to fatten at any age, and their rapid growth, we quote the weights of two lots of pigs fat- tened when eleven months old : One lot of 30 averaged, gross 384 pounds. One lot of 10 averaged, gross 410 ponnds. One lot of 38, older, averaged, net 628.89 pounds. One lot of 2, older, averaged, gross 719 pounds. The net average of this last forty pigs was five hundred and thirty-eight pounds. Such a record shows not only skillful breeding, but rare skill in handling and feeding. It tells, too, of the superior natural advantages of a region where such a breed should be originated and produced by an intelligent and persistent application of the law of selection. 33 SWIKE HtJSBAITDKT. Discussions by the Press and by indiyiduals for nearly a half century, have been the cause of searching and thorough investigation into the matters connected with their early history, the time and manner in which the first crosses were made, and upon what foundation, together with the later crosses and manner of breeding, which combine to make them the leading and favorite breed in many sections famous for the value, size, and quality of their hogs. Owing to the great interest man- ifested on these points, we have given them much care- ful study and examination, for the purpose of getting at the bottom facts for the public benefit ; but it seems well-nigh impossible to harmonize the conflicting state- ments of those who ought to be best informed, or to expect the champions of the various views to be pleased with such conclusions as do not accord with their own. On many points, all who have studied the question closely agree, and on others (of perhaps minor impor- tance to the public) some of the disputants are as far apart as the poles, but we believe none dispute that the main crosses towards its formation as a definite and dis- tinct breed were made in that part of southwestern Ohio lying between the Big Miami and Little Miami rivers, mainly the counties of Butler and Warren, dur- ing the years from 1835 to 1840. It is also generally conceded that the groundwork was stock locally known as "Warren County" hogs, which were the result of crossing together the Berkshire, "Byfield," the "Eus- sia," the "Big China," and perhaps the "Bedford" breeds, all large, coarse hogs and slow to grow and fat- ten, except the " Big Chinas," which possessed the very opposite qualities. Hon. John M. Millikin, who lived in Butler county wdl-nigh seventy ye9,rs, forty-five of which he was a farmer, paid special attention to searching out the his- THE POI/AND-CHIKAS. 33 tory of this breed, its material and makers, and liis statement to the author was this : "The truth is, no one man can say he had more to do in the formation of this breed than another. It was the result of the labors of many. It grew out of the intro- duction of the China hogs by the Shakers of Union Village, the crossing with the Eussia and Byfield, and the subsequent crossing with the Berkshires, and then with the Irish Graziers. After 1841, or 1843, these breeds cpd^ied to exist in either Butler or Warren coun- ties, and (in 1877) have had nothing to do whatever with ih'.& breed for the last thirty- four years." Controversies as to the precise crosses, and by whom and under what particular circumstances they were made fifty years ago, to form the breed now known as Poland-Chinas, may interest a few ; but what is vastly more important to millions of people, is the fact that there has been produced a race of swine, now bearing that name, that very many severely practical and intelli- gent men consider the best pork-packing machines known, — ^in fact, nearer what the farmers of the great central, corn-producing West need, than any other sin- gle breed in existence. Their size, color, hardiness, docility and good feeding qualities make them favorites when purely bred, and where more fineness of contour, quicker maturity, and a little less size is demanded, we are satisfied the sowe bred to Berkshire boars produce the best feeding and farm hogs in the world. 34 swnns husbaitdbt. CHAPTER IV. THE CHESTER WHITES. Knowing Mr. Thomas Wood, of Chester county, Pentt sylvania, to be one of the oldest and most reliable breed- ers of the Chester Whites, and familiar with them from the beginning, we applied to him as a source of reliable information as to their origin, early history, breeding, etc. He writes : " The Chester County White hog is a native of Chester county, Pennsylvania, where the breed origi- nated. The first impulse to the improvement of swine in this county was induced by the introduction of a pair of very fine white pigs, brought from Bedfordshire, Eng- land, by Captain James Jeffries, of this county, and put upon his farm on the Brandy wine Creek, near West Ches- ter, the county seat, in the year 1818. Some of our more enterprising farmers, seeing these finely-bred pigs, were induced to commence an improvement of their swine by a cross of these, their progeny, and others of the best hogs of the county, and by continuing a careful selection and judicious crossing for many years, have produced the Chester White of to-day, a most desirable, well-formed, good-sized, easily-fattened, and perhaps the best bacon hog for the general farmer in this or any other country. " I have been paying considerable attention to the im- provement of the Chester Whites for over forty years, and was among the first to disseminate the stock over the United States. I have shown them at numerous agricul- tural exhibitions ; at the exhibition of the United States Agricultural Society, held at Philadelphia, in 1856, I re- ceived the Society's diploma for the best pigs ; at the United States Agricultural Fair, held at Richmond, Va., in 1858, I exhibited Chester Whites, and they took all the highest prizes offered by the Society ; I also exhibited THE CHESTER WHITES. 35 M .-T" \ =— t~ i — % ?" — p » ii- - } b : !\ ^i MA 'Ti 4 5 -J ""• nf '«■ ST |iM 86 SWIlfE HIJSBANDET. them at the joint fair of the States of Virginia and J!Torth Carolina, held at Petersburg, taking not only the highest premium awarded, but also the sweepstakes pre- mium for the best sow, with considerable competition with other breeds at all these exhibitions. " The Chester Whites have been successfully exhibited at several fairs of the Maryland Agricultural Society ; also at nearly every fair held by the Pennsylvania State Society, as well as by many County Societies, in competi- tion with most other breeds, while in many other States they have successfully competed with all the foreign and home-made breeds. "Some thirty years ago, the Berkshires were introduced into Chester county, where some of our farmers tried and kept them very nice, and exhibited them at the agri- cultural fairs ; but they did not seem to take well with our farmers at that time, and were displaced by Chesters. "A few years later the little Suffolks, that were making quite a stir in the hog line in Kew England, were intro- duced into our county, and afterwards the Essex, but neither breed flourished here, and the Chesters quietly superseded them. " I tried them all, but found none of them superior to our own breed. Some of the Chesters had been crossed with the black breeds, and it took our farmers eight or ten years to get rid of their spotted hogs, which was finally pretty well accomplished, and the Chesters again held sway over the county, and hundreds and thousands of them were shipped to different parts of the United States, Canada, and the West Indies. During this time, many unprincipled parties shipped any kind of a white pig they could pick up in the county, which they would call genu- ine Chesters ; this lowered the popularity of the breed wherever such pigs were sent. This caused a great falling ofE in the demand for our pigs, and again the Berkshires were introduced into this and adjoining counties, they *HS CHBSTEK WHitEiS, St having, in the thirty years since their first introduction, been much improved, and being popular abroad, some of our swine breeders procured them to breed for shipping purposes, and, as every generation must try the different kinds of stock for themselves, many farmers bought the Berkshires to see if they possessed any advantages over the Chester Whites, it being said that their hams were not so fat, and would sell more readily in market. After many years of trial, many farmers said that the white hogs were best adapted to their wants. " The Yorkshires have also been recently introduced (in their greatly improved condition) into our county, and are quite as popular as the Berkshire. " I will here give the result of my experience with the Chesters and Berkshires : I procured from a noted breed- er in a neighboring State, two Berkshire pigs about ten weeks old, and with them, in a pen, I put two Chester Whites, from a litter of our own, after several of the larger ones had been sold. They were a few days younger than the Berkshires, which were masters at the trough, and they remained so, knocking the Chesters about as though the whites had no rights the blacks were bound to respect. After feeding the four together for seven oi eight months, by which time the Chesters weighed sev- enty-five pounds, each, heavier than the Berkshires, we killed and salted them for our own use, intending to find out which made the best bacon, and we found the Berk- shire hams gave more lean meat, though somewhat dry and hard, while that from the Chesters appeared to be more soft and juicy, and was considered much the best for our own eating ; but those who do not like the fat, juicy ham, would prefer the Berkshire, which is also nice. . " It might seem that enough had been written and published in our agricultural papers about the pure bred hogs, when we evidently have no such, and the furthei we have got from the old English and China type, the 88 SWINE HUSBANDET. better tlie hog. The Chester White, made in Ohestei county, Penn. ; the Poland-China, made in Butler coun- ty, Ohio, lay no claim to any infusion of foreign blood, and are two of the best breeds of hogs in the United States. The black hog, with white feet and a white strip in its face, now called the Berkshire, and the white hog, with thin, curled hair, short head and yery crooked face, called Yorkshires, are both very well made and good hogs. The Chester White breed is now the longest es- tablished, unmixed with foreign crosses, of any breed with which I am acquainted, and therefore comes nearest a pure bred hog at the present time. " Some object to them, as being too large for the pork- packers : this I cannot look upon as an objection, as the Chesters will fatten readily at any age, and can furnish any weights the packers may desire (from 200 to 300 lbs.) " I think they would be more profitable than any small breed, which has to be kept over winter to attain the de- sired weight, as Chesters, pigged in the spring, will readily attain the desired weights by killing-time in the following fall or winter, and by keeping them longer they can be grown to weigh 600, 800, or even 1,000 pounds. A Chester White exhibited at the Exposition in Philadel- phia was said to weigh upwards of 1,300 lbs. live weight. "We seldom have fatal diseases among our hogs ; many of the diseases of swine, as of the sheep, enumerated by the English, I think never occur in this country. As to the Chester Whites being exempt from the attacks of ' cholera,' Thomas Miner, of Edinburgh, Indiana, stated to me some years ago that all his hogs, seventy in num- ber, were attacked with cholera, and the only pig in the whole herd that recovered was a Chester sow, the only one he had. I do not recollect ever hearing of a Chester dying with the cholera, yet I see no reason why they should be exempt. I think we have never had any hog cholera in eastern Pennsylvania, except in a few instances, THB CHESTEE WHITES. 39 where pigs Trere shipped from the West for sale to our dairies." We have said that the Essex were essentially the same kind of hogs as the SufEolks, except in color and the qual- ity of their skins : The best of the Chester Whites stand in about the same relation to the Poland-Chinas, for if a Chester was partially black, he would easily be mistaken for a Poland-China, and a strictly white Poland-China could scarcely be distinguished from a Chester White. With many persons who suppose they have had the Chesters in their best estate, there is much prejudice against the breed, but, in many cases, we think the Ches- ters receive the harshest criticisms from parties who never owned one purely bred, and, in all probability, do not know what they are, or how they should look. Where the best specimens have been handled with the same care, and the same judgment used in mating, breeding, and feeding, that is bestowed on other well-bred, well-fed ani- mals, they have been reasonably satisfactory, and have justly earnest advocates and admirers. The occasion of the bitterness toward so many hogs that have been called Chester Whites, is that their popularity, and the consequent demand increased, while they were comparatively few in numbers, faster than the supply, which stimulated many unprincipled parties in eastern Pennsylvania to engage in advertising and shipping any white pigs they could obtain, regardless of their charac- ter or breeding, and thousands of innocent purchasers of these mongrel pigs supposed they had pure Chesters, and the subsequent failures with them caused no little loss, mortification, and deep-seated disgust with the very name. One firm alone, that perhaps raised some of their pigs, publicly proclaimed that they had shipped annually, for three or four years prior to 1870, from 2,500 to 2,900 pigs, and the advertisements of all such parties intimated, 40 SWINE HtrSBANDET. indirectly, that their ability to fill orders for choice selected pigs was unlimited. A gentleman residing in Chester county, gave the New York Farmers' Club some correct ideas as to the way the business was conducted, as follows : " I live in Chester county, and know something of the operators in this famous breed of pigs ; know something of their business, its extent, and their ability to meet the demand with pure Chester Whites — pigs pure enough to reproduce themselves. There are, no doubt, a great many breeders who keep the stock unmixed, but if you knew the enormous demand from abroad, independent of the local wants, you would see how little likelihood there is of meeting it with pure stock. The consequence is, every nook and comer is scoured for pigs— pigs that are not black, that is all that is required. " Drovers, hucksters, and almost every other itinerant, are on • the lookout for pigs, until they have tripled in price from what they were a few years ago. " Last fall, a neighbor had several litters of very ordinary pigs, which a farmer engaged at a very young age, to make sure of them,- but a hog-dealer— as they are called— came around in a few days, bid higher, and took the most of the lot. " Another neighbor procured a pair of pigs from one of the breeders we have in the county, and the first litter he raised from them were nearly all more or less spotted with black, thus showing unmistakably bad blood." When the reaction following this set in, it was, of course, severe. The graceless scamps who followed this business, have given the Chester Whites a much worse reputation than they deserve, and the question as to whether the true Chester White is an established breed, is not worth discussing with those who really know them. They are appropriately classed with the large breeds, growing, if kept, to almost any size, and hold their white color perfectly under all circumstances. Docility and cleanliness are marked characteristics with them, and the sows make an excellent foundation upon which to cross boars of any of the more refined breeds, the offspring in- IHE CHESTER WHITES. 41 heriting size from the sow, and early maturity and fine feeding quality from the boar. The tendency of late years has been to reduce the Chester's coarseness of bone, head, ears and hair; and it is a marked improvement.* Breeders in Ohio and else- where have claimed to make variations in the types reared by them during several generations of the stock, entitling it to designation and registry in a separate rec- ord as "Improved" Chester "Whites, but whether the "improvement" over the best of the Chester county stock, as bred from 1865 to 1880, is a material one, is an open question. Taking the specimens of the breed shown at the Co- lumbian Exposition in 1893 as representing its best, there was little to indicate that the Chester Whites, at that time, 'were any improvement on their ancestry of twenty-five years before, and the contrast they presented, alongside many of other breeds, could scarcely impress the unbiased observer as strikingly favorable. Where farmers have large Chester sows that are too coarse, a cross with a good Suffolk boar will give pigs with fine points and most excellent feeding qualities, fattening readily from the time they are weaned. We have had considerable experience with the Ches- ters, perhaps as good as Chester county afforded, and their merits are many, but they were discarded, with other white breeds, for their one failing in the Western climate and under Western treatment, viz., liability to skin diseases, especially mange. Harsh treatment and exposure tell severely against the hardiest white hogs, but we believe judicious management and breeding will yet do much to rid them of this apparent tenderness. *The heavy lopped ears, coarse heads, long, coarse tails and hair are much less characteristic of the breed now than they were in its earlier days, while their coats are of silvery white hair o£ reasonable fineaess. 42 SWIJS'B HUSBANDET. The National Convention adopted the following as theit description of the CHAKACXEEISTICS AKD MAKKINGS OS CHESTER WHITES. " Head short, broad between the eyes ; ears thin, pro- jecting forward and lap at the point ; neck short and thick ; jowl large ; body lengthy and deep, broad on back ; hams full and deep ; legs short, and well set under for bearing the weight ; coating thinnish white, straight, and if a little wavy not objectionable ; small tail, and no bristles." CHAPTER V. THE BERKSHIRES. For ten years subsequent to 1831 there raged in the United States what might appropriately be called " the Berkshire fever," and mainly from the efforts of those interested in their importation, and sale at fancy prices, the breed became notorious, if not popular. Many sub- stantial farmers, and others, invested in them largely, and no small efforts were made to sustain the mushroom reputation that speculators had made for them, but while they were, even at that time, hogs of excellent breeding and truly valuable, the careless, neglectful systems then in vogue with too many farmers, were not adapted to maintaining the good qualities given the breed by English breeding and feeding, and deterioration followed. Fail- ing to realize the expectations of those who purchased them, a reaction set in, and breeders became disgusted with, and so prejudiced against, the stock and its very name, that they would afterwards scarcely accept of a Berkshire as a present. Much of the prejudice then engendered only ceased THE BEKKSHIRES. 43 44 SWINB HUSBANDBT. with its generation, and perhaps but little or none of it exists at the present time. Since about 1865, new importations, of the finest speci- mens of the improved Berkshires that Great Britain could produce, have been made, and the stock has been widely disseminated ; being now thoroughly known and appre dated, it probably stands second to none in the estima- tion of intelligent pork-producers throughout the United States and Canadas. While the Berkshires of the present time are probably much improved over those of forty years ago, the spirit of improvement is still abroad, and the standard of perfec- tion is placed high. Prominent among the good qualities that serve to make them favorites are : 1st. — Great muscular power and vitality, which render them less liable to disease than many other breeds. 2d. — Activity, combined with strong digestive and as- similating powers ; hence they return a maximum amount of flesh and fat for the food consumed. 3d. — The sows are unequalled for prolificacy, and as careful nurses and good sucklers. 4:th. — The pigs are strong, smart, and active at birth, and consequently less liable to mishaps. 5th. — They can be fattened for market at any time, while they may be fed to any reasonable weight desired. dfJt. — Their flesh is the highest quality of pork. 7th. — Power of the boar to transmit the valuable qual- ities of the breed to its progeny, when used as a cross. 8th. — Their unsurpassed uniformity in color, marking, and quality. It is doubtful if any hogs are nearer thoroughbred, in its best sense, or more certain to reproduce themselves with fidelity than the improved Berkshires. Crossed with Poland-Chinas they make the iest feeding hogs possible— • in fact, there is scarcely a medium or large breed upon THE BEBKSHIBES. 45 which they cannot be crossed with advantage, owing to their great vigor and hardiness. In our own breeding and feeding operations, no breed has been found so eminently satisfactory as the best Berk- shires, and we breed them pure in considerable numbers for feeding purposes, having years ago discontinued the raising of any others. Their reasonable size,. quick growth, easy fattening, do- cility, uniformity, and hardiness captivated us, and every day's experience but adds to our admiration of them. The pigs, even when coming in the most unfavorable seasons, have a tenacity of hold on life that is truly won- derful. Many of the meanest hogs and those of the worst dis- position that we have known were called Berkshires, but they sustained about the same relation to the true sort, that the propagators of them did to intelligent farmers and breeders. The Berkshires having become so numerous, and their excellence so generally recognized, the friends of the breed organized in March, 1875, at Springfield, Illinois, the "American Berkshire Association," having for its object the "collection, preservation, and dissemination of reliable information on the origin, breeding, and man- agement of Berkshire swine, and the publication of a Herd Book, or Eecord of Berkshire pedigrees." One of the first steps of the Association was to offer a premium of $100 for the best approved orignal essay on the origin and management of Berkshires. The premi- um was awarded to A. B. Allen, Esq., of Kew York, the historical and descriptive portions of whose essay are presented in subsequent pages. The entire essay appears in Vol. I of the " American Berkshire Record," and we are safe in saying that the subject has not, in any other published paper, been treated by any one so thoroughly familiar with it as Mr. 46 SWINE HUSBANDRY. Allen, and we give a considerable portion of it here in lieu of any attempt to treat the subject ourselves. Mr. Allen prepared the report on Berkshires, as adopt- ed by the " Swine Breeders' Convention ; " but we omit it, as the essay contains the same, and considerable other information. The Convention agreed upon the following as the CHARACTEKISTIOS AND MARKINGS OF BBItKSHIEES. Color black, with white on feet, face, tip of tail, and an occasional splash of white on the arm ; while a small spot of white on some other part of the body does not argue an impurity of blood, yet it is to be discouraged to the end that uniformity of color may be attained by breeders ; white upon one ear, or a bronze or copper spot on some part of the body argues no impurity, but rather a reappearance of original colors. Markings of white other than those named above are suspicious, and a pig so marked should be rejected. Face short, fine, and well dished, broad between the eyes ; ears generally almost erect, but sometimes in- clining forward with advancing age, small, thin, soft, and showing veins ; jowl full ; neck short and thick ; shoulder short from neck, to middling deep from back down ; back broad and straight, or a very little arched ; ribs — ^long ribs, well sprung, giving rotundity of body ; short ribs of good length, giving breadth and levelness of loins ; hips good length from point of hip to rump ; hams thick, round, and deep, holding their thickness well back and down to the hocks ; tail fine and small, set on high up ; legs short and fine, but straight and very strong, with hoofs erect, legs set wide apart ; size medium ; length medium, extremes are to be avoided ; bone fine and compact ; ofEal very light ; hair fine and compact ; skin pliable. The Berkshires are hardy, prolific, and excellent nurses; THE BEBKSHIBES. 47 their meat is of superior quality, with fat and lean well mixed. As showing the weight that animals of this breed will attain at an early age, it is stated that J. A. Brown,^ of Milton, Illinois, sold, in 1873, a lot of Berkshire pigs of an average age of nine months, and their average weight was 305 pounds. As indicating the estimate placed on this breed in Eng- land, the leading work of that country on swine raising " Among the black breeds, by universal consent, the improved Berlcshire hog stands at the head of the list, either to breed pure, or to cross with inferior breeds. * * * They are now considered, by Berkshire farmers, to be divided into a middle (medium size) and a small breed. If flrst-class, they should be well covered with long, black, silky hair. * * * The white should be confined to four white feet, a white spot between the eyes, and a few white hairs behind each shoulder." PREMIUM ESSAY. BT iL. B iiliLEN. THE OEIGINAIi BEEED OF BEEKSHIKE SWINE " Tradition, and the earliest published accounts of what has long been particularly distinguished by the name of Berkshire swine, represents them, down to about a century since, as among the largest breeds of England, weighing, full grown, from 700 to 1,000 pounds, or more. The ' Complete Grazier ' describes one, in 1807, as weighing 113 stone, (904 lbs.) This was exhibited, with others, by Sir "William Curtis, at the cattle show of Lord Somer- ville, in that year. Johnson, in his ' Farmers' EncyclopEedia,' London, 1842, says that they weighed at that time from 50 to 100 Btone (400 to 800 lbs. The latter of these, doubtless, were of the improved breed. " Originally, they were represented as being generally of a buff, sandy, or reddish-brown color, spotted with black, occasionally tawny or white spotted in the same manner. They were coarse in the bone ; head rather large, with heavy flop ears ; broad on the • Sidney's "Touatt on the Pig," London, 186Q. 48 BWINB HUSBANDET. back ; deep in the chest ; flat-sided, and long in the body ; thick and heavy in both shoulders and hams ; well let down in the twist ; bristles and long curly hair, with rather short, strong legs. Their meat was better marbled than that of any other breed of swine in Griat Britain— that is, had a greater proportion of lean freely in- termixed with fine streaks of fat, which makes it much more tender and juicy than it would otherwise be. They were conse- quently, from time immemorial, preferred to all other swine there, for choice hams, shoulders, and bacon. They were slow feeders, and did not ordinarily mature till two and a half to three years old. " It is thus that I find the Berkshire hog figured and described in the earliest English publications to which I have been able, thus far, to obtain access. But in the second volume of the mag- nificent folio edition, illustrated with colored plates, now lying before me, of ' The Breeds of the Domestic Animals of the Brit- ish Islands,' by Professor David Low, published in London, in 1842, is a portrait of a Berkshire as I have described above, except being of rounder body and somewhat finer in all his points, with ears like most of those of modern breeding, medium in size, and erect, instead of flopping. This portrait is of a sandy or reddish- brown color, spotted with black ; the feet and legs for nearly their whole length, white, slightly streaked on the sides and behind, with reddish-brown. It, of course, represents one of the oH breed con- siderably improved, and marked as I occasionally found them in all my visits to Berkshire down to 1867. But the pigs which I saw thus marked were of the same size and shape, and as fine in all their points, as a general run of the black, slate, or plum colors of the present day. "FOEMATIOK OP THE IMPKOVED BEEKSHIEB SWINE. " Tradition tells us that this was made by a cross of the black, or deep plum- colored Siamese boar, on the old unimproved Berkshire sows. Other traditions assert that the black and white spotted, and even pure white Chinese boar was also sparingly used to assist in the same purpose. I can well believe this ; for I often saw Bwlne in Berkshire spotted, about half and half black and white, in addition to the reddish-brown, or buff and black, and so on al- most up to the pure plum color or black. The produce of the above cross or crosses was next bred together, and by judicious subsequent selections, the improved breed, as we now find it, be- came, in due time, fixed and permanent in all its desirable points. " Another feature, aside from the half and half black and white ipots hitherto occasionally found to mark the improved Berkshire TETE BKKEBBIBES. 49 swine, which may be adduced in support of the supposition of a sparing cross with the white and light spotted Chinese, is the shape of the jowls. All these which I have bred in my piggery, or im- ported at different tunes direct from China, or have seen elsewhere, had much fuller and fatter jowls than the Siamese. Some of the breeders of England preferred the fat jowls, because carrying the most meat ; others the leaner, as they said this gave their stock a finer and higher bred look in the head. "the SIAMESE SWINE. "In the same volume of Professor Low, which contains the Berkshire portrait as described above, is a colored plate of a Siam- ese sow. She is a dark-slate, varying to that of a rich plum color. The two hind feet are white ; the fore legs and feet white, shaded in front with plum. The face is dished ; head fine, with short erect ears ; shoulders and hams extra large ; back broad, with a deep, round, and longish body. The sow is represented with a slightly swayed or hollow back, at which we need not wonder, considering its length, and that she has a litter of nine great fat pigs tugging away at her dugs. These, Professor Low says, were got by a half- bred Chinese boar, which, I presume, from the color of the pigs, was white; for some of them were pure white, while others are mixed with slate, or ^lum and white, and one is a buff, with black spots, like the original Berkshire. " I will now describe the Siamese swine, such as I possessed and bred for several years on my farm. They varied in color from deep rich plum to dark-slate and black ; had two to three white feet, but no white on the legs or other parts of the body. The head was short and fine, with a dished face, and rather thin jowls ; ears short, slender, and erect ; shoulders and hams round, smooth, and extra large ; back broad and somewhat arched, except in sows heavy with pig or suckling pigs, but even then it was straight rather than swayed ; body of moderate length, deep, well ribbed up, and nearly as round as a barrel ; chest deep and broad ; twist well let down ; legs fine and short ; tail very slender and well set, with a handsome curl in it near the rump ; hair soft, silky, and thin ; no bristles even on the boars ; skin thin and of a dark hue, yet when scalded, scraped white ; flesh firm, sweet, and very tender, with less lean than in the Berkshire. Although so compact, round and smooth in build, they had a fine, high-bred, up-headed style, espe- cially in their walk, which instantly attracted the attention of all who called to see them. They were moderately prolific, and as 3 60 BWINK HUSBANDBT. hardy as any other breed of swine I ever kept, the extremes of heat and cold never injuring them. They were gentle in disposi- tion, very quiet, and easily kept, and would partially fatten on good pasture, or coarse, raw vegetables. They could be made fit for the butcher at any age ; matured at 13 to 15 mouths old ; and ■when fully fattened, generally weighed from 250 to 300 pounds, occasionally going to 350, or 400 pounds. They had very fine bones and light offal. " It was, doubtless, with Siamese boars as perfect as I have de- scribed, that the cross was made on the original Berkshire sows, which has contributed so largely to the formation of the Improved breed, held in such high estimation for a full century or more past. " WHEir WAS THE CROSS FIRST MADE ? " Several aged men in different parts of Berkshire, of whom I inquired on my first visit to England, in 1841, informed me that they had known there improved swine of the same type as I then found them, from earliest childhood. But the most particular, and apparently reliable, account I was able to obtain, was from Mr. Westbrook, of Pinckney Green, Bysham. who told me tliat his father possessed them as early as the year 1780, in as great perfec- tion as the best then existing in the country. Thus it will be seen that the improvement is now at least a century old, and more prob- ably a century and a quarter; for it would have taken some years back of 1780 to begin a new breed of swine, and get it up to a fixed type at that period. " CHARACTBKISTICS OF THE BEST OF THE IMPROVED BERKSHIRE SWINE AT THIS TIME. " Snout and head fine and rather short, but larger in proportion to the body in the male than in the female, and with a bolder and more determined expression ; face dished and broad between the eyes; jowls full or thinner, according to the fancy of the breeder; eyes bright and expressive ; ears small, thin, and upright, or inclin- ing their points a little forward ; neck short, rather full in the throat, and harmoniously swelling to the shoulders ; chest broad and deep ; back broad and moderately arched ; rump nearly level with it ; well let down in the twist : body of good length and depth, round, with well sprung ribs, and straight along the sides and under the belly ; shoulders, above all, in the boar, extra thick, yet sloping smoothly to the body; hams broad, round, deep, and so thick through from side to side, particularly in the sow and bar- row, that, standing directly behind, except when pretty fat, tb« TBB BEBKSHIBES. 51 Bides of the body are scarcely seen between them and the shoul- ders ; legs fine, strong, of moderate length, and set rather wide apart; feet small, with clear, tough hoofs; tail slender and well set, with a handsome curl near the rump ; bones fine and of an ivory-like grain and hardness ; oflFal very light in comparison to weight of carcass ; hair fine, soft, and silky ; no bristles, even on the boar ; skin thin and mellow, with elastic handling of the flesh beneath ; quick and spirited in movement ; stylish in carriage, and, in the boar, more especially, bold and imposing in presence. "COLOR AND MAEKING. " The most favorite color among the best breeders in Berkshire, in 1841, was a deep rich plum, with a slight flecking on the body of white, or a little mingling with it of buff; a small blaze in the face ; two to four feet white, and more or less white hair in the tail. The plum color was preferred to the black or slate, because it car- ried rather higher style and finer points with it, a superior quality of flesh, softer hair, and thinner skin. " The above is no ideal description of choice improved Berkshire swine, for I found several such in traversing the country, and pur- chased and sent them home, to grace my own piggery. Nor, with all these points, were they lacking in size ; and to substantiate this assertion, I will here note the dimensions of one of those I im- ported at this time, which I called ' Windsor Castle,' he having been bred and reared near that magnificent royal residence, stand- ing in Berkshire. " As he lay down he measured, in a direct line along the side, from the tip of his nose to the end of his rump, six feet three and a half inches. If measured standing up, with his head stooping towards the ground, by running the tape line from the tip of his nose over the head between the ears, and along the back to the end of the rump, as swine are often measured, it would have made upwards of seven feet long ; but I do not consider this a fair way of measuring. Hight to top of the shoulder, two feet eleven inches ; hight to top of rump, three feet ; girth close iDehind the shoulders, five feet six Inches. He was in rather lean condition when I measured him, as I kept him so in order not to be too heavy to serve small sows. It is well known that when a Berk- shire is fully fed", in addition to the meat on his sides, he lay s two to four inches more on his back. I am confident if ' Windsor Castle ' had been altered to a barrow, and fully fattened, he would then have measured three feet and two inches high to top of shoulder, and three feet three inches high to top of rump; would hav* 52 SWINE IIUSBANDBT. girthed around the heart seven feet, and weighed, dressed, at least eight hundred pounds. He was as fine in hair and all his points, and as good a handler as the choicest of those of smaller size ; and for a combination of size, style, vigor, and noble presence, he exceeded anything I ever saw or ever expect to see in the genus Sus. A friend of mine, who was a special nice judge and breeder of horses and cattle, but who hated hogs, and would go as far to kick one as the celebrateJ lata John Randolph, of Roanoke, Virginia, was in the habit of declaring ho would go to kick a sheep ; on visiting my piggery and seeing ' Windsor Castle,' was so surprised and delighted with his superb appearance, that he exclaimed he was the only one of tbis sort of stock he had ever looked upon which had any poetry in him, and that for his sake i.lone he should henceforth be reconciled to swine. "SIZE OP THE IMPKOVED BERKSHIRE. " I have heard of tfiose, both in England and America, whose dead weight, dressed, occasionally exceeded 800 lbs.; but at the time I first visited the former country, the general weight, full grown, was about the same as at the present time — namely, from 300 to 600 lbs.; according as the smaller or larger pigs were selected from the litters for fattening, and as they were subse- quently fed and attended. The smaller sizes matured several months the quickest, and were preferred in the markets for fresh pork ; and for curing also, for those who were particularly nice in the choice of their meat, being rather more tender and delicate than the larger animals. "QUALITY OE MEAT. " The meat of the improved Berkshire, like that of the unim- proved, abounds in a much greater proportion of sweet, tender, juicy lean, well marbled with very fine streaks of fat, than other breeds of swine; but the former is far more delicate now, than the latter ever was. This renders the whole carcass the most suit- able of all for smoking. The hams and shoulders are almost entirely lean, a thin rim of fat covering only the outside. "maturity. " The improved Berkshire could be fattened at any age. Bar- rows matured in 12 to 18 months, according as selected from the litters, whether the largest or smallest, and as subsequently fed and treated. It took boars and sows jeserved for breeding about six months longer to get their fullest size and weight, not being THB BERKSHIBES. 53 pushed by high feed so rapidly as those destined for more imme- diate slaughter. " EARLIEST IMPORTATIONS INTO AMERICA. " The first importation into the country, of which I find record, ■was made in 1823, by Mr. John Brentnall, an English farmer who settled in English Neighborhood, New Jersey. I became acquaint- ed with his sons after their removal to Orange county. New York, and purchased of them stock descended from this importation. "The next were imported in 1833, by Mr. Siday Hawes, an English farmer who settled in Albany, New York. He subse- quently made other importations, some of the descendants of all which I added to the stock on my farm. " I have heard that by the year 1838, a few followed into Canada and some of the Western States, from England. I bought a small lot that came into western New York in 1839 ; and late that year, Messrs. Bagg & Wait, English farmers who" had settled in Orange county. New York, began their large importation, which they con- tinued for several years, disposing of them mainly in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, and the South. In 1841 I selected in Berk- shire, England, and imported into New York, upwards of forty head of the choicest of the Improved Breed of swine I could find there. The above have been followed by numerous other impor- tations down to the present time, both into the United States and Canada. Those curious as to the particulars of these will find them pretty fully recorded in the various Ag.Ticultural journals of America. * * * * "ADVAKTAGB IS MAIKTAINING THE BERKSHIRE BREED, " There is a growing taste on the part of the American people, coinciding with that which has been cultivated a long time in Europe, for tender, juicy, well marbled, smoked hams, shoulders, and side pieces, in preference to very fat, salt pork. This should be encouraged, as the former are not only the more palatable to persons in general, but are unquestionably the most healthy food. Considering these facts, the Berkshire, above all others, 'should be the favorite swine among us ; and we ought to take all possible pains in breeding, rearing, and fattening them in such a manner as to make a superior quality of smoked meat, not only for the home, but also for the foreign market. "Improved methods of curing and packing should likewise be adopted, so as to enable us to get as high a price in the English market as the best Irish bacon commands. This, I find often quoted 20 to 30 per cent above American. 54 SWINE HUSBANDET. " Indian corn, which in the United States grows in such abund- ance, is undoubtedly superior to anything which can be produced in Ireland, for making the best quality of /a« porh; but I have heard this questioned as to harm and bacon. Some feeders contend that fine, mealy potatoes, cooked and mixed with barley, oats, peas, or beans, or several of these, fed together, will produce a superior quality of bacon. This is a matter worth inquiring into, and I would suggest an earnest consideration of it on the part of our feeders, and of those engaged also in bacon curing and packing. The Irish have one advantage over the Americans, in the English market ; and that is in being so much nearer to it, they can cure their bacon and offer it on sale in a fresher and milder state than we are able to at present. If we should, on triil, hereafter find that it can be sent forward at a profit, in refrigerators, kept down to a low and even temperature, we could then probably obtain as high prices in the English market as do the Irish, and thus add another desirable item to the exports of America." CHAPTER VI. THE SUFFOLKS. The Suffolks are not raised pure, or used as a cross in the principal pork producing States so extensively as seT- eral other breeds, nor are they so well known to a major- ity of farmers, who have a belief, if not positive knowl- edge, that they are somewhat delicate, and difficult to raise. The objections to them are, that they are not large enough, not satisfactory as breeders and nurses, and that their skins are too tender, and thinly haired, to withstand the exposure to which the ayerage farmer's hogs are sub- jected. As to size, the best strains of Suffolks are large enough for those who prefer to raise hogs of medium weights, while for quietness, and easy keeping qualities, no breed THB SUrPOLKS. S5 66 SWINE HUSBANDBT. of swine can excel them, and to those who like pets, we would recommend a cleanly-kept Suffolk pig in prefer- ence to any " poodle," or other diminutive canine, we ever saw. The sows are hot so prolific, so regular as breeders, nor usually so good sucklers as others that ma- ture less early, and not so predisposed to excessive fatness while young. Experience with the SufEolks has convinced many that the wind, sun, and mud, make sad work with their tender, papery skins, and we have seen them, when reasonably well kept, become chapped and cracked all over, and tie smaller pigs so mangy and sore as to present the appear- ance of a solid scab. Of course, all Suffolks are not so affected, and we think that in many localities, they are no more liable to suffer in this way than hogs of any other white breed. The climate of some Western and South- western States is unmistakably severe on white hogs, not well haired, and when such are constantly exposed to biting frosts, drying winds, and scorching sun, the re- sults will, in most cases, be anything but satisfactory, and the balance will be found on the wrong side of the ledger. As now bred, we cannot look upon them as a reason- ably profitable hog for general use, but Suffolk boars can be used to good advantage on many farms where white hogs are preferred, and more refinement is desired. The Hon. John Wentworth, of Cook county, Illinois, having bred the Suffolks, exclusively, for upwards of twenty years, owning many of the finest in the world, and being, after'this long experience, an enthusiastic ad^ mirer of them,* we solicited his estimate of them as a farmer's hog, and he gives the following in reply : " After trying careiFuUy all the other breeds, we give the prefer- ence to the Suffolks, and we think all others will who try them aii long and as impartially as we have. They make the most pork witli the least food, aud with the least bone. They are the quietest THE SOTFOLK.B. 57 hogs. Give them enough to eat and they -will never leave the premises. They lie down and remain so until they want more food. They make the least oflFal of any hogs, and they root about the least, even when short of food. For crossing upon other hogs, they have decidedly the preference. Their cross upon the largest white sows make the best of Chester Whites. Their crosses upon the largest black, or speckled sows, make the equals of Berkshires, Magies, Polands, Poland-Chinas, Essex, Byfleld, and other dark- colored breeds. " Indeed, with a judicious crossing of the Suffolk boar upon the ordinaiy cheap hogs of the country, you can closely imitate any existing breed of hogs, or make a breed of any form you please. "It is a remarkable fact that the Chesters, Berkshires, Magies, Polands, Poland-Chinas, Essex, Byfields, etc., etc., as well as the later formed breeds that have taken the most prizes, have been manufactured in this way, from the Suffolks, which are the oldest breed known to man. Our Suffolks are well haired, and run in our pastures and barn -yards with our cattle, sheep, geese, ducks, and chickens. They are as quiet and harmless as any animals we keep. As the Suffolk is not a new breed, nor re- cently made up from unknown crosses, but a long-established Eng- lish variety, it is therefore a true breeder. In them thei'e is no breeding back to the original common or made-up stock. Their litters are not part of one kind and part of another, but they are uniformly true to the Suffolk characteristics. They breed even, each pig as good as another. ***** During the season of grass they will keep fat without any other food. Suffolk pork costs less and brings more money than any other. " Suffolks are the most popular breed in England. The Suffolk attains maturity at an early age, and may always be in a condition to kill from the time they are a month old. The carcasses com- mand a considerable extra price over the common hogs of the country, partly on account of tlie greater weight in proportion to the bone, and partly from the pork being of better quality and flavor. It derives its well-known name, " the English nobleman'i hog," from the fact that it is always in a condition to be killed, however suddenly company comes. " The object of the farmer is to get the most meat to the least tone, the most valuable matter in the hog upon the same food to the least portion of the valueless matter. The Suffolk may be small, compared with mammoth breeds, but he contains as much that is eatable aa laoat hogs of double his weight, and which 58 SwrWK ausBANDKT. consume four times his food. But the Suffolk can be made of superior size by keeping off its flesh until the bones are properly developed, and this development cannot take place vyhilst the young bones are overladen with flesh, as those of over-fatted Suf- folks are apt to be. But, owing to their short legs, they weigh much more than is generally supposed. The Suffolks never root up their pastures, nor make enemies of neighbors by wandering away from home, or by breaking into their premises. The Suffolks are invariably white, except now and then one wUl have two or three bluish spots. These bluish spots, on the sldn, but never in the hair, unlike those found upon any other hogs, indicate purity of blood and recent importation. " We started out in 1855 with Suffolks descended from the pens of Lord Wenlock and Mr. Crisp, of England ; and we can safely say that we have bred from every importation into the United States and the Provinces since ; and we intend to keep up our stock by importing ourselves and availing ourselves of the impor- tations of others. We have sold Suffolks into every State and Territory, the Empire of Japan, the Sandwich islands, the British Provinces, and Mexico. " The following statement will explain how persons who annu- ally ship large quantities of hogs to Chicago view the cliaracter- istics of the Suffolk. When we first began to breed Suffolks, and there were no railroads in the country, hog raisers would only buy boars and raise half-breeds to drive. As railroads approached them they would raise three-quarters blooded to drive.. As rail- roads would reach them, and they had little or np distance to drive, they have bought Suffolk sows as well as boars, and raised full-bloods." Mr. Wentworth, in a communication to the " Prairie Farmer," says : / " I read, with great interest, the report of the committee at the late Swine Breeders' Association upon the characteristics of the Suffolk hogs. I have had them exclusively for the past eighteen years, and my sales will average one hundred every year for the past ten years, and I think I have had all the importations repre- ■ sented in my herd. "While I commend the general correctness of the report, I would state that there is one characteristic that was not only not alluded to by the committee, but it was rather repudiated ■ in the following worcto, -free from spots or any other color.' Now THE STJITOLKS. 59 there is a liability in all Suflfblks to have round blliish spots upon their skins, although covered with white bristles, and these spots seem to increase with age. My present boar was selected for me by Mr. Harison, Secretary of the New York State Agricultural ^ Society. When he arrived, aged about six months, he was spot less, and so continued until about two years of age, and then bluish spots of the size of an old-fashioned silver dollar commenced growmg upon him. Now, at four years of age, he has about twenty of them, although the bristles covering them are white. Of course," these spots are exceptions, not one in ten having them, and very few inside of one year old ; yet there is a tendency to them and no hog should be rejected as a pure SuflFolk on their ac- count. These spots are easily detected from black spots. " At one of the State Pairs at Chicago^ one of my boars not only took the first premium as the best Suffolk, but the sweepstake prize as the best boar of any age or breed upon the ground. . He had several of these spots upon him at that time, although having none until he was a year old., I notice t'-iesa bluish spots occasionally upon hogs at the stock yards, which have, in all respects, charac- teristics of the Suffolks. " A correspondent of yours, ■yvhilst. finding fault with the size of the Suffolk, thinks they are the best for crossing upon other hogs. I have found this to be the invariable opinion of men who want a breed of hogs of their own, independent of 'iverybody else. Wherever they start, whatever may be their groundwork, before they get through making their new breed of hogs they invaiiably incorporate somewhere a cross of the Suffolk. " Your paper says that tour hundred is the profitable size of the hog. The Suffolks can easily be made to weigh this amount, by feeding them lightly until their legs have acquired sufficient strength to support their weight of carcass. The inferior weight attributed so often to Suffolks arises entirely from overfeeding them when young." Mr. Williain Smith, of Detroit, Michigan, has long occupied a front rank ais a breeder of these hogs, and is familiar with them and their breeding, in England, as well as America, and his testimony is this : "Having bred tbei Suffolks continually for over f prfy years, I can safely assert that they are a great favorite with me. 1 find in the improved breed nothing to condemn, and everything to comr mend. They attain good size at an early age, and their quiet 60 SWINE HUSBANDET. pleasant disposition, clean, snow-white appearance, and handsomfl form, are very desirable features in connection with their many other good qualities, not the least of which is the comparative small amount of food they require. " The Suffolks are rapidly gaining in favor, and wherever intro- duced give good satisfactio.i. Tjey are quite hardy and thrive in almost any climate that any of their species will, from the most northern part of Canada to southern Missouri and California. We know that they flourish and give satisfaction, as hundreds of my customers can testify. " Canada, Michigan, New York, parts of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, and other States, are rapidly becoming stocked with them, and in my opinion it will not be many years before they become "the hog" of the country. There is no possible question about their being the very best thoroughJbred for improving the common or native breeds, and for this quality alone they would be entitled to a front rank in the list of valuable breeds." The Keport adopted by the "National Convention of Swine Breeders" on Suffolk swine, is as follows : "Mr. Sidney says: Yorkshire stands in the first rank as a pig breeding county, possessing the largest white breed in England as well as an excellent medium and small breed, all white, the last of which, transplanted i.ito t'le south, has flijured and won prizes under the names of divers noblemen and gentlemen, and in more than one county. The Yorkshires arc closely allied with the Cumberland breeds, and have been so much intermixed that, with the exception of the very largest breeds, it is diflJcult to tell where the Cumberland begins and where the Yorkshire ends. It will be enough to say, for the present, that the modern Manchester boar, the improved Suffolk, the improved Middlesex, the Colcsbill, and the Prince Albert or Windsor, were all founded on Yorkshu'e- Cumberland stock, and some of them are merely pure Yorkshkes transplanted and re-christcned. Speaking of pigs kept in the dairy district of Cheshire, he says, • white pigs have not found favor with the dairymen of Cheshu-e, and the white ones most u.ied are Manchester boars, another name for the Yorkshire-Cumberland breed.' He siys, in another place, and all t'le authors who have followed him, down to the latest published work on the subject, occupy space in describino: various county pigs, which have long ceased to possess, if ever they pos- sessed, any merit worthy of the attention of the breeder. Thus THE STJPFOLKS. 61 the Norfolk, the SuflFolk, the Bedford, the Cheshire, have each separate notice, not one of which, except the Suflfblk, is worthy of cultivation, and the Suffolk is only another name for a small Yorkshire pig. " CHAEACTERISTICS AND MAKKINGS OP SUFFOLKS. " Head small, very short ; cheeks prominent and full ; face dished ; snout small and very short ; jowl fine ; ears short, small, thin, upright, soft, and silky ; neck very short and thick, the head appearing almost as if set on front of shoulders ; no arching of crest ; chest wide and deep — elbows standing out ; brisket wide but not deep ; shoulders thick, rather upright, rounding outwards from top to elbow ; crops wide and full ; sides and flanks, long ribs, well arched out from back, good length be- tween ; shoulders and hams, flank well filled out, and coming well down at ham ; back broad, level, and straight from crest to tail, no falling off or down at tail ; hams wide and full, well rounded out, twist very wide and full all the way down ; legs small and very short, standing wide apart, in sows just keeping belly from the ground ; bone fine ; feet small, hoofs rather spreading ; tail small, long, and tapering ; skin thin, of a pinkish shade, free from color ; hair fine and silky, not too thick ; color of hair pale yellowish white, perfectly free from any spots or other color ; size small to medium." Since about 1883 several gentlemen, particularly in Eastern States, have taken much interest in what are designated as "Small Yorkshires." They are uent little white hogs, with wonderfully short, dished faces, and so much like the Suffolks that some persons who raise both confess they can scarcely distinguish them apart. Their similarity is so great that, as a matter of fact, a Suffolk makes a very good small Yorkshire, and vice verm. 62 SWIITE nUSBANDBT. CHAPTER VII. THE ESSEX. The Essex breed of swine is comparatively unknown among the general farmers of the Mississippi Valley, and we have no knowledge of their being raised in any con- siderable numbers for pork. Still, in some localities, they are bred in a limited way — more, perhaps, in Ken- tucky, than elsewhere — and we have never encountered a person who had once tried them, who did not place a high estimate on their value as a small breed, and especially on the boars to use for crossing on sows of larger breeds. They seem to be essentially the same as the SufEolks, except in their black color, and less liability to skin dis- eases, which would in a majority of cases make them the favorites over their white competitors. We think there is small probability that the Essex swine, as now bred, will ever become the prevailing breed, from the fact that they are of a siaaller class of hogs than most farmers care to raise, or packers to buy and handle, and we deem it improbable that the next fifty or one hundred years will witness the raising of smaller swine, generally, than the Berkshires, and it is tnore than likely that, in the future, the happy medium will be an animal in size between the best modeled small- boned Berkshire and the coarser Poland-Chinas of the present time. Just here, perhaps, is a fitting place to remark — and we do so after full deliberation — that the party who can exhibit at the next Centennial Exposition any better feed- ing hogs, or those better suited for general purposes than a cross between the two last-named breeds, will have 6ome stock to be very proud of. THE ESSEX. 63 md } ml V-.l',>.(l. '',!'/ |\ MfTV 64 SWINB HUSBANDKT. Sidney's "Youatt on the Pig," (London, 1860), says: " Early maturity, and an excellent quality of flesh, are among the merits of the improved Essex. * » * " The defect of the improved Essex is a certain delicacy, prob- ably arising from their southern descent, and an excessive aptitude to fatten, which, unless carefully counteracted by exercise and diet, often diminishes the fertility of the sows, and causes difiBI- culty in rearing the young. "As before observed, they are invaluable as a cross, being sure to give quality and early maturity to any breed, and especially valuable when applied to a black breed, where porkers arc required. For this purpose they have been extensively and successfully used, in all the black pig districts of this country, [Great Britain,] where, as well as in France and Germany, and in the United States, they have superseded the use of the imported Neapolitan and Chinese. " Many attempts, on a limited ssalo, to perpetuate the breed pure, have been unsatisfactory, because it is too pure to stand in-and-in breeding. They require much care when young. " In the sows, the paternal fattening properties are apt to over- balance the milking qualities, and make them bad nurses. * * * "The improved Essex are ranked amongst the small breeds, and there they are most profitable ; but exceptional specimens have been exhibited at agricultural shows in the classes for large breeds." Mr. Wm. Smith (before quoted under Suffolks) breedL the Essex extensively, near Detroit, Mich., and writes of them thus : " This is a breed that will be appreciated in proportion as it becomes known. Their characteristics are almost identical with those of the Suffolks, except that the Suffolks are a pure white, while the Essex are a beautiful jet black. This is always the case, and any mixture of color, in either, is inadmissible. The style, form, size, disposition, and feeding qualities are similar in the im- proved breeds ; and the pork of the Essex will dress as white as any, if rightly managed. Although they are considered one of the oldest established breeds, yet there have been frequent and marked improvements within the past fifty years, — not the least of which has been reached during the present decade. " To Lord "Western, of Mark's Hall, Essex, England, is given the credit for their first great improvement, or I misht say, of being the originator of the present type, though it was much inferior to 66 SWINB HUSBANDRY. know of none that will giye better satisfaction than the Essex." OHAEACTEKISTICS AND MAEKINGS OF ESSEX. The report adopted by the Convention of Swine Breeders, of characteristics of this breed, is as follows : " The Essex is a black hog, originating in the south of England. They are of small to medium in size, and are extensively used in England to cross on the large, coarse swine, to improve their fattening qualities. " The best specimens may be known as follows : Color black ; face short and dishing ; ears small, soft, and stand erect while young, but coming down somewhat as they get age ; carcass long, broad, straight, and deep ; ham heavy and well let down ; bone fine ; carcass, when fat, composed mostly of lard ; hair, ordinarily rather thin. The fattening qualities being very superior As breeders they are very prolific, and are fair nurses." Since the foregoing was prepared, we have received from Mr. E. W. Cottrell, of Greenfield, Mich., the fol- lowing, under date of December 15th, 1876 : " Yes ; I will cheerfully give you my estimate of the Essex, and will premise by saying, that during my expe- rience in breeding and managing thorough-bred pigs for the past ten years, I have, some of the time, exceeded a a thousand choice animals of the improved breeds, in- cluding the Essex in considerable numbers, which has given me an opportunity to compare and experiment upon their relative merits, under the same and different treat- ment, alongside of each other. I also have intimate knowledge of the experience of a gentleman who has bred these pigs, with others, for the past forty years, both in this country and in England. " As a result of this experience, I can say that, in my estimation, they take rank among the best. " The Essex are as distinct from all other types as it is THE ESSEX. 67 possible for one breed to differ from another, and still possess the principal Taluable features belonging to the species. In form, quality, and disposition, they more nearly resemble the Suffolk than any other breed, and, ia fact, there is a similarity between them in this respect. "In the improved breed, the style, form, color, size, disposition, and general characteristics, are very uniform. They are certainly a standard breed, and one of the old- est established. Mr. William Smith, of Detroit, has been the most extensive importer and breeder of them that I know, and they have always been favorites with him, both here and in England, where he has successfully competed with the most noted breeders. His thorough knowledge and experience has enabled him to give the breed a still higher value than they possessed, even be- fore. " They mature early, their meat is excellent, and a year, at most, should suffice to feed them to the most profitable condition for pork ; which is one of their mer- its, and when fat, the carcass should yield a large propor- tion of lard. " They are invariably black ; should have a short, dished face ; soft, fine, ears when young, though with age they will begin to grow heavier, and droop somewhat. The body should be of medium length, broad, deep and straight ; with a heavy ham, well let down, and bone fine, but strong enough to support the carcass in good style. When in condition, the proportions should always be symmetrical and pleasing ; medium, well-haired, with a fine and comparatively soft coat. " They possess powers of transmitting to their progeny an excess of their own good qualities, when crossed upon common and coarser swine, and the first cross upon our natives will improve their qualities, almost beyond recog- nition. Excepting the Suffolks, there is no breed that can compare with them for this purpose. 68 SWINB HUSBANDBT. " As breeders and nurses, they are very fair, though not equal to bhe Berkshires. In fact, all thorough -bred animals, as they become refined, or 'high bred,' lessen their fecund propensities to a greater or less extent ; but ordinarily, with good management, no serious difficulty need be experienced on this point with well bred Essex. It is essential, however, that the brood sows be matured, and not permitted to become too fat, which latter is often apt to be the case, with good feed and treatment. " Good pasture, with plenty of water, will keep them in ample condition for breeding, throughout the whole grazing season. In fact, I have known them to come out of a good clover field in the fall, ' killing fat,' without having had any other feed. They are good graziers, and have the advantage over some of the more tender-skinned white hogs, of being able to withstand, (at any age, how- ever young,) the hottest suu of July or August, without having their backs or skin in the least affected, and they are never known to scald or mange. " The young pigs of the Essex are usually more deli- cate than those of the coarser breeds, and will often ap- pear quite inferior to the latter, at the same age, up to eight or ten weeks, when they will begin to shoot ahead, and 'show their breeding.' This is not always the case, but often is, and I attribute it to the mothers not being such good milkers as some other kinds. It seems to be their nature to run to fat rather than milk. " I have no trouble in successfully breeding my Essex, and almost invariably find purchasers well satisfied, and thenceforth advocates of the breed. "In my opinoin, though they may never become so . popular as some, they will still be a valuable standarc*. breed." TOBKBHIBES. 09 OHAPTEE VIII. YORKSHIRES.— CHESHIRE8, OR JEFFERSON COUNTY SWINE, OF NEW" YORK.— LANCA8HIRES.— VICTO- RIAS.— NEAP0LITANS.-JER8EY REDS.— DUR0C8. The breeds of swine named above are so little known by the general farmers of the country, that such merits as they have are overlooked and neglected. Unlike the more prominent breeds, the information to be obtained respecting them is quite meagre. We have been unable to find anything of much im- portance, or that would be deemed more authentic than the reports made to, and adopted by the National Con- vention of Swine Breeders, held at Indianapolis, Novem- ber 20th, 1872. TOEKSHIEES. We have never met in the West, at fairs or elsewhere, a distinct breed of swine known as Yorkshires, nor have we conversed with any one having any positive practical knowledge of them, but submit the report on this breed as presented to the Convention at Indianapolis : Professor Jones, of Iowa; Jacob Kennedy, and I. N. Barker, of Indiana, in their Report on Yorkshires have the following : * * * * " Theii- color and characteristics have been traced, in a greater or less degree, into every popular breed of swine which has been made up or attempted to be' established as thorough-bred, either in the United States or England ; indeed, we might say, into every breed, save the Essex, or Neapolitan, imported by Lord West- ern. These were the only pure bred black hogs of which we have any account, either in this country or the old. And we think it may safely be said of these white hogs, that they are the only pure and distinct breed of hogs or pigs, save the black, that are now bred on this continent. Do not understand us as contending that all black and all white hogs are thorough or pure bred ; but that all breeds in this country of mixed colors are what their color indicates — are mixed or cross bred, hence not pure and distinct 70 SWINE HDSBANDBT. 72 SWINE HTJSBANDBT. Tery small, straight, and smooth, measuring below the knee but six inches in circumference. The surface of her body, jowl, and legs, was smooth, and free from ridges and creases, and well covered with a short, smooth coat of white hair. This, we think, might be taken as a fair description of all thorough-bred animals of this stock. It seems to be in this country, as it is said to be in England, in almost every way a middle breed. We know of no breed of hogs in this country but what might in some degree be improved by crossing occasionally with the thorough-bred Yorkshire, which has been bred pure in this countrj' since 1860. We have seen whole neighborhoods and districts where the swine were nearly all lop- eared, rough-skinned, black, sandy, and spotted white or blue, where, in a few years, by introducing a few of these pure blooded white hogs, the general stock was made white, given erect ears, and skin made smooth. Such a result cannot be attained by Ches- ter Whites alone, but it can be accomplished by the thorough-bred Yorkshire. They are so thorough-bred and positive that they carry their own color when crossed with almost any other breed, even if it is entirely black. Hence it is difficult to find a breed of swine in this age of their improvement, in which the white York- shire does not crop out in some particular. And again, the pure white Yorkshire and the black Essex, or Neapolitan, may be bred together in such a way as to duplicate the color of any other breed of hogs to be found among us. And hence we claim the white Yorkshire, as now established in this country and England, is the most thorough-bred hog known. The Yorkshires are the most valu- able swine to breed from or to cross with that we have ever met with in this country ; and for these reasons : 1. They are of a size, shape, and flesh, thr.t are desirable for the family or the packer's use. 3. They have a hardy, vigorous constitution, and a good coat of hair prbtecting the skin so well, either in extreme cold or hot weather, that it rarely freezes or blisters. 3. They are very quiet, and good graziers ; they feed well and fatten quickly at any age. 4 They are very prolific and good mothers, and the young never vary in color, and so little in shape that their form, when matured, may be determined in advance by an inspection of the sire and dam. This we have learned by a practical experience of many years in breeding, slaughtering, packing, and consuming. " ' The Yorkshire medium or middle breed,' in the words of Mr. Sydney, ' is a modern invention of Yorkshire pig-breeders, and perhaps the most useful and the most popular of the white breeds, ■s it unites, in a striking degree, the good qualities of the large and the small. It has been produced by a cross of the large and CHESHIRE, OB JEPPEESON CO. SWINE. 73 the small York and the Cumberland, which is larger than the small York. Like the large ■whites, they often have a few pale-blue spots on the skin, the hair on these spots being white. All white breeds have these spots more or less, and they often increase in number 83 the animals grow older. * * * * " The middle Yorkshire breed are about the same size as the Berkshire breed, but have smaller heads, and are much lighter In the bone. They are better breeders than the small whites, but not so good as the large whites ; in fact, they occupy a position in every respect between the two breeds. Hence their size can be increased or diminished without crosses with any other breed or color." CHESHIEB, OR JEFFBESON COTJN'TT SWIKB OF NEW TOEK. The following was adopted by the Swine Breeders' Convention, of 1873, as the report upon this breed : " These hogs originated in Jefferson county, New York, and it is claimed by some of the breeders that they started from a pair of pigs bought of Mr. Woolford, of Albany, New York, which, were called Cheshires. However that may be, there is no such distinct breed of hogs known as Cheshires, in England, and there is no record of any hogs of this name having been imported into this country. " Yorkshires have been imported into Jefferson county from time to time, and the so-called Cheshires have been improved by crossing with their best hogs bought in Canada. Mr. A. C. Clark, of Henderson, was, for a number of years, a prominent breeder of these pigs, and he informed us that whenever he found a pig bet- ter than those he owned, he purchased it and crossed it upon his own stock. In this way this family of hogs have been produced, and they are now known and bred in many portions of the United States. Their breeding in Jefferson county has diminished during the last two or three years. " They are pure white, with a very thin skin of pmk color, with little hair ; are not uniform in this respect, as pigs in the same lit- ter differ widely in the amount of hair ; the snout is often long, but very slender and fine; the jowls are plump and the ears erect, fine and thin ; the shoulders are wide, and the hams full; the flesh of these hogs is fine-grained, and they are commended on account of the extra amount of mess pork in proportion to the amount of offal ; the tails of the pigs frequently drop off when young." 4 iy4 SWtNB HtTSBANDKT. Under date of April 11th, 1876, Col. P. D. Curtis (who made the foregoing report) writes the author : " There is nothing to add to the report. I do not know of but one breeder of these pigs in Jefferson county, N. Y., at the present time, who makes their breeding a specialty. There was never a connected effort to make them uniform, and thus establish a breed, and it was quite common, in our State, to call any cross of York- shires or SufEolks by the name of Cheshires. " Mr. Clark, as long as he bred, bred to a standard, and I think Mr. Green, who is the leading breeder now, is trying to do the same thing." Several breeders of fine stock, in Kentucky, and some of the Western States, have hogs that are called Cheshires, but we are doubtful of their being bred the same as the swine known by that name in New York, and the more Eastern States. Knowing Mr. J. H. Sanders of Chicago, a well-known writer on live stock, had bred "Cheshires" somewhat extensively, and with success, in Iowa, we applied to him for some authentic information respecting them. He replies : " In my opinion, the Cheshire is simply a derivative of the Yorkshire, as are also the Suffolk, Lan- cashire Short-face, Middle York, York-Cumberland, and all the other English breeds of white hogs. I bred the so-called Cheshires for six or seven years, and took a deep interest in noticing the variations and changes that were produced in that time by selection, in-breeding, and cross- ing. Within the space of seven years, without intro- ducing any blood but what was supposed to be pure, I produced all the different types of the Yorkshire, from the large York, down to the Lancashire Short-face. The white color was firmly fixed, and I never knew one of my Cheshire boars to get a pig that had a black hair on it, although they were bred to sows of all breeds, including the purest Essex. Another peculiarity that I VICTORIAS. 75 watched with interest, was the frequent appearance oi blue spots in the skin of the purest and best bred speci- mens. This peculiarity would sometimes disappear for one or two generations, and would again crop out stronger than ever. " The type which I finally succeeded in fixing upon the Cheshires, as bred by me, was almost identical, in size, form, and quality, with the most approved medium Berk- shire. Indeed, so marked was this resemblance in every- thing but color, that they were often facetiously called 'White Berkshires.' "As bred by me, I regarded them as among the ver_7 best of white hogs. "They were well haired, had a very delicate pink skin, and their meat was most excellent, tender, and juicy." VICTORIAS. Mr. Charles E. Leland, of Albany, New York, sub- mitted the following report at the Convention : " The family of pigs known as Victorias originated with Col. Prank D. Curtis, Kirby Homestead, Charlton, Saratoga county, New York. They were made by crossing the Byfield hogs with the native, in which there was a strain of the Grazier. Subse- quent crosses were made with the Yorkshire and Suffolk ; the result being a purely white hog, of medium size. The name has no significance, unless it is intended as a compliment to the English Queen. These pigs, if pure bred, should have a direct descent from a sow called Queen Victoria, which may be said to be the mother of the family. She was pronounced, by good judges, to be almost perfect, and was the winner of a number of first prizes. Breeders in the Eastern States have long felt the need of a medium-sized white hog, with all the good points of the English breeds, without their objectionable features — a breed which would mature early, and be covered with a good coat of hair to protect it from the cold in winter and the heat In summer. Col. Curtis began breeding nearly twenty years ago to try and meet this want. At the fair of the New York State Agricultural Society, which was held at Ehnira, he exhib- ited a sow, Princess Alice, and six pigs, which was the first 76 SWINE HUSBANDRY. time the Victorias have been presented at a State fair for a com- petition -with other swine. The first prize was awarded to the pigs, and the second to the sow. "CHARACTERISTICS AND MARKINGS OF THE VICTORIAS. "The color is white, with a good coat of fine soft hair; the head thin, fine, and closely set on the shoulders; the face slightly dishing ; the snout short ; the ears erect, small, and very light or thin; the shoulders bulging and deep ; legs short and fine ; the back broad, straight, and level, and the body long; the hams round and swelling, and high at the base of the tail, with plaits or folds be- tween the thiglis ; the tail fine, and free from wrinkles or rolls ; feathers or rosettes on the back are common ; the skin is thin, soft, and elastic ; the flesh fine-grained and firm, with small bone and thick side -pork. The pigs easily keep in condition, and can be made ready for slaughter at any age." Since the foregoing was first printed a gentleman in Laporte county, Indiana, has made considerable progress in "inventing" and disseminating a family of swine which he has also named "Victorias"; but they are in everyway distinct from those originated by Col. Curtis. They are medium-sized white swine of plain appearance, and in the hands of the originator have been quite successful at fairs and fat-stock shows. To obtain them he says he bred to- gether Berkshires and Poland-Chinas, also Chester Whites and Suflolks, and then mated the offspring of these mixt- ures, which "has produced the model hog, guaranteed to reproduce itself white every time"! NEAPOLITANS. We have never seen a specimen of this breed, and are of the opinion that none of them are bred, at present, in this country, unless in the vicinity of New York. Their admitted influence in the improvement of English breeds, especially the Essex, in the hands of Lord Western and Mr. Fisher Hobbs, of Essex, England, make them of interest to fanciers of highly refined pigs. NEAPOLITAN'S. 77 Colonel M. C. Weld, of New York, submitted to the Swine Breeders' Conrention a lengthy report on Neapoli- tans, from which we learn that the best specimens im- ported into this country came from near Naples, Italy, and that their earliest introduction was by Hon. James G. King, of Weehawken, N. J., in about 1840-41. Some of these were pure black, others slate-color, some ash-colored, or a dirty-white, and others more or less spotted. About 1850, Wm. Chamberlain, of Eed Hook, N. Y., imported some from Sorrento, Italy. These and some of their progeny were uniformly of a dark-slate color. Other parties, who had traveled in Italy, and been much pleased with the pork of Naples and the surround- ing country, caused small stocks of these pigs to be im- ported for their own use ; but few, if any of them, were offered for sale for breeding purposes. It is believed by some, who knew them well, especially in England, that this breed has had an existence in the country about Naples for hundreds of years. Sidney's Youatt on the Pig says: "It is probable the Neapolitans are descendants of the dark Eastern swine imported by early Italian voyagers, and cultivated to perfection by the favorable climate and welcome food"; also that they are " black, or rather brown, with no bristles, and con- sequently delicate when first introduced into our north- ern climate." About 1 855, Dr. Phillips, of Memphis, Tennessee, ob- tained some pigs, bred from the Chamberlain importa- tions. He found them more satisfactory than any of the numerous breeds he had tried, especially for using as a cross. In a letter to Col. Weld, he states that "the only objection to the breed is that the pigs are delicate, up to ^'our or six months of age — after that they can live with he common hog." Col. Weld has owned them imported direct from Italy, and thinks the fact that these pigs are almost hairless. 78 SWINE HUSBANDET. has caused their reputation for delicacy, and that, treated as a high-bred race should be, they are not delicate, but quite the contrary, though he would not have them far- rowed in winter, or in too close confinement. Their pork is described by A. B. Allen as being like " young, tender, fat chicken." They are classed with the small breeds. The Convention adopted the following as the "CHAEACTEKISTICS AND MAEKINGS OF THE NEAPOLITANS. " Head small ; forehead bony and flat ; face slightly dishing ; snout rather long and very slender ; ears small, thin, standing forward nearly horizontally, and quite lively ; jowls very full ; neck short, broad, and heavy above ; trunk long, cylindrical, and well-ribbed back ; back flat, and ribs arching, even in low flesh ; belly hori- zontal on the lower line ; hindquarters higher than the fore, but not very much so ; legs very fine, the bones and joints being smaller than those of any other breed ; hams and shoulders well developed and meaty; tail fine, curled, flat at the extremity, and fringed with hair on each side ; general color slaty, or bluish-plum color, with a cast of coppery-red ; skin soft and fine, nearly free from hair, which, when found upon the sides of the head and behind the forelegs, is black, and soft, and rather long ; flesh firm and elastic to the touch." JERSEY BEDS. The following is from the Eeport of the Convention : "The positive origin of this family of Swine is unknown. They have been Jjred in portions of the State of New Jersey, for upwards of fifty years, and with many farmers are con- sidered to be a valuable variety. They are of large size and capable of making a heavy growth, five hundred and six hun- dred pounds weight being common. Mr. David Pettitt, of Salem coimty, N. J., has known of these hogs for thirty years, and Mr. D. M. Brown, of Windsor, for nearly fifty years. They are now extensively bred in the middle and southern portions Df New Jersey, In some neighborhoods they are bred quite Dtrfiocs, 79 uniform, being of a dark-red color, while in other sections they are more sandy, and often patched with white. They are prob- ably descendants from the old importations of Berkshires, as there is no record of the Tamworth, the red hogs of England, ever having been brought into this country ; nor is this likely, as the Tamworth were not considered a valuable breed, and were confined to a limited breeding. The Reds resemble the old Berkshires in many respects, but are now much coarser •than the improved swine of this breed. " CHARA.CTEEISTICS. — A good specimen of Jersey Red should be red in color, with a snout of moderate length, large lop-ears, small head in proportion to the size and length of the body ; they should be long in the body, standing high and rangy on thin legs ; bone coarse ; heavy taU and brush ; hair coarse, in- cluding the bristles on the back. They are valuable on account of their size and strong constitution and capacity for growth. They are not subject to mange." DUROCS. These hogs have only a local reputation, and of them CoL P. D. Curtis reported to the Convention as follows : " There is another family of heavy hogs caUed Duroc, which are bred in Saratoga county. New York, which are finer in the bone and carcass than the Reds. They have been bred, with their crosses, in this region of country, for about twenty years. They are very hardy, and grow to a large size." Early in 1883 a number of breeders of so-called "red hogs" met at Elk Horn, Wis., and formed an organiza- tion to be known as the Duroc or Jersey Eed Swine Club, with a view to advance the improvement of the breed, and establishing a registry of pedigrees. The standard agreed upon by the Club is as follows : "The true Duroc or Jersey Red should be long, quite deep- bodied, not round, but broad on the back, and holding the width well out to the hips and hams. The head should be small, compared with the body, with the cheek broad and full, with considerable breadth between the eyes. The neck should be short and thick, and the face slightly curved, with the nose rather longer than in the English breeds ; the ears rather large and lopped over the eyes and not erect. Bone not fine, nor yet 80 SWINE HUSBANDKT. coarse, but medium. The legs medium in size and length, but. set well under the body and well apart, and not cut up high in the flank or above the knee. The hams should be broad and fnll well down to the hock. There should be a good coat of hair of medium fineness, inclining to bristles at the top of the shoulders ; the tail being hairy and not small ; the hair usually straight, but in some cases a little wavy. The color should be red, varying from dark, glossy, cherry red, and even brownish hair, to light yellowish red, with occasionally a small fleck of black on the beUy and legs. The darker shades of red are pre- ferred by most breeders, and this type of color is the most de- sirable. In disposition they are remarkably mild and gentle. When full grown they should dress from four hundred to five hundred pounds, and pigs at nine months old should dress from two hundred and fifty to three hundred pounds." OHAPTEK IX. THE RELATIVE MERITS OP THE SUFFOLK, ESSEX, AND BERKSHIRE. BY E. W. COTTKELL. "The question is very often asked me by persons who are desirous of procuring some one of the improved breeds of swine, which of these three standard breeds do I consider best for the farmer, and it is a question which I find difficult to decide, even now, after quite an extensive experience of nearly six years with the three breeds side by side. I consider, however, that there is so little actual difference in the I'flsult, that fancy might guide the choice without serious detriment to one's judgment. Each, being a distinct and original breed, must have its own peculiarities and distinctive qualities, and the question to decide is, which of these qualities are most desirable, and which of the breeds possess and combine the most of them ? " Fancy must decide the question of beauty and appearance, and one person's judgment in that respect is as good as another's. Association with either for any length of time will generally occa- sion prejudice in its favor, and either breed possesses sufficient beauty to secure them hosts of admirers ; and whUe I admire alike KBLATIVE MEEIT. 81 perfect specimens of either breed, I believe that the improved Bericshire displays a more majestic style and graceful appearance than any other of the swine species ; there seems to be a stately bearing and royal mien, that I cannot help but admire as they move about the premises, and the contrast of the exact markings upon their beautiful black color adds another feature of beauty. " In regard to the more essential question, however, of relative quality and profit, I will say that there are several things which must be taken into consideration, and one must choose those which combine the greatest number of desirable qualities for his purpose ; that is, the object in view should decide the question. If the object is to produce a superior quality of delicious and whole- some pork, beautifully mixed with lean and fat, that is tempting and enjoyable from almost any part of the animal, I can safely recommend the Berkshire. They are also probably the most hardy of all the improved swine species ; always healthy and thrifty, and generally docile and quiet in their natures, besides being very pro- lific, perhaps more so than any other of the improved breeds. The sows are invariably good milkers, and good mothers, one often successfully rearing from eight to twelve pigs. "The improved also mature quite early, and at eight or nine months will give from two hundred to two hundred and fifty pounds of pork, and in many cases much more, with extra care. At eighteen months they will run from three hundred and fifty to four hundred and fifty pounds of pork each. We have had them weigh, at two years, seven hundred and eighty pounds, and not at all coarse or overgrown in style either. They are generally very uniform in every respect, though there are some families that attain a little more size than others. Thej are not ravenous like the common hog, but are good feeders, and what they eat seems to do them good all over; and, in fact, without discussing the subject further, they can be briefly summed up as a hardy, prolific, domestic, and reasonably easy-keeping animal, and one that can be sent to mar- ket at almost any age, with profit to the producer, and satisfaction to the consumer. Consequently, 'in my judgment, one who is un- decided in his choice cannot go far astray in selecting the Berk- shires. " In summing up the desirable qualities which the Suffolks pos- sess, however, we find them no less valuable, and perhaps even more profitable, for some purposes, than those of any other breed, unless we except the Essex. They are without question the earliest to mature, take on fat more readily, and produce more ijet pork with 82 SWINB HtrSBANDKY. the same amount of feed than any other of the hog kind. These are certain facts, and very desirable ones when corn is worth eighty cents per bushel. Two pounds each per day is no uncommon average gain through the feeding season, and I have known an increase of three and one-half pounds per day for six weeks, or a total of one hundred and forty-seven pounds for one pig in six weeks time. " And this propensity for fattening exists from the time they are sucklings ; they can be fatted as well at six or eight months as at any other age ; and this is a very desirable feature, for spring pigs can be sent to the market weighing two hundred and fifty pounds without much extra exertion, and the pork, rightly handled, will always bring a half-dollar, and perhaps more, per hundred than will the commoner kinds ; and in reality it is worth much more to the consumer from the fact of its quality. The head and feet are almost nominal appendages, while the bones of the carcass are so fine and small that they cause but little loss. " The objection is often raised that they are apt to be too fat for use, etc. Of course this is only from persons of superficial ideas. It might as well be said that sugar is too sweet, or vinegar too sour, especially when lard is eighteen cents per pound, and spare- ribs and other trimmings worth only four or five cents per pound. It is the fat that affords the greatest profit, and profit being the object, the animal which will produce the most fat, with the least expense, is the ono for the purpose ; and this animal is unquestion- ably the Suffolk, for they do certainly excel in this peculiarity, particularly at an early age. Notwithstanding the above facts, it should not be inferred that the pork is inferior as a meat for the table. The animal may have a surplus of fat, but the fleshy parts afford as delicate and wholesome table meat as can be found among the hog kind, and certainly as delicious. The trimmings from a dressed Suffolk will average but about ten per cent, while those from the long-legged, long-nosed, thick-skinned, coarse-boned kind, often make twenty per cent. The conclusions obtained from the above facts are obvious without farther comment, and I will now make reference to some of the other desirable features which the Suffolk possesses, a special one being their docile, quiet disposition. They are not inclined to stray if running loose, nor will they root up pastures and meadows if turned in upon them, even if not pro- vided with rings ; and they are seldom known to squeal or clamor, if half cared for. It is owing to this quiet, domestic nature that they grow and fatten so rapidly and economically. They alsp BELAnVB UKBIT. 83 liave a good constitution, and are invariably healthy with ns, when past the tender age ; also as hardy as any. As before stated, they are not ravenous, though good feeders, with a sharp appetite for what they require. When fed with regularity, they will be on hand at the usual time with almost exact promptness, and enter into the business of feeding with vigor, after which they will retire to their beds and attend wholly to business, which, for them, is to grow and fatten. " The Essex are so very similar to the Sufiolli, in neany every respect except color, that the above description of qualities can be applied to them ; perhaps they do not mature quite so early as the former, but they attain nearly as much weight, and fatten quite as easy, having the same quiet disposition and nature. Their skin, from its color, affords them one advantage over the Suftblks ; that is, when the pigs of the latter are very young, if exposed to a burning sun, they are very liable to scald or blister upon the back, while this is never the case with the Essex. Here let me say that when Suffolk pigs are farrowed during the summer; or early fall, when the sun is strong, they should be protected from its scalding rays until five or six weeks of age. The Essex have as many good qualities as any other breed, and deservedly have a great many friends. In fact, a person cannot go far astray in selecting either of the three above breeds, and I am sure he will be satisfied with whichever kind his fancy may lead him to choose, after giving them a fair trial." In writing of numerous experiments made by him, in crossing thorough-bred swine, Mr. Cottrell says : " There is no question but the proper crossing ot thorough-breds for a seasoQ will produce rapid and profitable pork-makers, but there seems to be some difference of opinion, and a great lack ot information in general, among farmers and breeders, as to the crosses that produce the best results. " The very best results we have ever obtained from any cross ot thorough-breds, was that of the Suffolk upon the Essex. One case, which was almost a marvel, I will give for example. It is that of a litter which was farrowed the 16th day of March, and fed from the following 1st of October until the 24th of December, which made them nine months and eight days old when killed. The weight of the largest one was 403, and not one of them weighed less than 300. The pigs run upon the farm, being kept in a growing and thriving condition until October, when we toob them up and forced them along, as the result shows. 84 SWINB HTTSBAN "Pv. " This marked improvement upon eitlier breeds in the firs*, cross is probably the result of uniting their excellent characteristics, ■which seem to be more fully developed, and stronger, than in either original. It is a fact, at least, that the feeding and maturing qualities are more or less improved in the cross. Neither is the style or beauty lost in the cross, for the symmetry and proportion are still retained. The color is generally black and white ; some- times one pig will be either all black or all white, but usually they are sheeted— that is, each spread in large patches, and very distinct. It is very seldom that we see a ' speckled ' pig among thorough bred crosses ; there is generally a foreign mixture when they oc cur. One peculiar feature with the color of this cross is, that Jnva. riably the black is in excess upon the hind part of the animal, while the white will predominate upon its fore parts. I have seen them one-half pure black and the other halt pure white, with the dividing line where the colors meet forming a circle around the body at the middle. The peculiar marking makes quite an attract live contrast. " We also found that the BerKshire and Essex make an excellent cross for feeding purposes. As a principle, 1 do not consider it advisable to cross the improved Berkshire with any other, on their own account, but prefer rather to keep that breed distinct and up to the mark by occasionally renewing with a foreign blood of its own kind. By foreign blood, 1 mean that ot a distant or unrelated fami ly. They are a standard breed, very near perfection in themselves, possessing qualities that cannot be very much improved upon without affecting the combination that constitutes the Berkshire, and stamps them with a character wholly their own, and which only requires to be kept to the ideal of their style and perfection to sat- isfy the requirements ot almost every class, condition, and locality. The true well bred Berkshire has the stamp of the thorough-brea, and possesses the merits required for its purpose, and great paina should be taken to perpetuate the purity of that blood. How ever, when it is necessary or advisable to cross them, it should be made with the Essex, whenever practicable. The' result of a sin- gle cross will always give satisfaction, the produce being such ai will feed quick and mature sooner than the pure bred Berk- shire, and the pork is second to none that goes to market. The general style and appearance of the animals will be similar, except in the markings ; some will be more or less spotted, some marked like the Berkshire, some partially marked, and some aU black. This cross, continued upon itself, wUi lose its identity with eithel breed, and eventually will result in a lot of mongrels. BBLATITB MBETT. 85 "Upon the common kinds the Berkshire will do much good, and bring out a great improvement, but is not equal to the Suflfolk or Essex in this respect. Of course, there are other breeds which will improve the common hog, but I know of none to be compared to the three above mentioned, from the fact of their being pure and standard breeds, that have come down in the same line for genera- tions, and established distinct qualities and characteristics that are transmitted from one generation to another with as much exact- ness and certainty as can be found in any class of the animal kind. And the fact that they are capable of stamping upon their progeny the desirable points they possess, and reproduce them- selves, as it were, with almost a positive certainty, is what gives them such great value as improvers of our stock. " I have said that I believe certain crosses of the thorough-breds to be superior to either of the full bloods, for feeding purposes. The question may be asked, why not continue the breeding from these crosses ? " The fact is this, as I have before stated, after the first cross, the identity of the breed is lost, and with it the power to transmit its particular type is correspondingly reduced, and by continuinjt in the same line we lose alt trace of the original. By using a thorough-bred upon the cross, of course, we produce equally as good results each time. For teeding purposes, and by a continua- tion of this practice, a superior class of pork-makers will always be obtalneQ. " And so, it one has a number of breeding sows of the common sort, let him procure a thorough-bred male, and I will guarantee that the result of the first cross will pay all the cost. But because a lot of very good animals has been obtained from this course, do not select your next male breeder from them, or the good already gained will be tost. But continue to use a thorough-bred male upon the produce, and those that have not tried it before will wonder at the rapid improvement of their stock, and why they have been so long behind the age of improvement and advance- ment." RAISING AND FATTENING SWINE. THE BOAE. 89 CHAPTEE X. THE BOAR— HOW TO CHOOSE, AND HOW TO KEEP HIM. To claim that success in swine-breeding depends upon the proper selection of a boar, might not be wholly cor- rect, but it is safe to say that many failures in the busi- ness have been in a large degree due to mistakes made at the beginning in the choice of breeding animals, especially males. However good the sows of a herd may be, the good qualities of the stock quickly deteriorate if inferior boars are used, while, on the other hand, the offspring of infe- rior sows can be rapidly improved in form and quality, by using well bred boars. It is no longer disputed by persons familiar with the principles of improved breeding, that the male paient mostly determines the outward form and structure, while the female chiefly determines the internal structure of the ofEspring, a somewhat striking illustration of which is afforded in the breeding together of an ass and a mare, the produce of which is»a mule, and the mule is essen- tially, with slight modifications, an ass. A she ass bred to a stallion, produces the hinny, which is essentially a modified horse, the mule and the hinny each having the outward form, muscular structure, locomotive organs, and voice of its sire. Assuming that these premises are correct, it must be apparent to the breeder and farmer, that the judicious selection of a boar is of prime importance, and that suc- cess is not assured in this branch of his business with- out it. Among the prominent characteristics of the boar should be a fine external form, which is the result of a superior 90 SWINE HUSBANDBT. internal organism ; a short, broad face, with round heavy under jaw, and thick, short neck, indicate strong vitality and assimilating powers, two functions requisite in every first-class, meat-producing animal j width between the fore legs, and large girth immediately behind them, de- notes room for large and active lungs, the very founda- tion of any animal. Kibs that are long and well sprung outward from the back, show capacity of stomach. The broad loin and well developed ham are signs of active kidneys. A clean, fine, and elastic skin, covered with soft, lively hair, free from bristles, denotes a healthy liver, and freedom from internal fever. A fine muzzle and limbs, clean, small joints, and standing square up on the feet, denote solidity, strength, and firmness of the ani- mal's framework ; while the dished, or concave face, and slightly drooping ear, are unerring signs of an easy keeper, and a quiet, contented disposition. These are some of the features demanded in a good boar, and such an animal in perfect condition will not be sluggish and clumsy, but have a lively animated appear- ance, and move about freely and nimbly, unless kept in too close confinement on too much fattening food. The herd, or family of hogs from which it is designed to select a boar, should be closely scanned, and if the animals show uniformity of breeding, good forms and constitutions, with even feeding qualities, it is a safe one to select breeders from ; on the other hand, the weedy herd, wherein no two animals are alike, should be given a wide berth. It is essential to choose a boar in some measure with reference to the style of females it is desired to cross him on, with a view to having deficient points in the sows cor- rected by the boar in the ofEspring. Should the sows be light in the ham or shoulder, the boar should be especially good there ; sows inclined to be razor-backed, should be bred to a boar with broad back, and well sprung ribs. H THB BOAB. 91 the sows are too coarse about tlie legs, neck, head, and ears, attention should be paid to securing a boar with short neck, fine ear, dish face, fine bone, and heavy jowls. If too "light and airy," too far from the ground, too active, too restless and uneasy, the opposite should be prominent characteristics of the boar. He should, in a majority of cases, be selected from a family or strain that is, and should himselt be, somewhat smaller and more compact than animals upon which he is to be crossed, and in the swine herd, as in all domestic stock, constitution is of prime importance, and no animal without broad and deep fore-quarters has it. He should be pure, of such breed as the owner may deem best, for if not pure, he cannot be depended on to stamp his own qualities on his offspring, as none but thorough-breds will invariably do so. The boar of mixed and unknown breeding is to be shunned as a snare and a delusion. If the Berkshires or a Berkshire cross is pre- ferred, a pure Berkshire boar should be used. If tho Essex seems most desirable, use a pure Essex boar ; or ii the Poland-China cross promises the best results, use a pure Poland-China boar. Do the same with any breed that may be preferred, and success is certain ; but to use a boar that is a mixture of several breeds, however pure they may individually be, is to progress backward. It is an undeniable fact, that many who pay a liberal price to obtain a boar that suits them, afterward treat him in such a way that they derive but small benefit from the investment. One of the two most common modes of mistreatment is, to conQne him in a close pen, where he ia deprived of exercise and fed upon the richest and most fattening food the establishment affords : lacis ot activity and of virility are the results. The other mode is, to turn him with an unlimited number of sows, gilts, and stock hogs, to fight, and fret, and tease, until he becomes the ehabbiest, the most ungainly, unthrifty hog on the place. 92 SWIKE HUSBAIIDET. Either of these extremes must be avoided, and a more rational method pursued, or the best results cannot be secured. While too close confinement is bad, it is not BO bad as to allow a boar to roam at will among the other hogs of a farm, where he is as much out of place as a stallion would be if turned loose with a herd of horses. He should be kept in a comfortable pen, with a lot or pasture adjoining, and supplied with a variety of nutri- tious food, which means something more than dry corn, with an occasional drink of diluted dish-water. His con- dition should always be that of thrift, and vigorous health, not too fat, nor yet so lean that as a barrow he ■would be considered unfit for pork. If too fat, he will be clumsy, slow, and in no wise a sure getter. As to the age at which iie should begin service, we have, aftei con- si:3erable observation and experience, come to the conclu- sion that it is unwise to permit the boar to be with a sow at all until at least seven months old, and then only in exceptional cases and very sparingly. Immature sires cannot be expected to generate vigorous progeny. At a year old, moderate service will not injure him, and properly kept, he should be at his best as a sire, when from eighteen months to five years old, when he is matured and developed, and has every advantage over a half -grown immature pig ; the finest, strongest litters are invariably obtained from large old sows, bred to aged boars. We well understand that it is of little use to recom- mend farmers, who raise or purchase fine boar pigs, to keep them until a year and a half or two years old, before using them, as not one in ten thousand would do so, yet those who properly keep their boars that length of time, will find the value of their breeding greatly enhanced. Aged boars are generally looked upon as unpleasant ani- mals to keep, especially if they have become vicious and disposed to use their tusks — a view in which the author himselt shares somewhat — but they are certainly less dan- THE BOAE. 93 gerous and trouMesome than the gentlest bull or stallion, while, of course, none of them are desirable, or intended for, household pets or door-yard ornaments. A pen or fence sufficiently high and strong to restrain the other hogs of the farm, cannot be depended on to keep the boar in his place, and if opportunity offers, he wiU soon become unruly 5 consequently, it is much the best to keep him, from the first, in an enclosure which will afford him no practice in the art of breaking out. If his quarters are isolated from thoge of other hogs, especially sows, and sow pigs — some of which are likely to be in heat most of the time — he will usually be quiet and gentle, — in fact, a pretty well behayed hog, though much depends upon his ^natural disposition, and more upon the treatment given him. With a fair chance, some of the first litters will enable his owner to judge of his merits as a sire, which, if satis- tiactory, will make it worth while to keep him for several seasons. Unless certain of doing very much better, we would not hesitate to breed him to his own pigs, even though we consider indiscriminate in-and-in breeding as reprehensible in the extreme. We advise even this cross, only when the parents are both healthy, and it is desired to fix and retain in the offspring certain points, or quali- ties, that are of great value, and prominent in both boar and sow. Turned with a sow in heat until one service is given, she will have as many, and as good pigs as there would be if the boar was permitted to chase and worry her for three days and nights. The most experienced breeders concede this, and many will not allow but a single service. It is safe to say that the bulk of the hog crop is pro- duced by farmers who breed less rather than over a dozen sows, on an average, at any one season of the year. To keep a matured boar in the best condition, is felt to be quite an expense by one man who has but a few sows, and 94 SWniK HUSBAITOET. where three or four farmers live in proximitj to each other, we think it much the best and cheapest plan foi them to jointly own and keep one strictly good boar, in- stead of each keeping, wholly at his own expense, ona that he thinks will do, though not so good as he would like, if the first cost and subsequent expense and trouble were less. Properly managed, one boar would, in many cases, answer every purpose as well as a half dozen, for that number of swall , farmers, and if his cost and keep were shared by all, it would scarcely be felt, and at the same time the temptation to use some mongrel, or immature pig, would be removed. Among the benefits resulting from this method would be, the use of a good boar, matured, and fitted for good service ; an improved class of pigs, and a generous rival- ry, encouraging each of his owners to keep a better grade of sows, under improved and more profitable conditions. In sparsely settled neighborhoods, or where too many sows were to be bred, it would not be so practicable ; but where possible, it would be a little of that much-talked -of " cooperation among farmers," which, when really prac- tised, as well as preached, will indeed be found one of the touchstones of success. When the time arrives for him to be superseded as the head of the herd, and it is desired to make him a barrow, it can be done by one active man operating as follows : After drawing up one hind leg, and fastening it securely to a post, or stake, fasten another rope around the upper jaw, back to the tusks, draw it tightly, and fasten it to another stake ; in this position the animal can offer no serious resistance. The cut should he low down, and as small as possible ; the low cut will afford a ready means of escape for all extraneous matter, and allow the wound to keep itself clean, there being no sack, or pocket, left to hold the pus formed during the healing process. It TBB SOW AND HBB FIGS. 95 is not best to perform this operation when the boar is very fat, or the weather too warm, as the risk is much greater. If castrated early in the season, and kept on g.ir 3s during the summer, the flesh, when he is made fat, will be but little more rank than that of other hogs. Kept with other hogs, if quarrelsome, there is danger of his doing them great injury with his tusks, and hence it is desirable to fatten a stag hog by himself. It is at this period that the old boar's true proportions will show themselves, as he will take on fat very rapidly, and pre- sent a greatly improved appearance ; but when sold, the buyer will quite probably insist on paying for the "stag" only two-thirds the price of other hogs, which, in many cases, we have considered entirely too great a deduction. CHAPTER XI. THE SOW AND HER PIGS. The measure of success attained by those who raise hogs, depends in no small degree upon the judicious se- lection, for breeding purposes, of sows that are best cal- culated, in their form, and general make up, to give birth to, and to nourish for several weeks, a reasonable number of well-formed, thrifty, vigorous pigs. The sow is the laboratory, wherein are developed the germs of the future herd, and, other things being equal, it is plain that this laboratory, or, if we may so call it, this machine-shop, must, to furnish the best results, be as near perfection as possible. She should be selected from a stock, or family, in which fertility is a characteristic ; for this essential quality is hereditary, though lacking in numerous strains of the various breeds. The most promising pig at six 96 SWINE HtrSBANDEY. or eight weeks, may fall far short of being so promising at six or eight months ; and, for this reason, where it is practicable, it is better to defer the selection of sows for breeding purposes, until they have made considerable growth, and exhibit prominently certain characteristics which they should possess, and enable the breeder to form a more nearly correct judgment as to what their forms will be when they have matured. At this time, she should appear to be of a form known as "rangy," i. e., the opposite of compact, of loose and open build, long, yet quite broad on the back, with short neck and head, fine ear, heavy jowl — sure indica- tions of an easy keeper, wide between the fore legs, deep sides, and heavy hams, well let down on the gambrel joint. She should be large and roomy, (in some respects rather the opposite of the boar), from healthy stock, a greedy feeder, and of great vitality, as indicated by large ^rth back of the fore legs, and a robust appearance gen- erally. Coarseness it. allowable in the sow, much more than in the boar, especially if she has great room for car- rying a large litter, with indications of being a good suckler, as shown by having at least twelve prominent, well developed teats, or "dugs." The venerable Paschall Morris, of Philadelphia, one of the oldest and most in- telligent breeders and improvers of swine in the United States, wrote : "I have always found that a hog with a dish-face, short nose, small head, and wide between the eyes, is an easy, quiet feeder. On the other hand, a long, large head, indicates, m a general way, a hard, un- easy feeder, and a great consumer." Sows, well kept, will, in some cases, come in heat when not more than three months old ; but, in all such cases, care should be taken to keep them separated from, or out of reach of, any boar pigs on the place. Bight months is as young as it is judicious or proper to breed them, and we would much prefer to have them a year old before THE SOW AND HEE PIGS. 97 letting to the boar. In all breeds, and especially those noted for early maturity, the vitality of the young animal is taxed to its utmost in making a rapid and vigorous growth, and to impose upon it, at the same period, the further burden of production, tends to make a failure of both. The sow not being matured, it is unnatural to expect the perfection in the ofEspring that the dam may possess ; nature is, at the same time, perfecting the nnde- veloped mother, and promoting the growth of the young, and the result is, that both are losers, and deficient at maturity, and the mother can never recover from this division and deficit of nature's work. A comparison of the litters from matured sows, with those of others, that were mere pigs themselves when bred, will furnish a practical illustration of this ; the pigs from the large old sows, will be more in number, and fre- quently double the size of the others, at a month old ; and with the same care, they will not unfrequently weigh 50 per cent, more, at nine or twelve months old. For this reason, sows that have proven themselves extra valu- able as breeders and sucklers, should be retained as among the prized animals of the farm. Those who pursue the plan of obtaining but one litter from a sow, and then converting her into pork, can never compete for size, style, and vigor, with those who raise stock from vigorous sows, from eighteen months to six years old. Tlsually, when not with pig, or suckling, a sow will be in heat about three days out of twenty-one, or once in three weeks, and when she is to be bred, she should be free from fever, her system cooled and cleansed by a va- riety of food and loosening slops. There can be no doubt that many valuable sows have been utterly ruined for breeding purposes, by over-feeding on com and meal, which, alone, possess too much heat- producing and too little bone and muscle-forming mate- 6 98 SWINE HtrSBANDKT. rial to supply the needs of the animal economy. On this account, sows should not be allowed to run with fatten- ing hogs kept on corn, but in pasture, and allowed a plenty of slop, made of equal parts of shorts, corn meal, and wheat bran. The main crop of pigs should come in the warm days of April, and that it may be so, sows should be bred as near the middle of December as may be ; though in ths States not too far north, and where the best of care can be furnished at farrowing time, December 1st is not too early for old sows, and December 10th for young sows. Old sows will carry their pigs 113 or possibly 115 days, and young sows will sometimes farrow their first litter in from 100 to 106 days from the date of service. It is generally believed among breeders, that a sow turned to the boar on the first symptoms of heat, will have mostly sow pigs, and that if she is not served until the period of heat is about passed, she will have mostly hoar pigs. While carrying her pigs, plenty of exercise, generous supplies of not too rich food, with comfortable quarters, are indispensable to success, and must not be overlooked. To allow sows to run among cattle, horses, or colts, ex- poses them in various ways to injuries that may cause the loss of valuable litters, especially if the sows are heavy and awkward. It is bad policy to have sows fat at the time of taking the boar, as there are few cases in which a sow, thin in flesh, approaching to leanness, at that time, does not do better than one that is fat, or in what is called respecta- ble show condition. After getting with pig, a sow fat- tens very readily, and if fed too much strong food, is likely to become pork-fat, have smaller pigs, and do badly in farrowing. As the time approaches for the pigs to appear, the sow should be separated from any other hogs, and placed in a THE SOW AND HBK PIGS. 99 sheltered, yet sunny pen, provided with some short hay or straw, out of which she will arrange her nest. If given a large quantity of bedding, she will make her nest too deep, forming a sort of pit, into which the pigs will roll, and surely be crushed. A shallow nest is much the best, and many fine pigs, sometimes even whole litters, have been lost by giving the sow a too generous supply of bedding material. In warm weather, but little, if any, need be given, and in cold weather, the nest should be thoroughly protected on the outside, and made so com- fortable that a great pile of hay or straw will not be nec- essary to prevent the pigs from becoming chilled. About six or eight inches from the floor, and the same distance from the sides of the pen, near the nest, a scantling, rail, or pole, should be fastened ; this will prevent the sow from crushing the little pigs between herself and the wall. A sow well fed at the time of pigging, will usually lie more quietly, and endanger her pigs less by frequently get- ting up and lying down, than a hungry one. Some- times young or small sows appear to be in so much misery, that they cannot be quiet, but if they have been petted and kindly treated, they will allow an attendant to re- move the pigs as fast as they come, which may be the means of saving many of them that might otherwise be crushed or trampled to death. Many good farmers have been aggravated beyond meas- ure, by finding a favorite brood-sow in the act of destroy- ing her litter of choice pigs, and none but those who have had such bitter experience, can realize how discouraging it is. My ideas on this subject are so nearly identical with those of Mr. A. C. Moore, the well-known breeder of Poland-Chinas, that I will use his own language to ex- press them : " The first losses of our litters are enormous. By improper care of the sow, and unsuitable places and surroundings for littering, many persons yearly sacrifice their gains in swine growing. Cos- 100 SWINE HUSBANDKT. tiveness and its attendant evils, are among tlie impelling causes of ferocity in the sow. ' Coles Diseases of Domestic Animals ' says it is because they are kept from earth, coal, ashes, etc., and advises allowing them as much room as possible, feeding them fresh earth, grass, sod, rotten wood, charcoal, ashes, etc., and says, after pig- ging, ' feed light, on light food for a few days,' and I wish to em- phasize this last quotation. This applies, of course, more particu- larly to animals that have been kept on board floors. 1 do not believe that a sow will devour her young unless extremely costive^ amounting almost to a state of frenzy— though having done so once, she may repeat the act without being in that condition. Breeding sows should not be allowed to run together in the same yard when pigs are expected ; the taste of blood seems infectious, and opportunities often occur when costive animals will begin by eating de.id pigs, or first destroy part of another's litter, and are thereby led to afterwards destroy their own. "Don't do too much for them just before littering, and feed nothing but thin slop for three or four days after. * * * With quiet, proper feed, and a little care of some one at the proper time, a very small per cent will be lost in breeding. Insist on every- thing and everybody being quiet about your breeding pens." When we find a sow destroying her pigs, or showing a disposition to do so, we saturate a small woolen cloth with kerosene, and carefully moisten the hair of the pigs with it, but are cautious to not get much of it on their tender skins — -and we usually find that the kerosene dress- ing spoils the sow's relish for raw pig. The feverish condition of the sow at farrowing time, will cause thirst, and a plenty of fresh water should be kept within her reach, notwithstanding the fact that she is being kept on sloppy food, as this will not prevent her needing water, any more than a person's having soup at meal-time will prevent his wanting water. For making a plenty of healthful milk, skimmed milk, wheat bran, and shorts mixed, are most excellent, and no careful breeder, anxious to do the best by his litters of pigs, should neg- lect to have a supply accessible' for use when his sows are suckling. We have had very favorable results from feed* ing chopped (coarsely ground) rye, soaked from 34 to 36 THE SOW AHO HEB PlsiJ. 101 hours, but not allowed to become too sour before feeding, and consider it as near perfection in the way of a sulicu^ lent, nutritious mess, for a sow suckling a number of greedy, growing pigs. For the first weeks of a pig's life, the mother's milk is its drink as well as food, and therefore, in caring for suck« ling sows, it should be the aim to so feed them, that the largest possible quantity of milk, of only medium rich- ness, will be furnished, instead of a limited supply of that which is extremely rich, the latter being less healthful, and more liable to cause fever, cough, constipation, and unsatisfactory growth. Grass, or, other green food, is not to be omitted from the bill of fare, and Eed Clover is the standard green crop for swine, though Blue Grass {Poa pratensis) is by some considered preferable, but either is most excellent. It is difficult to satisfactorily manage the pasturing of several sows with pigs in the same field, on account of the larger pigs stealing from, and robbing the smaller ones of their share of milk, causing them to become stunted and very uneven in size. The only remedy is to separate them. "When pigs are three weeks old, they will usually begin to eat, if suitable food is placed where they can get it, and a small trough should be placed in a part of the pen or lot, inaccessible to the sow, and into this about three or four times a day, for several days, a little sweet milk can be poured — whatever they will drink up clean, but not more, increasing the quantity as they grow older, when some shelled corn, soaked in water twenty-four hours, or more, should be given, and, if convenient, sour milk, corn-meal mush, scalded bran with shorts, and srch nour- ishing food as will make them a healthful variety. Mr. Moore, before quoted in this chapter, has probably handled with success as many pigs as any man living, and gives in his Swine Journal the following as his method of feeding them : 102 SWINE HUSBANDRY. "My mode of feeding young pigs is to provide sufficient board floor, sheltered from the hot sun and the storms, on which to place the feed troughs. In these I feed shelled corn, soaked in barrels sunk in the ground, or bins; corn is soaked from 24 to 48 hours, owing to the weather. With the water that has soaked the corn, I make up a slop of ground oats and corn, mixed with bran and shorts from the mill. This slop, and the corn, is distributed to all the troughs, by means of buckets — those for the corn having holes in the bottom, to allow escape of water. From the troughs where the pigs are fed, I exclude the sows by means of bars that will let the pigs pass in and out of the trough, yard, or pen. I feed the sows on an adjoining floor, in similar troughs. Thus, pigs that are weaned, and such as are yet suckling, but large enough to take care of themselves, are fed from the same troughs. Of course, my younger pigs, from two to four weeks old, are fed in the stye with the sow — have a separate trough if necessary, and are not turned into a herd until they know their dam, and will suckle only at home ; but with all the time and care we can give to the " train- ing" of youn^ pigs, there will be some thieves in the yards who will steal from another dam when they can get a good chance. " All feed troughs must have strips nailed across the top, to par- tition off the feeding room of each pig. * * * In feeding, each pig must have a fair chance for its share ; you should not pour swill into one end of a trough and calculate that a portion of your pigs will get their supply from the other end. Notice, and you will see that the big ones are always near the spout or first end — they have learned where the best swill is to be had, while the pigs at the further end — the little ones — are compelled to take the leavings as it runs to them, and are thus made themselves into " leavings." Pigs should never be fed on the ground when it is dusty or muddy. " Though I have no doubt but that cooked or steamed food will amply pay for the cost and labor of preparation, I have never used it." While believing that they should have as much com as they will eat, it is very essential to their rapid growth, that other and softer food he supplied, making a variety that will be easily digested, and assist to keep their appetites sharp. The boar pigs may be castrated when from two to eight weeks old, that they may recover from its effects before Weaning time, and at that age, if help is not at hand, it THE SOW AKD B£B PIGS. 103 can. easily be done by a single person after a little practice. With the pig standing on his head in a nail keg, or some- thing of similar size and shape, which confines him so closely as to prevent much troublesome resistance, the operation may be easily performed. If flies are trouble- some, it is well to pour some kerosene into and over the wound. A preparation sold in the markets as " Frazer's Axle Grease," is aa excellent salve for these and similar wounds and sores on any kind of stock, but if flies are not about, we do not use even this, and never had a pig die or do badly from being castrated. Sows should be spayed when somewhat older, say at three months, and there are probably a thousand men who can do a tolerable job at castrating a boar, to one that is competent to properly spay a sow; unless it can be done by a person understanding it, it is risky business. We have seen an ignoramus ruin a herd of Berkshire shotes by spaying them in the belly in such a manner that, when they healed up, their bellies dragged on the ground. Considerable observation leads us to the conclusion, that the only proper place to spay is in the side, and not there, unless by an expert. Where there is a probability of doing, or having it done successfully, we think it extremely desirable, as no hogs keep easier, or fatten better, than sows that have been properly spayed. (The reader will find this subject treated by one of the most success- ful and practical veterinary surgeons in the country, in the succeeding chapter.) Weaning is a severe ordeal to many pigs, but those cared for, and taught to eat some weeks before, do not, as a rule, appear to have their growth noticeably checked, while others, that have depended entirely on the mother's milk, seem to have their growth entirely suspended, some- times for many weeks. As to the proper time for weaning, the owner must, to 104 SWINK HUSBANDRY. some extent, be goyerned by surrounding circumstances. Sometimes it is necessary to wean when the pigs are five or six weeks old, and in other cases there may be no par- ticular reasons for doing so until ten, or sometimes twelve weeks old ; but at from seven to ten weeks old, most pigs are fit to be put away from the sows. If they cannot be successfully weaned at that age, it is difficult to say when they could be. Some pigs are really older at seven weeks than others at ten, and are better fitted for weaning. Nothing is so well calculated to make them grow as a bountiful supply of sow's milk, and the pigs that have a plenty of other feed, with the milk of a well-slopped sow, for eight or ten weeks, will invariably have much the start in growth of those weaned at five or six weeks, no matter how much food and attention the earlier weaned pigs may have had. If from the tendency of a sow to get too fat, or from other causes, she is bred the third or fourth day after farrowing, it is best to wean by the time the pigs are six weeks old, in order that their longer sucking may not injuriously affect the succeeding litter. If they have been accustomed to eating milk, grain, and grass, while run- ning with the sow, this can be done without perceptibly checking their growth ; but otherwise, the sudden change not infrequently retards it for several weeks. It should not be forgotten, that with swine, as with all other stock, warmth is to a certain extent equivalent to food, for which reason comfortable shelter and clean, dry bedding, have a money value, as with these, they not only consume less food, but grow much faster. The sow, in most cases, will take the boar from the secpnd to the fourth day from farrowing, and if she is not served then, or fails to get with pig, she will not, as a general thing, breed again until the pigs have been weaned from two to four weeks — if not too much suckled down, in about three weeks. CASTEATING AND SPAYING. 105 It is not a good plan to take all the pigs from the sow, unless one or two of them can be turned with her some hours after, to draw out the milk she will have at that time, and again, say after a lapse of twenty-four hours. The way preferred by us is, to leave about two of the smallest with her for four or five days, and after that, leave only one for two or three days more, by which time the flow of milk will have been so gradually diminished, that no injury will result to the sow by keeping them entirely away from her. After weaning pigs, the pasture is a good place for the sow, and if a mess of good slop is given her once a day, it will be fed to good advantage. When bred again, she should be so fed and cared for, as to gain something in flesh every day, and yet not become loaded down with fat from the use of too much heating and concentrated food. If treated in a friendly way, she will be friendly and well disposed, and ordinarily come as near paying richly for all she gets, as any animal kept on the farm. CHAPTER XII. CASTRATING AND SPAYING. The necessity of castrating the boar pigs, for pork-mak- ing purposes, is generally admitted, but the importance of spaying such sow pigs, on the farm or in the herd, as are not desigaed for breeders, has never been appreciated as it should, or as it is likely to be, when the rearing of swine is conducted on such business principles as its im- portance demands. Open sows, running with other stock hogs, are a source of great annoyance, and where more than two or three are kept, there is scarcely a time when 106 SWINB Hi;8BAin>BY. some one of their number is not In heat, and continually chasing the others, thus keeping them in a worried, fevered condition, extremely prejudicial to growth or fattening. If all are neatly trimmed, this is avoided, the hogs are quiet and restful, and much time, trouble, and feed are saved. All feeders agree, that no animals in the swine-herd feed more kindly and profitably, than spayed sows, and there are no buyers who would not as soon, or sooner, have them than barrows, when they would not buy a lot of open sows at any price. An open sow, when fat, of the same dimensions externally as a spayed sow or bar- row, generally weighs from ten to twenty pounds less. To the feeder, the buyer, or the butcher, unspayed sows are usually, in one way or another, a cheat, as they may weigh more than they are worth by having a litter of pigs in them, or may be utterly destitute of inside fat, from having recently suckled pigs ; in either case they are of less value than their appearance would indicate. Spayed sows are not troublesome to their mates, are as good as they look for feeding or marketing, and command in all markets such prices as are paid for none but first-class stock. There is no subject connected with the live stock in- terests, upon which so little has been written, or upon which it seems so difScult to get reliable information or directions, as this. In view of this want, we have had the following practical and explicit directions prepared by one of the most experienced and successful veterinary surgeons in the country. Dr. T, C. Miles, of Charleston, Illinois, whose practice in this branch of his profession is very extensive. Doct. M. says : "As to the time for castrating boars, I would say, do it whenever most convenient, and the best way is the way understood by every old farmer, unless the hog is rup- CASTKATING AND SPAYING. 107 ttii'ed, in which case the strifEen around the seed (called the scrotal sack) should be taken out with the seed, and the seed-string tied within the neck of the scrotal sack with a small twine. When this is done, cut off the seed- sack, and all behind the tie, and let the hog go, I do not like sewing up, as large tumors sometimes result from so doing. Should maggots develop in the gash where 9 hog has been cut, apply either turpentine or butter-milk. "TO CASTRATE A EIDGLIIS^G HOG. " In a ridgling hog, the seeds are not in a scrotal sack, or in their proper place, but in the body of the animal, immediately behind itie kidneys. " He should be cut in the side, the same as in spaying a sow, but the incisioi. should be made of sufiBcient size to admit the whole hani, when the seeds can be found and easily pulled out. "to hvXY sows. " One man should be in the pen to catch, and two to hold the sow, by the feet alone, flat on the ground on her right side, and stretched out tightly. The spayer, kneel- ing at the sow's back, will cut the hair ott of the place where the incision is to be made, (a little back of the last rib, and about midway up and down) ; then cut a gash — if on a hundred-pound shote, about half an inch deep and three inches long, up and down ; elip the flesh back each way, about an inch, making a round gash or wide incision ; then turn the knife, and stick the blade straight in, gently, deep enough to go through the peritoneal lining, or inside striffen, at the upper corner of the inci- sion. Then put the left f ore-flnger in, and with it and the right fore-finger, tear the hole large enough to allow working room for the fingers ; feel inside near the back, with the first two fingers of the left hand, for the 'pride,' a little knotty lump, which cannot be mistaken, for there are no others like it within reach, but if it is not found— 108 SWINE HUSBANDRY. as is sometimes the case, then feel for small guts, called the 'pig-bag,' and take them out the best you can, until the first ' pride ' is reached ; take this off ; follow back down the pig-bed to a fork where two guts coming to- gether form a larger one, as two branches running together form a creek ; here take up the other branch until the lower 'pride' is reached; take it off, put the pig-bed back in good order, and see that it is all in the belly proper, and not left at the gash. " Slack up the upper hind leg, so as to close the gash, and sew up with two stitches, taking good hold, but going only skin-deep ; one stitch near the middle of the gash, the other above it ; draw the edges together, so as to touch from the middle of the gash upward. Both stitches may be taken before tying either, and then tie the threads or twine, crossing each other, in the form of a letter X, and when the sow is let go, press the hand over the gash as she starts off. "For spaying purposes, the thread or twine used should not be too harsh or too tightly twisted." CHAPTER XIII. PASTURE AND SUMMER FOOD. The necessity of providing swine with summer pasture and green food, is, even in the best corn-producing dis- tricts, becoming more and more apparent, and it is, unquestionably, an important factor to be taken into con- sideration in connection with the economical production of pork. So much is this the case that we can safely say, that no farmer is prepared to raise hogs in any considerable numbers, unless provided with pasture and grass lands. rASTUEB AND SUMMER POOD. 109 in which abundant water and shade are accessible at all times ; with such, hogs will thrive and grow, with but lit- tle or no grain, from early spring until the new crop of corn is fit for use, and the process of fattening should begin. This liberty of pasture, afEords the growing animals that exercise necessary to health and proper development, and the succulent grasses, rich in muscle and bone-forming materials, are loosening and cooling to the system, tend to keep it free from disease, and counteract the heating and feverish properties of corn. A very important con- sideration in favor of grass and forage for swine in sum- mer, is its comparatively small cost ; as compared with grain-feeding, the expense is merely nominal. The loss that occurs every year to farmers, from their not realizing and acting upon the fact that the hog is, in in his normal condition, a grass-eating animal, is simply enormous, and it is well settled in the minds of all who have carefully studied the subject, that to keep swine wholly upon the more concentrated and heating foods, is as unnatural and unprofitable as it would be to keep horses or cows in the same manner. A very interesting experiment in feeding some pigs, and one which illustrates this point, was recently made by the editor of the National Live Stock Journal From a desire to satisfy himself as to whether a portion of grass, or fibrous food, fed in connection with corn meal, was not more healthful and profitable than the meal without other admixture, he made the experiment of which he thus speaks : " Taking a litter of six pigs, five weeks old, we divided them into two lots, as nearly equal in weight and thrift as could be done with the eye. This was on the 1st of June. One lot of three was put into a pen, and fed upon com meal soaked in water twelve hours, ad libitum. The other lot was put into a pen alongside, and fed upon green clover, cut short by a straw-cutter, and mixed with corn meal. At first only one quart of this cut clover was fed each 110 SWINE HUSBANDRY. pig, with all the meal they would eat. This meal, being mixed with clover, the particles were separated, and when eaten, went into the stomach in a spongy condition, so that the gastric juice could penetrate the mass as water a sponge. The gastric juice came in contact with every part of the mass at once, and the diges- tion was soon accomplished. This lot of pigs, with the clover and meal, were always lively, always ready for their feed ; whilst the other lot, with meal alone, ate greedily for a time, then became mincing and dainty for a few days, showing a feverish state of the system, contenting themselves for a few meals with water, and by fasting got over it, and went on eating again. This was repeated many times during the five months that the experiment lasted. At the end of the time the two lots were weighed. The lot fed on meal alone, weighed 150 lbs. each ; the other lot, 210 lbs. each, oi 40 per cent, more for being treated as grass-eating animals. Each lot consumed the same amount of meal. The clover, in this case, was given in small quantity, and intended merely to furnish a divisor for the meal. The amount never exceeded two quarts of cut clover at a feed. We have since fed pigs this way, in sum- mer, giving all the cut clover they would eat. This will be found the best way to feed pigs where it is inconvenient to give them a run in pasture. They have always been healthy under this treat- ment, which we call the normal ration — grass alone, or grass and grain mixed. But larger growth will be made by feeding a small portion of oil meal, mingled with the corn meal and grass ; the oil meal being rich in nitrogen and phosphate of lime, to grow the muscle and bone, giving a larger growth to the frame, and thus making more pounds of pork in a given time. " In order further to test this matter of feeding fibrous food with grain, we experimented, in winter, with two lots of pigs, two in each lot. Each lot weighed 150 lbs. at commencement of experiment, and were all of the same age. The trial continued one hundred and twenty days. One lot was fed com meal, wet up with hot Water, and allowed to stand for a few hours. The other lot was fed a little short-cut clover hay and corn meal, wet up with hot water and allowed to stand. In this case, also, each lot con- sumed about the same quantity of corn meal. The pigs on meal alone were healthier than those in the other experiments, as they were older, and the weather being cold, were not so feverish. This lot gained 110 lbs. per head, and the lot on clover hay and meal gained 143 lbs. each, or 30 per cent more. ■' There is, no doubt, a great loss every year, to the farmers, for PASTURE AND STTMMEB FOOD. Ill not treating the pig as a grass-eating animal, and giving him his normal ration." It seems to be an unquestionable fact, that the reason why many fail to realize what they might from their swine herds, is that they devote their time and attention almost entirely to the com field, and utterly ignore the necessity for, or value of, pasture and green food in the summer season. In their eagerness to secure an abundance of winter and fattening food, they fail to encourage rapid growth upon healthful and inexpensive food in the most favorable months of the year. Various estimates and tables have been prepared by scientific men, to show the amount of nutritive material an acre of land will produce, in cereals and grass, and a fair average of their conclusions on the subject is shown in the following table : The estimate of the product of an acre of clover is quite low, as, when well matured, an acre can, in a favorable season, be made to yield more than the amount here given. The table is on the basis that four pounds of the raw material will make one pound of pork, except that for clover, fifteen pounds is allowed for a pound of pork. Gross Proditct per acre. Fork per acre. Value, at 4 iVo. tmsA. lbs. lbs. cts. per lb. Wheat 15 900 225 $9.00 Barley 35 1,680 420 16.80 Oats 40 1,320 320 13.20 Corn 40 2,240 560 22.40 Peas 25 1,500 375 15.00 Green clover 6 tons 12,000 800 82.00 If this is true in practice, it is evident that an acre of clover is worth, for pork-making, as much as 3'/, acres of average wheat, almost as much as 1'/^ acre of good com, and nearly as much as 2'/, acres of good oats. Hogs that have made most of their growth on corn, have stomachs too small to be the most successful grass-feeders, or make large gains on bulky food of any sort. Swine that are expected to make the most gain on a 112 SWINE HUSBANDET. grass diet, should preTiously Ibe allowed a portion of food sufficiently bulky to properly distend their stomachs, without which they will lack carrying room. Hog pastures, in July and August, if the weather is quite dry, are likely to become short of forage, and much of the ground rooted over ; in this case the stock must have extra attention. Provision can be made for such emergencies by sowing a crop of peas at the proper sea- son, and for swine in warm weather, there are few kinds of food equal to peas. Two bushels, sown broadcast on an acre of properly-prepared land, should produce about thirty bushels of shelled peas, which the hogs will har- vest, and if not too ripe, peas, pods, vines, and all, will be eaten. The value of the field pea is not known or appreciated by the western farmers as it should be, and as it is likely will be, in the future ; they produce more flesh in propor- tion to fat than corn, and are fit for use at a season when especially needed. In England, where it is impossible to raise corn, farmers rely largely on peas to fatten their pork ; while in Canada, where very fair com is raised, they claim that more hog food can be provided from an acre of peas than from an acre of corn. We are of the opinion that the time is near at hand, when an important food for swine is to be furished in the Jerusalem Artichoke ; sometimes called the Brazilian Artichoke, an incorrect name, as the plant is not known in Brazil. While but little information has been given to the public as to the best variety, or manner of pro- ducing them, they are held in high estimation by those who have given them a fair trial. Mr. A. 0. Williams, of Vinton, Iowa, a very promi- nent and successful breeder of Poland-Chinas, in large numbers, says : " The keep of my hogs, in warm weather, is Blue grass. Clover, and Brazilian Artichokes. Forty head of hogs, and their pigs, PASTUKE AND SUMMEE FOOD, 113 may be kept without other food on an acre of Artichokea, from the time frost is out of the. ground until the first of June, and from September, or October, until the ground is again frozen. " To grow them, the ground should be rich, plowed eight or ten inches deep, the tubers cut same as seed potatoes, and planted from early spring to June 10th, ten to fifteen inches apart, in rows that aie three feet apart, with six bushels of seed to the acre. " They can also be planted in the fall, from October 15th to November 15th, but the tubers should not be cut, and the ground should be throughly rolled after planting. " If planted in spring, plenty of rain in July and August will make them large enough to turn hogs on in September, otherwise not until a month later. If in foul ground, they may, when three or four inches high, be given a thorough working with cultivators, and when the hogs have been removed, to allow a new crop of tubers to grow, the ground should be made smooth by harrowing, that the tops may be cut with a mower, as food for horses and cattle. " Enough seed will remain in the ground for another crop, but they can easily be eradicated by mowing off the tops and plowing the ground deeply in July and the early part of August. " The Brazilian Artichoke is red, does not spread and scatter like the wild, white variety, and produces more hog-feed to the acre than any crop I am acquainted with, and the hogs will harvest the crop themselves. " Hogs taken from the artichoke pastures to clover and blue- grass, will not root up the sod, as they are free from intestinal worms, constipation, indigestion, and fever, caused by feeding com in winter." The editor of the Stocls Journal, -writiagot Mr. Williams' hogs, as seen at the Iowa State Fair of 1876, said : " Mr. Williams, of Vinton, had on exhibition one of the largest displays of Poland-Chinas we have ever seen on any fair ground from a single individual. Mr. W. captured the first prize on sows over one year and under six months, and the second on a pair of pigs under six months, in a ring of 38 entries, and a recommended herd premium. Mr. Williams informed us that his herd was taken off his pastures and artichoke fields without any previous fixing up." Considering how the majority of premium hogs and pigs are pampered and "fixed up" before they are taken 114 SWrNK HUSBANDBT. to State Fairs, this is a very liigh compliment to Mr. Williams' "keep." A gentleman writing to the Prairie Farmer from Wakarusa, Kansas, speaks of artichokes as follows : "The Jerusalem Artichoke, in this State, forms a large tuber, (those of over a pound in weight being nothing unusual), is won- derfully productive, very nutritious, and is well liked by the hogs, even in a raw state. " I planted a few last year to raise seed for this season ; and in digging them I found that they had taken entire possession of the ground, so that I had to dig up all the ground between the rows as well as between the hills, and the largest and finest tubers were found deep down in the compact sub-soil where the plow had never re&ched. " Here I am reminded of the only objection (so-called) that I have ever heard urged against the artichoke ; which is, that if they once get into a piece of ground they never can be eradicated. This, in- stead of being a valid objection. Is really one of the strongest argu- ments in favor of its use for the purpose under consideration. " I think that in seeding hog pastures to the artichoke, a division fence should be run through the middle, so that one half could rest each alternate year, and not be disturbed during the growing sea- son. Enough, in any event, would be left in the ground for seed, but in this way the tubers would have a better chance to mature. " In selecting a piece of ground for hog pasture, (if intended to be planted with artichokes), it will be best to take a rich, moist soil, though they will grow in any soU that is suitable for potatoes. Having made the selection with due care and forethought, let that piece be dedicated forever to the artichoke, when It will be seen that the impossibility of its eradication becomes its highest recommen- dation, for no further labor will ever be required in planting, cul- tivating, or digging ; the swine will have plenty of the best of sum- mer food, and they will cultivate it and dig it t/iemsehes." The following, to the same journal, was from an Illi- nois correspondent : "I have raised the Jerusalem Artichoke on my place twelve years. Soil the same as the common prairies of Iowa and Illinois, and my experience proves them to be a very valuable and useful crop. All kinds of stock, horses, cattle, sheep, and hogs, and chick- ens, are fond of them, I regard them as very healthy food, and PABTUKB AND SUMMER FOOD. 115 necessary in addition to grain, in the spring, and at this time, are feeding them to my milch cows with the best results. " One can commence using them in September, and from thence to June, but to use them when the ground is frozen solid, they must be gathered and heaped, and covered with straw and earth, other- wise, whenever the ground can be got into they can be used; being frozen in the ground tends to make them crisp ani sweet. Plenty of artichokes and a little corn brings the hogs out fine in the spring, and they will dig them themselves, and will do the same in the fall. "I was warned by my neighbors, when I got them, to look out or they would get my farm, and take my place to its ruin, but this has not been my experience. I always consoled myself that if they got the advantage of me and grew spontaneously, the struggle would be between them and weeds, the difference being, the arti- chokes would have roots at the bottom, and the weeds nothing. The only difficulty has been to keep a sufficiency of roots beyond the reach of hogs, to renew my crop with. Cultivate same as pota- toes, and same amount of seed, will yield five to one of potatoes, with same culture, and are much easier to cultivate, as they have •a strong upright stalk. Plant in the spring; any time in April will do best ; I would plant in May rather than miss. Soil cannot be too rich." The following also appeared in the Burlington (Iowa) Hawheye, about the same time : " Last spring I planted a double handful of small tubers, cut still smaller, I think about 40 pieces, and about 35 plants grew in two rows about 35 feet long (11 steps). A few days ago I dug them, and they were over seven bushels. I threw over the last dug bushel to the pigs and they eat them with avidity. I knocked the dirt off a large one, and oiFered it to the horse at the garden fence, and he eat it. Three of the best plants yielded each one-half bushel even full, and the majority yielded over a peck each. They were planted in good, moist ground, and hoed once. The six bushels are now in a heap in my garden, and I intend to plant most of them. In spading up where my garden fence had been, I found those tubers in the ground. They were there 18 years ago, when we came here, and how much longer, probably the former owner could tell. One of your correspondents is wrong about the arti- choke being impossible to eradicate. I once planted some, and in the autumn turned in hogs, (without knowing anything about tlie 116 SWINE HUSBANDRY. field), and the next spring inclosed it in a calf pasture, and the fol- lowing spring none appeared. The yield per acre would certainly be enormous, and freezing does no injury. This saves much labor of digging before frost, or digging at all for hogs." The common method of feeding corn, alone, twelve months in the year, is favorable to the production of the well-known " land pikes," so common on the farms of the West, a few years since, and tens of thousands of hogs have been lost by the so-called "hog cholera," and other diseases, wholly and directly the result of defective and unnatural feeding. We look upon more and better grass, shade, and water, with less dry corn, fed in mud, filth, and dust, as the great panaceas for the many ail- ments with which such enormous numbers of hogs are annually afflicted and lost. A practical and well known western writer was not far from the facts, when he said, in 1872 : " With many of those who raise hogs in the West, but little attention is paid to their natures, habits, wants, or feed lots ; the latter are allowed to become a noisome pestilence, and the only wonder is thnt the whole race of swine is not exterminated by cholera, blind-staggers, etc., engendered by these sink-holes of iniquity." In a series of carefully prepared articles written for the Prairie Farmer, by Hon. Elmer Baldwin, of Illinois, he makes the following fair statements about the desirability of pasture and forage for swine : "The farmer who proposes to make money by raising pork, must have a pasture for his swine during the season of grass. Without it the balance is very apt to be on the wrong side of the ledger after selling his crop. " Clover is supposed to be the best, but Timothy is doubtless equally good. Swine like it about as well, and it is more nutritious. Blue-grass does well, when better is not to be had ; even a field of weeds is better than no pasture, as many varieties of weeds are ex- cellent feed. Many a poor widow has made a good porker almost solely on weeds from her garden. " Where a sufficient range of pasture cannot be had, soiling does PASTUEK AND SUMMER S'OOD. ll'? well. Clover or Timothy cut -when green and fresh, and fed regu- larly, is the next hest feed to a good range of pasture. " As soon as the grass starts in the spring, the hogs should be turned in, as they like it best when short and tender. They will subsist and grow well on grass alone, with a little salt occasionally. Some prefer to feed a little corn daily; it may or may not be good policy ; they will be farther advanced for fattening, but will not fatten as well as if none is fed in summer, and with good pasture, water, and shade, they will give satisfactory results. They will not fatten on grass, but it prepares them for fattening. " Their systems are in a healthy state. They have no ulcerated livers and stomachs, as they wUl have if fed on corn through the hot weather. " Thus kept, they are prepared by the first of September to com- mence the fattening process, with sound teeth, good digestion, and vigorous health. They will after that time promptly pay for all the feed judiciously given. It may be, and doubtless is, true, that a light feed of bran or light provender might be fed with profit luring the summer ; but it is doubtful if corn in any quantity is beneficial. ' "Feeding on corn alone, during the summer, except it to be send them to a summer market, is bad policy ; they become un- healthy, teeth sore, appetites cloyed, and they will not feed satis- factorily in the fall, iind the comparative expense of grass and corn feeding must be drawn as to which is the best policy. The cost of grass feeding, even with other light feed, is merely nominal, while a hog fed on corn, from the time it is weaned from the sow until butchered at eighteen months old, can seldom pay expenses. " The chief end of a hog is the weight and quality of his carcass. His value depends upon his being well fattened, and the object aimed at during his whole life is to prepare him for that event. If he fails in that, his life is a failure. " Com is the proper food for fattening, but not for growth ; and the fattening process is always, to some extent, a disease-producing process, and if too long continued is always so. " But when the animal commences fattening in vigorous health, having lived for months on green vegetable and light food, his health will remain firm througli any reasonable time required to beco-ne fat. But if fed uninterruptedly on heavy, hearty, dry food for all his life, his health, if not already destroyed, is injured, and will yield to such unnatural living before there is time to fat- ten, as will be shown b^^ loss of appetite, restlessness, unnatural 118 SWINE HUSBANDKT. craving for lime, clay, bones, hen-dung, etc. A hog thus affected can not be fattened more that season ; he had better be slaugh- tered, (although it is doubtful if his carcass is fit for food), or turned out for a year, to recuperate. " It is a common practice to endeavor to counteract this tendency to disease by feeding sulphur, coal, bones, clay, rotten wood, etc., which may be, to some extent, beneficial ; but it is like the drugs used to infuse life and health into the gouty, rheumatic, apoplectic, epicurean biped. The health thus obtained is of an inappreciable amount compared with that of the hardy rustic who never had gout or apoplexy. The hog is an epicurean philosopher ; and as Providence deals with his biped prototype, (the votary of that phi- losophy), by throwing in disease at the proper time to close the scene, so the butcher's knife should do for the quadruped what Providence does for the biped, but a little in advance, just before the disease is developed. That is, the fattening process should be completed as soon as possible, (and before disease supervenes), both for economy, and to insure a good, healthful quality of meat, and when the proper amount of fat is laid on, the animal should be slaughtered at once." It must appear to any candid observing man that the use of grasses, peas, artichokes, etc., instead of com, for the summer diet of hogs, must be rational and profitable, in. producing healthier animals, affording a fairer remu- neration to the raiser, and, above all, food more nearly fit for the human stomach. Pasture ; let this word be written in capitals, by every man who raises swine — it is the secret of success. OHAPTBE XIV. FATTENING. Healthy swine, of good breed, that have been previously kept in such a manner, and for such a length of time, (the latter depending largely on the breed) as to develop a good-sized and properly formed frame, if put upon full, but not too concentrated, feed in the early days of Sep* rATTBinNG. 119 tember, are expected to, and will, lay on flesh very rap- idly. The quantity will vary, with different animals, from half a pound to two and a half pounds per day, the latter quantity, however, being quite extraordinary. Whatever the season of the year, or the number of ani- mals to be fattened, it is important that the enclosure in which they are kept and fed, should have good surface drainage ; if possible, there should be plenty of running water, that their feed-lots may not become miry, and to prevent the necessity of the animals drinking from im- pure sloughs, or mud-holes. With the best management, it is not desirable that more than about forty head should be confined to less than an acre of ground ; though it is frequently the prac- tice to feed that, or a greater number, in a much smaller space, where they are compelled to eat, drink, and sleep in their own filth ; after some months of this treatment, if not carried off by that ever convenient scapegoat, "cholera," they become a good and fair quality of — car- rion. If any considerable number are to be fattened, and the large, medium, and small-sized hogs can be fed by themselves, in different pens or lots, it is an excellent plan to do this ; and if not more than fifteen, twenty, or twenty-five are kept together, they will be more peace- able, feed better, gain faster, and be healthier, than if huddled together indiscriminately, to spend their time in continual turmoil and uproar. To be more precise about the space fattening hogs should have, we consider any space sufficient in which a reasonable number are afforded comfort, cleanliness, and a moderate degree of exercise ; while any pen is too small, that compels any number to be filthy and uncomfortable. When taken from grass, or other bulky diet, to be fat- tened, the change to a more concentrated food should be gradual, as too sudden a change is sometimes attended with injurious effects, if not the loss of some animals 120 SWINE HUSBANDET. outright. They should, at first, have light feed. Bran and other mill-stuff, made into slop, and given with their grain, is good, and if the refuse from the orchard and potato field is given them, it will be beneficial, and espe- cially so, if cooked and mixed with bran, meal, etc. Our own custom is, to plant early in the spring a piece of good, rich ground, with some of the larger kinds of sweet corn, or an early variety of field corn, and with it put some pumpkin seeds in every sixth or eighth hill, each way. Early in the season this corn is in " roasting-ear," when we begin feeding it to the hogs, stalk and all — as much as they will clean up. It seems exactly suited to their appetites, and starts them along in growth and fattening in a manner that is always grati- fying. Cutting the early corn from the ground hastens the growth of the pumpkins, which then begin ripening, and are soon fit for use. After the hogs have eaten every mouthful of the green corn that they will, we give them as many pumpkins as they want, and usually, each grown hog will eat one good-sized pumpkin, or more. Before they are given to the hogs, the pumpkins should be chopped open, and all, or most all, of the seeds removed, as in large quan- tities they affect the urinary organs very injuriously, and so derange an Bjnimal's system as to make him nearly worthless for any purpose. We consider that the pork made in this way, at this time of year, yields us as much clear profit as any we produce. " We like to cut up corn for the hogs as late in the season as they will eat a good portion of the fodder, and after this, it requires but a few weeks of feeding on clear corn to fully ripen them for slaughter. We differ from many experienced feeders, in believing that the new com will fatten hogs faster than that a year or two old ; but for finishing off a lot of porkers, for market, we read- PATTENISTG. 121 ily concede that a plenty of old sound com is good enough for anybody. As to continuing the use of pumpkins, we never suc- ceeded i". raising too many, or in keeping them into the winter longer than we liked to feed them, but fattening hogs should fill up with a full meal of corn before being given the pumpkins, else they would eat too much pump- kin in proportion to the corn, and be very slow in storing up fat. Pumpkins, like wheat bran, are useful adjuncts to the more concentrated kinds of food, but alone cannot be depended on for fattening purposes. If there is soft, or poor corn to be fed out, it should be used first, as, after beginning to feed, a change from strong, sound feed, to that which is poor and chaffy, is usually for the worse. Any change during the feeding season should be from light to heavier, and more nutri- tious food, and never the reverse. When, by gradually increasing the quantity of fattening food, the hogs have become accustomed to it, they should be given at regular hours, early in the morning, at noon, and late in the evening, as much corn as they will eat up clean, but no more. This caution is applicable to all other foods as well as corn, though we are aware that comparatively few hogs are fattened in the corn-growing regions, except upon corn in the ear, and probably the time is far off when it will be otherwise. So easily and abundantly raised, it has become the prin- cipal food for fatting all kinds of farm stock, and being so common, is fed in many cases without a proper knowl- edge of iis adaptability to the animal economy, as is shown by the constant tendency to disease and degener- acy in our domestic animals. Its exclusive use is not the best economy, but being so easily produced, and in such convenient form for feeding, especially in cold weather, ii is simply courting ridicule to protest against it ; we will, 6 122 SWINB HUSBANDRY. nevertheless, renture to introduce here an item embody- ing the views endorsed by many of the most learned sci- entists ; it is from the report (see Ch. XXIV. ), made in the fall of 1876, to the Missouri State Board of Agricul- ture, by Dr. Detmers, V. S. This gentleman was com- missioned by the Board to investigate the so-called "Hog Cholera," in its various forms and phases, its symptoms and causes, and to suggest means of prevention, and ra- tional treatment. He writes as follows : " Finally, I wish to say a few words in regard to a hygienic mistake committed on almost every farm in the west. I refer to the practice of feeding the swine exclusively with corn, a practice which cer- tainly is not calculated to produce healthy and vigorous animals, hut which necessarily must result, as I shall try to show, in weak- ening the organism, and in creating a predisposition to disease. How much or how little this practice has contributed in producing the now prevailing epizootic influenza of swine I am not prepared to decide. I have, however, reasons to suppose that this practice has not been without influence. The organism of a domestic ani- mal is composed of about fifteen to twenty elements, or undecom- posable constituents of matter, united in numerous organic com- pounds. A constant change of matter is taking place, and a part of these elements, in form of organic compounds, is constantly wasted, and carried oflf by the processes of sscretion and excretion. The organism, therefore, in order to remain healthy, and to main- tain its normal composition, must receive, from time to time, an adequate supply of those elements, contained in suitable or digest- ible organic compounds, so as to cover the continual loss, and, if the animal is young, to produce growth and development. The simplest way to introduce these elements into the animal organism is to give food which contains them in nearly the right proportions. A few of these elements, besides hydrogen and oxygen, are some- times in the form of suitable compounds in limited, though very seldom suflBcient, quantities in the water for drinking; for in- stance, calcium, in the form of lime, iron, etc. One important element — oxygen — enters the organism, also, in large quantities, through the lungs and through the skin, but all others have to b6 introduced wholly, or almost wholly, in the form of food. Almost all kinds of food, however, milk perhaps excepted, lack some im' PATTENrNG. 123 portant elements in their composition, contain others in insufficient quantities, and still others in greater abundance than required. Therefore, if such a kind of food is given exclusively — corn, for instance — which is destitute of some of the mineral elements, and " contains only an insufficient quantity of nitrogenous compounds, which are of so great importance in the animal organization, irreg- ularities and disorders, in the exercise of the various functions and organs, will be the unavoidable results." Prof. S. A. Knapp, an extensive breeder of thorough- bred swine, at Vinton, Iowa, to satisfy himself that too much corn, without other food, was detrimental to the health of pigs, made some experiments, one of which he speaks of as follows : "Two years since, I experimented in feeding dry corn and water to a thrifty, vigorous pig, about twelve weeks old. In three weeks there were indications of fever ; the fourth week he became stifiE in his limbs, extremely costive, with skin dry — appetite yet good. The fifth week there was great weakness in the hind parts— swell- ing of the sheath, retention of urine, costiveness, and fickle appe- tite. T!io diet was then changed to dish-water and cooked bran drinks ; in three weeks the pig was apparently well." If kept in dry lots, or fed in pens, plenty of trough room should be provided, and at least twice a day the hogs should have as much clean water as they will drink, and practical men know that this is no inconsiderable quantity, "Whatever the feed may be, it should be given in such a manner that they will be forced to eat as little filth as possible, and if corn can be fed on a clean floor, or ground having a sod, it is an excellent plan. But when the ani- mals, to get their feed, must swallow as much mud and manure as grain, but poor results can be expected. Kegularity, as to times of feeding, and quality and quan- tity of feed, should be observed ; no animal should be fed so as to become surfeited, and only so much food should be given at once as will be entirely consumed, that all may come to the next meal with sharp appetites. The most perfect development does not depend so much upon 124 SWINE HUSBANDBY. the large quantity they can be made to consume, as upon the quantity they properly digest and assimilate. Next to good food for the appetite, a good appetite for the food is desirable, and should be carefully promoted ; the hog that refuses to eat, even for a single day, is set back in his fattening for two or three days, and sometimes for a fortnight. In fact, the failure of a hog's appetite denotes something radically wrong with him, if not with the entire herd and its management. The quantity of food will vary somewhat, and usua,lly in frosty or freezing weather, more will be eaten, to maintain the animal heat, than when the temperature is higher and the atmosphere contains considerable moisture. Good feeding consists in giving every particle the hogs will eat, without leaving any, or losing their appetites, and to accomplish this, in- telligent care and close observation are necessary. The old saying, that the lazy farmer, who sits on the fence watching his hogs until they are through eating, gener- ally markets the heaviest pork, is in exemplification of the rules of proper care in feeding. Quiet and comfort are indispensable to thrift, so dogs and boisterous boys should be kept away from the feed lots and pens. We have always found it convenient to accustom our hogs to some particular call, which will bring them together, and sometimes they can thus be called into places where it would be about impossible to drive them. We salt our own hogs, by putting small quantities in their swill, and sulphur is given in the same way. Bitu-^ minous or soft coal, charcoal, wood ashes, and rotten wood, are relished by hogs as condiments, and we think that these should be kept within their reach. Comfortable, sheltered beds, not too deep and dusty, are equivalent to a considerable amount of food, as stock suffering from cold cannot thrive, and to warm them with grain, applied internally, is much more expensive than good nests and shelter, applied externally. FATTENING. 125 One hundred pounds of pork from ten bushels of corn, is the usual estimate made by western farmers who feed whole com, but fed in a different form, and in conjunc- tion with other food, it will make much more, as has been many times fully demonstrated by careful feeders, both in America and Europe. The example of the farm- ers in the New England States is valuable, as they are noted for raising the best of pork with small corn crops, and no "cholera." The general method pursued "Is to commence fattening by boiling potatoes, pumpkins, apples, or other vegetables, and mix a little bran, shorts, or pro- vender, with the cooked vegetables when hot, thus thoroughly- cooking the meal. It is theh placed in tubs or vats, and allowed to slightly ferment, when it is ready for use. The amount of meal is gradually increased until near killing time, when meal well cooked is given alone. ' " The meal is composed of oats, buckwheat, and com, or any other coarse grain, or of any two of them, generally finishing with corn meal alone. Thus treated, they fatten much faster than on dry corn, and at much less expense. It costs more labor, but at a aeason when it can be well spared, and it is well recompensed. " The English system is still more diversified. They use all kinds of vegetables — ^potatoes, turnips, carrots, beets, peas, beans, barley, and oats; the grain steamed or ground; the vegetables cooked and mixed with slop from the house, dairy, distillery, brewery, etc. Even grass and clover is cut and mixed with the feed, and almost every substance of light cost and any nutriment, is nicely prepared and finds a ready market in the maw of the om- nivorous hog." We do not wish to be understood as arguing, in this chapter, or in this book, that corn is not a suitable food for swine, or that it is not the lest single fat-producing material for the money in the world, for general use ; but would enforce the fact that a variety is essential to per- fect health and development in all animals, and a single article of food becomes satisfactory to none, — not even to a hog. A very satisfactory mpthod of fattening hogs, largely 126 SWINB HUSBANDET. practised in the west by those who "stall feed" cattle, is to pat shotes, of one hundred to one hundred and fifty pounds weight, with the cattle whenever grain feeding is begun — generally about the first of October — at the rate of fifteen to twenty shotes to ten steers, the number de- pending on the amount of grain used, and the manner in which it is placed before the cattle. In the fine weather of fall and early winter, it is common to feed com in the fodder, or in the shuck, by throwing it upon the grass in the pasture ; the favorite way is to feed in two differ- ent enclosures, and each day to turn the hogs into the one where the cattle were fed the day previous ; this enables them to pick up the leavings of the cattle, without trampling on and over the day's feed, until the cattle have eaten as much of it as they wish. When full feed is given to cattle in this way, about two shotes to each steer is not too many, but when com is fed in tight boxes and troughs, so that but a small pro- portion is scattered, from one shote to one and a half per steer will keep the feed lots well gleaned. If a greater number are kept, they will need to have extra grain given them, in order to fatten rapidly ; but if simply growth is the object, three shotes will fare pretty well in following each steer that is on full feed. The grain voided whole by the cattle seems to be so softened and so digestible, that hogs thrive on it amazing- ly, so that the larger ones are soon in a condition for market, and others can occupy their places in the feeding lots. Hogs seldom fatten more satisfactorily, rapidly, or with less outlay of labor, than when handled in this way, and the plan is justly held in high favor, from the fact that every pound of increase from the droppings and scattered corn is clear gain, none of which could be utilized with- out the much-abused hog. One common defect in this method of managing hogs COOKING FOOD FOE SWINE. 137 is, that they are not generally provided with suitable sleeping quarters, where they can be comfortable, without crowding, and out of danger of being trampled and horned by the cattle. Autumn, with its mild weather, is the profitable season for making pork and lard, and hogs not fed with cattle, should be far along in their fattening before severe winter weather sets in. "When hogs become so fat as to get up and about with difficulty, it is a loss to feed them longer, and the packer and the barrel should take them in. In feeding soft or cooked food, a kerosene barrel mounted on wheels will answer, but where something not quite so high, and less circumscribed at the top can be constructed, it will be found more convenient. OHAPTEE XV. COOKING FOOD FOR SWINE.— FOOD COOKERS. The question as to the economy and general desirability of cooking food for swine, has long been a subject of dis- cussion and speculation, yet there probably is quite as much diversity of opinion, among farmers in general at the present day, as at any previous time. The surrounding conditions and circumstances, have much to do in deciding the question of economy ; and while one farmer, under certain circumstances, could feed a considerable portion of cooked grain and secure satis- factory returns therefor, another, differently situated, though perhaps in the same neighborhood, and raising the same class of swine, might be unable to do so without actual loss. Under favorable circumstances many have, by careful experiments, thoroughly satisfied themselves that th« 128 SWINB HTJSBANDBT. practice of cooking is largely profitable, and others, from experiments fully as careful and thorough, have arrived at conclusions directly the reverse. There can scarcely be a doubt that cooking hard, dry corn, renders it more easy of digestion, enabling the ani- mal to extract the maximum of nutritive material it con- tains, and that, ordinarily, fed in this form and of the proper consistency, it affords a larger percentage of flesh and fat, than if fed in the raw state. A large majority, we think, of those who have given attention to the sub- ject, admit this ; at the same time, a respectable and in- telligent minority, vote nay. That it is practically profit- able, on a majority of farms, to pursue a system of cook- ing the food for large stocks of swine, is not generally conceded. Among the reasons for regarding cooking as impracti- cable, are, the scarcity of timber for fuel, the extra labor involved, and the general lack of fixtures and facilities for cooking, and feeding the food in its cooked state. Vast numbers of those whose farms are located in the best corn-growing regions, would, by the single item of fuel, be deterred from undertaking it, even if convinced that cooking would give, from the cooked food, a con- siderable increase of flesh and fat over that consumed raw. Others, with fuel convenient and abundant, and fully satisfied of the importance and economy of feeding cooked grain, are practically prevented from carrying out their convictions, by the scarcity and expense of reliable, intel- ligent help. There are others still, with so much wood and timber, that it is a burden, and who have help to spare, yet having no very decided views for or against cooking, suppose that some hundreds of dollars would have to be expended in buying, fitting up, and learning to use the very simplest apparatus that would possibly answer. "We shall try to disabuse the minds of this last mentioned classs further on in this chapter. COOKING FOOD FOE SWINE. 129 The Messrs. H. M. & W. P. Sisson, of Galesburg, Illi- nois, in a pre-eminently prairie country, are uncommonly successful breeders of swine in large numbers, and, at some seasons of the year, use a considerable quantity of cooked food. Knowing them to be practical men, pursu- ing their business for profit, rather than for the purpose of demonstrating any preconceived theories, we solicited of them a statement of their conclusions, from experience, as to the profit and desirability of cooking food for swine^ on a small, medium, and large scale. In their reply, they express views so nearly identical with those entertained by us, that we cheerfully present their conclusions in lieu of onr own. They write : " We have been cooking food for hogs, more or less, for the last six or eight years, and we state as the result of our experience and observation, that in the great hog and com producing States, cooking food for hogs, generally,, will not pay ; still, there are times and circumstances which will make cooking, to a limited extent, profitable. " We do not think it profitable to cook corn, or meal, for hogs, whenever they can have access to good, tender grass, and the temperature is such that corn can be, soaked in water. Soaking will then answer every purpose, but in winter, when there is no grass, and dry corn is the principal food, is the time that cooking will pay, if ever. " Hogs need something besides dry corn, (it is too con- centrated), something with more bulk ; and to meet this requirement, we do some cooking. If a slop is made of corn and oat meal, middlings and bran, and finished up with potatoes, pumpkins, or squashes, all well cooked, and fed in connection with dry com, we think the advan- tage will be very apparent. " It is not absolutely necessary that this should be fed; more than once a day, but pigs, especially, should have enough, once a day, to fill up and properly distend the 130 SWINB HnSBANDET. stomach. In speaking of pigs, we mean those six months old, or more. " It is our opinion, that the disease known as hog chol- era, is very largely occasioned by the almost exclusive use of corn. Hogs should have a variety of food ; they need something besides corn ; oats, bran, potatoes, etc., fed lor a change, and for variety, are very beneficial. *' We use a simple pan, or boiler, that has an iron bot- tom and ends, with plank sides, so that the contents can be drawn off into a vat. The boiler has a light cover, and is about eight feet long, three feet wide, and fifteen inches deep. Such an arrangement is cheap, and can be made profitable, principally in winter. " We will say, in conclusion, that we do not believe that it will pay, either on a small, medium, or large scale, to generally substitute cooked for uncooked food, for hogs in the great hog and corn-producing regions of the West." Mr. Thomas Wood, the successful breeder of Chester Whites, mentioned in another chapter, writes us : " For the last eight or ten years, I have cooked feed for my hogs, and with the steamer that I have fixed up 1 can make one or two hogsheads of mush at a time. I coot food as a matter of economy, believing that about one-fourth the grain is saved thereby. I generally feed of corn two parts, and oats one part, ground together, and with this I feed considerable whole com, particularly in the fall before it gets hard and dry. Peed, when cooked, should be allowed to get nearly cold before it is given to the hogs. " A few days ago, I weighed and put in separate pens, two sows, in every way the same, and of the same litter. No. 1 weighed 392 lbs. , and No. 2 weighed 380 lbs. I fed No. 1 for 17 days on unground com, cooked; she con- sumed 3 bushels and 31 quarts, and gained 36 lbs. No. 2 I fed the same length of time, on whole com, raw, of COOKING POOD FOR SWINE. I3i which she consumed 3 bushels and 13 quarts, and gained 30 lbs. " The summer before the above experiment was made, I fed eight shotes with corn and oats, (one part oats, and two parts corn), ground, and made it into well-cooked mush, and frequently weighed them, in order to see if it would pay to make pork at the then ruling prices of corn (55c.), oats (40c.), and pork (7c.). The result was that the pork paid nearly two prices, for the corn and oats, while the manure paid for the labor." U. H. Stowe, of Indiana, had four pigs of a litter, which weighed 245 lbs. each, and four of another litter that weighed 170 lbs. each. He took one of each htter, and put in a pen by itself, and the other six in another pen, and gave both an equal chance, allowing both as much good, sound com as they could eat, for six weeks. The corn fed to the six was thoroughly cooked whole, and that fed to the two was raw, and fed in the usual way. The hogs on the raw corn gained ten pounds to the bushel, and those fed on the cooked corn gained just fif- teen pounds to the bushel consumed. Prof. Wilkinson, of Baltimore, says: "1 conducted an agricultural school and experimental farm for eight years, and experimented with feeding cooked food of every description used for cows, horses, swine, working and fattening cattle, and poultry, and carefully noted the results. These were in all cases very remunerative ; so much so, that even with the defective, inconvenient, and expensive apparatus used — for want of better — ^in steam- ing, manipulating, and feeding, I found there was an average profit of fully 25 per cent." THE EXPERIMENTS OE S. H. CLAT. Readers of agricultural papers have, no doubt, fre- quently seen allusions to experiments made by Mr. S. H Clay, of Paris, Ky., in cooking food for swine. 132 BWINB HUSBANDBT. Mr. Clay was an extensive breeder of Berkshires, 'being the gentleman to whom was awarded the grand prize of $1,000, for the finest display of swine at the National Swine Exposition, in Chicago, September, 1871. He made these experiments to settle, in his own mind, the question as to what extent, and under what circum- stances, cooking food could be profitably followed. The experiments were begun July 16th, with six bar- rows, each about twelve months old, at which time they weighed as follows : Xo. 1 355 pounds. " 3 385 " 3 840 " " i 240 " " 5 265 " " 6 345 " They were fed together for twelve days on cooked corn meal, reduced to such a consistency that the animals could readily drink it. At the end of twelve days, they were separated, when each pig weighed as follows : i 318 ' "-;;— 33 3 290 ' tt 50 4 376 • 390 U 11 36 B, ti 25 6, 383 ' it i( 37 Nos. 1 and 2 were put in a pen together, and for 30 days fed on boiled com, consuming 390 pounds, or six bush- els and 54 pounds, upon which No. 1 gained 50 pounds, and No. 2 gained 53 pounds, or together, 103 pounds. For the same period, Nos. 3 and 4 were fed together, in a pen, on meal, boiled and reduced to a thin slop, con- suming 354 pounds, or four bushels and 46 pounds, upon which No. 3 gained 30 pounds, and No. 4 gained 50 pounds, or together, 80 pounds. Nos. 5 and 6 were for the same period fed on dry corn, consuming 405 pounds, or seven bushels and 13 pounds. Upon this. No. 5 gained 10 pounds, and No. 6 gained 33 pounds, or together, 43 pounds. COOKIXG POOD FOB SWIITK. 133 The following will illustrate the foregoing in tabular form : > ■ Consumed Gain in 30 days Pork to 1 bushel com . Com per bushel Cost of pork per lb Xos. 1 and 2. Boiled Com. 6 bu. S4 lbs. 10)3 lbs. 14«=/ioolbs. 38 cents. Ic. 9 mills. Nos. 3 and i, JBoiled Meal. 4 bu. 46 lbs. 80 lbs. IB o'/ioo lbs. 28 cents. Ic. 6 mills. Jfes. 5 s -"I 10"ri 4911 6751 520 660 4681 6181 503 678 519 Weighed September 1 676 Gain 184i 13.361 140 9.33 1501 lo.ool 1751 11.66' 1.57 Gain per bushel 10.46 " On the 1st day of September the pigs were all put upon full feed, each pen receiving the same kind of food as during the first two months. "The experiment was concluded for each pen when fifteen bushels had been consumed, except No. 2, which had consumed but 13f- bushels up to October 25th." 'B'a Weighed September 1. Weighed October 33. . , Weighed October 25 . . . Weighed October 28. . 675 870 660 800 tei-B ■B in o . o 618 780 678 880 676 818 Gain 195 Gain per bushel 13.00 140 10.34 1621 10.801 302 13.46 142 9.46 " Mr. R. L. Bingham, ot Bloomington, Grant county, Wisconsin, states that, after purchasing an Anderson steamer, he commenced, February 15th, an experiment in feeding nineteen pigs.jabout nine- teen weeks old, a cross of Berlsshire with common stock. Prior to the experiment, the pigs had the run of the farm, and had been fed as much raw corn as they would eat. Then for a period of twenty- eight days, they were fed as before, with corn in the ear and all the water they could drink. At the close of this period, the totai gain in weight was 667 lbs., made from feeding 55 bushels ot corn —a gain of 12 lbs. for each bushel of corn. They were then fed with thick mush, made by bringing the water to a boiling heat, and then stirring in the meal ground fine, with the steam still on, allow- ing the meal to cook five to ten minutes, and adding salt ; this was fed to them warm, three times a day, as much as they would eat clean. At the end of twenty-eight days they were again weighed, showing a gain of 676 lbs., made on 75 bushels ot corn, less toll— a gain of 9 lbs. for each bushel of corn consumed. He then put 11 of the pigs on raw corn again, continuing to teed the others with cooked meal. May 25, after a trial ot six weeks, those on raw corn averaged a gain of 44 lbs. each, and the others an average gain of 37 lbs." Prof. Henry, of the Wisconsin Experiment Station, lias summarized all the most carefully made experiments at educational institutions in America, including those by himself, on a variety of foods, and as a whole they afEord a wonderfully strong showing against the practice and profit of cooking for swine. The showing is this : Agricultural Experiment Station, Wisconsin. Cooked barley meal (4 tdals) was to uncooked as 93.7 to 100 Cooked corn meal (3 trials) was to uncooked as 81.0 to 100 Cooked corn meal and shorts (2 trials) was to uncooked as.. 96,1 to 100 Cooked whole com and shorts (3 trials) was to uncooked as. - 85.8 to 100 Ontario Agricultural College, Cooked peas (3 trials) were to uncooked as 84.9 to 100 Michigan Agricultural CoUege. Scalded com and oatmeal was to wet meal as 101.7 to 100 Kansas Agricultural College. Cooked shelled com was to uncooked corn as 84.0 to 100 Iowa Agricultural College. Cooked shelled com (3 trials) was to uncooked as 83.3 to 100 Cooked com meal (2 trials) was to uncooked as. 79.3 to 100 Maine Agricultural College. ,.. Cooked com meal (9 trials) was to uncooked as 83.9 to 100 " It will be noted," observes Prof. Henry, " that in every in- atance but one, that at the Michigan Agricultural College, therft "■ '■™"* "- ^ '■""■" -TWINE. 137 is a loss resulting from cooking ; in the exception the gain is very slight, being less than two per cent. Even in this case the meal was not really cooked, but scalded by boiling water being poured on to the meal in a pail and covered up, while the other meal was fed wet with water." Many other experiments and a vast fund of valuable information have been collated and very lucidly presented in the elaborate article (Chap. XVIII.) prepared by Mr. Joseph Sullivant, of the Ohio State Board of Agriculture. High authority in such matters has said: "No man en- gaged in pork-raising can afford to pursue his business, without giving Mr. SuUivant's paper careful investiga- tion. He will find there embodied, in a reasonable space, a carefully prepared and full statement of the experiences of many, that it would require him days and perhaps weeks of study and research to obtain." A FOOD COOKEE. Much money has been wasted in the purchase of vari- ous steamers, boilers, cookers, and similar apparatus, patented, -high-priced, and highly extolled, at least by patentees, makers, and venders. Not a few credulous persons have been'almost persuaded that, if possessed of one of these wonderful inventions, they could raise hogs on so near no grain at all,. that a fortune was inevitable, if the business was well followed. While the apparatus of each different make has some point to recommend it, no great number of meritorious features are combined in any one that is simple and cheap, and we have observed that those who invest in this class, of merchandise, sooner or later permit it to get out of repair, fall into disuse, and if not left out in the weather, it is stored in some out-building, or corner of the barn, while, in time, the room it occupies is looked upon as being worth more than the old "contraption" itself. The royalty to the inventor, the manufacturer's profits, the margins to retailers, together with the considerable 138 SWINE HtrSBANDBT. freiglits on such heavy wares, make them high in price to the farmers, and the results obtained from them are, in many cases, and from various causes, so unsatisfactory, that the entire experiment is regarded as an expensive failure. For successful operation, and simplicity and economy in construction, we regard an apparatus made and used Fig. 7. — MB. olat's food oooeeb. by the late S. H. Clay, of Paris, Ky., as about as good, if not superior to, any patented cooker that could be bought for two or three times the cost of this. It con- sists of a box two feet wide, and six or eight feet long, and 18 to 24 inches deep, made of two-inch hard-wood plank, and is somewhat wider at the top than at the bot tom. The bottom is of heavy sheet iron, nailed firmly to the sides and ends. The box rests on brick or stone walls, high enough to give a plenty of fire-room under- neath. A trench in the ground might do in lieu of walls. The front of the fire-place has a door of sheet or cast iron, with a damper, by which to regulate the fire. The COOKING FOOD FOB SWINE. 139 door is of sufficient size to permit tlie use of refuse knots, and the chunks found about the farm or wood-pile. At the rear end, a chimney, or suitable escape for smoke, is constructed ; for this purpose large sized stove- pipe answers well. In making the box, thick white lead should be carefully spread on the bottom edges, before nailing on the iron bottom ; this will make it less likely to leak. After setting the box on the walls, earth is banked up against them ; the earth should extend up against the sides of the box somewhat, to prevent the escape of smoke and sparks through the walls. For drawing off the contents of the box, a sliding gate, with a tin spout under it, is arranged in the front end. A cover, made of inch pine, or other boards, cut on a bevel with the flaring sides of the box, should fit inside of it, instead of on the top, and have some sort of han- dles at each end for convenience in lifting it. A few strips of wood, at intervals, on the bottom, and upon them a false bottom, with numerous small perfora^ tions, is desirable, as it will prevent meal, or other fine food, from burning at the bottom. Whenever the box is emptied, it should be cleaned out ander the false bottom, and if emptied of food when ihere is a fire below, some water should be poured in at once, to prevent injury to the pan. "With such an arrangement as this for boiling com, Bhelled or in the ear, potatoes, turnips, pumpkins, beets, etc., with cheap fuel, and feeding the mass when cold, or but moderately warm, we believe that almost any farmer can secure a fair compensation for the time and labor expended in cooking a goodly portion of the food for his hogs, and if he cannot do this, surely cooking must be unprofitable. When it is more suitable to soak the corn than to cook it, the box will be useful for this purpose, and for heat" 140 SWINE BUSBANDBT. ing water and scalding hogs, at butchering time, it will indeed be found " a good thing to have in the family." OHAPTBE XVI. HOG HOUSES AND PENS. We have seen but few expensive buildings, erected for the use of swine, that were in any great degree satisfac- tory ; the more elaborate and expensive these were, the less desirable and practically valuable they seemed to be. Large hog houses, \isually bring too many animals together, where lack of room, ventilation, and exercise, favor disease and vermin ; besides, they increase the diffi- culty of making suitable arrangements for pasturing, and fail to afford sufficient sunlight, and general comfort. On most farms, a small or large number of swine can be provided with comfortable housing from such material, and of such construction, as will readily suggest them- selves to almost any man fit to be entrusted with the care of stock. Sleeping apartments should be enclosed on the north- east, and on the west, with a tight wall of stone, boards, logs, or even hay or straw, covered well ; in lieu of some- thing better, hay or straw makes a very good roof. The apartments should be open, and front the south, to admit light and warmth from the sun, and should be provided with fresh bedding. Such house will, perhaps, answer as well as one constructed after the elaborate plans of an architect. Reasonable protection from cold and storm, dry, clean bedding, and fresh air are requisite in sleeping HOG HOUSES AND PENS. 141 apartments for swine, and the farms are few where these cannot be secured at a merely nominal cost. A well-known western breeder says : " The common plan of- erecting large buildings for the rearing and keeping of swine, is objectionable, upon the ground that, during the season of the year when a pen is particularly required, such buildings are usually cold, dull, and dark, receiving the rays of the sun only a few hours each day. " Light, air, and sunshine appear to be especially agreeable to the animals, particularly during the fall, winter, and spring months, and are unquestionably conducive to health and growth. Hence, in erecting buUdings, or pens, for hogs, these things should be especially looked after, as a cheerful pen will be likely to give you a cheerful pig." For those desiring a breeding house that is somewhat elaborate, we present the one shown on pages 143 and 143, it having probably had as much careful thought given it, by a practical breeder and fanner, as any similar establish- ment in the country, and it is not without many useful features to recommend it. It was planned and erected by a gentleman of prac- tical experience for his farm in Wyandotte County, E!.ansas. The building (fig. 8) is 100 feet long by 30 feet wide, built of first quality of pine, upon stone foundations, and arranged with a view to the utmost economy of time and labor in feeding and care of the stock. By reference to the ground plan (fig. 9), it will be Been that there are fourteen pens on each side. These are divided by movable partitions, so that one or more pens can at any time be thrown together as one. Each pen is.furnished with a fender, to prevent the young pigs froni being overlaid and smothered by the sow. Through the centre of the building is a drive-way, 13 feet wide, through which runs a wooden track and truck- car for carrying barrels of feed frcTm the steamer and feed rooms. Each of the troughs extends through the 142 CWINB HUSBANDBT. HOG HOUSES AND PBITS. 143 144 SWINE HUSBANBET. partition between the pens and the drive-way, so that, feed can be poured into them from the outside, without interference from the animals within. All of the pens open into outside lots, (it was found impracticable to show them all in the view), the gates between them forming, when open, an alley, through which animals can be readily moved from one portion to another, and manure wheeled out to the compost heap. Fresh spring water runs through all the out-lots on either side of the building, and extensive clover pastures are accessible from the north, east, and south. Its owner raised hogs by the hundred, and claims for this establishment that it economizes labor, and afEords excellent care and protection to a large number of ani- mals, giving warmth in winter, and shelter and ventila- tion in summer. By opening the large doors at each end of the building, and the fourteen small doors on each side, the freest ven- ■ tilation is secured in both directions ; the interior walls of the pens are, of course, but a few feet high, and the space above them open. In its owner's opinion, the abundant clover pastures adjacent, and the strong, never-failing springs, constantly supplying an abundance of the purest water, are among the chief recommendations of this structure, and they are prime necessities to the success of any other swine- breeding establishment. Mr. Charles Snoad, Secretary of the National Associa- tion of Swine Breeders, contributes to the Prairie Farmer Annual the plan of an inexpensive house for swine, a view of which is given in figure 10, and a plan in figure 11. Of this building Mr. Snoad says : "The plan submitted is one I have just adopted, and, as will be observed, it is so simply constructed, that it can be built by almost any farmer. " The importance of a southern exposure, for the continued good HOG HOtrSES AND PENS. 145 health and comfort of all animals during the fall, winter, and spring months, will hardly he questioned. In erecting large build- ings on the usual plan, these advantages are almost wholly lost sight of. This building is 70 feet in length, and 16 feet in width, Fig. 10.— VIEW OF MB. SNOAD'S PIGaBET. Including front platform. The cost of it will not exceed $100, with lumber from $17 to $31 per thousand. " The roof is of stock boards, with a groove cut in each edge, *nd battened. For cooking or preparing food for the stock, or for the storage of grain, a portion of the building may be appro- D r D D ROOM 21 X 14 A 6X14 A 8X14 Fig. 11.— PLAN or MB. snoad's pigoeet. (The aash cloors are designed to swing in, and the gates to swing baeJe over the troughs, viKOe ■putting in food:) A, A, Pens, SXUfeet; B, B, Feed Tromghs; O, Platform in front, two feet wide ; Z>, JD, D, Boors. priated, adding to the hight, length, or width, to suit the conveni- . ence of the proprietor. Such changes in the division of pens may also be made as may Ije deemed best. " The most important features claimed are : warmth, light, air, 7 146 SWINB HUSBANDET. and sunshine. It may be considered an objection, to be obliged to feed from the outside of the building, but it is believed that the comfort and thrift of the animals, will more than compensate for this apparent additional trouble. Many a cold, cutting day, may be made one of comfort and warmth, by taking advantage of the sunshine. "In locating the storage and cooking room, the point best adapted to the demands of the case, should be selected. If it is more convenient to do the cooking near the residence, I should have it done there, in preference to using a part of the piggery. "Many of the steamers or boilers now in use, can be placed in a very small room, and frequently in the dwelli;:g house, conducting the steam to the point desired for cooking the food, through iron gas pipe. " Modifications and changes are necessary in almost all plans, to adapt them to the wants of different individuals and locations." An Illinois feeder gives in the Stoch Journal, Feb., 1877, the plan of a good feeding floor and pen, as follows: " A floor 30 X 30 feet will give room enough to feed 100 to 130 hogs, and may be made to do twice that service, by feeding a sec- ond lot after the first have had lime to eat, as I have frequently done for months at a time, and with good satisfaction. The floor should be divided, leaving each part 30 x 15 feet, and each accom- modating from 50 to 60 hogs at once, which, I think, is as many as ought to be fed together. The lumber necessary for such floor is about as follows : 3 pieces 6x8, for sills, 80 feet long 860 feet. 16 " 2x8, "joists, 16 " 820 " 16 " 2x8, •' " 14 " 280 " 1,800 feet 2x6, "floor 1,800 " Common lumber, to enclose (5 feet high) 600 " Total 3,360 " except posts, which may be set upon the sill or into the ground and will not add materially to the expense — if on the sill, then 28 pieces 4 x 4, 5 feet long, 175 feet, and lumber for division, 100 feet ; lumber, all told, 3,685 feet, costing here $13 per thousand, or $47.25 for the whole. The floor might be made of inch lumber, instead of two-inch, as in the bill, but is not so good, nor is it cheaper in the end. " The sleeping place I prefer, should not be less than 30 or 40 feet from the feed floor, as less manure will be taken there, and it will HOG HOUSES AND PENS. 147 seldom be wet, as is sure to be the case if adjoining. The sleep- ing house site, as well as the intervening space, should be raised or filled up several inches higher than the surrounding ground, to prevent surface water from running in, and also to afford drainage. Set the house on this : 14 x 33 feet, [mine is], high side 9 feet, low side 6 feet, shed roof, of common boards ; requiring in all — for siding, roofs, and division — about 1,400 feet of common lumber, and a few pieces of scantling or straight hard wood poles to nail to and support the roof ; then add six or eight inches of sand or sawdust to the floor and the intervening space, and you will have no mud." When but few pigs are kept, or it is desired to keep up a small number for some particular purpose, they can in spring, summer, and early fall in many cases, be kept ad- Tantageously in small portable pens, which can be moved a few feet every day or two ; by doing this the pigs can have the benefit of fresh clean earth and grass continually. For easy handling, such pens should be light, and are best made of pine lumber, the size of the pens varying according to the length of the boards used, from 10 to 1 6 feet, and these may be 4, 5 or 6 inches wide — the lat- ter being much the best for strength. Instead of nailing the lumber to small comer posts, we find it better to make four separate panels, nailing the lumber firmly with wrought nails, to cross-pieces or cleats, of good 6-inch boards, as long as the pen is to be high, three to each panel, and when set up, keeping se- cured by some sort of flexible fastening. When nailed together at the corners, the frequent moving of the pen wrenches and breaks the nailed cor- ners loose, and the pen becomes a wreck, a result which cannot occur when the parts are jointed. If a pen 14 or 16 feet square is built, it is sometimes convenient to have an extra panel, which will fit down in the middle of it, between cleats, which will at once con- vert the one pen into two of half its size. These pens should be provided with a convenient 148 SWINH HUSBAITDKT. trough, and some sort of temporary roof, oyer one end or corner, at least sufficient to afford a good shade at all times of the day, which, with plenty of water, is indis- pensable. We have found a movable pen or two, quite a necessity in the summer season, but cannot recommend any pen, that is so light and airy as this, for cold weather. It frequently happens, on a farm where machinery is used, that four wheels maybe found, from 6 to 24 inches in diameter, that may be fastened to the corners of the movable pen, on which it may be moved with facility from place to place, without much effort, or, suitable wooden wheels, of any size or number, can be made of the transverse sections of a solid hard-wood log, and at- tached to the pen, to enable it to be moved with ease. On nearly every farm, one or more well constructed movable pens, will be found a good investment, as a few pigs can be kept clean and healthy in these, if moved often on solid ground, with less trouble than in any other way ; the farmer who tries them will not readily re-adopt the old-time four-rail-square pen, that stood in the same place for a dozen or more years. In whatever style the pen may be built, we would impress on the builder the convenience and importance of having the troughs level, with cross-slats on top, six or eight inches apart, and arranged so that feed can be poured into their entire length from the outside of the pen. These assist in the more equal distribution of the feed, enable each animal to secure its share, prevent the stronger from monopolizing and fouling the trough, by standing lengthwise in it, and also enable the attendant to feed without being jostled, or charged upon, by the always importunate swine. Feeding a dozen or more hogs, by pouring slops into one end of a long open trough, is excellent for two or three of the strongest animals, but the others usually have SIiATTGHTBBING, CUEING, AKD PEBSBEVING. 149 to stand back, and be content with so much, or so little, of the feed as their more powerful companions reluctant- ly leave, for want of more capacious stomachs. Troughs are much more durable if made of good sound oak, or other hard wood, than of pine, as hogs some- times get into a habit of gnawing them for the taste of something that has soaked into the wood, and, a pine irough is, in this way, soon destroyed. CHAPTER XVII. SLAUGHTERING, CURINa, AND PRESERVING. Every experiment we know of, that has been made to ascertain whether it was more profitable to the pro- ducer to sell his hogs alive, or kill, and cure the pork on the farm, and then market it, indicates that, in most years, the farmer may realize more profitable returns by marketing the cured product. In fact, we have seen but few intelligent farmers who did not admit this, but as they generally need the money represented in the year's hog crop, by the time the hogs are ready for market, they prefer to realize on them at once, rather than assume the risk and wait the longer time necessary to successful curing, especially with the poor facilities many of them possess for this branch of > the business. A lot of uniform, well fattened hogs represent cash, any day in the year, at any point in the country ; hence the temptation to dispose of them as soon as the proper condition is reached, is exceedingly strong. This, no doubt, accounts in a large degree for the fact, that the bulk of the hog crop raised, is sold on foot to drovers and «hippers, to be slaughtered at the immense packing estab- 150 SWINE HUSBANDRY. lishments near large cities, and only so many are killed on the farm as are needed for home consumption. In this, we find the probable reason, why no more at- tention has been paid to finding out and practising meth- ods in killing and curing of pork, somewhat improved OTer those of former generations. We are not aware of anything having been written, nor have we seen practised anything, from which we could infer that the farmers of the present time slaughter and dress their swine in a better way than did their forefath- ers. The old method of knocking down, cutting into the neck to sever the jugular vein, and pierce the heart., scalding in water not quite boiling, into which a quart of ashes has been thrown " to make the hair slip," scraping with knives, hoes, and iron candlesticks, and then lift- ing by main strength, the naked, slippery hog to the pole of fixture, from which he is to hang for gutting and cooling, is yet in vogue on nearly every farm. Those who raise the best of hogs, too often have few conveniences for butchering, and those hurriedly and awkwardly made, generally by the hired man, while the water is heating in the morning. A small expenditure of labor and money would secure such facilities as would render butchering-day much less disagreeable. Alter the hog is secured for sticking, either by being caught, knocked or shot down, it should be turned square on its back, and no twist allowed in its neck, so that the sticker will be sure to sever its main arteries, without allowing the knife to penetrate, or injure, either shoulder. We do not deem it best, or even desirable, to pierce the hi^art, but prefer to let the animal die from loss of blood, which it should do in the space of five minutes, or even less, if the knife has been properly used. When properly etuck, the blood should leap from the gash, in a stream bs large as the gash itself, while, or before, the sticker Removes the kiiife. SLATJOBTEBIKG), CtTBIKG, AND FBESBBYIKC}. 151 A barrel or cask is, for many reasons, a poor vessel in which to scald a hog, and any farmer who annually butchers a half dozen good-sized porkers, should provide himself with something less circumscribed and inconveni- ent, to say nothing of the difficulty of keeping a suffi- ciency of water at anything like the proper temperature in it. For farm use, the best scalding vessel we have seen, is a heavy box, 6 or 7 feet long, 30 inches wide at the bot- tom, and 30 or 34 inches deep, with sides somewhat flaring. This should have a sheet-iron bottom, well supported on the under side, and be set over a stone or brick founda- tion, in which there is a convenient chamber for making sufficient fire to readily heat the water in the vessel above, and by which it can be kept thoroughly heated for the length of time required by any number of hogs. At its rear end should be a pipe, or chimney, for smoke, and the sides may be banked up with earth. The description and engraving of the food cooker in Chap. XV. will a,fford some useful suggestions for the construction of a vat for scalding. The top of the vat should be about 2 '/, feet above the level of the ground. On a level with the top, on one side, there should be built a strong platform, about 6 feet wide, and 8 feet long, from which to scald the hogs, and upon which they are to be cleaned, after scalding. At the rear end of this, the ground should be graded up even with the platform, or a sloping platform built, to facilitate getting the hogs on to the main plat- form, after they have been killed. For convenience in lowering the hogs into, and lifting out of the scalding water, two or more ropes, 8 or 10 feet long, should be secured to the side of the platform next the water, and resting on these, the carcass can be lowered or raised with compT,rative ease, by two or three men. On the bottom of the vat, there should be some wooden strips or « slatted frame, to prevent the hog from lying directly 153 SWINE HUSBANDET. on tlie iron bottom, as with much fire in the furnace, the skin would soon cook or burn. The animal is immersed for a few seconds, and then, by means of the rope, raised out of the water, to allow the air to strike it thoroughly, and then immersed again. When the hair readily leaves the skin, especially on the head, legs and feet, the hog should be removed from the water as soon as possible, and speedily stripped of every hair. When this is done, the hind legs should be freely cut into, below the gambrel joint, to reach both main cords, under which the gambrel should be entered. The gambrel should be of strong wood — hickory or oak is best — and from 24 to 30 inches in length, according to the size of the hogs, and should be slightly notched on the up- per side of each end, to prevent the legs from slipping off. Posts or forks should be so set, that a strong pole rest- ing on them, will be in part over the platform, about six feet from the ground, and on this the hogs can be hung, and slipped along toward either end, out of the way, aftel they have been thorougly scraped and rinsed down. Opening the hogs should be done by some one familiar with such work, and no directions here would be of practi- cal value. After removing the intestines, the mouth should be propped open with something, and all blood carefully rinsed out of the lower part of the body and neck. The next point, and a most important one, is, to let the car- cass, well spread on the gambrel, hang until thoroughly cooled in all its parts ; unless this is observed, the pork cannot be cured or preserved in good condition, however much pains may be taken with it. CUEING AND PEBSERVINa. To cure meat of any kind, it is desirable to have it from animals that, before slaughter, were in a considerable de- gree flljatured, or had attained their natural growth. After- ijiessing, as before intimated, the first requisite is BLAtTGHTEEtNG, CURING, AND PBESBEVING. 153 to thorougUy cool the carcass, and for this it should hang in a low temperature, for thirty-six or more hours, hut on no account should it freeze, especially not after being ^ dressed ; freezing its outer surface, surrounds the interior of the flesh with a wall, through which the animal heat, still remaining in and around the bones, cannot escape, and the result will be souring and speedy decay at the centre of hams, shoulders, etc., that outwardly appear in good condition. Having so large a per cent of fat, side-pork does not readily become over salt, and there is really no danger of injury to any but the leaner portions of the carcass by too much salt ; yet where salt is dear, economy would dictate that only so much be used as is actually neces- sary as a preservative. Salting with and without brine, are both popular methods, and both are so satisfactory, that we deem one as good as the other. If brine or "pickle "is used, no danger is apprehended from insects during the pickling process ; the brine ex- tracts the blood and other juices from the meat, which rise to the surface, (more rapidly in warm weather), and there decomposing, are likely to contaminate the entire contents of the cask, unless given occasional attention. The preventive of trouble in this direction is, to occa- sionally subject the brine to boiling ; the impurities will rise to the top, and are to be skimmed off ; in this way, the brine may be kept pure, and its strength undimin- ished, for any desired length of time. In "dry salting," or salting in barrels, boxes, or piles, without the addition of water to form a brine, it is of the utmost importance that no chance be afforded for flies to deposit eggs, or maggots, or to even come in contact with the meat. , If flies have had access to the pork, it cannot then be saved, unless at once put into brine, or kept in a 154 SWINE HUSBANDET. temperature so low the eggs cannot hatch, the latter be- ing not often practicable. The season of the year, in which meats may be cured on the farm with the best success, is from December 15th to February 15th, the interval between these dates afford- ing two indispensable conditions, yiz. : cool weather and immunity from insects and pests. Pork is cut to suit the demands of the different mar- kets in which it is sold, and the various uses for which it is intended, but the aim should, in all cases, be to have it in such form as to pack snugly, and we repeat, never pack down until thoroughly cooled throughout. Where it is intended to use brine, the meat may be packed in layers ; salt, at the rate of eight pounds to each hundred pounds of pork, is to be sprinkled evenly over and around each layer, until the cask is full ; thea clean rain or other pure water, is poured in, until all the interstices are filled and the meat thoroughly covered. None of the meat should, at any time, be allowed to re- main above the brine, and in open casks, or tubs, some attention will be necessary to keep weights so arranged as to hold it under. Many persons prefer to prepare the brine by adding to the salt some sugar, or molasses, and saltpetre, dissolving these in the water, and pouring the pickle over the packed meat. A very good recipe is as follows : For 100 pounds of pork take 4 ounces saltpetre, 3 pints common molasses, or 3 pounds brown sugar, and 7 pounds clean salt ; when thor oughly dissolved, pour over the meat, which it will coyer, if properly packed. Many boil the pickle before using it, as the impurities from the salt, sugar, etc. , will rise, and can be skimmed off ; when this is done, the brine should 6e thoroughly cool, before adding it to the meat. . Hams and shoulders, to keep well afterwards, should be in pickle from one to two months ; the length of tim« depending on their thickness. For curing them with- SLAtTGHTEEING, Of EING, AXD PEESEEVING. 165 out brins, a favorite recipe is : 12 pounds fine salt, 3 quarts molasses, '/, pound powdered saltpetre ; when these are well mixed, they will have about the consistency and appearance of damp brown sugar, and will be sufficient for 150 pounds of meat. Rub hams and shoulders thor- oughly with the mixture, and lay singly on a platform in a cool, dry place. At the end of the first, and of the sec- ond week, rub them again as at first, and then expose to continuous smoke for ten days. A simpler way, in which any portion, or all, of the hog's carcass can be cured, is to put a layer of, say, half an inch of salt on a platform, floor, or the bottom of a large box, or cask, then a layer of meat, on this a liberal sprinkling of salt, and so on, until all is packed and the top well covered with salt. Such portions as are not to be smoked, should be stored in brine before insects appear, and the smoked meat may, like- the hams of commerce, be covered securely with canvas, and whitewashed, or packed well in bran, dry ashes, oats, or shelled corn. For considerable quantities, packing in tight barrels is a good plan, and for family use, a swing- ing shelf, with sides and ends covered with wire cloth, in- side of which the pieces are hung, is convenient, and is also secure against rats and mice, as well as insects. The room where any kind of cured meat is to be kept, should be dry and cool, and the darker the better. The preservative principle of smoke is known as creosote. Smoke made by burning corn-cobs is highly esteemed, but those engaged in curing meats on a large scale, con- sider that the purest, sweetest smoke is obtained from dry hickory sap-wood, stripped of its bark. If the smoking process is too much hurried, the creosote will not have time to penetrate the entire substance of the meat, but ten days steady smoking is, in all cases, sufficient, unless the pieces are unusually laxge and very thick. 156 SWIKK HUSBANDHT. LAKD. Lard is almost a pure oil, of quite a permament com- position, for which water has no aflBnity, and moisture and air have but little effect on it. In the rendering of lard from the tissues in which it is contained, fragments of membrane and particles of animal fibre are intermixed, which would, if exposed to the air, yield to decay ; but being surrounded by oil and wholly enclosed, they are kept inactiye. Yet, after some time, if abundant, they may become changed and give an odor and taste of decay. Care should be exercised as to the purity of lard that is designed to be kept, as well as to the exclusion of the air from the vessel. Stone-ware jars (not earthen) are the most desirable vessels for storing lard, which should al- ways be kept in a cool, dry atmosphere. CHAPTBE XVIII. HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING. A great deal of theoretical matter has been published on the subject of feeding animals. Chemical analyses of various feeding stuffs, valuable as they are in show- ing their nutritive constituents, are not always con- clusive evidence of their practical value. There are facts connected with digestion and assimilation which can not be arrived at by chemical analysis. We therefore give a chapter which embodies practical ex- perience based upon scientific knowledge. No one familiar with the agriculture of Ohio need be told of the high position which is occupied by the Sullivants ; whether as men of science or as practical agriculturists, HOG-FEEDING AND POEK-MAKING. 157 whose farming operations hare been conducted on a scale unequalled, at least on this side of the continent. The essay which forms this chapter, is by Joseph Sul- liyant, Esq., whose wide experience and thoroughness as an investigator, joined to his high scholarly attainments, are well known to the people of Ohio, where he has long been prominent as an officer of the State Board of Agri- culture. The essay appeared in the " Ohio Agricultural Report" for 1869. Its value as a contribution to agricultural liter- ature, and the desire to make it more widely known, are sufficient reasons for giving it a place in the present work. Having had occasion to inquire concerning tlie conditions neces- sary to make hog-feeding profitable, I was somewhat surprised and puzzled at all the discordant answers, and therefore undertook to investigate this subject for myself, and propose here to give the ' results arrived at, and the basis of my conclusions. In tWs way my labor may at least become valuable by eliciting the truth from others, who may be induced to enlarge, confirm, or disprove my work. As to my sources of information, suffice it to say, my matenais have been collected and elaborated from various chemical works, agricultural books, reports and transactions of societies, news- papers and periodicals devoted to rural affairs, and conversations with intelligent and practical farmers, and from my own experi ence. When we come to know the diverse and varying eircumstancea under which pork has been made, we no longer wonder at the dis- crepant opinions and results, and clearly perceive they are owing to the different methods pursued, in which, oftentimes, tradition and caprice have governed rather than an intelligent understanding of 4he end in view, and the best and most economical means of obtaining it. The farmer who pens his hogs without shelter from the weather and without bedding, or a dry feeding place, and leaves them to wallow and waddle belly deep in the mire, where the ears of corn sink out of sight, and where the hog has literally to root for his living, cannot expect him to fatten quickly and economically. Nor can the results be fairly compared to those obtained where attention has been paid to warmth and protection from the weather, 158 SWINE HtJSBAITOET. a dry feeding place and clean food. And these differing circum- stances probably make all the ditference of a fair remuneration for food and labor in tlie one case, or little or no profit in the other. If we could always command circumstances, we might then reasonably hope for a greater uniformity and reliability of results. The discoveries in animal physiology, as well as in agricultural chemistry, throw much light on our subject, and point us to the proper path to be pursued, and the direction in which we must look for a rational explanation of the most successful practices already pursued by intelligent breedei-s and feedei-s The thorough understaading of the data and principles so acquired, and the proper application of them, will eventually lead us to valuable results. We may undoubtedly anticipate much benefit from a more thorough diffusion and understanding of the important principles mvolved in auiaial physiology and agricultural chemistry, bearing as they dodiri-'ctly on some ot the most vital questions in agricul- ture. There is yet, however, a wide gulf separating theory from practice, although «W successful practice is but the right application jf scientific principles, whether we recognize and apply them, or nractice in ignorance of them. There is one subject oi paramount importance so intimately connected with the question of the best and most economical methods of rearing and fattening animals on the farm, as to de- mind the most serious consideration; 1 allude to the manure pro- duced and its value in arresting the decreasing fertility of our soils, which is made evident by the gradual, but certain, diminu- tion of the product of our crops, and of which the lessened yield of wheat, in regions formerly productive, is a striking example. The deterioration of our cultivated lands may be easily account- ed for in the fact that for sixty years we have constantly taken from the ground, and, during this long period, returned little or nothing to it. If this condition of things is to be changed, we must alter our methods of farming, and by systematic rotation of crops and by manuring, or by both, endeavor to restore, or, at least, keep in present condition our severely cropped lands, for only by returning some portions of the organic and inorganic matter removed by the crops, can we keep our soil in a fertile state, for, no matter how rich oriL^inally or at present, it will, sooner or later, become exhausted unless fed in proportion to tlie yield required from it. Owing, however, to the great original fertility of our soil, it still yields a fnir remuneration for the labor tegtowed upon it, and we have not yet reached the point where HOG-FEEDING AND POBK-MAKmO. 159 manure becomes indispensable to the growing crop, as in many places in Europe, where the question is, not how much meat, but how much manure is produced on the farm? And where the profit of feeding consists simply in the value of the manure pro- duced by the animal. Manure is most valuable in proportion to the nitrogen it con- tains; and as we propose to feed our hogs on a grain containing twelve (13) per cent of nitrogenized material, the manure should be valuable to us when preserved and applied to our lands. Still, fortunately for us, owing to the cheap production of Indian com, so far as the profits of feeding are concerned, we may leave the manure so produced entirely out of consideration, and I proceed to the main object of the investigation. WILL IT PAY TO FATTEK HOGS ON COEN ? In answering this question, the first and most important con- sideration is that of food ; and the value of equal we 'ghts of the different kinds used for fattening purposes will depend upon the proportion of nutritive material in each, and the cost of pro- duction. Without going into detail as to the ultimate elements, we shall content ourselves with adopting the classification of the proximate principles of food into NITKOGEKOirS ATST) NOIT-NITKOGBNOUS. The first representing the plastic material or flesh foi-mers, and the last the heat and fat givers ; classing these last together be- cause the surplus carbon not required for maintaining animal heat and respiration is stored up in the tissues in the form of fat. It has been proven by direct experiment, that both the nitrogen- ized and non-nitrogenized elements must exist in due proportion in the food to maintain any animal in a healthy and growing con- dition, and if it were fed exclusively on one or the other it would pine and die. However, it is highly probable that if the nitrogenous elements existed in many articles of food in less quantities than is actually found to be the case, they would still bo suflBcient for the wants of the animal organism ; for a very considerable portion of the nitrogen ingested in the food passes away in the excreta without assimilation, but at the same time adds additional value to the manure. The following table gives the proportion of this necessary cle- ment in one hundred (100) pounds of the different substances that 160 SWINE HUSBANDRY. are or may be used in the fattening process, and also tlie non-nitro- genized or fat giving principles, and the total amount of carbon : TABLE NO. 1. Taile of file Chemiecd Composition of some Principal Articles of Food. ExpLAHATiON. — The column of "Heat and Fat Givers " signifies— I. Starch ; II. Sugar ; III. Fat or Oil. Name. Water Fleeh form- ers. Heat and fat Equiv- alent of starch. Miner- al mat- ters. Total carbon. Barley Beans Buckwheat Seed. Cabbage. Carrots . . Clover (Bed). .. Clover (White).. Cotton-seed Cake. . . (Decorticated.) Indian Corn Linseed Cake.. Mangold-wurzel. Milk (New) Milk. (Skimmed.) Oats. Peas (Dry). Harsnips . . . Poa Pratensis Timotliy.) Potatoes , Eye (grain) . Turnips Buttermilk . Lucem Bread , 15.1 12.0 89.4'2 86.5 81.01 79.71 9.28 13.0 10.05 Dry. 87.2 88.6 13.3 15.0 85.1 67.14 75.0 15.0 91.1 89.1 69.95 48.8 8.0 26.0 10.7 1.45 1.3 4.27 3.8 41.25 12.0 22.14 3.0 4.0 4.0 18.0 32.6 1.4 3.41 1.4 8.8 1.2 4.0 3.83 8.2 I. ni. I. ni. I. II. III. I. III. I. II. ni. I. III. I. ni. I. III. I. in. I. II. II. II. m. II. III. I. m. I. III. I. n. I. III. I. III. I. n. in. I. n. II. m. I. ni. I. III. 74.0 2.0 57.0 3.0 52.3 8.3 0.4 7.01) O.OSf 6.3 5.0 0.15 8.45 0.69 f 8.14) 0.69 ( 16.45 i 16.05 f 68.5 I 7.0 f 39.1 i 11.93) 73.0 4.6 ) 3.5 j 4.6 [ 2.0 i 52.5 \ 6.5 f 58.5 i 2.0 i 10.0 i 3.5 j 14.15 i 0.86 1 32.5 i 0.1 f 63.7 2.5 > 3.9 ) 3.3 3.0 4.6 1.5 13.63 0.83 44.5 1.0 78.8 61.8 58.48 7.3 11.3 0.9 3.0 1.4 40.84 31.74 0.13 3.89 0.80 6.11 10.1 1.32 6.785 10.27 2.08 6.607 54.4 8.05 46.0 85.3 1.5 41.73 67.1 7.25 41.7 69.0 12.5 6.3 0.7 33.3 6.687 8.8 0.77 5.533 68.6 3.54 46.8 63.3 3.5 39.35 12.4 1.0 6.345 16.31 1.95 8.93 33.7 1.0 11.468 71.2 1.36 39.9 6.2 1.5 8.39 7.6 0.75 5.147 15.58 8.61 8.98 46.9 1.5 26.93 HOG-FEEDING AND PORK-MAKING. 161 The farmer has here a wide range from which to choose, and knowing the cost of production or market price per one hundred (100) pounds of each, can determine which to select as the most advantageous for his purpose. If the plastic material, or flesh-formers, be assumed as the basis of value, then equal weights of the grain and seed foods will stand in the following order: Cotton-seed cake (decorticated,) beans, Jmseed cake, peas, oats, Indian corn, rye, buckwheat, barley; but on the basis of fat and heat givers, they stand, first : Barley, Indian corn, rye, peas, oats, beans, buckwheat, Imseed cake, cotton-seed cake. Taking the whole of nutritive matter, they range in the following order: Indian corn, barley, beans, peas, rye, oats, buck- wheat, linseed cake, cotton-seed cake, potatoes. Estimated accord- ing to the total amount of nutritive material, there is not much difference in the theoretical value of several of these substances, but Indian corn heads the list, and, containing in itself all essentinl elements for the growth and fattening of animals, we shall adopt it as our standard of value and comparison. Measured, then, by the theoretic value, one hundred (100) pounds of corn are equal to the weights, as exhibited in the following table : TABI.E NO. 3. In feeding value 100 pounds of com equals — Peas 106 Potatoes 360 Mangold-wurzel 665 Parsnips 618 Carrots 721 P.uttermilk 508 Fresh milk 865 Barley lOT Beans 103 Eye 117 Oats 118 Buckwheat 1313 Cotton cake 117 Linseed cake Ill) Eed Clover 665 White Clover 665 Timothy grass 298 Lucem 598 Cabbage 1018 Skimmed milk 721 Turnips 1336 Although it appears from the first table that cotton cake, beans, peas, and linseed cake, contain more of flesh givers than corn, and might very advantageously be fed to young and growing animals, yet, upon the whole, Indian corn stands pre-eminent as the cheapest material accessible to our farmers, and the question now arises — HOW MUCH POEK IK A BUSHEL OP COEN ? In determining this we shall first consider the composition of corn from a theoretic and chemical view, and then, taking results obtained from the vital processes occurring in the human subject, apply them by analogy to the hog, which, of all our domestic animals, most nearlv resembles man in his digestive apparatus. Looking only at the chemical composition of corn, and separat- 162 SWINE HUSBANDET. ing it into flesh formers and heat and fat givers, at twelve (12| per cent of the first and forty-one (41) per cent of the latter, there would appear to bo nearly tau-ly (60) m tue busnel ot corn, to be transformed into an equal quantity of pork, through the organ- ism of the hog. But I shall presently show that, whatever the value of corn by the chemical standard, it t« lut all transformed into pork, and therefore there is not thirty (30) pounds to bi ob- tained from a bushel of corn. It has been determined by competent obssrvers and experiment- ers who have carefully investi^'ated the subject, that a certain amount of nitrogenized and non-nilrogeiiized matter, or flesh formers and heat and fat givers, representing the carbonaceous material, is required to keep an adult man of one hundred and fifty (150) pounds weight in good condition ; that is, neither in- creasing nor diminishing in weight, under moderate labor, vital, physical, or mental. As the hog performs no brain work, r.nd is supposed to be almost i i a state of rest while fattening, he will certainly require no more of the above elements than does the man, and most probably less. But assuming for him the same amount, it will be amply sufficient to keep a hog of the weight of 150 pounds in as good condition as the man. But if the hog is to fatten likewise, he must have an additional amount of food, over and above that which is merely sufficient to furnish the material consumed in respiration, animal heat, and the restoration of all waste produced by the vital processes. Before demonstrating what this amount of extra food must be, I premise that the hog is to be sent to market at 300 lbs. weight. As he increases from to 300, it is evident his mean weight is 150 lbs. ; and if we can determine how much corn is required at this weight, not only to restore the daily waste, but to fatten him one pound per diem in addition, we will have solved the proble:a of the number of pounds of pork in a bushel of com. Dr. Edward Smith, an eminent writer and experimenter, is a high authority on vital statistics, and was employed by the English Government to examine and report upon the foods of the laboring clisses. He states that the actual quantity of carbon contained in the fool of B.iglish work-people, according to the severity of the exertion, is from 30 to 38 grains per pound of body weight. He also says that 28 grains of carbon to each pound of body weight gives the measure which, when united with the proper amount of flosh formers, is sufficient to keep a man of 150 lbs. in good cott dition under moderate exertion. HOG-FBEDING ANP POEK-MAKING. 163 Now, as has already been said, the hog, increasing from to 300 lbs., his mean weight is 150, and the amount of carbon neces- sary at this weight will give the mean or average amount required daily for his wuole life of 300 days. Then 150, the mean weight of the hog, multiplied by 28, the number of grains of carbon daily required, gives 4,300 grains, or 9 ounces of carbon, to supply the waste, and keep him in condition ; and 32 ounces, or a litaj less than one and one-half pounds of corn, will furnish the necessary elements. But to fatten the hog a pound a day, he will require, in addition, 16 ounces flesh and fat material, which will be furnished by two pounds of corn. Thus, 2 lbs. or 32 ounces, contain 13 per cent of flesh formers, and gives 3V100 ounces of this material, and the same 2 lbs. containing 41 per cent of carbon, furnish 13'Vii)o ounces, and 3.84x13.12^16.96 ounces, or material for a little more than one pound of pork ; and therefore 54 ounces, or 3 lbs. and 6 ounces of corn, is the average daily ration while making three hundred pounds of pork in three hundred days. As 3 lbs. and 6 ounces are contained in 56 lbs. , or one bushel, 16 "/loo times, there are consequently 16.59 lbs. of pork in one bushel of corn, according to the data here given. And if the amount assumed to restore the waste in the hog and keep him in condition be correct, then there cannot be made more than the 16.59 lbs., because the elements would be wanting. The amount assigned for waste is certainly high enough, most probably too high ; and if we take the amount of carbon and fles'j formers simply lo keep a man of 150 lbs. in condition when in a stito of rest, and modify our statement, the result woul.l be SJ- ounces of flesh formers and 7 ounces of carbon derived from 14 ounces of corn ; but two pounds, or 32 ounces, being still required, for the fattening process, we have, altogsther, 43 ounces contained in 896 ounces, the weight of a bushel of corn 19J times; equal to 19| lbs. of pork. I have found from a careful examination of experiments m f 3eding, but not herein set forth, that usually not more than one- third of the food is returned in the form of flesh, even in well conducted experiments; and 3 into 56 lbs., or one bushel, gives IS'/a, and the mean of 16.59, 19.50, and 18.63 gives such a close agreement of theory with the best practice, that I conclude it is very nearly correct, and that chemistry and physiology have answered our question satisfictorily, or at I'last fixed a limit beyond which it is not li'iely we will be able to pT,ss, unless under excep- tional circumstances, and the pork from a bushel of corn will not 164 SWINB HUSBANDRY. exceed twenty pounds, and will approach or recede from this according to circumstances. Shelling, grinding, and coolsing, the corn cannot Increase the existing amount of elements, and has for effect only to render the matter more soluble and digestible, and make the approach to the figures given more probable, than if the corn was fed in the whole and raw state. But it has been well observed, " in every case in which life is concerned, it is not at once to be concluded that, so much material being consumed, there will be uniformly and necessarily so much product." There are so many modifying circumstances to vary our results, that it is not probable our practice will ever give con- stant uniformity or perfect coincidence with theory, or the chemical constituents of the food we employ in stocli feeding. And, although we may to a great extent master tlie circumstances under our own control, there still remain unexplained difficulties, arising from the inherent differences belonging to special breeds and constitutions of the animals we have to deal with, as well as the anomalies we have to encounter whenever we attempt to apply theory and chemical principles to living organisms and vital func- tions, which perhaps, for a longtime to come,, will continue to baffle our best endeavors and prevent' uniform and constant results. However this may be, the conclusions drawn from the scientific principles I believe to be entirely trustworthy, and are satisfactory, to myself at least, as determining, not only the possibilities, but the high probabilities, and it now only remains to see how far our chemical view is confirmed or substantiated by the average results in actual practice, obtained from a great number of experiments and records ; for it would not be safe to draw general conclusions trom one experiment alone, however successful. We proceed to determine, as well as we can, what answer prac- tice and experiment returns to oar questioij ; HOW MUCH PORK CABT BE OBTAINED FKOM A BUSHEL OF CORN ? This is so important a question, bearing so immediately and directly upon the value of com, that we might suppose it had been settled long ago, beyond all controversy. If such be the fact we find no record of it, and it is here our real difficulty commences ; for, as we said in the beginning of this paper, the answers are dis- cordant and apparently contradictory. I find plenty of opinions and guesses, with loose assertions, but HOG-FEBDIKG ANfl POSlC-ltAKlNG. 16S comparatively a very few results based upon actual, reliable, and recorded experiments; and, after a somewhat minute research, 1 propose now to give the condensed results of my examinations, without going into much detail, remarking, however, that, although finding many records of experiments, I have been obliged to re- ject most of them, on account of ii'regularity and want of pre- cision. In most of them the corn has been fed in a mixed state with roots, milk, potatoes, and other substances, as well as, some- times, whole and raw for part of the time, and then in the form of meal, cooked, and raw ; and I retain those only which give precise results on the heads we have selected for examination. BAW CORK FED IN THE EAR. Taking the experiment of Clay, of Kentucky, for what it is worth, I remark that I am certain there must have been some error or local circumstance vitiating the result ; for 5f lbs. of pork from a bushel of corn is much the least I have found recorded in any experiment, and much less than was obtained by Renick and Buckingham, whose hogs roamed at will through a cornfield, wasting corn, and from the very fact of exercise and labor in get- ting their own food, making far less return than if the same corn haJ been fed them in a pen. Buckingham also tried the experiment of feeding corn in the ear to hogs in a pen, and got a return of 8i lbs. of pork from a bushel of corn. Thomas I. Edge, of Chester county. Pa., fed 5 pigs, of the same litter, five bushels of shelled corn, and received 47J iba. of pork, or 9V6 lbs. from the bushel. B. P. Kirk fed 49'/i, bushels, and had a return of over 13 lbs. of pork per bushel. ■ An experiment at North Chatham, Columbia county. N. Y., gave a fraction less than 12 lbs of pork from a bushel of corn. Mr. Ellsworth, of Indiana, had 12 lbs. of pork per bushel from corn fed in the ear. Marcus E. Merwin, of Litchfield, Conn., fed 95 days, and made 9f lbs. of pork from a bushel of corn. A. S. Proctor, of Illinois, fed 61 days, and gained 10 lbs. of pork per bushel. Wiseman E. Nichols, Morrow county, Ohio, fed 100 bushels of corn in 63 days, and made from it 1,130 lbs. of pork, or tV/n, lbs. per bushel. This com, however, was simply soaked two days jn water. ICO SWINE HUSBANDRY. Mr. Van Loon, of III., fed 20 days, and made a fraction over 9 lbs. of pork from a bushel of corn. Mr. Behmer, of Columbus, Ohio, made lOi lbs. from one bushel of corn. Even including Clay's experiment, which, I think, ought to be excluded from any comparison of results, the eleven records here presented give an average of over ten pounds of pork from one bushel of corn, fed in the car and upon the ground. An experiment, partly of corn in the ear, which was made at Duncan's Falls, Ohio, in 1859, and communicated to the Ohio Farmer, is so instructive in several particulars, that I insert it here in a condensed form. " Last fall, (1859), I turned my hogs into the cornfield on the 10th of September, after having weighed them all; they were taken out October 23d, weighed and placed in a small lot. During this time, from September 10th to October 33d, they ate down 40 acres of corn, and, estimating it at 40 bushels per acre, the in- creased weight of the hogs, at 4 cents per pound, just paid 40 cents per bushel for the corn they had eaten. Two days after, or 35th of October, I selected of the lot one hundred hogs, averaging 300 lbs. each ; they were placed in large covered pens, with plank floors and troughs, and fed as follows : The corn was ground up, cob and all, in one of the 'Little Giant' mills, steamed and fed five times a day all they could eat, and in exactly one week they were weighed again, the com they had eaten being weighed also, and calling 70 lbs. a bushel of corn, and pork as before 4 cents gross, it was equal to 80 cents a bushel for corn. The weather was quite warm for the season of the year. The first week in November I tried the same experiment on the same lot of hogs, and the corn only brought 63 cents per bushel, the weather being colder." " Third week, same month, same lot of hogs, and corn fed in the same way, brought 40 cents per bushel, the weather getting still colder." " Fourth week in November, weather still colder, fed as above, and the corn brought 25 cents a bushel. This lot of hogs was now sold and another lot put up, which had been fed in the lot on corn on the cob. This lot was weighed and fed as the last for five weeks in December, and the corn averaged 25 cents; the weather being about the same as in November." " This lot was weighed again in the middle of January, and the corn fed during that week averaged 5 cents per bushel, the thermometer being down to zero. Again the lot was weighed, and they jvM held their own,- the temperature being below zero from one to ten HOG-PEEDING AND POKE-MAKING. 167 degrees." And from the above the writer concludes it will not, as a general thing, pay to feed after November. An analysis of this experiment shows that the hogs made 10 lbs. of pork to the bushel of corn while hogging it down, September 10th to October 25th. The first week they were fed on ground corn and cob-meal, steamed, they made the extraordinary amount of 20 lbs. of pork to one bushel of corn. Second week, weather colder, 15| lbs. ; •third week, still colder, 10 lbs.; fourth week, weather colder yet, 6i lbs. of pork to one bushel of corn, and the first lot was sold. The second lot of hogs was fed five weeks in December, on the same food and in the same way as the first lot, the weather being same as in the last week of November, and the corn averaged but 6i lbs. of pork to the bushel. In January, the weather behig very cold, the corn returned but IJ lbs. of pork per bushel ; and when the temperature sank to zero and below, the corn returned nothing at all ! Certamly a most instructive example, showing how the product ran down from 30 lbs. to the bushel to nothing, from the influence of cold alone, and demonstrating beyond all doubt the advantage and the necessity of warmth and shelter. Although iiTegular, I will here also insert a remarkable experi- ment by S. M. Wherry, Shippensburg, Pa., and communicated to the Practical Farmer, December, 1869. Here the object was growth, Tiotfat; and this practical experimeat is valuable in several particulars. Ten pigs of one litter, Berkshire breed, were fed in pairs, having been equalized as near as possible. They were twelve weeks and four days old at the commencement of the ex- periment, which contiaued eight weeks, or fifty -six days. The first pair gained from five bushels of old shelled corn at the rate of "/loo lbs. per day, making 94 lbs. of pork, or ISVs lbs. from one bushel of corn. The second pair ate 280 pounds, (or 5 bushels), of old corn, ground into meal and cooked, gaining 91 lbs., or IS'/b lbs. of pork from one bushel, iut less than from the whole and raw corn ! The third pair consumed 140 lbs. of meal and 280 lbs. of pota- toes, and gained 93 lbs. The fourth pair, fed on 560 lbs. of cooked potatoes, made a gain of 89 lbs.; showing that cooked potatoes, fed alone, have a little less than half the value of corn. The fifth pair, fed green corn in the' ear, 350 lbs., or 5 bushels, reckoning 70 lbs. to the bushel, and they gained the very extra- ordinary amount of 100 lbs., or 20 lbs. of pork to (he bushel. During all this experiment, each pig consumed but 2^ lbs of 168 SWINK HUSBANDBT. corn per diem, or the supposed equivalent in potatoes or green corn. This experiment alone, without being supplemented and con> firmed by others, is insufficient from which do draw a general application ; but, as the writer observes, is very suggestive, indicat- ing that pigs not pushed, but steadily and moderately fed, make flesh instead of fat, at the rate of '"/loo lbs. daily, and thai, beiug so fed, they can do their own grinding and cooldng with advantage. It Is evident that the greater the number and the longer the lime experiments are continued, the higher Is the probability that ihey approach to a reliable and constant average, and if we admit that the thirteen experiments here set forth, were made on adequate numbers and continued a sufficient length of time, they should have great weight in establishing a general rule, which, in this case, would be that one bushel of corn, (or 56 lbs. of corn), fed on the ear, returns, under ordinary circumstances, ten pounds of porli. But, intending to be cautious and modenite, we shall assume, for comparison and calculation, that one bushel raw and whole corn makes 9 lbs. of pork. EAW MEAL is supposed to increase in value over raw corn to the extent of 33 per cent ; this is the opinion and statement of the Shakers of Leb- anon, New York, after a trial of thirty years. If this increase be true, then, according to our basis of 9 lbs. of pork to one buphel of corn, the corn, when ground, should make 13 lbs. of pork. This agrees with an experiment of Mr. Thomas Edge, maki&g 60 lbs. of pork from five bushels of meal. And this rate of return coincides with two elaborate and extend- ed experiments — one in England and one in this country. I give here the result of these experiments by Prof. Miles, o( the Michigan Agricultural College, and by Mr. Lawes, of Rotham. stead, England ; and a full account of these very iateresting and instructive experiments by Prof. Miles may be found in the " Ohio Agricultural Rsport for 1868," and that of Mr. Lawes in the " Jour- nal Royal Agricultural Society of England," vol. xiv. The experiment of Prof. Miles commenced May 3d, and ended December 15th, embracing a period of 303 days, or 39 weeks, and was made on six grade Essex pigs, two weeks old, and from the same litter, and were divided into two pens of three pigs each. During the first few we^ks they were fed on a mixed diet of milk, meal, and a portion of roots, and therefore we select the last period of 30 weeks, during which they were fed exclusively on corn meal. The three best pigs, one from pen A and two from HOG-PEKDING AND POEK-MAKING. 169 pen B, were killed December 15th, and averaged 145 lbs. each ; and, deducting the original weight at the commencement of the experi- ment, each gained in the total period of 303 days 141 lbs, or 69yioo lbs. per diem — during a part of this time, (8 weeks), bemg fed on a mixed diet. One of the pigs from pen B having died, the other two were fed for 30 weeks on corn meal, and in 140 days gained 305i lbs., or 98'Vi«» l^s-i ^ach pig, over their original weight, and at the rate of 73Vioo per diem for this period. In the 20 weeks 935i lbs. of meal were consumed, equal to IG'/io bushels of corn, and giving a return of 13Vio lbs. of pork for each bushel, and re- quiring 4i lbs. of meal to make one ol pork. The expt^riment of Mr. Lawes, of England, commenced Febru- ary 3d, 1850, with 36 selected pigs in twelve pens, and were fed on several prescribed dietaries. The pigs were 9 to 10 months old, and at the time of selection differed among themselves but a pound or two, and when the experiment began averaged 143i lbs., but a fraction less than those of Prof. Miles when his were killed, and the two might be considered in the light of a continuous ex- periment — Lawes beginning were Miles ended. We select for investigation and comparison pen No. 5, contain- ing three pigs, averaging 143^ lbs., because they were fed exclus- ively on corn meal. The experiment lasted 8 weeta, or 56 days, during which time each pig consumed 363 lbs., or 6*'/66 bushels of meal, and 6'Vioo lbs. daily, and gaining TD^/ion lbs. of weight, or l*7ioo lbs. per diem, and at the rate of 13 lbs. per bushel ; a .very remarkable a,2;reement betwixt Edge, Miles, and Lawes. An analysis of the experiments, both of Miles and Lawes, shows very clearly a rwpid decrease in the rate of consumption of food to a given weight of animal as it fattens ; and, although less food ia eaten, it takes more of it to produce one pound of increase, so that, as the animal approaches his maturity of fatness, or, as it ia termed in England, " ripeness," he may reach a point where the return in pork will not pay for the corn consumed. This point should be watched for and the pig at once sent to market. At the conclusion of Miles' experiment, the pigs increased less than two per cent in a week. Prof. Miles remarks of his experiments : " In the manufacture of pork the best return of the food con- sumed will undoubtedly be obtained by liberal feeding during the early stages of growth ; and we cannot reasonably avoid the con- clusion that the same rule is applicable to aU animals reared foi the purpose of the butcher. 170 SWINE HUSBAlfDET. " As animals are employed to convert the vegetable products of the larm into animal products of greater value, the greatest profit in fattening may reasonably be expected from liberal feeding dur- ing the period of growth, in which the organs of nutrition are capable of converting the largest amount of material into animal tissues in a given time." And Mr. Lawes established by his experiment " that the larger the proportion of nitrogenous compounds in the food, the greater the tendency to increase m frame saad flesh; but that the maturing or ripening of the animal — in fact its fattening — depended very much more on the amount, in the food, of certain digestible non- nitrogenous constituents." And this accords perfectly, I believe, with all experience. STEAMED OR BOILED CORN. I find a number of experiments in which steamed or boiled corn entered as part of the food, for longer or shorter times, and mixed with other things, and only three experiments conducted wholly on boiled corn ; one by Clay, gaining 14 lbs. 7 oz. of pork from a bushel; one by Van Loon, of Illinois, who obtained 18 lbs. ; and the other from Montgomery county, Indiana, giving a fraction less than 12 lbs. of pork to the bushel of corn ; and all three give an average of a little less than 15 lbs. The Indiana experiment has most of the elements of time and numbers to make it reliable, and I give some analysis of it. Eight pigs from one litter were put in a pen when one week old and fed nine months, consuming 220^ bushels of corn, and gain- ing 2,644 lbs. of pork, averaging a gain of 330i lbs. each pig, or I'/s lbs. each per day for the whole period; and the following tabular statement shows the amount of corn fed during each month, the gain in weight, the number of pounds of pork made to one bushel, and the amount of corn required to make one pound of pork : No. of Month. Amount consumed. Total gain. Rmnds of Bmnda pork per \corn to otm bushel, 'poimdporli Ist month Bushels. 15 24 26J 27 29i 27 26} 26 21 Pouncls. 168 224 272 316 352 360 3i50 327 275 Average.. 11.20 9.33 10.30 11.76 11.96 13.30 13.j:o 13.60 13.00 5. 2d " 6. 3d " 4th " 5.43 4.78 5th " 4.68 6th " 4.21 7th " 4.20 8th " 4.40 9th " 4.30 11.85 4.77 HOG-FEEDING AND POKK-MAKING. 171 Observe how regular is the Increase in weight up to the eighth month of their age, when they averaged 241^ lbs — a regular de- crease in the amount of food from the sixth month of feeding, and a diminished quantity of corn to make one puund of purk, instead of an increase, as in Miles' and Lawes' experiments, which goes to corroborate what we have already said, that we meet with some unaccountable anomalies which, as yet, we are unable to reduce to any uniform rule. Perhaps these pigs had not yet reached their full capacity of fatness. I add here two extracts, one from "Evening Discussions" at the recent New York State Fair, 1867 ; subject : " Cooking Food for Domestic Animals." Hon. G. Geddes, of Syracuse, New York, said : " He had thor- oughly proved, years ago, that cooking, independent of grinding, at least doubled the value of food." " George A. Moore, of Erie county. New York, said he had fully satisfied himself that the value of food was tripled by cooking." I quote from " Transactions of the American Institute, 1864." Prof. Mapes says : " The experiment often tried has proved that 18 or 19 lbs. of cooked corn is equal to 50 lbs. of raw com for hog feed, and that Mr. Mason, of New Jersey, found that pork fed with raw graiu cost 13J cents per pound, and that from cooked corn 4} cents." COOKED MEAL. I find here, as in other cases, much of assertion, but backed by more of experiment ; some claiming, on apparently good grounds, that grinding and cooking the meal thoroughly, doubles the value of the raw corn. Rejecting here, as elsewhere, the many mixed and irregular ex- periments, we find that Clay obtained 171 lbs. of pork from a bushel of corn so prepared ; Marsh, of Glen's Falls, New York, 16J-lbs. ; A. G. Perry, 18 lbs.; Thomas I. Edge, Chester county. Pa., 16Va lbs. ; Nathan G. Morgan, New York, 20 lbs. ; Buckmg- ham of Illinois, 20 lbs.; Jonathan Talcott, Rome, New York, 17.V100 lbs.; Robert Thatcher, Darby, Pa., made two experiments — one on five very ordinary pigs, getting 16Vio lbs. ; the other on five superior Chester pigs, and gained 17"/ioo lbs. from a bushel of cooked meal, and remarks : " The surprising gain for food con- sumed was the result of very careful feeding, clean and warm bed- din'?, and a tight house." The average of all these experiments is 17*'/ioo lbs. per bushel. David Anthony, of Union Springs, New York, convinced him- 172 SWINE HUSBANDRY. self by experiment, that when com fed in the ear was worth 63 cents, ground into meal it was worth 87 cents, and ground into meal and cooked, one hundred and eighteen (118) cents, the last being 91 per cent better than raw corn. Fro n an examination of the records at my command, I think that, taking the return of pork from a bushel of corn at nine pounds, there can be no doubt that corn ground into meal and fed, increases in value about 33 per cent over corn fed in the ear. That thoroughly steaming or cooking the wholrf corn, raises its value to but little less than that of cooked meal, which I estimate at 66 per cent over raw corn fed in the ear. I arrive at this conclusion, not only from the experiments I have herein set forth, but from an examination of quite a number not here given, on account of their mixed and irregular methods. It is true that grinding, steaming, or cooking the Corn can in no wise add a single atom to the elements already existing, and raises its value only by rendering the whole nutritiive matter available by making it more soluble and of easier digestion, so that the maxi- mum of nutrition is more readily and certainly obtained. I conclude that nine pounds of pork from a bushel of raw com fed in the ear, twelve pounds from raw meal, thirteen and a half pounds from boiled corn, and sixteen and a half pounds from cooked meal, is no more than a moderate average the feeder may expect to realize from a bushel of corn under ordinary circum- stances of weather, with dry and clean feeding pens. All this ia within the amounts we have shown to be probable and attainable upon our chemical basis. Higher percentages have been frequently obtained in practice than any we shall now assume as our basis in making practical application of our researches. And if it be true that what haa once been done can be done again, there is great encouragement for the feeder to study and master the circumstances that will give the higher results. And in this connection, it is important to con- sider that animals live constantly in a medium colder than them' selves for the greater part of Ihi year, and that the lower temper- ature continually abstracts and wastes animal heat which, in the fattening process, must be maintained in proportion to the temper- ature in which they lire, and that this heat is obtained from the food which, under other circumstances, would be transformed into fat and stored up in the tissues. And we can readily perceive that warmth and shelter from the vicissitudes of the weather is not only important, but almost in- HOG-T'EEDING AND POEK-MAKING, 173 dispeasabie, and without them we cannot expect the highest return for the food consumed; and of the truth of this the Duncan's Falls experiment is a most striking and instr. ctive example. Having established the fact from chemical elements, that 16 to 19 lbs. of pork are possible, and tliat 18 and 30 lbs. are not unfre- quent in actual practice, under the circumstances indicated, we shall not be deemed extravagant if we take 15 lbs. per bushel «s the basis of our calculations in ascertaining per pound th<> cose OF POBK, f a bushel ( of "or^ ilk HOG-FEEDING AND POEK-MAKING. 175 TABLE NO. 8. Showing cost per pound of pork, the number of bushels of corn per acre, cost per busshel of raising and feeding, and return in pork — being given according to our calculations : Bushels per acre.. 35 40 45 50 55 60 Cost per bushel. . . 37.50 34.83 31.66 30.00 29.00 28 Cents. Pounds of f pork return- 1 ed per bushel. 9 12 134 15 4.16 3.12 a. 78 3.50 3.87 2.90 3.58 3.37 3.51 2.64 2.34 2.07 3.33 2.50 2.22 2.00 3.33 3.43 2.15 1.93 3.11 3.33 3.07 1.87 Cost of pork in \ cents, and '/loo 1 of a cent. TABLE NO. 9. Showing the total amount of pork per acre, the number of bushels of corn and return of pork per bushel, being given accord- in;; to our calculations : Pounds of pork from Bushels of corn per acre. one bushel of corn. 35 40 45 50 55 60 On the ear Raw meal Boiled com Cooked meal 9 12 Id 315 4;o 473 5^5 360 480 540 600 405 540 607 675 450 600 675 750 495 660 743 835 540 720 810 900 1 Total pounds of pork per acre. If we find the price per pound of pork in Table No. 8 cor- responding to any particular yield of corn per acre and pork per bushel, and deduct it from the market price at any given time, and multiply by this difference the number of pounds of pork obtained from the bushel, we have the net profit on a bushel of corn. Thus, at 45 bushels per acre and 13^ lbs. per bushel, we find the cost of pork per pound to be 3.34 cents. Supposing pork to be selling at 6 cents per pound, the difference is 8.66 cents ; multiplying 13i lbs. (the yield per bushel), by which we get 49.4 cents as the profit per bushel of corn. If, as before, we find the price of pork in Table No. 8, and deduct from market price, and multiply by this differ- ence the number of pounds of pork per acre, as found in Table No. 9, corresponding to any given .yield of corn per acre, and pork per bushel, we have the net profit per acre from pork. Thus, we find by table No. 9, at 45 bushels per acre and 13^ lbs. per bushel, the amount of pork per acre to b? 607 lbs. Multiplying this number of pounds by 3.66 cents the difference between cost and selling price, we have $32.31 as the profit per acre of corn. We,have already satisfactorily shown from chemical data above 176 SWINE HUSBANDET. that, after allowing a sufficiency of the elements to restore the daily waste and keep a hog in good condition, there is enough in the corn to bring him from to 300 lbs., at the rate of 15 lbs. of pork per bushel of corn. And practice has shown that there is more than we have assumed in our calculations, and adhering to our maximum of 15 lbs. as one we believe to be easily attainable, and supposing also that the feeder will strive for the higher result, we have prepared a table to show what profit he may expect for his corn with good cultivation, and getting a return of 15 lbs. of pork from one bushel of corn. TABLE NO. 10. Selling price of pork per pound in Whole cost of corn per bushel according to product per acre, at — 35 40 45 50 55 60 Bushels. cents. Cents. 87.50 34.83 31.66 30.00 29.00 28.00 Cost per bushel. 4 23.50' 2.5.17 28.34 42.34 58.34 73.34 88.34 103.34 30.00 45.00 60.00 75.00 90.00 105.00 3100 4«.00 61.00 76.00 91.00 106.00 121.00 E3.00 47.00 62.00 77.00 92.00 107.00 122.00 5 37.50 ! 2.50 C7.no 82.50 97.50 110.50 40.17 55.17 70.17 85.17 100.17 115.17 6 7 Net pro- ■ fit per bushel. 8 9 10 118.84! 120.00 It appears from our first and second tables, given in a former part of this paper, that, from the chemical elements, there is but little difference in the fattening value of several of the foods there given, but, in so far as they contain more of the phosphates and flesh formers than corn, they could be very advantageously fed to young and growing animals; but the cost of producing equal weights of these must, after all, determine their economic value in the fattening process. And now, having satisfactorily to ourselves, at least, set forth and established the close agreement of theory with the best prac- tice, not by guesses and loose opinions, but by solid facts and ex- periments we might here leave the subject for each one to secure the results we have shown to be attainable by the methods best suited to his own circumstances and according to his own notions. But, in consequence of important questions which now arise, we must pursue the subject a little farther, even if it lead us, for the moment, from all well-established facts iuto the field of hypothesis and conjecture, for we have not here any recorded experiments to assist us in determining a question of much practical importance— HOG-FEEDING AND POKK-MAKING. 177 THE EIGHT AGE AT WHICH TO FATTEN A HOG ? Whether it is better to keep him as a store or stock animal, in taoderate order and growing condition, on grass and clover with a little corn during winter, until he is matured in growth, at 13, 18, or 30 months old, and then in three or four months feed him up to 400 or 500 pounds, or to winter him only and fatten him in the spring ; or is it best to push the pigs from birth and feed them up to 300 lbs. at nine or ten months old ? In order, if possible, to get some light on this point of our in- vestigation, let us take two pigs from the same litter, as near alike as possible, subject them to the same treatment and the same food, terminating one experiment at nine months and the other at eighteen. Then with pigs littered, say April 1st, let them run with their mother on grass and clover until October 1st, a period of six mouths, or 183 days. It will be reasonable to assume they will make three-fourths of a pound of daily growth and increase for that period, or weigh 138 lbs. each. We will now take pig A and put him up to fatten, and, as three months or thirteen weeks are amply sufBcient to ripen a hog, we will full feed him that length of time, or 92 days. We also desire to bring him up to 300 lbs.; and, as he already weighs 138 lbs., there remain 163 to be added, and, if our estimate of 15 lbs. of pork from one bushel of corn ground into meal and boiled be cor- rect, he must eat 10 Vs bushels of corn and get a daily increase of one and three- fourths (If) pounds, and so, having arrived at 300 lbs. , we dispose of him. Pig B, also, at the end of six months, or the first of October, weighs 138 lbs., same as pig A, but, instead of being put to fatten, we wish to continue him to May first, or 313 days, and, gaining at the same rate as before — that is, three-fourths pounds daily -as from April to October. During this period, from October to May, he consumes llj bushels of corn, gains 159, and then weighs 397 lbs. Again, he pastures from May to October, gaining, as before, 138 lbs., and now, at October first, when lie is put up to fatten, weighs 435 lbs., and, being fed for the same period as was A, or 93 days, and making the same increase, he now weighs 594 lbs., and has eaten altogether a little over 33 bushels of corn and twelve months of pasture. Pig A, for six months pasturage and 10 '/' bushels of corn, returns 300 lbs. of pork, while pig B, for twelve months pasturage and 33 bushels of com, returns but 594 lbs. of pork — being a diflference of six (6) pounds of pork and one-fifth of a bushel of corn in favor of feeding two hogs like A rather 178 SWINH HtrSBAKDKT. than one as B, making the same amount of pork and returning the money invested in one-half the time. FroQi the fact that both Lawes and Miles found, as the hog ap- proached ripeness, or full maturity of fatness, the quantity of com to make a pound of pork increases, and the time also, it may be that our suppositious cases are very near the truth ; I think they are, and that it will take less food to make 600 lbs. of pork from tvpo animals than from one. And the rates of increase and total ■weights given of the animals is rather strengthened and corroborated by the fact that from an examination of the weights given of several hundred extra lieavy hogs (upwards of 350,) of the age of 20 and 33 months, very few reached 600 lbs., and none made an increase of one pound a day for that whole period. There are many experiments proving that hogs of 18 to 33 months frequently increase during the fattening process at the rate of 2i to 3 lbs. a day, and even more ; and that young hogs are very often made to weigh 300 lbs. and over at the age of 9 to 10 months. There is no doubt a certain proportion betwixt muscle and fat whUe feeding, which will be found to give the most advantageous results ; but it is so apparent that, to obtain great weight in any animal, we ought to have a good supply of bones and muscle to begin with, and a sufficient frame-work on which to build and lay the fat, that I think it wpuld be advisable to devote the first few months of the pig's life to growth rather than tor fat-making, and to this end S. M. Wherry's experiment, on page 183 furnishes a good example. And it will be well to remember that Miles' pigs, ■with an insufficient frame-work to carry more, were ripe at seven months old, with a weight of 145 only pounds, having 'be&a. pushed from the start. Having shown how much pork is to be expected from a bushel of corn, prepared and fed in various ways, we will devote a brief space to considering the expense of preparation. It will be ob- served that in estimating the lowest cost price of pork, wo assumed 15 lbs. as our maximum return from a bushel of corn. But in obtaining this result we have shelled, ground and cooked our com meal with steam power, and it may be said, with truth, perhaps, that this can only be applied economically on a large scale — say to feeding upwards of 350 head — to feed less would hardly justify the necessary outlay for machinery and apparatus, and we must try some other plan more suitable for smaller opera- tions. From an examination I am satisfied it will cost upon an average 15 cents to have corn shelled and ground, including toll and trans- HOG-FEEDING AND POKK-MAKING, 179 portation to and from the mill. That is to say, taking our yiel^ of nine pounds of pork from raw corn, and 12 from raw meal, we must get 15 cents from the three additional pounds, or five cents per pound for the pork, to pay the cost of grinding. It is obvious that this pork must sell at some price greater than this to afford any profit on the three pounds so produced, and to gain even five cents per bushel above the product, and nine pounds per bushel, we must get BJ cents per pound for the pork. But now, having our corn ground into meal, let us proceed to cook it, which I estimate will cost seven cents per bushel on a moderate scale, with simple apparatus ; and 15 cents, the cost of grinding, added to seven cents, the cost of cooking, equals 33 cents. From corn so prepared, we expect a return of 15 lbs. of pork per bushel of corn, and a gain of six pounds over raw corn, pro- ducing but nine pounds. These six pounds have cost 33 cents, or 3| cents per pound, and it is evident that, for every cent per pound above this cost that the pork brings, we gain six (6) cents more than when getting but nine pounds per bushel. Then, at 6t cents for pork, our profit would be 18 cents for these six additional pounds per bushel. Suppose now, instead of incurring the expense of grinding, that we steam or cook the whole grains of com, at the same cost as the meal — seven cents per bushel — and gain thereby 4i lbs. over the product of raw corn (to wit : nine pounds,) then, at 6f cents per pound for pork, our profit would be 33 cents per bushel for these 4i.additional pounds, and in like proportion for any higher selling price for pork. In all calculations of expense throughout this paper, we have intended to make ample and liberal estimates. It is plain, from a comparison of the above statements, that, although getting but 131 l^s- of pork from a bushel of boiled or cooked com, it is yet the most economical method of preparing the corn on a moderate scale, and affords not only a possibility, but a high probability, of a larger return than we have given. And, fortunately the apparatus required is simple and inexpen- sive, for any vessel with a capacity to tum into steam 36 gallons of water per hour is sufficient, if we assume that com has the same capacity for heat as water, to raise 10 bushels of corn to the boil- ing point in one hour and keep it there, and furnish a daily ration for 60 hogs. But it is evident the corn must be kept some thne at the temperature indicated to cook it. No doubt on many farms there already exist the pans and brick arches used in the makmg pf ?orghum molasses; and these pans, with some alterations and 180 SWINE HUSBANDKT. inexpeosive additioos, would, no doubt, answer an admirable pur- pose. So, also, will a large kettle set in an arch, answer to cook corn for 10 to 30 hogs. The corn, whether cooked in the pans or kettle, should be shelled and placed in trays with stout wire bot- toms just close enough to hold the grains of corn ; and, placing these trays, if need be, one on top of the other, just above the water in the pan or kettle, let all be covered and steam away. I think that for about 75 or 80 dollars, an apparatus on this principle can be made, sufficient for 150 hogs. In any apparatus for cooking or steaming the food, one square foot of pan or kettle exposed to the fire, is the minimum space capable of evaporating one gallon per hour — IJ- feet is better. It is propable the corn could be ground on the farm with horse- power, cheaper than we have estimated, if the feeder will invest in a mill and necessary power. Opinions differ as to any real value in feeding the cob ground with the meal ; some attaching great value to the method, others rejecting it altogether. Chemical analysis of the corn-cob gives six to ten per cent of matter that may be rendered, by long maceration and boDing, capable of assimilation by the animal. I myself believe there is not nutriment enough in the cob to pay for getting it out ; but an occasional feed of cob meal would be of service, for in the fattening process, a certain amount of inert matter seems not only to be beneficial, but to be absoliilely re- quired by the hog, and it is, no doubt, this instinctive want and necessity, that induces the hog to eat coal, rotten wood, and even clay and dirt. Having now considered the various methods of preparing and feeding corn, there yet remains one subject to be discussed which is of too great importance to be ignored or overlooked in any scheme of pork-making , I allude to THE VALUE OF GRASS AKD CLOVER. We have already mentioned it ; but, in the absence of any care- fully conducted experiments on this point, it is somewhat diflicult to determine the pork-making value of grass and clover, as com- pared with corn. I find great difTerences of opinion as to the number of hogs an acre of good gi-ass or clover will support during the season ; the number varying from three to six — the higher number being assigned to an acre of good clover. Of course the number mvM depend upon the quantity of graas or clover, whether it be thick or thin, and also a good, moderate, HOG-FEEDING AND POEK-MAKING. 181 or poor crop. In this dilemma let us see if theoretic statements will help us in the solution of this question. We will assume, to begin with, that one acre, with a good set of timothy and clover, occupying the ground in equal proportions, will give a product of 13,000 lbs. during the season. We thin^ this a moderate estimate, for the reason that it requires less than one ounce of green food per month from each square foot during five months of pasturage. Suppose the average of the hogs, when turned on to grass, to be 135 lbs., and that it be the fact, as has been frequently stated, that an animal requires three per cent daily of his live weight in dry food, or its equivalent in green food, to keep him in a growing and fattening condition, then 7-J lbs. of grass and clover will be consumed by one hog daily from May to October, or 153 days, or l,146i lbs. during this whole period. Then it is evident the acre of grass and clover will support as many hogs as 1,146J is contained in 13,000 lbs. (the product of one acre,) or 10^^ hogs, nearly ! But we prefer to base our calculations on the data given in a previous part of this paper, that it requires one and one-third pounds of corn to maintain a hog of 150 lbs. in condition merely, and of course requires a corresponding portion of green food to do the same thing; and if, according to oui Table No. 2, it takes 6.75 lbs. of clover to equal one of corn, then 1.33 lbs. of corn, (the amount to keep the hog in condition), re- quires nine pounds of green clover, or an equivalent, to supply the daily waste in the animal organism, and of caprse an additional amount is necessary to increase the hog in weight ; and if we take the increase at one-half pound daily, then 6.75 lbs. more of clover is needed, or 15.75 altogether; but as timothy (of which an equal portinn of our green food consists), is in value to clover as 398 to 675, a less amount, or eleven pounds, will suflSce than if feeding clover alone. But as some .s wasted and trampled down, we think a daily allowance of fifteen pounds to each hog is none too much. Fifteen pounds of green food, which we have determined as the ration to sustain the hog and fatten him one-half pound daily, is contained in 13,000 lbs., (the product of one acre), 800 times, and would support one hog for 800 days, or ^'/s hogs one hundred and fifty-three days, or five months, from May to October, the period of pasturage. Omitting the fraction, our five hogs increasing one- half pound daily for 153 days, we have a total return in pork of 383i^ lbs. from one acre of timothy and clover, and its value can be compared with the amount of pork produced from an acre of corn in Table No. 9. 183 - SWINE HUSBANDKT. I estimate the cost of getting a good set of clorer and timothy at four dollars ($4) per acre, and that we will have two seasons of pasturage from it ; and dividing this cost into two years it will be but two dollars for our 383i lbs. of pork, or a fraction over half a cent per pound ; or, assigning to our grass and clover pork the lowest selling price in our tables, or 4 cents per pound, it gives us 383^ X 4^$15.30 — and, deducting the cost of the grass and clover, leaves us a net profit of $18.30 for one acre of our pasture. Of course all this is hypothetical, and each one must determine for himself how nearly these calculations are correct. I believe they are within the truth, and will be exceeded in actual practice. If any one takes the trouble to compare the values of p)rk and corn on our data of 9, 13, l^ and 15 lbs. of pork from a bushel of corn, it will be found that, at nine pounds, one pound of pork must bring six and two ninths (67o) times as much as one pound of corn to make the pork equal in value to the corn— at 13 lbs. per bushel one pound of pork must bring 4j times as much as one pound of corn— at 13J lbs. per bushel the pound of pork must bring 4Vio times the price of the corn, and at 15 lbs. per bushel the pork requires to be S'/s times the value of one pound of corn. Finally, after a careful and somewhat extensive examination and analysis of quite a number of experiments, regular and irregular, of all the various methods of feeding corn, including a wide range of country and seasons, I find, upon the whole, that, amidst the apparently discrepant and contradictory statements, quite uniform and accordant results have been obtained under similar circumstances. And, notwithstanding the subtle influences of life and the vital processes may continue to evade us, and may never be brought entirely under our control, and made subservient to our purposes, yet, aside from all this, we have the power of perfect command over many of those circumstances, which do un- doubtedly exercise a most important influence over the young and growing animal— such as foods in various quantities, forms, and proportions, regular feeding, cleanliness, warmth, and shelter from the weather; and last, but not least, a judicious selection of the breeds and aptitudes best suited to our wants. And I conclude, upon d review of the whole subject, that it will pay to fatten hogs on corn alone, when properly prepared, and it will be easier and cheaper if a portion of the pork be made on grass and clover. . Where the farmer prepares for pork-making, and pursues it with system and regularity, I believe it will pay him better than to sell HOG-rBEDIITG AND POEK-EAISING. 183 his corn, (no matter what be the market price), even at his own door. And especially I think will this be found true by those so situated as to be obliged to haul their corn any distance to market, which increases the cost of the corn 5 to 15 cents, according to the distance to be traveled. My investigations have led me to some unexpected conclusions, but, having no theory to begin with, I have simply followed where truth seemed to lead, determined to collect and tabulate facts and be guided by them alone, avoiding all mere opinions and assertions. If we have proved anything, it is, that it is possible and com- paratively easy to get 50 per cent more for corn than we now do tor all the millions of bushels fed to hogs in the process of pork- making. Sustaining in this industry alone a loss of millions of dollars annually, the question of how much pork in a bushel of corn is not an insignificant one. It strikes me that the different State Agricultural Societies could engage in no more beneficial work than to arrest the enormous losses of our wasteful feeding processes, by the dissemination of correct information, and by a series of well-conducted experiments lend their powerful aid to elucidate so important a subject. 184 S.H.Nis HLTSBAKDfiT. CHAPTEE XIX. THE EFFECTS OF COLD ON FATTENING SWINE. ^iPEKIMENTS MADE AT THE KANSAS STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGB FARM, BY E. M. SHELTON, PB0PES80B OP AQRIOULTURE. In the West, a very large proportion of all animals kept for their flesh, are fattened during the most inclem- ent season of the year, and they receive protection that is rarely sufficient to break the force of the wintry blasts. In some cases, the corrals, or feed-lots, are located in a belt of timber, a ravine, or a sink in the prairie, but the shelter is rarely sufficient to affect the temperature of the enclosure. This western plan of feeding has often been condemned on sentimental grounds, but the facts that stock has gen- erally fed well under this plan, and the business of feed- ing has been profitable to the feeder, have prevented these objections from having very great influence. With the object of establishing some facts bearing on this point, and having a relation to profit and loss, the experiments herein detailed were undertaken. In the winter of 1880-1, and again in the winter of 1883-3, ten pure-bred Berkshire pigs of good pedigree were selected. The ages of those employed in the ex- periment of 1880-1 were as follows : Pen No. 1. .Farrowed April 13, 1879 Pen No. 5. . " " 13, 1879 Pen No. 7.. " " 13,1879 Pen No. 2. . " July 4, 1879 Pen No. 3.. " " 4,1879 Pen No. 4.. Farrowed July 4, 1879 Pen No. 6. . " " i, 1879 Pen No. 8.. " "4, 1879 Pen No. 9. . " " 4, 1879 Pen No. 10. " March 30, 1879 The three dates represent three different litters. The ten subjected to experiment in the winter of 1882-3 were of three different litters, all farrowed in November, EFFECTS OF COLD ON FATTEinNG SWIKB. 185 1881, and so closely related on the side of sire and dam, as to be practically identical in blood. The pigs employed in both experiments, during the summer preceding, and up to the time the experiment began, were kept in a large pasture-field — mostly prairie grass, but containing a small proportion of orchard grass and alfalfa (lucerne) — receiv- ing two ears of com per pig each day. The pigs were a remarkably uniform lot, and of very excellent quality. In both experiments, the pens numbering 1 to 5, in- clusive, were arranged in the basement of a warm stone barn, and pens 6 to 10, inclusive, in an open yard on the south side of a close board fence, five feet high, but with- out other protection, except straw ''nests," which were furnished both sets as needed. A single pig occupied each pen, an arrangement necessary to the proper appor- tionment of feed, and distribution of the results of the experiment. It is safe to say, that the shelter afforded to the pigs kept in open yards was greatly superior to that ordinarily given to fattening pigs in the West. In the first of these experiments, that of 1880-1, in pens 1, 2, 5, 6, 7 and 10, shelled corn was exclusively fed ; in pens 3, 4, 8 and 9, a ration of bran, in addition to the corn, was fed, the amount varying but little from two pounds per day. The bran was fed dry, or mixed with water, to suit the tastes of the different pigs. At first this was eaten with apparent relish, but as the pigs in- creased in ripeness they seemed to care less for the bran, finally refusing it altogether, and about the eighth and ninth weeks, the bran ration was discontinued. In the experiment of 1882-3, shelled corn alone was fed in all of the pens. In all the pens of each experi- ment the animals were fed all the corn they would eat, gi-eat care being taken that none was left over in the troughs and wasted, and equal care was taken that none should be insufficiently supplied. The pigs were fed twice daily, at 8 a. m. and at 4 p. m., the feed being 186 SWINE HTTSBAKDET. weighed out accurately to each pig at every feeding. If at the time of feeding the previous feed had not been con- sumed, the surplus was removed, and a proportionate re- duction made in the amount of the next feed. All of the pigs received whatever water they required. In order to see the effects of variations in temperature, the readings of Fahrenheit's thermometer, in the barn and at the pens in open yards, were recorded every morn- ing at 8 o'clock in both experiments. All of the pigs were weighed at the close of each week, a little before the time of the first feeding of the week following. In table No. 1 is shown in pounds and decimals of a pound the weight of each pig at the beginning of tlie ex- periment, the total gain, the total gain per cwt., and the average gain per cwt. in the experiment made in 1880-1. TABLE NO. 1, SHOWING THE WEIGHT OF EACH PIG AT THE BEGINNING OP THE EXPEKIMENT, AND AT THE CLOSB OP EACH WEEK, THE TOTAL GAIN, THE TOTAL GAIN PER CWT. OP EACH PIG, AND OP THE TWO SETS. Pigs kept in warm pens Pigs kept in open pens to in the Darn. the yard Week of J>aU. Experi- ►B ►fl ID ►0 It) ? ►0 hj *fl 13 a (U CD a, CD a CP A ' a B : B a B B B B B e ^ jO 1 CO f^ P ■ P 1 pD 1 ^ P Nov. 1, '80 Begin'ing ofBxper't 1 272 240 258 275 226 244 1 229 249 352 285 Nov. S, -.oo Fir^t 281 2.i7 267 294 238 263 239 260 259 292 Nov. 15, •81) Second... 2% 266 2SS 309 251 268: 245 269 278 313 Nov. 22, '80 Third.... 313 282 297 325 273 287 259 292 293 330 Nov. 29, '8n Fourth... .'):« 304 319 3.18 289 304l 275 .310 308 .352 Dec. 6. 'SO Fifth. . 349 328 :ati 357 305 323; 288, 317 320 362 Dec. 13, -SOiSixth .... 3b.5 339 356 376 321 347 30li 3:!1 3.38 387 Dec. 20, •SoISeventh.. 389 359 373 39H 340 :<66' 321 339 .346 392 Dec. 27, '80 Eighth... 400 371 890 409 351 3731 336 34^ .355 403 Jan. 3, '81 Ninth... 413 381 399 422 359 382, 346 857 356 398 Jan. 10, '81 Tenth. . . . 424 .394 410 429 374 384 357 3«6 356, 407 Jan. 17, '81 Eleventh. 435 404 424 166 439 3S2 401 167 366 372 .37 123 309 409 Totnl gain. Total gain 163 104 164 156 117 124 1 per cwt.. 50.90 68.30 64.30 59.00 69.00 6-».30 I s,.80 49.30 4 6.40 43.50 ATe'ge gain per cwt.. 63.80 62.20 EFFECTS OB COLT) OS FATTENIJfG SWIKE. 187 The remarkable uniformity of this lot is strikingly shown by the "total gain" in both sets, in table No. 1, but particularly in the case of the fiye pens in the barn, . the difference between the greatest and least gain being only ten pounds. In Table No. 2 the general results of this experiment (1880-1) are given. TABLE NO. 2. ^1 i 3i rss i^ii^i'iliili rPens 1, 9, and 5 in Feed, oorn.-j peni e^T'andioin (open yard Pum 3 and 4 in the barn..: Pons 8 and 9 in open yard , 2-2.0.3 .. 483.00 8,487.50 . I 1 I 418.00 8,291.00 21.64'. 330.00 1.689.00 232.00 21.09 4.13 I I 240 00 1,380.50 200.0019.82. 4.14 5.15 .. 5.48 .. 4.81 5.77 0.70 83 A good general view of the results of this experiment may be had by taking as the standard of comparison the cost of 100 lbs. of increase in the two lots of both series, receiving different feed : 100 IbB. of increase, in pens 1, 8, and 5 cost. 515.02 lbs. of corn 100 lbs. of increase, in pens 6, 7, and 10 cost, 548.08 lbs. of corn. This gives to the three outside pens, in which corn was exclusively fed, a loss of 33.06 lbs. of corn per cwt. of increase, as compared with pens in which the same feed was used in the barn, and in the 418 lbs. of increase in pens G, 7, and 10, a loss of 138.37 lbs. of corn, or about six ((i) per cent, of the 3,391 lbs. of com fed in these pens. 100 lbs. of increase, in pens 3 and 4, cost 481.51 lbs of corn and 70.30 lbs. of bran. 100 lbs. of increase, in pens 8 and 9, cost 577.70 lbs. of corn and 83.33 lbs. of bran. ' This gives to the two outside pens in which corn and bran were fed, a loss of 96.19 lbs. of corn and 13.03 of 188 SWIlfE HUSBANDRY. bran per cwt. of increase ; and in the total of 240 lbs. of increase made in these pens, a loss of 230.85 lbs. of corn and 31.23 lbs. of bran, amounting to about 16 per cent, of all the corn and 15 per cent, of all the bran fed in pens 8 and 9 in the open yard. It will be observed that the pigs fed outside, besides giving much smaller returns for the feed consumed, in all cases gave less "total gain,", and much less "gain per cwt.," as shown in table No. 1, and consumed much less feed than those fed in the barn. The total loss from feeding in the open yards was quite marked throughout, and the variation in individual cases was considerable. It was noticeable that the quietest animals, the best feeders of those fed outside, endured the severe weather the best, and gave the largest returns for food consumed. These, during the severe weather which prevailed during the sixth, ninth, and tenth weeks, passed much of the time in a condition closely resembling hibernation ; they came to their feed during severe weather with great apparent reluctance, and rarely oftener than once each day, during tlie remainder of the time lying very still, the vital functions manifestly mov- ing at the slowest pace. The importance of a ration of bran or other coarse feed in connection with com, for fattening pigs, is frequently urged by writers, on theoretical grounds. It was chiefly to test this question that bran was used with corn in the proportion before detailed, in two of the pens of each of the two series. The value of the bran fed in this experi ment may be shown in a brief summary and comparison of the results obtained. In pens 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 10, in which com was exclusively fed, 901'/^ lbs. of increase cost 4,778.5 lbs. of corn, and in pens 3, 4, 8, and 9, in which com and bran were fed, 570 lbs. qf increase cost 2,975 lbs. of corn and 4.32 lbs. of bran. , That is. EFFECTS OF COLD ON FATTENIirG SWIITE. 189 100 lbs. of Increase, In pens 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 10. .cost M0.35 lbs. of corn. 100 lbs. of increase, In pens 3, 4, 8, and 9 cost 531.93 lbs. of com and 75.78 lbs. of bran. Or 8.43 lbs. of corn had, in this experiment, a feeding value equal to that of 75. 78 lbs. of bran — a fact which seems to show that com alone can be more profitably used for fattening hogs than a mixed feed consisting of corn and bran. In table No. 3 is given the weight of each pig at the beginning of the experiment and at the close of each week, the total gain, the total gain per cwt. of each pig, of the two sets in the experiment of 1883-3. TABLE NO. 3. Pigs Tcept in warm pens PUls kept in open pens Week of Expert m the bam. Ml the yards. DaU. ►s >Tl *ti hi Tl >fl *Ti ^n ►d M B B ts (3 B B B B j-i » ca t^ pi ?> ;.5 00 5» .s Nov. 87, '83 Begin'ing ofExper't 252 211 223 214 214 200 227 196 237 204 Dec. 4, '88. First 269 222 2,35 228 2!8 218 251 216 257 209 Dec. 11, '8>'Sccond... 275 244 257 2.53 251 234 270 236 271 2;« Dec. 18, '82 Third.... 293 253 208 262 258 244 278 249 28S 240 Dec. 26, '88 Fourth... 309 271 285 8;5 295 263 289 241 299 M2 Jan. 1, '83 Fifth 315 279 291 285 277 263 299 2.^9 315 261 Jan. 8, '83 Sixth . . . 324 282 305 290 287 262 295 ■im 321 266 Jan. 15, '83 Seventh.. .343 301 , 319 311 296 278 319 276 !138 270 Jan. 22, '83 Eighth... 340 3(18 330 322 301 283 323 272 344 275 Jan. 29, '83 Ninth.... H5« 317 337 SM 310 283 334 289 360 286 Feb. 5, '83 Tenth.... 373 121 48.00 330 119 66.40 347 346 132 61.68 322 288 337 283 363 282 Total gain. Total gain 124 55.60 108 50.40 88 44 00 no 48.40 87 44.40 126 53.12 78 .38 20 Ave'ge gain per cwt.. 64.20 45.90 Table No. 4 shows for each week of the experiment, the average temperature, total feed, the feed for each 100 lbs. of live weight of animal, the total gain, and the number of pounds of feed required for one pound of gain in the two phases of the experiment. 190 SWINE HUSBANDET. TABLE NO. 4. Averane Feed for Weekly 100 lb». Lbs. of Temper- Total of live Total Feed for ature, Feed, wt.of Gain, lib. of Fahr. lbs. Animal. lbs. Gain. Ist Week 38° 228 19.8 68 3.30 2d " .... 33° 293 24.2 98 2.98 3d " ---. 36° 329 24.8 54 6.10 Pigs kept 4th " .... 42° 334 24.2 81 4.12 in warm 5th " .... 32° 312 21.5 32 9.76 pens in ' 6th " .... 21° 277 18.8 41 6.80 the bam. 7th " .... 29° 294 18.9 82 8.58 8th " .-.- 19° 272 17.1 37 7.32 9th " .--. 27° 263 16.1 53 4.94 , 10th " .... 20° 274 16.8 58 4.72 1st Week.... 31° 243 21.9 87.0 2.80 2d " .... 22° 327 26.9 82.0 3.98 3d " .... 21° 341 26.0 62.0 5.50 Pigs kept. 4th " .... 29° 333 25.3 19.0 17.55 in pens in 5th " .... 15° 322 11.8 73.0 4.41 open yard. 6th " .... 5° 274 19.0 16.0 17.50 7th " .... 18° 279 19.3 68.0 4.11 8th " .... 12' 248 16.6 16.0 15.46 9th " .... 15° 249 16.3 55.0 4.61 10th " .... 2° 226 14.4 1.0 226.00 From the table No. 4 it will be seen that : fn pens 1, 2, 3. 4, and 5, in the bam, 2.878 lb", of corn gave 604 Iba. of pork, and " " 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, outside S,844 " " " 479 " " Or, In the warm pens, 1 lb. of pork cost 4'Vioo l^s. of corn, while In the outside " 1 " " " 5"Vjoo " Again— In pens 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5, in tbe bam, one bnsbel of com produced ll'Vioo J^s. of pork. In numbers 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10, oulside, the same quality of corn produced 9'Viiio lbs. of pork. Or, in other words : of every bushel of com fed in the five open pens, an amount sufficient to make 2"/,„„ lbs. of pork was used up in keeping the animal warm. The effect of very cold weather upon fattening pigs is still more strikingly shown by comparing the results ob- tained in the two sets — barn and outside — during the four weeks of lowest temperature, namely, the sixth, eighth, ninth, and tenth weeks of the experiment, as follows : In the warm ham, 1.086J lbs. of corn gave 190 pounds of pork. In tbe open pens outsidu, 99T lbs. of corn gave 88 lbs. of pork. EFFISCTS OF COLD OIT FATTBlfriKO SWIISTE. 191 Or, ta the warm burn, dnring the severest weather, 1 lb. of pork coat B.71 lbs, of corn. While oiitBide, daring the severest neather, 1 lb. of pork cost 11.32 lbs. of com. It is found that during the period of highest tempera- ture, when mild winter weather jrevailed (the average temperature in the barn was thirty-seven degrees, outside twenty-six degrees), the pigs in the barn made a much larger increase in weight (thirty-one pounds) than those in open yards, upon less corn (sixty-one pounds), giving a pound of increase for about four-fifths of the corn required by the pigs in the exposed pens. In the period of greatest cold this variation is much more marked, as shown above, except in the total corn consumed, the pigs in the barn consuming ^ighty-nine and a half pounds more of corn than those kept outside. The small amount of feed consumed outside, during this period, is safely attributable to the severe weather that prevailed during the time referred to. The principal results of this experiment may be shown in a few brief comprehensive statements : — (1.) In the warm bam, 2,877'/, pounds of corn gave 604 pounds increase in the weight of the pigs, while in the open yards 2,844 pounds of corn gave 479 pounds of increase. Or, in the exposed pens, the cost of one pound of increase was almost twenty-five per cent greater than the cost of one pound of increase in the warm barn. (a.) Besides giving less of "total gain" and "gain per cwt." in every pen, during every week of the experi- ment, the pigs fed outside gave much smaller returns for feed consumed, but this was especially marked during the weeks of lowest temperature. . Thus, during the three weeks of greatest cold, the pigs in open yards required 17.50, 15.46, and 226 pounds of corn for each pound of increase, while in the warm barn, during the same three weeks, 6.80, 7,32, and 4.73 193 SWINE HUSBANDRY. pounds of corn respectively were expended for one pound of increase. (3. ) In this, as in the experiment made two years ago, I have observed that the quietest pigs, the " bestfeeders," Buffei-ed least from cold, ate the best, and gave the largest returns for feed consumed. (4.) The fluctuations in the weekly gain were very much greater in the pens in the open yards ; but, as shown in Table No. IV., whenever little gain or a positive loss was sustained — as in the pens 8 and 10, during the fourth week, and pens 6 and 7, during the sixth week — an enormous gain was made during the Week following, even though the temperature continued low, as though the animals were making a determined effort to recover lost ground. (5.) The fluctuations in the total feed consumed, or in the amount of feed consumed for each 100 pounds of live weight of animal, were not great in the different pens, or in different weeks of each pen, although these fluctuations were greatest in the "outside" pens, the smallest amount of feed being consumed during the coldest weather. It is worthy of remark, however, that in the weeks following, those showing the least gain in flesh or the greatest loss, when the largest increase was made, as stated above, the increase in the amount of feed was inconsiderable : in some cases nothing. Thus in pens 6 and 7, in the sixth week, and in pen 8 in fourth and eighth weeks, the pigs lost 1, 4, 8 and 4. pounds respectively, while in same order consuming 55'/,, 48, 61 and 43'/, pounds of com. During the week following, when the same pigs gained in weight, 16, 24, 18, and 17 pounds, the enormous gain was made at a cost of 55'/,, 53, 60 and 46'/, pounds, respectively, of corn. Surely these facts can lead to but one conclusion, that it will pay to give pigs warm quarters during the feeding FEEDIKG FOR FAT AlfD LEAN. 193 period. May we not reasonably infer from these same fdcta, that all classes of domesticated animals, for what- ever purposes they are kept, will give the largest profits when well housed and made comfortable ? CHAPTEK XX. . FEEDING FOR FAT AND LEAN. It can scarcely be denied that during the period of say thirty years in which general attention has been paid to improving and largely rearing improved breeds of swine, the tendency has constantly been towards producing animals that yielded a maximum quantity of fat or lard with only a minimum of lean meat or muscle. This is easily traceable to the fact that the principal food of tlie swine in the regions where they are most raised is Indian corn, which is a fat-former unequaled by any other grain grown or used on American farms. Among other results of feeding almost exclusively generation after generation of auimgils a food so ill balanced or imperfectly adapted for a general maintenance ration, are an impaired vitality, a weakened bony structure, decreased fecundity, and in the matured carcass a ratio of fat to lean meat much greater than the avei'age consumer finds profitable to buy or palatable to eat. Among the subjects that the better class of hog-raisers are now coming to consider as of im- portance are the treatment and foods, or combinations of foods, best adapted to economically produce pork with such an increased percentage of lean, or judicious ad- mixture of lean with fat, as shall be most healthful, most palatable, and most eagerly sought by those upon whom their market depends, and best for their families. Helping to the solution of such problems has already 194 SWINE HTTSBANDRT. become recognized as a part of the legitimate work at the different State Experiment Stations and Agrinnltural Colleges, and a valuable beginning in that particular line has been maie by Prof. J. W. Sanboru, at the Missouri Agricultural College, and by Prof. W. A. Henry, director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of Wisconsin. The expcM-iments of each produced a great similarity in results and are very interesting. In making a condensed report of his effort in that direction for this volume, for which he will have the thanks of the reader as well as the author. Prof. Henry says : " Once knowing that foods of different compositions do affect the frame and flesh of animals differently, and how and why, we are in position to go ahead and build np a better system of swine husbandry than we now have. Knowing com to be a universal hog food and often used almost exclusively by many of our farmers, and further, knowing that chemistry shows that corn is excessively rich in the carbohydrates or heat and fat-formers, while it is low or poor in protein and ash elements which go to make up bone and muscle, we thought to feed it exclu- sively to one lot of hogs that wo might see the effects it produces. To another lot it was thought best to feed a rution excessi^ ly rich in protein, which makes it the opposite of the tirst ration. To this end we made up a ration of shorts sweet skim milk and a little dried blood. Dried blood is .lot often used as a food, but is wonder- fully rich as may be supposed in the same elements as dried beef. Dried blood, skim milk and shorts are each comparatively rich in protein, so it will be seen our feed for the second lot was rich in muscle-making food, and if there is anything in what chemists tell us about foods, our pigs, having such widely different rations, should show it in their bodies, if the character of the food make? any difference. FEEDING FOR FAT AND LBAIT. 195 " Out of a litter of eight pigs, six were selected, even in size and form, for the trial, when they were 100 days old. Up to the beginning the pigs were all fed alike, from the same trough, a mixture consisting of shorts, corn meal, skim milk and buttermilk. The pigs were cross-bred Jersey Beds and Poland-Chinas. At the beginning of the trial the six were divided into two lots of three each, and to Lot A was fed a ration consisting of one part of dried blood, six parts of shorts, and fourteen parts of sweet skim milk by weight. To Lot B was fed all tlie fine ground corn meal they could prpperly consume. Water was freely provided for each lot, and each had the run of a small yard back of the feeding pen in which exercise could be taken ; all went on with remarkable uniformity from first to last, with no accident of any kind during the whole period of 136 days. The follow- ing shows in a condensed form the amount of food con- sumed by the two lots during the trial of 136 days : LOT A, FED FOB LEAN. Amount of sweet skim milk consumed.. 3,302 lbs. Amount of shorts consumed — 1,415'/, lbs. Amount of dried blood consumed 235'/, lbs. liOT B, FED FOB FAT. Amount of com meal consumed 1,690 lbs. "The digestible matter in the food fed to. the two lots Was as follows: I'rotein, Carbohydrates. Total digestible matter fed to Lot A 428 lbs 833 lbs. Total digestible matter fed to Lot B 153 lbs 1,193 lbs. " It will be seen' that each lot received about the same number of pounds of actual food, but that the propor- tion of the protein to the carbohydrates varied greatly. Protein goes to make muscle, though it may be used for heat and fat in the body. The carbohydrates (starch, sugar, etc.) cannot make muscle in the body of an animal, though they may save it from waste and decay, but are used for maintaining the, bodily h^ia^fc and for 196 SWIKE HUSBAKDST. making fat. Our corn-fed hogs then were fed a rery fattening food, while the other lot were giyen a large amount of muscle- (or lean meat) making material. Here we have our feeds so widely diflfereut in character that the effect should be very evident in the carcassep of ■FED FOE LEAN. Lot A, No. 1, Protein fed. the hogs, if the character of the food affects the compo- sition of the body. "The hogs were slaughtered Nov. 8, 1886, a skilled butcher assisting, every operation being conducted with gteat care and precision. After taking the live weight of each animal, it was killed by slow bleeding, and the blood caught and weighed. The viscera were taken out eeedistjO for fat and .j-ean. 197 ■m^ each organ w«jglied and the dressed hoga hung up to cool and stiffen. " Upon being taken to the block each dressed hog was laid on his back, and first the head was seTered, next the body was cut square across between the fifth and sixth Fig. 13.— FED FOK PAT. Lot B, No. 1, Carbohydrate fed. Figs. 13 and 13 show in cross section the proportional size (>f the muscles (lean meat) in the necks of hogs of each lot. ribs, and again at the loin or small of the hack. A painter was employed to sketch the appearance and dis- position of the fat and lean meat as exposed by the cuts. Fearing the painter was not exact enough, a photogra- pher was employed for the same purpose, and we were 198 SWIKE HtrSBAKDET. ttus enabled to preserve for future reference and study that which would have otherwise soon been lost. " The illustrations which are herewith presented show the proportion and disposition of the fat and lean in some of the cuts. We present six, three of each lot. Fig. 14.— FED POK LEAX. Lot A, No. a, Protein fed. The first two show what we found on severing the heads of the first hog of each lot. The second two show in the same way the cuts made between the fifth and sixth ribs of the hogs numbered "two" in each lot ; while the last two engravings show the loin cut of the hogs num- bered "three" of each lot. In each of the engravings PEEDlXa FOR FAT AiTi) LEAN. 103 the dark eliaded parts represent lean meat or muscle, while the fat is shown by the white parts. As in cutting across the body at the three places named we cut square across most of the muscles, the reader can see the rela- tive size of each muscle in bross section in two hogs of Fig. 15.— FED FOE FAT. Lot B, No. 2, Carbohydrate fed. jf%s. 14 and 15 show In cross section the proportional sise of the muscles {lean meat) over tlie heart ofhxjgs of each lot. each lot. The illustrations are made from the dressed hogs lying on their backs. "The reader is asked to give these illustrations more than a passing glance — to study each. It will be seen in each case the muscles (red cr lean meat) of the protein 200 SWINE HLSBAKURT. fed hogs are larger than the same muscles of those fe3 the ration rich in carbohydrates. Even the muscles of Fig. 16.— FED FOB LEAN. Lot A, No. 3, Protein fed. Fig. 17.— FED FOK FAT. Lot B, No. 3, Carbohydrate fed. Figs. 16 and 17 shcm in cross section the proportioned size qftlw muscles {lean meat) of the hogs of each lot cut through the smaUofthe hack. the neck are stronger, as shown in the first two cuts. On the back over the he^rt, the muscles of Lot A show FEEDING rOB FAT ANC LEAN. 20^ far less fat between them than of Lot B. The most re" markable difference, though, is in the small of the back, where it will be noted that Lot A has about twice aa much muscle as Lot B. " The viscera of each lot was carefully dissected out and weighed and som^ most remarkable differences be- tween the two lots were found. The hair was saved and weighed. Each hog was carefully skinned and the skins weighed. The large muscle of the back, also the tenderloin muscles, were dissected and weighed. The bones were freed from tendons and flesh by boiling and the thigh bones were broken on a testing machine, to determine the strength of each. Each bone was laid on two iron edges about a quarter of an inch thick, set four inches apart; a similar iron edge was broAight down from above just midway between the two edges below. This plate was crowded down by a lever until th.e bone broke. In this way we broke five thigh bones of Lot A, and the same of Lot B. We found that the aggregate pressure required to break five thigh bones with the pro- tein fed hogs was 4,550 pounds, or an average of over 909 pounds per each bone ; against 2,855 pounds, or 571 pounds per each bone, with the corn fed hogs. Here was a weakening of the bones of over 300 pounds each in 136 days. "IMPOETANT CONTRASTS IN WEIGHTS. " The following table gives the most important facts in the case, the weights being of three hogs in each lot. Lot A. ,Lot B. Fed far lean. Feci for Fat. ■ ' ' lbs. lbs. Total live weight 669V4 561Vj Total dressed weiglit Siiy, 451 Total external fat 150 156 Total lean meat - -244 178'/j Total weight of kidnej-s 27 19 Total weight of spleens : 16 12 Total weight of livers - 146'/ii lOQ'/i Total weight of blood 296 186 Breaking strain 5 thigh bones 4550 -.2855 202 SWIKE HUSBAXDRT. "But figures placed in this way are largely lost to the general reader, so I will take the liberty of placing them in a different form : 1. The lire weight of Lot A (fed for lean) is 19 per cent greater than Lot B, fed for fat. 2. The dressed weight of Lot A is 21 per cent greater than Lot B. These dilTerences should be borne in mind in considering what tollowR. 3. The Icidneys of Lot A weighed 42 per cent more than those of LotB. 4. The spleens of Lot A weighed 33 per cent more than those of Lot B. 5. The Iwers of Lot A weighed 32 per cent more than those of Lot B. 6. The blood (caught on killing) of Lot A weighed 59 per cent more than that of Lot B. 7. The hair on Lot A weighed 36 per cent more than that of Lot B. 8. The skin of Lot A weighed 36 per cent more than that of Lot B. 9. The large muscles of the back {2lio spinalis) of Lot A weighed 64 per cent more than those of Lot B. 10. The two tenderloin muscles (Psoas magnus) of Lot A weighed 38 per cent more than tliose of Lot B. 11. Thirty-eight per cent of all Ihe meat that could be cut from the carcasses of Lot A was fat, while the fat of Lot B was 46 per cent of all that could be separated. 12. The bones of Lot A were 23 per cent heavier than those of Lot B. 13. The thi"h bones of Lot A were 65 per cent stronger with the test- ing machine than those of Lot B. " In testing the strength of the bones another remark- able exhibition of the difference in the lots was obtained. By the table it will be seen that the number of pounds pressure required to break the thigh bones of the hog was as follows : Pounds Strain Required to Break. Mrst Bom. Second Bone. Lot a. 1030 840 800 1090 790 # Number 2 . - Number 3 Total for lot 4550 Lot B. Number 1 -. - - - 645 600 450 580 580 » Number 2 _ .------ Total for lot 2855 * A ham from a hog of each lot was cut across to examine the mea^ and in this way one thigh bone was spoiled for this test. FEEDING FOB FAT AND LEaN. 201; "We observe an excess in weight of most of the impor- tant organs of the interior cavity in the hogs fed for lean over those fed for fat. These differences cannot be acci- dental, as they are the average of the lots in each case, and the work was too carefully done to have errors suflBcient to cover such differences. It will be noted that the liver, kidneys and spleen are all considerably larger with Lot A than with Lot B. A most strik- ing difference is seen in the blood obtained upon killing the hogs. From the three hogs fed for lean we got 18 pounds, 8 ounces of blood, while f.iom the three fed for fat only 11 pounds, 10 ounces. While the blood thus obtained is not by any means all tliat is in the body of the hog, it is remarkable that we should get so much more from one lot than from the other. "Before making any deductions we wish to make plain, if possible, that which seems a most important consider- ation, and one that must be clearly understood before we can use these experiments as we should. All through this discussion, we have carried the impression that we could put lean meat or fat on the hogat will ; but can we ? Is it not true that in every animal there is a certain limitation to muscular development beyond which it cannot go ? The blacksmith or the baseball player develops a lal-ge amount of muscle, but the limit is not very high, after all, with them, and probably a man weighing 175 pounds cannot add, either by what he eats or the exercise he takes, over a very few pounds of real meat or muscle to his body; indeed when men "go into training " they reduce their weight as a rule instead of increasing it, getting rid of fat and water in the body. On the other hand, when men have a tendency to laying on fat, the limit they may reach may double their nor- mal weight. We may say, then, that the possible mus- cular development of an animal has a narrow limit 204 SWINE HUSBANDKT. comparatively, while the possible fatty development has a much wider range. "We should hold, it would seem, that our hogs which show the best muscular development are only normally developed, or at least have not departed far from the normal, and that whatever we find in them is a con- dition to be held as a standard, while our hogs which have grown fat and show a variation from the lean hogs are abnormal. " Having assumed the above as correct we can make a much clearer statement of the deductions which may be drawn from the experiments>-''The experiments show that when we feed to our hogs a ration rich in carbo- hydrates but lacking in protein> like corn meal, we will find: " 1. That there is an excessive development of fat not only on the outside of the muscles and beneath the skin but also among the muscles. 2. That the muscles of the body fail to develop to their normal size, especially some of the most important ones, as those along the back. 3. That an abnormally small amount of hair and a thin skin results. 4. That while the brain, heart and lungs do not seem to change in weight, the spleen, liver and kidneys are unusually small. 5. The amount of blood in the body is greatly reduced from the normal. 6. The strength of the bones may be reduced one-half. "We may conclude that a system of feeding which robs the hog of half its blood and half the natural strength of its bones, and produces other violent changes, is a most unnatural one, and must, if persisted in, end in giving us a race of animals unsatisfactoi-y to all concerned. From parents thus weakened must come descendants that will fall easy victims to disease and disaster. Knowing the facts as here set forth, can we any longer wonder that our hogs are weak in constitution and easily break down when attacked by disease ? Nor ia FEEDING FOR FAT AND LEAN. 205 this all ; the meat from such animals can hardly be o{ flavor and composition satisfactory to the consumer, "If even a part of what has been set forth is correct, is it not high time we turned our energies toward better methods ? To do this calls for higher thought and better care, but I fully believe no extra outlay of money; rather, I believe, we can feed hogs more profit- ably by rational methods than by the unscientific and shiflfless ways now only too common^ First of all, we must see to it that breeding sows are fed a proper ration in which protein compounds form a liberal share. The young pigs must likewise have a goodly allowance of protein, while the mature hogs, when fattening, can be fed a large proportion of carbohydrates, especially if we wish to make a large proportion of lard. The food articles at our command which are rich in protein are skim milk, buttermilk, shorts, bran, peas, green clover, and the like. No farmer can afford to manage his farm with a minimum of these mtiscle-making foods ; they should be supplied abundantly and at a reasonable cost if we will only study to do so. "Shall we raise less corn, then? Not at all. The com crop is the best of all we raise, and let the word be "more," rather than less. We need it all, but we must not forget that protein is somewhat lacking in the corn. We may compare our corn to the bricks which go into a building, and the protein food to the mortar which cements the bricks together. He who would lay up bricks without mortar builds foolishly, and his house will tumble. Should he find out his mistake, such a man should not from that date neglect the bricks and turn his whole attention to the mortar. Plenty of good strong mortar and an abundance of bricks are what he needs. We do not want less corn, but we want more clover,, more shorts, more bran, more peas, more skim milk, and more clover to bring the highest results. 206 SWINE HUSBANDRY. Without attempting to give any exact rules for guidancb, the following statements may not be out of place : Dur- ing gestation, breeding sows should have only a small allowance of corn, the feed being mainly that which will go to give her young good sound bodies. Such feed would be shorts (middlings or ship-stuff), bran, skim milk, buttermilk and clover. When suckling her young, of course milk is one of the best articles at our command. When weaned, the pigs may get say two parts of milk by weight, one part of shorts and one part of corn meal. A run on good clover would go far to make a good frame. When nearing maturity the ration can be changed more and more to the carbonaceous, and for the last two months, when fattening, the feed can be largely corn, if one desires fat pork, but if lean juicy meat is desired the muscle-making foods must be continued." In writing of some further experiments he made with other lots of hogs, to see if the results coixfirmed those previously made. Prof. Henry says that "in general they did." To one of these lots corn meal was fed ; to another skimmed milk and corn meal, and shorts and corn meal to a third. His conclusions from what he has seen are that "skimmed milk and corn make the largest hog with the strongest bones ; that corn alone makes the next largest hog with the weakest bones ; that two-thirds shorts and one-third corn meal make the smallest hog with the most muscle, most blood, and bones very much stronger than the corn alone." In the experiment by Prof. Sanborn there was fed to one lot of pigs a ration of four parts of ship-stuff (shorts or middlings) to one part of dried blood, this forming a ration excessively rich in protein ; to the other lot was fed a ration of corn meal which, as before stated, is excessively rich in carbohydrates. Two hogs of each GRADUAL DISAPPEAKAKCE OF WHITE SWIlfB. 207 lot were killed and examined upon reaching maturity, with the results shown in the following table: Lot I— Fed for Lean. Lot Il—Fed for Fat. No. 1. No. 2. No. 1. 1 No. 2. Live weight of pig Heart lbs. 138 1 3 3 6 12 2 38 64 4 oz. 6* 7i 91 3 2* 8i 2 4 10 10 41 14 U 151 lbs. 170 1 4 4 5 11 3 50 79 6 oz. 41 81 151 i 31 81 10 14 121 121 41 3 13 11 lbs. 139 1 2 5 5 10 4 46 58 4 oz. lbs. 15 170 7 151 1 51, 2 21 1 oz. 141 in Lungs 131 Liver 9 Spleen - 3 Kidneys 41 41 4 8 5 31 4 4 91 li 7 7 ■ 11 4 70 57 6 51 Leaf 131 Paunch 8 Intestines , Fat of intestines. Brains 4f Fat of body 11 11 Hair 11 Blood and loss in cooling. CHAPTER XXI. THE GRADUAL DISAPPEARANCE OF WHITE SWINE FROM AMERICAN FARMS. Most of those who were familiar with hog-raising in the United States twenty years ago, are aware that white swine were much the most numerous, and that in many localities those of any other color were so rare as to be regarded almost as curiosities. Since that time, or per- haps more particularly since about 1865-6, the black oi black-spotted swine have grown rapidly in popular favor; so much so, in many sections, as to practically displace all others. . Our attention was incidentally called to this fact many times during the year 1881, and in November of that year mention of it was made in a prominent publication devoted to live stock, only to be vigorously combated as a jnischievous and exaggerated statement. The vigor of 208 SWINE HUSBANDET. those contradictions caused us to make some effort to ascertain whether the position, as to the disappearance of the white hogs, was or was not really well taken, our own personal observation having been made more espe- cially in Kansas. As to the swine displayed at the two (virtually) State fairs there in 1881, we found that at the exhibition at Lawrence there were about 300 speci- mens, but one of which was white ; that one was a Ches- ter boar shoat, brought by some Illinois breeders, with their display of twenty-four black hogs, in hopes of find- ing some one in the State who would buy him. At the State fair held at Topeka, the Secretary informed us that there were entered in the Berksiiire rings, 368; Poland- China, 350 ; Essex, 23 ; Jersey Eed, 18 ; Chester White, 1 ; total number of entries, 700. From the Secretary of the Illinois Board of Agricul- ture and his reports, we learned that at their State fair in 1877, there were 843 entries of swine, and all but 184 of them were entries of Poland-Chinas, Berkshires, or Es- sex; in 1878, he reported 684 entries, all Poland-Chinas, Berkshires or Essex, but 223; in 1879, he reported 516 entries, 74 of them Chesters, 66 Suffolks, and 376 Po- land-Chinas, Berkshires, or Essex; in 1880, he reported 437 entries, of which 269 were Polalnd-Chinas, Berk- shires, or Essex. Secretary Fisher wrote, that in 1881 the entries were, Poland-Chinas, 117; Berkshires, 141; Essex, 57; total black, 315, against 112 entries of Ches- ters and Small Yorkshires. The Keports of the Indiana Board of Agriculture stated that at the Stat6 fair of 1879 there were 297 entries of swine, of which 25 were large white breeds, 28 " Essex and Suffolk," and 4 " Eed," against 240 Poland-Chinas and Berkshires; in 1880, there were 314 hogs entered, and 287 were of other than white breeds. Under date of December 8th, ult., the Secre- tary of the Ohio Board of Agriculture wrote: "Of the hogs exhibited a.t our fairs for two or three years past, GBADTJAt DISAPPEAEAITCB OF WHITE SWIIfB. 209 about 70 per cent, were of the dark breeds; the white breeds 'seem to be rapidly on the decrease." Prof. L. N". Bonham, of Ohio, a gentleman who knows much of the swine interests of his section, wrote us December 7th: " In Southern Ohio, I think, white hogs are not so numerous as ten years ago. Occasionally, some farmer, with more enter- prise than good management, concludes his swine are not so good, do not make as wonderful growth as some breeders claim in their advertisements of white or red hogs, and accordingly invests in a Chester Wbi^w or Jersey Eed boar. We have had a few such cases in this ooimty, but they do no better than our Butler County Poland-Ohina swine, and the buyers do not con- tinue in the use of tWem. These new purchases only add to the number of mon"gument, and show by their non-breed- ing that they had been entirely too well kept. When the sows farrowed, one had fourteen, and the other fifteen strong pigs, and since then we have labored but very little to convince these gentlemen that " a fat sow won't breed." It has been their turn to laugh. We cannot doubt that hogs kept and fed at flouring mills, get much nearer a perfect food, than those kept on corn exclusively, and especially is this.true of brood-sows and pigs. IS IT PEOi'ITABIiE TO CUES POEK ? Mr. Thomas Wood furnishes us an account of an inter- esting experiment madft by him, as follows : " A few years ago I made an experiment or two, in order to find out whether it was most profitable to sell my pork or to make bacon of it, and then sell at the prevail- ing prices. " I killed a Chester White hog that weighed, dressed, 440 lbs. pork, worth 7c. per lb.— 630.80. When cut up for salting, the different parts weighed as follows : Hams 116 lbs. Shoulders 140 " Sides 81 " Jowl 16i " 853ilb8. 218 SWINE HtrSBANDET. " Leaying 86 '/, lbs. weight of lard, chine, or back bone, ribs, face, feet, and other trimmings, worth 5c. per lb. — $4.32. " The meat, when cured, was hung in a smoke-house for six weeks, then sold and weighed, as follows : Hams, 106 lbs., at 14c $14.84 Shoulders, 130 " at lie 14.30 Sides, 75 " at 10c 7.50 Jow], 15 " at 6c 90 326 lbs. average Uic. 137.54 Value of bacon sold $37.54 Value of trimmings 4.32 Total $41.86 Value of the pork at market price 30.S0 Profit on making the pork into bacon $11.06 "This hog was about fifteen months old, and the shrinkage in weight in making bacon was 27 lbs. "At the same time I killed a pig five or six months old, in order to ascertain the difference in shrinkage. The pig weighed dressed 140 lbs. When cut up, the hams, shoulders, sides, and jowl weighed Ill " leaving the weight of lard, chine, face, feet, and trimmings 29 lbs. "The meat weighed just the same when taken out as when put in the salt tub ; when dried and smoked the same length of time as the other hog, the weight was as follows : Hams, 31 lbs., sold at 14c. per lb $4.34 Shoulders, 28 " " He. " 3.08 Sides, 30 " " 10c. " 3.00 Jowl, 6 " " 6c. " 36 95 lbs. average llic. " $10.78 Trimmings, 29 lbs., at 5c. per lb 1.45 $12.33 The pork, 140 lbs., at 7c. per lb., was worth 9.80 Profit on making pork into bacon $:?.43 " From this it appears that the shrinkage is proportion- ately much greater in the pig pork, than in the pork of SOME GENKEAL OESEKTATIOSS. the older aud more mature hog, also that there is a greato» proportional weight of trimming." EBPOKTS OB EBMAEKABLE GROWTH. In the January (1876) Number of the National Liv« Stock Journal, a correspondent published an item stating that Mr. A. Messer, of Mankato, Minn., had just butch- ered a thorough-bred Berkshire pig, five months and twenty-three days old, that weighed, when dressed, 323 Ibs- This was such a marvelous story that we were incredu- lous enough to doubt it, and took early occasion to calJ through the same journal, for some further proof than the ex parte statement of one (possibly very much inter- ested) individual. Other breeders also insisted that, if such a feat had been accomplished, the parties cognizant of it should certify to, and make public what they knew. This elicited an affidavit from the man who bred the pig, as to its age, one from Mr. Messer, who raised and fed it, as to its identity, and another from the butcher who dressed it, as to its weighing the 323 lbs. net, a'.L three of which substantiated, in effect, the original state- ment. After this, the breeders of fine Berkshires through- out the country, who had never raised a pig to half that weight at the same age, demanded to know how such rapid and enormous growth had been produced, and ia. course of some months it was published to the world in the following language : " He was kept in a lot 15 x 20 feet, with a few boards laid over jne eorner, to form a shelter, and under this shelter was a good bed of straw. The pig was kept in these quarters until the weather became cool, when a comfortable little sty was built in one corner, 6x6 feet. The pig was fed on the swill from the house, with com meal stirred in ; but had no cooked food whatever, except pieces of bread from the table, which were thrown into the swill. "He was fed regularly three times a day, and had all lie would eat. He would eat all he could, then go gruntin']; to his bed of straw — lie down, apd continue to grunt. In fact, the most of tha pig's time was spent in grunting, eating, and growing." 320 SWINE HUSBANDKT. Altliougli accompanied by proof, this statement sur« passes our belief, as it seems beyond the range of human possibilities that such ea;^raordinary pigs can be produced by any such ordinary means, and we take tbe responsibility of advising our farmer friends, when looking around for extr« good pigs to breed from, to discount such stories as the foregoing at least 50 p.er cent. PKIZE ANIMALS- FOB BREEDING. It is a very common practice with farmers and breeders to attend the County, State, and Inter-state Fairs, for the purpose of selecting, from those on exhibition, swine for breeders, and it is considered quite an achievement to attend one or more of the prominent expositions and take home to the farm the pig, or pair of pigs, decorated with the blue ribbon. They look fine, and are fine, but not fine enough to offset the disappointment and chagrin of the credulous buyer, who, after patient effort, fails in nine cases out of ten, to ever produce from them any stock that looks as those did at the fair. The show-yard may be the best place to see and buy stock for show purposes, but not for breeding. Only the initiated know the various and peculiar meth- ods employed, in fitting up those animals to which were awarded premiums, over such strong competition as they encounter at leading fairs. "We recently conversed with a breeder, whose greatest triumph in life had consisted in having premiums awarded to two of his pigs, at one of the great St. Louis fairs. He said he "scooped" all competitors, and gave the following as some of the methods used to produce such meritorious (?) animals: " They were fed on beefsteak, cut into small bits, and dropped into new warm milk, as much, and as often as they would eat. They had daily a bath of warm, soft water and castile soap, after which their hair was dressed with olive, or sweet oil." SOME GBNBRAL OBSEKVATIONS. 221 Premium pigs, produced by such treatment, afterwards getting only common fare, do but poorly indeed, and to expect tbem to reproduce a family of show pigs, is to cherish a dream that will fail of realization. Breeders of fine swine, as of fine cattle, frequently sac- rifice their best animals for show purposes, and their pre- paration for this, in a majority of cases, unfits them for thereafter successfully reproducing their kind. SEEDING COOKED •WHEAT. The following statement, of remarkably rapid gain in weight from feeding hogs on cooked wheat, is given by a correspondent of the Cincinnati Gazette: " On the 4th of August, 1870, 1 put up 15 hogs, weighing 2,400 lbs., and fed them 5 J bushels cooked wheat the first week. On the 11th their weight was 3,600 lbs. ; gain, 300 lbs., or a gain of 13i lbs. to the hog, being nearly 2 lbs. a day. The next week I fed them 6 bushels of the cooked wheat, producing an increase of 215 lbs., or 14J- lbs. to the hog, being again of over 3 lbs. per head a day. The third week I fed them 10 bushels of cooked wheat, resulting in a gain of 360 lbs., or 17^- lbs. a head, or 3'°|ji a day. The fourth week I fed them llj bushels of cooked wheat, the gain being 820 lbs, or 21^ lbs. a head, or a fraction over 3 lbs. a day each. The hogs were then sold and taken away. They gained in four weeks 995 lbs. on 32^ bushels of wheat. In this manner of feeding I received a good price for the wheat, as the hogs were Bold at |8.35 per 100 lbs." HOGGING OEF COKN FIELDS. The Hon. J. M. Millikin, in the National Live Stoch Journal, writes as follows : " I am aware that the people who reside in the East, where grain is high, will be greatly shocked to think that any one would pre- sume to say anything in behalf of such a ' lazy, wasteful, and un- tidy ' mode of using a crop of corn. Indeed, western men can be found who will denounce the unfarmer-like proceeding in unmeas- ured terms. But let us see if something cannot be said in support of what some may regard as a very objectionable practice. " In managing our farming operations, there are two things that should not be lost sight of: 232 SWINB HUSBANDRY. '^ First. — We should aim to so manage our affairs as to realize k good profit on our labors and investment ; and " Secondly. — To so cultivate our land as to maintain, if not to increase, its productiveness. " If you liave a field of corn of a size suited to the number of liogs you intend to fatten, supplied with water, there is no plan you can adopt of feeding said corn to your hogs that will produce better results than by turning your hogs into the field, where they can eat at their pleasure. As a rule, the weather is generally good in September and October. If so, there will bo no loss of grain, while the saccharine juice of the stalks will contribute somewhat to the improvement of the ho^s. The expense saved in gathering the corn, and in giving constant attention in feeding, is quite an Important item to any man who has other pressing work to per- form. Besides, ho^s turned into a field for fifty or sixty days are likely to do better than they will do under other ordinary circum- stances. " There is no plan of using the products of a corn field better calculated to maintain its fertility than the hogging-off process. Everything produced off the ground is returned to it ; and if t..e proper mode is adopted of plowing everything under in the fall, the soil will bj improved rather than impoverished. This is my theory upon the subject, which is sustained by my experience and observation, and which I have occasionally urged on the attention of others. " A very few days since I was in conversation with some farm- ers upon this subject, when a very reliable, careful, and excellent farmer gave this account of his own experience, which I give, with the remark that his statements are entitled to the fullest conB- dence. He said : ' I have cultivated one field eleven success'm years in corn, and every fall turned in my fattening hogs, and fed it off. My crops of corn rather increased than diminished. In the spring, after feeding off the cjrn for eleven years, I sowed the field in spring barley. I had a crop of forty bushels per acre. I plowed the barley stubble under, and sowed the same field in wheat. The next harvest I had a crop of wheat of forty-two and a half bushels per acre.' " Thus you have the theory, the practice, and the result, of the hogging-off process." THE RELATION BETWEEN THE PRICES OE CORN AND PORK. While it is perhaps true, that the bulk of the corn fed to hogs does not give a retura of ten pounds of pork. SOME GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 2S3 live weight, to the bushel, it is established that a bushel of cofa will make that much, and more, if properly han- dled, and where it does, the following will serve as a basis for careful calculations : We present it for what it is worth, and think it may be approximatively correct. Feeding corn worth 13'/, cents per bushel, makes pork costing ly, cent per pound. Feeding corn worth 17 cents per bushel, makes pork costing 2 cents per pound. Feeding corn worth 25 cents per bushel, makes pork costing 2'/, cents per pound. Feeding com worth from 33 to 40 cents per bushel, makes pork costing 4 cents per pound. Feeding corn worth 50 cents per bushel, makes pork costing 5 cents per pound. Or : pork at 5 cents per pound, gross, gives 50 cents per bushel for com. At 4 cents per pound, gross, gives from 33 to 40 cents per bushel for corn. At 2'/, to 3 cents per pound, gross, gives from 25 to 30 cents per bushel for corn. RBCOKDS AND RECORDING, Beginning with the organization at Springfield, Illinois, in 1875, of the American Berkshire Association, great attention has been paid in America to recording pedi- grees of thoroughbred breeding swine. The value and importance of this are not only quite generally conceded here but also in England, where the British Berkshire Associatif)n, following the Yankee example, has already issued ten volumes of he'-dbooks. At this writing (January, 1897) there have been issued 22i SWINE HUSBANDET. fourteen volumes of the American Berkshire Record, containing pedigrees as follows. The table also shows the number of pedigrees in the editor's hands for entiy in Volume XV : Boars. Sows. Total. Volume I 235 623 480 420 390 467 693 676 1,155 1,042 1,167 1,077 1,289 1,582 903 641 1,272 870 735 780 815 1,307 1,324 1,845 1,958 1,833 1,923 2,711 3,418 2,118 776 1,795 " III 1,360 1,165 1,170 1,272 2,000 2,000 3,000 3,000 3,000