ITISI IT .ML ■*■. fK..,. r -<' w. JAMES 1 s aHEsiBeSS!;.-:-: (JJorttell Unioeraitg Ethrarg 3tt)ata, Keni llotk BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF HENRY W. SAGE 1891 RETURN TO ALBERT R. MANN LIBRARY ITHACA, N. Y. Cornell University Library SF 396.G7L84 1919 British pigs: the art of making them pay 3 1924 003 171 794 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924003171794 BRITISH PIGS THE "Wyles" Motor Plough FOR PETROL OR OIL BRITISH MADE THROUGHOUT HUNDREDS ALREADY AT WORK .-> ' Can be fitted up as a Motor Cultivator, or, with tractor attachment, will haul Binder or Mower. Will also drive all Farm Machinery, such as Chaff-cutters, Pulpers, etc. Write for Catalogue and Testimonials to Sole Makers : Wyles Motor Ploughs, Ltd. Dept. W 9 , DURSLEY, GLOS. BRITISH PIGS THE ART OF MAKING THEM PAY BY JAMES LONG Member of the Departmental Committee on Small Holdings. Formerly Member of the Council and Business Committee of the Central Chamber of Agriculture ; and Chairman of the Committee of the London Dairy Show and the Conferences in France and Switzerland ; Commissioner to the War Office and to the Governments of Canada and New Zealand. Danish and Dutch Medallist. Author of " The Coming Englishman," "The Small Farm," "The Book of the Pig," "The Story of the Farm," " Food and Fitness," and contributor to Harmsworth's " Educator." Formerly Professor in the Royal Agricultural College, SECOND EDITION LONDON CHAPMAN AND HALL, Ltd. 1919 BY ROYAL WARRANT TO HIS MAJESTY THE KING THE BEST MACHINES AND APPLIANCES for all Descriptions of Dairy Work DAIRY SUPPLY CO. L TD MUSEUM ST., LONDON, W.C. AND AT EDINBURGH, CORK, BELFAST, & LIMERICK PREFACE Since the publication by the author of his larger work The Book of the Pig — over twenty years ago — there have been marked changes in connection with the industry, although the advantages gained by this country have been heavily discounted by the apathy of the majority of the farming com- munity, who decline to breed and feed pigs. They appear to prefer to allow the public to obtain their bacon from the foreign producer at a cost of twenty-three millions a year instead of earning this money themselves. The pig pays a handsome profit under good management, and there is no reason why, if we choose, we could not grow all we require, without importing a pound of bacon, on the produce of our own land. No branch of the agricultural industry has been a greater failure than this, for it might have saved us from the shortage of meat during the war. The produce of one sow will provide in seven months over two thousand pounds of meat, or twenty times as much as a sheep in the same period, and twice as much as an ox in two years. The modern, and only true, system of feeding on the produce of the farm has been fully discussed, and the reader will find every detail simply and clearly expressed. THE DRAYTON CHAMPION HERD OF PEDIGREE LARGE BLACK PIGS Winners of more Prizes all over the World than any other Herd. Champions wherever exhibited, including R.A.S.E. 1909-10-n— 13-14-16; and Smithfield, 1909-10-11-13-14-15. These figures show that this Herd excels both in the Breeding and Feeding of Pigs. Gilts and Boars hardily bred on sale at moderate prices, for which please apply to— T. F. HOOLEY, Dry Drayton, nr. Cambridge. FARM SEEDS and SEED GRAIN Highest Purity and Germination OATS, BARLEY, WHEAT, etc., etc. Scotch Grown from Pedigree Strains. Regenerated and invaluable as a change of Seed. SEED POTATOES Leading and most Prolific Sorts GRASS, CLOVER, and ROOT SEEDS WILD WHITE CLOVER For improving Pastures CATALOGUES FREE FRUIT TREES for the FARM FOREST AND ORNAMENTAL TREES, SHRUBS, PLANTS, etc. All hardily grown and frequently transplanted. Catalogues, Prices, and all information on application. LITTLE & BALLANTYNE ROYAL SEED AND NURSERY ESTABLISHMENT Established 100 Years. CARLISLE. CONTENTS CHAP. PAGE I. THE PIG INDUSTRY ..... 1 II. THE BRITISH BREEDS .... 29 III. BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT ... 56 IV. FEEDING AND THE FUNCTIONS OF FOOD . 86 V. THE SMALL PIG-KEEPER . . . .113 VI. THE PIGGERY AND ITS EQUIPMENT . . 118 VII. SLAUGHTERING — BACON AND HAMS . . 123 VIII. THE SIMPLER DISEASES OF THE PIG . 129 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS THE LARGE WHITE SOW THE MIDDLE WHITE SOW THE TAMWORTH BOAR THE LINCOLN SOW . A LARGE BLACK BOAR A LARGE BLACK SOW THE BERKSHIRE BOAR " PRINCE " SIR GILBERT GREENALL's PIGGERY INTERIOR OF DITTO . A USEFUL TROUGH . To face page 35 38 40 43 46 48 53 118 121 122 Vll BUSHES HERD of Pedigree Large White Pigs The Property of ARTHUR B. EDWARDS A Select Herd, only breeding from the choicest strains, and composed of descendants of winners. Gilts and Young Boars always for sale at moderate prices BUSHES FARM, MAGDALEN LAVER Five miles from Harlow Station, G.E.R. Apply— A. B. EDWARDS, Brewery House, Harlow, Essex. THE STAPLEFORD PARK HERD OF MIDDLE WHITE PIGS Young Gilts and Boars of choice breeding and true to type always on sale at reasonable prices. Inspection invited. E. S. HARVEY, Wymondham, Oakham. NEWHOUSE HERD of Pedigree Large Black Pigs Boars and Gilts from the best strains generally for sale at moderate prices. Hardy and of good type and constitution. ROBERT FORTUNE, Newhouse, Cranleigh, Surrey. BRITISH PIGS CHAPTER I THE PIG INDUSTRY Since making an investigation preparatory to the production of The Book of the Pig, now thirty years ago, we have been more and more impressed with the fact that the home industry is a disgrace to a great agricultural nation. We are able, were we willing, and had we been stimulated and assisted by a wise Ministry of Agriculture, not only to produce all the pig-meat we import, but to export the primest bacon and hams in the world to other countries, and to receive in return as many millions of money as we have spent in the creation of the great Danish industry, and in assisting to maintain and, indeed, to expand, that of America. I have shown, in Making the Most of the Land, which was published before the declaration of war, that whereas the population of Great Britain numbered 14-4 per pig, and in Scotland 28, there were only 1-8 persons to every pig in Denmark, 2-9 in Germany, 4-7 in Holland, 5-3 in France, and 6-6 in Belgium ; although we are, as I shall show in this book, quite as capable of producing our own bacon as the farmers of these countries. There are no swine in the world which are approximately equal to ours. In no European country is there one variety of pig which can compare in quality, form, size, or fatting propensity to either of the six great 2 BRITISH PIGS breeds of this country. We may go further and say that in no other land can such fine bacon and hams be obtained, and as a frequent traveller in European countries we are conscious of the truth of these statements, for we have never been able to obtain a rasher of bacon or ham which is so fine in flavour and quality as that of our home produc- tion. A small farmer in Denmark, in occupation of fifty acres of land, which he frequently owns, produces more pigs, with considerable profit to himself, than an average British farmer cultivating from 200 to 500 acres. The pig, so far as its flesh is concerned, is the principal animal food of the German rural population ; and in a slightly smaller degree, it is equally popular on the table of the people of those countries to which I have already referred. In England pig breeding is largely ignored by the great farming community, while in Scot- land it is regarded as an item of produce which is practically unworthy of consideration. It is our object to show, in these pages, how this position may be changed, how the piggery can be made a leading department on the British farm, how pigs can be more cheaply and perfectly bred, and sold with a profit which, I venture to believe, is con- spicuously in excess of that obtained by the breeding of cattle for beef and sheep for mutton. In 1914 we imported the following quantities of pig-meat, which chiefly came to us from Den- mark and the United States — Cwts. Fresh Pork 861,203 Salt Pork 261,141 Bacon 5,098,080 Hams 838,830 Total 7,059,254 This gigantic quantity is exclusive of pig-meat THE PIG INDUSTRY 3 which had been preserved in some other form than by salt. In 1908 an inquiry was made by the Board of Agriculture, the details of which may be found in the Report on the Census of Production in relation to the quantity of fresh meat produced and consumed in this country. The number of pigs sold off the farms was estimated at 4,419,000, the average weight of each animal being 160 lbs. in the carcass. Thus the uncured meat reached a total of 6,311,000 cwts. We may observe that these figures unquestionably exclude tens of thou- sands of pigs which were bred and fed by cotta- gers, labourers and other individuals, who do not come under the denomination of farmers, and who consume the meat they produce in their own homes. In 1914, which we take as an example year before the commencement of the war, we imported bacon and hams which reached an average of 14*3 lbs. per head of our population. Thus our consumption, excluding the large item to which we have referred, was 31-8 lbs. per head, so that an average family of five persons, embracing a man his wife and three children, consumed an average of 159 lbs. of pig-meat per annum. By a simple calculation, therefore, it would appear that the imported pig-meat represented 3,610,000 swine of an average weight of 160 lbs. Although that weight is greater than the weight of the average porker pig of the best quality now supplied to the English butcher, it is practically equal to the average weight of the pig cured for sizeable bacon. Instead, therefore, of a sale of 4,419,000 pigs of home production, there should be a sale of home- produced pigs equal to 8,030,000 if we intend to feed ourselves, which leaves us with the task of increasing our home production and sale by 3,610,000 more. Since 1908, however, our pig 4 BRITISH PIGS population has immensely decreased, for while in that year it numbered 2,679,000, it had fallen in 1916 to 2,167,000 and in 1917 to 1,918,540. How can this increase be effected ? When the question is carefully examined, it becomes apparent that it is easy enough. An additional 250,000 breeding sows, each producing two litters a year, would more than make up the supply. If these pigs were dis- tributed throughout our English counties, and this might be easily accomplished, the work would be done, for after all is said, it is apparently so small a tax upon our ability and industry that nothing should stand in the way of its accomplishment. What does this Proposal involve? We cannot doubt that the later reduction in the number of our English pigs is owing to the prevalent and harassing character of swine fever, and the restrictions which have been placed upon the movement of pigs by the authorities. A small pig-owner cannot afford the loss which occurs where swine fever makes its appearance, while the large farmer regards it as such a troublesome and disgusting matter, and one which occupies so much of his time and energy, that he refuses to have anything further to do with the breeding of pigs. For many years we have closely followed this question, having, indeed, in earlier days suffered from loss by disease, like most of our neighbours. There are two important causes of the extension of swine fever which we are bound to bear in mind. If by practical legislation it could be restricted to small areas, little difficulty would be experienced in its extermination, but this cannot be, and the fact is, in our judgment, solely owing to the causes to which we propose to refer. The first relates to the market and the dealer. Pigs are taken to an open market and penned for the inspection of THE PIG INDUSTRY 5 the buyer. They may have come from a farm with a clean bill of health. At the back of the pen in which they are placed, as on either side of it, are other pigs, one lot of which may have come from an infected farm, or from the premises of a dealer. Thus with no safeguard to protect them, they are in contact for some hours with their neighbours, and it is notorious that on many occasions, and in practically all markets, clean pigs are contaminated, and on return home, or to a new owner, swine fever breaks out. No restric- tions, no penalties, no form of legislation, has apparently prevented the dealer from taking his own course. He buys pigs for resale wherever he can obtain them at his price. His action is in no way curbed by fear of prosecution. On some occasions he can avoid entrance to, or exit from, an infected area, owing to the contiguity of the boundary of two parishes. He can take a litter of pigs in his cart practically wherever he chooses, and we will do him the credit to believe that the risk he incurs is not always intentional. He can take a number of pigs from market to market, or deliver them to a buyer without any one being the wiser. In a word the practice of selling pigs in the open market, and of dealing outside a market is responsible for the spread of swine fever, for the enormous expense and loss which its existence in- volves, and for the fact that after years of labour, experiment and legislation, it is still with us, and remains as a great factor in preventing the extension of the pig-feeding industry. Store Pigs The practice of buying and selling " store " pigs is a second cause of the prevalence of swine fever. In our judgment there should be no such thing as store pigs. The term is usually applied to those 6 BRITISH PIGS animals which have been kept in maintenance condition for sale for some other person to fatten. The maintenance ration for a store pig means a daily expenditure, without a daily gain in material value, whereas a slight addition to that ration would convert it into a fattening ration, when value would be daily increased, by at least 1 lb. of live weight upon a young pig of average size. There are thousands of breeders of pigs who sell their litters when they are weaned, or within a few weeks afterwards, and there are also thousands of others who feed pigs which they purchase for the purpose of fattening. There is no room for two fair and equitable profits in the production of the pig, still less is there room for three, as there must be when the dealer comes between the buyer and the seller. The breeder who intends to sell his young pigs as stores necessarily obtains a profit, or he would not continue his practice. What that profit is he probably never knows, for we do not suppose that one man in a whole county keeps books so carefully that he can tell what they cost. The cost price of a store pig, as of a litter, depends upon the cost of feeding the dam from the time her last pigs were weaned, plus the cost of feeding the dam and her litter from the date of farrowing until the date of weaning again, or to the date of valuation. The buyer of store pigs who intends to fatten them can more easily ascertain what they have cost for food consumed when he sells them to the butcher or the bacon curer, but even this more simple duty is absolutely neglected. The feeder, like the breeder, conducts his business with the object of making a profit, and he naturally suc- ceeds to a more or less extent. It is, therefore, obvious that if both breeder and feeder realise a profit by their respective transactions, they would materially increase that profit if they undertook the double duty of breeding and feeding. There THE PIG INDUSTRY 7 are, indeed, exceptional cases in which breeding is impracticable ; but these seldom, if ever, exist upon farms, and apply only to town or suburban premises, where it is impossible to keep breeding stock in active, virile condition. The point, then, is that this practice of selling and buying litters leads to market transactions, and the consequent exposure to contact with other pigs, and to the distribution of disease. There is no way of pre- venting it, but appeal can at least be made to the common sense and business principles of those concerned, that they may be enabled to see the wisdom of adopting a sounder course of procedure. For our own part, we would much prefer at all times to buy a litter of pigs from the breeder, when we should be enabled to see the stock from which they had been produced, instead of in the open market, with nothing more to guide us — as to their parentage or pedigree, their age or their health — than their appearance, which so seldom indicates what may possibly follow. Casualties and losses innumerable occur from want of discre- tion in this particular matter. The Cost of Production The process of feeding pigs in this country is not only uneconomical, but based upon erroneous practice and experience. The development of the improved breeds of swine which commenced about seventy years ago is the result of both breeding and feeding. The unimproved pig was a very different creature from the symmetrical and quickly fattening type of to-day. It was long- bodied, long-legged, and large-eared, provided with coarse hair, and a narrow body or barrel, while it possessed a slow feeding propensity. Most of its life was spent in the fields, where it lived upon grass, acorns, beech-mast, and such other foods 8 BRITISH PIGS as Nature provided. It walked, and, indeed, gal- loped to market, with no cost to its owner, but that of expenditure of considerable energy in keep- ing up with its pace. The fat pig is now carried to market with the object of preventing loss of weight. It is ready for the butcher in a few weeks after weaning instead of eighteen to twenty -four months, and its life, from the period of weaning until slaughter, is almost wholly spent in the sty. This confinement and food of a highly concentrated character, like barley and maize, when allied to that form of improvement which has been deve- loped by selection and breeding, ensures the rapid production of meat, and — we need hardly remark — a very large proportion of fat. The breeding sow, like all stock pigs, should be chiefly fed on pasture grass, where she should be permitted to roam with perfect freedom, care being taken that the hedges and fences are sufficiently sound to prevent her committing damage to arable crops, or finding her way on to the land of a neigh- bour. By the adoption of this plan, or in its absence, by the provision of green forage, cut between May and October, the cost of food is very largely reduced, while greater vitality is ensured. It is next to impossible to continue to breed vigorous pigs from sows which are continuously confined to a sty. The boar, indeed, unless he possesses an unreliable temper, when he should be quickly exchanged, should also be permitted to graze, with the same double object — economy in feeding, and the development of that vitality which ensures strong, active pigs, with good constitutions, and large litters of greater weight than is possible under other conditions. If we assume that a sow normally costs — between weaning in spring and farrowing in autumn — 2s. a week for grain or pulse, and 5s. a week from the day she farrow until her pigs are taken from her, and THE PIG INDUSTRY 9 able to shift for themselves, we arrive at a total cost of 76s., or, in round numbers, 7s. 6d. apiece for a litter of ten pigs, or proportionately more where the litters are smaller. To this sum it would be necessary to add the cost of grazing, or between autumn weaning and spring littering again, the cost of such succulent foods as are grown upon the farm : potatoes, mangolds, swedes, kohl-rabi, carrots, or parsnips. We must assume, then, that the March litter would cost slightly more for home- grown food of the character named, than the autumn litter, which has been largely produced upon grass, and further that, owing to the colder weather, a slightly larger quantity of meal would be required. If, therefore, we accept a sum of 7s. Qd. to 10s. a head for the pigs produced in a litter of ten, we shall have some basis for our effort to arrive at the cost. There are, however, other items which must not be omitted. Losses occur; there are sometimes small litters; and large sows cost more to feed than small sows. The cost of food, too, varies from time to time, and we may remark here that we are discussing normal prices, and not those raised by the war. We must also take some account of the cost and maintenance of the equipment of the piggery, the styes, the courts, the troughs and other material. Sufficient has been said to show that where young pigs can be sold at a minimum of 20s. at weaning time, they should pay very well, but by no means so well as when they are fattened in the home of their birth, leaving only to go to the butcher. What the Public require Before discussing the question of profit realised by feeding young pigs for slaughter, it will be well to refer to the type of meat which the public require, and which is, therefore, sought by the 10 BRITISH PIGS butcher and bacon curer. Old and tough meat is no longer acceptable. It must be young, succu- lent and tender, and never too fat, except where, as in many country districts, fat meat is wisely preferred by labourers and other members of the working classes, and frequently by farmers them- selves. In breeding from a well-bred sow which has been mated with an equally well-bred boar, carcasses are obtained which are less wasteful than where the stock pigs are of a common or excessively fat type. There should be ample development upon the loins, the hams and the belly, which should yield thin, well-streaked meat, suitable for toasting or frying in the morning in the form of a rasher. When, however, a rasher of bacon is exceptionally fat, there is waste in frying, a larger quantity being required to produce the same weight of solid meat. Many connoisseurs delight in rashers which are cooked until they are nearly dry and the fat crisp. This, however, is next to impossible in a piece of fat loin, or of thick belly, with a minimum of lean streaks and a maximum of fat. And so with roast- ing joints. The fat of the loin — and we have frequently seen meat with three inches of fat upon it- — involves considerable waste by those who dis- like excessive quantities of fat. And again, where hams form a frequent joint upon the table of a family, a great depth of fat is the last thing which is desired. If, on the one hand, we breed from stock of a lean type, like that of the pre-improved pig, we do not get sufficient fat to satisfy, whereas, upon the other hand, pigs which have been so bred, like the Middle White, in which the ears are small, the face short and dished, and the neck thick and heavy, we get excessive waste upon the poorest parts of the carcass : that which is known as the fore -end of a flitch or side of bacon, and which in normal times is sold at 4|d. to 5d. a pound. Bearing these facts in mind, it is wiser to take a little longer THE PIG INDUSTRY 11 in feeding well-selected pigs than to breed from those which fatten too quickly, and which, there- fore, occasion great waste. There can be no econo- mical breeding and feeding without the right type of stock pig, and this means the acquisition of good blood, which ensures fairly rapid feeding, combined with high quality of meat, strong con- stitution, great vigour, and— what is all important — prolificacy and abundance of milk in the sow. The Food Value of Pig-meat We have referred to the fact that comparatively lean pork and bacon are demanded by the public, but that many persons among the rural popula- tion prefer meat which is fat. When we discuss pig-meat as food, we are bound to point out that fat meat is much the most economical. This question is of considerable importance, and the reader will act wisely if he gives it his careful con- sideration. There is no waste in fat : it is all food. A pound of lard, for instance, which contains no water, is of much greater food value than a pound of butter, which contains one -eighth of its weight of water. Thus, if we base our calculation upon the energy value of fat, we find that the fat of the pig provides 4000 units to the pound, whereas the fat of butter or margarine provides only 3600. Although the function of the lean or muscular portion of meat differs from that of the fat, it may be pointed out that a pound of lean pork is equiva- lent to only 600 or 700 units of energy at the out- side. While, as observed, there is no waste in fat, there is some 75 per cent, of waste in the lean of meat. In other words, four pounds must be eaten to obtain one pound of nourishment. The reason is that the lean of meat contains 70 to 75 per cent, of water, together with some 15 per cent. — the figure varying — of indigestible fibre. In a word, 12 BRITISH PIGS only about 20 to 24 per cent, of the lean of meat possesses any nutritive value. In a fat pig the carcass contains a much larger proportion of lean meat than lean carcass. As the pig fattens, the increase in weight is practically confined to fat. There is almost no increase in the lean, and no increase in the weight of the bones and other waste materials, so that a fat pig is, pound for pound, much superior to a lean pig. On the other hand, as the fattening process continues a larger quantity of food is required to produce each pound of in- crease in live weight. It is chiefly for this reason that pigs should be fattened as quickly as possible after they are weaned. In a well-bred young pig one pound of live weight can be produced from 3 lbs. of meal. As its age increases, it requires 4 lbs. to produce the same result, and later on 5 lbs., whereas as it reaches maturity it may require 6 to 7 lbs., and then the meat produced will be of less value than the food consumed in its production. It is, therefore, one thing to produce pork for sale to please the palate of the consumer, who may be quite willing to pay for it, but it is quite another thing to produce it for home consumption, where it is necessarily regarded as a cheap and palatable food, and where cost is all-important. The quantity of lean meat required by an adult is extremely small, the proportion depending largely upon his sphere of activity. A man whose occupation is sedentary, wastes very little muscle, and therefore requires little muscle -forming material to repair it : whereas a ploughman, a navvy, or a miner, who is continually wasting muscular tissue requires considerably more, and this partially as lean meat. The total quantity of muscle-forming food, however, which is required, is so small that there is practically no meat-eater who does not consume more than he requires, with the result that as he advances in life he places a strain upon his diges- THE PIG INDUSTRY 13 tive system and the vital organs of his body, which in the sedentary worker frequently causes a break- down. No such result follows the consumption of fat, although excessive fat eating accompanied by little exercise and fresh air soon causes physical trouble. The fat of pork may be regarded as fuel. It assists in maintaining the temperature of the body, an important matter in winter, while, like other fats and oils, starch and sugar, it provides for that energy, or physical and mental activity, which is so essential to all of us. This is not the function of the lean of the meat, although it is possible for this to assist in the process. As already observed, the great function of the lean is the production of muscular tissue, of which all the organs of the body, as well as parts of the limbs, are mainly composed. The Lesson of the Carcass Competitions In 1896 it was decided to add a new section to the Smithfield Show, and to offer prizes for the best carcasses of beef and mutton ; and partly owing to the popularity and practical character of this portion of the programme, and partly to the success which has attended it, this new form of competi- tion has continued ever since. As the years have passed, however, there has been a considerable reduction in the live weight of the animals in- tended for slaughter for the carcass department, as compared with those of similar age and variety shown in the regular classes. The condition of the latter has contrasted disadvantageously with that of the former, when that condition is regarded from the standpoint of profitable butchers' meat. The pig may be taken as an example, because the condition of a specimen of each type, quite apart from the weights, can be more readily compared and appreciated. 14 BRITISH PIGS If the carcasses of mercantile pigs, i. e. pigs of the most saleable and profitable class, as they hang in the shop of the butcher, are inspected, it will be found that the fat upon the back varies from three-quarters of an inch to one and a half inches in thickness, or half an inch more on the collar; that the weight of the carcass varies from 100 to 130 lbs., and that joints are comparatively small. The bacon pig of the best factory type weighs 160 to 175 lbs. alive, or- — allowing 80 per cent, for carcass weight — 56 lbs. for cured lean sizeable sides, or 62 lbs. for the stout sizeable sides — those with not more than two inches of fat on any part of the back realising the best prices. While, there- fore, the porker should not exceed 100 lbs. alive, and the bacon pig 175 lbs., I find that at the 1913 Show, the fat pigs in the open classes averaged from 314 lbs. to 402 lbs. in the junior classes, i. e. under nine months — and 400 lbs. to 508 lbs. in the senior class (nine to twelve months). The judges of the competition held in 1913 showed a decided preference not only for lean but for small meat; and this fact applies to the carcasses of cattle and sheep as well as to pigs. I carefully examined each of the competing car- casses, and with the exception of three cattle and one sheep — none were excessively fat — all the prize exhibits were normally lean; indeed, with very few exceptions, the entire collection consisted of carcasses of excellent meat. When, however, the live weights of the animals are compared with those of pigs of similar breeds and with the ages as exhibited in the open classes — in which they were judged alive — it is found that their live and estimated carcass weights indicate very con- siderable difference, both in the size of the joints and their condition, as denoted by the relative proportion of lean and fat. This difference was accentuated in the classes for steers and heifers THE PIG INDUSTRY 15 between two and three years old — suggesting still more forcibly than other circumstances suggested years ago that the younger the animal matures, and can be " finished " for slaughter, the lower will be the cost of producing a pound of meat, the better its quality, and the smaller the waste. This fact has long been observable in relation to the pig. Thus the late Mr. Allender obtained hams from pigs twenty-seven weeks old, which, when dried and smoked, weighed 20 lbs. each; while as shown below, many other breeders have obtained great weights from very young specimens. It was in 1903 that classes for pigs were added to the carcass section of the Smithfield Show ; and in that year, in which I examined every exhibit, the great majority of the specimens were too fat — notes in my catalogue pointing to the fact that in the older class (for in that year there were only two classes) — the fat on some carcasses reached three to nearly four inches on the back; while the great majority, quite different from those shown in 1913, were excessively fat. In the following table are quoted the actual average live weights and the estimated carcass weights of the pigs in the open classes in 1913. Although fat pigs in the Smithfield and similar competitions reach higher figures, 80 per cent, has been adopted in these classes as the percentage of carcass weight. The weights in the carcass classes are the actual weights (see page 16). It should be pointed out that although the pigs in the carcass classes, the weights of which are averaged, were required to be under nine months and under twelve months respectively, it was a condition in the one case that the weights should exceed 100 lbs., but not exceed 220 lbs., and in the other that they should be within the limits of 220 lbs. and 300 lbs. In the younger class the four prize-winners were respectively : 1st, 6 J months ; 16 BRITISH PIGS 2nd, 8 J months; 3rd, 6| months; and 4th, 8 \ months old. Three were Berkshires, and one a cross between the Large White and the Berkshire . The weights of the unnoticed pigs were not taken. In the class " not exceeding 12 months " the ages were: 1st prize, 11 \ months; 2nd, 10 months; 3rd, 10| months; and 4th, 10 months. These were all Berkshires, and their weights varied but little. AVERAGE LIVE AND CARCASS WEIGHTS OP PIGS (1913) Breed. Under 9 months. 9 to 12 months. Live weight. Estimated weight of carcass. Live weight. Estimated weight of carcass. Berkshires .... Tamworths Lincolns .... Large Whites . Middle Whites . . Large Blacks . lb. 335 314, 402 383 302 396 ib. 268 250 321 306 241 316 lb. 400 476 469 490 400 508 lb. 320 380 376 392 320 406 — Under 9 months. Under 12 months. Live weight. Actual carcass weight. Live weight. Actual carcass weight. Prize Pigs in Carcass Class .... lb. 180 lb. 149 lb. 255 lb. 208 — Alive. Carcass. Prize Pigs in Class best suited for Bacon lb. 224 lb. 183 As regards 1903, the first year of the pig-carcass show, of the three prize-winners in the class weigh- THE PIG INDUSTRY 17 ing 100 to 220 lbs. — no age being specified — the first prize went to a Berkshire weighing 200 lbs. alive and 165 lbs. in the carcass, and the third prize to a Tamworth-Berkshire scaling 176 lbs. — or 141 lbs. in the carcass. These pigs, like the 2nd prize animal, a Berkshire, were excessively fat. In the class above 220 lbs. in weight, the first prize pig, a Middle White, weighed 294 lbs. alive and 250 lbs. dead, and the second, a Berkshire, 288 lbs. alive and 246 lbs. dead — both being eight to nine months old. In this class the fat on the back of several specimens measured three inches, and in one case four inches, in depth. Does the Pig pay? I have already remarked that pig-keepers are, as a rule, unable to say how much their pigs pay : in some cases, indeed, whether they pay at all. The farmer who breeds and feeds pigs maintains them as part of his system, but he ignores the one point which is regarded as the most important in commercial life. He keeps no accounts and freely uses the produce of the farm without taking the precaution to weigh the grain he supplies to his stock or to estimate its value. The average pig- keeper who is not a farmer, buys meal in small quantities from the nearest dealer, instead of ob- taining the whole grain from a grower, or wholesale trader, and crushing or grinding it himself. He pays no attention to quality and very little to market price, paying what he is asked and unable to test by experience or knowledge whether his barley meal, his sharps, or his middlings are good or bad. This question is of enormous importance to the inexperienced man, for I have seen offal corn of various kinds, mixed with the sweepings of the floors, ground in a mill, and sold by the admission of the miller himself as barley meal. 18 BRITISH PIGS On such food pigs cannot thrive, nor can they return the profit which the feeder has a right to expect. In an investigation to which I am able to refer, a number of sows — Berkshires, cross-breds and mongrels — were fed with considerable skill, the weights being carefully taken throughout. As a group the whole number of sows consumed 3| lbs. of mixed grain and 7 lbs. of skimmed milk per day, just sufficient to maintain them in equilibrium, or , in other words, without making either gain or loss. The dry food consumed was equal to 1-19 lbs. with 2-4 lbs. of milk per hundred pounds live weight. There was considerable difference in the ages of the sows, which varied from one to four years, the older ones not only weighing more than the younger, but consuming more food. The three Berkshires were respectively, one, two, and four years old, while their individual weights were 208 lbs., 410 lbs., and 477 lbs. They consumed upon an average 3-6 lbs. of dry food per day, but individually their consumption reached 3, 4, and 4 lbs., in addition to an average of 7| lbs. of milk. The cross-bred sows consumed an average of 3-2 lbs. of grain and 6J lbs. of milk. The Berkshire sows consumed 0-95 lb. of grain and 1-9 lbs. milk for each hundred pounds of live weight; the cross-breds 1-16 lbs. of grain and 2j lbs. of milk, whereas the mongrels consumed 1-4 lbs. of grain and 2-8 lbs. of milk per hundred pounds live weight. These figures indicate the fact that while the mongrels ate the most food in proportion to their weight the pure- bred sows consumed the least. If, therefore, we may assume that the mongrels consumed in one month of thirty days as much as 30 lbs. of grain and 60 lbs. of milk per hundred pounds of live weight, it practically follows that a sow weighing 400 lbs. would require 120 lbs. of grain and 240 lbs. of milk. This would be equal to two bushels of THE PIG INDUSTRY 19 maize, or wheat, and 24 gallons of skimmed milk, whereas the value — at the war prices of 85. per bushel for the corn and Is. a gallon for the milk — would be equal to nearly 10s. a week. I cannot con- ceive how pig-keeping can possibly pay a respectable profit where sows — between weaning and farrowing — are fed in this way, although the practice is common. I next refer to one or two examples of practice in the feeding of purchased pigs during the earlier days of the war. In the autumn of 1915 a corre- spondent purchased eleven pigs at a cost of £23, this fact with the whole of the data being supplied to me in detail. These pigs were sold at the expira- tion of four calendar months for the sum of £95 to a pork butcher. The total food consumed, together with the prime cost of the pigs, amounted in value to £60 2s. The food, apart from a few pounds of linseed and a small item of grains, consisted of potatoes and sharps. The potatoes cost an average of 30s. a ton, while a bag of sharps of 224 lbs. cost an average of 22s. Qd. The pigs cost to feed Id. per head per day, while their gain in value per day was 13d. To put the matter in the simplest form an expenditure of £60 2s. resulted in a sale for cash of £95, showing a profit of more than 50 per cent. In another instance ten pigs were purchased at the end of the year 1915 at the age of fifteen weeks at a cost of £20. They were sold at the end of 4| months to a pork butcher for £106, the total cost of pigs and feeding amounting to £56 lis. The average weight of the pigs was 16 stone, the cost of feeding was Qd. per pound, and the sale price realised was ll-3d. per pound. In this instance the sharps cost at the rate of 25s. Qd. a bag and the potatoes 30s. a ton. No other food was used except a few pounds of linseed. The potatoes supplied reached 8J lbs. per pig per day, and the sharps 3-7 lbs. at a cost 20 BRITISH PIGS of l-3d. per pound. It has been frequently shown by feeding experiments that very young pigs can be fed to produce 1 lb. of live weight from 3| to 4£ lbs. of grain. Thus a ration of 4 lbs. a day costing \\d. a pound would reach Gd., whereas the value of a pound of live weight — assuming the carcass to represent 75 per cent.- — would, at the prices of 1916-17, be worth 9d. to lOd. and some- times a still higher figure. Under such condi- tions, therefore, a pig should pay at least 50 per cent, upon the cost of production, and this we have seen was the case in the above experiments. I now turn to a test of a much simpler char- acter, which was conducted on a croft in Ross-shire in the North of Scotland by the officials of the Agricultural College, the object intended being to demonstrate how small holders can feed pigs with profit to themselves. In this case the work was carried out before the declaration of war, and the prices are therefore those which obtained under the old conditions. Four pigs — which cost 12s. Sd. to 175. 3d. each — were put up to feed in December 1912. The food supplied consisted of crushed barley, barley dust, sharps, skimmed milk, chat potatoes, and turnips. The average weight at the commencement of the feeding period was 31| lbs., while during the first month of feeding the food consumed consisted of 13 lbs. each of sharps and barley dust, 43 pints of skimmed milk, with some potatoes and turnips, the quan- tities of which were not supplied. The average gain during the first month was 27f lbs. at a cost of 6s. 5|d. During the second month the pigs consumed 20| lbs. each of sharps and barley dust, 10 lbs. of crushed barley, and 66 pints of skimmed milk, with potatoes and turnips, the cost being 10s. Gd. The gain made by the pigs was 29J lbs. In the third month the food consumed consisted of 31 lbs. each of barley dust and sharps, 49 lbs. THE PIG INDUSTRY 21 of crushed barley, 47 pints of skimmed milk, with potatoes and turnips, the cost being 13s. 2|d. and the gain made 40 lbs. In the fourth month the barley dust and sharps were doubled in quantity, the skimmed milk was reduced to 16 pints, the crushed barley consumed reached 112 lbs., and again potatoes and turnips were supplied at a total cost of 18s. 9d. The increase in weight reached 33J lbs. In the fifth month the sharps and barley dust supplied each weighed 76 lbs., the crushed barley 161 lbs., with potatoes and turnips — the increase in weight being 43| lbs. at a cost of £l 2s. 4|d. The pigs were sold on May 21 at an average of £3 17s. 3d., the entire cost, exclud- ing labour, having been £6 12s. 3fd., showing a balance of profit of £8 16s. 8\d. or £2 4s. 2d. per pig. To quote the report it appears that in the first month there was a total live weight increase of 110 lbs. at a cost of 6s. 5f<2. The increase, therefore, cost less than fd. per lb. In the second month the cost of producing a pound of live weight increase was l*ld. ; in the third month Id.; in the fourth month l'7d. ; and in the fifth month \\d. These figures once more demonstrate the fact that the longer a pig is fed the more food it consumes in the production of each additional pound of live weight. I do not suggest that all feeders can achieve a similar result, for although the weight of the potatoes and turnips consumed is not shown, it is obvious that they were used with considerable freedom, and it is well known to experienced men that such bulky foods can be used with marked success and economy, not only in feeding store pigs, but also in fattening pigs. In this instance these foods were grown upon the holding, and were probably charged in the account at a nominal, if correct, price : for when the cost of production alone is considered in this way we cannot disguise the fact that the figures 22 BRITISH PIGS are nominal under normal conditions. We attach the greatest importance, however, to the fact that such good work was done with crushed barley and sharps. This really means that the pig- keeper with some knowledge of the value of barley, can employ a much better food if he owns a small crushing machine and crushes it at home — thus saving the profit of the miller, together with the cost of conveyance to and from the mill, as well as the profit of the retailer. The sharps cost about f-d. per pound, while the barley foods were equally cheap. The Most Desirable Weights of Pigs As with cattle and sheep, pigs are now bred and fed for early maturity. The importance of this condition was not appreciated by our forefathers although it is self-evident to us. Early maturity ensures tenderness in the meat on the one hand, and increased profit on the other. If it is true that the longer a pig is fed the more food it is necessary for it to consume in the production of each pound of gain in live weight, it is equally true that the more we diminish the feeding period and the quicker we get the pig into market in consequence, the smaller is the cost of production. It is not essential to discuss the question of the cost of feeding the live animal, but of reducing the cost of production of the meat on its carcass. It was shown in the Rothamsted experiments of Lawes and Gilbert that while the water contents of a store pig reached 58 per cent., the nitrogenous matter 14-5 per cent., and the fat 2-1-6 per cent., the water present in the carcass of a fat pig was reduced to 43 per cent, and the nitrogenous matter to 11-4 per cent., while the fat was increased to 43-9 per cent. Thus in feeding a pig for market, fatness means — to take these particular figures — THE PIG INDUSTRY 23 an increase in the feeding material it produces from 39 per cent, to 55 per cent. Hence the fatter a pig the larger the proportion of nutritious food it provides. We have already explained that fat is of much greater value as food than the lean of the meat, and that a pound of fat pork or bacon is of greater food value than a pound of lean pork or bacon. The public, however, do not discuss the question from this point of view ; indeed, they do not discuss it at all except upon their plates. Palate, not pocket, is the first consideration. When a pig in the process of fattening increased from 103 to 191 lbs. live weight the proportion of the carcass in the increase reached 91 per cent. (Warington). In the process of fattening pigs less food is utilised in the expenditure of energy and heat than in the case of the sheep — which, although con- fined to a field, is not precluded from exercise — ■ or the bullock fattening on a rich pasture. It was found at Rothamsted that while the pig expended 57 lbs. of organic matter in this direction the sheep expended 74 lbs. and the bullock 77 lbs. For example, among the results obtained in experimental feeding, pigs consumed 12-58 lbs. of food for heat and work or energy expenditure, of which 6-27 lbs. were found in the dry matter of the manure, both solid and liquid, leaving 6-43 lbs. for the increase in live weight, or nearly double the quantity appropriated by the cattle or sheep. Again, while pigs increased by 23-8 lbs. in weight per hundred pounds of dry food consumed, oxen increased by 9 lbs. only, and sheep by 11 lbs. Feeding of a more modern character, however, will tell us a different tale. The war is teaching the pig feeder that he can obtain better results with the assistance of more economical food, and that sty feeding will be largely substituted by grazing and green forage feeding in summer and 24 BRITISH PIGS root feeding in winter, with better results, so far as store stock is concerned, and therefore with stronger and more prolific litters. In spite of the great economical value of British swine of all the great varieties much more valuable results could be obtained if greater attention were paid to the health, vigour, and constitution of sows and boars used for breeding. Sty feeding — especially among small owners of pigs — accounts for many failures and what men are pleased to call bad luck. Small weak litters of tiny pigs are more common than normal large litters of strong, large pigs, and it is a fact that in spite of our possession of pigs of the largest size in the world, that size is seldom seen except in the show- yard or in the piggeries of exhibitors and pedigree breeders. Ever since we can remember the country has been more or less flooded with sows and boars purporting to be of the true type of large pig ; but owing in large measure, as we believe, to ignorance or indifference, or to both, with regard to the main- tenance of constitution, the representative animals of the large breeds have diminished in size in new hands until they are no longer representative, either of the Large Black, the Large White, or the Tamworth. Pigs weighing from 600 to 800 lbs. are no longer to be found in the piggery of the average breeder and feeder. Very large specimens are occasionally exhibited at Smithfield, but the greatest weights reached in the competition of 1916 were 974 lbs. for two large Blacks, between nine and twelve months old, 932 lbs. for a pair of Large Whites, 1005 lbs. for a pair of Tamworths, 905 lbs. for a pair of Lincolns, 491 lbs. for a single White pig, and 498 lbs. for a single Black. The truth is, that pigs of this type are no longer required by butchers or curers. They are still fed by many country people, including labourers and small farmers, but while — as we have shown — the THE PIG INDUSTRY 25 economical value of a fat pig is much greater than that of a leaner pig of modern type it is much to the advantage of those who feed the former, to feed a pair to weights of 250 lbs. each, rather than one pig to a weight of 500 lbs., inasmuch as the cost of the food consumed per pound of carcass would be considerably smaller. It will now be well to discuss a few facts which have been elicited by the carcass competition at Smithfield which we have carefully examined in each section of live-stock for a number of years. These facts indicate not only the more popular weights of porkers and bacon pigs and the prices which they realise under the hammer at the hands of the butchers of the Metropolis, but the actual type of pig which the public demand, and the proportion of dead to live weight. In the 1915 class for porker pigs not exceeding 100 lbs. alive, the first prize was taken by a pig weighing 84 lbs. alive, and 66 lbs. in the carcass, showing a carcass weight of 78 per cent. This was a Berkshire, providing small joints, but nice fleshy meat of high quality — the fat on the heaviest portion of the back varying from § inch to 1 inch in thickness. The second prize pig weighed 90 lbs. alive and 71 lbs. dead, also showing a carcass weight of 78 per cent. The lean was streaky and covered with only § inch of fat. The third prize pig weighed 83 lbs. alive and 63 lbs. in the carcass, showing a percentage of 75|. In this case the fat over the loin was only \ inch thick. The whole class — and this applied more or less to every class in the exhibition — was filled with pigs which exhibited a much smaller proportion of fat than was common in earlier days, for in the past we have sometimes measured three inches of fat on the carcass of a prize pig. We take one more example from pigs above J.60 lbs. in weight and not exceeding 240 lbs., 26 BRITISH PIGS best suited for the manufacture of bacon. The first prize weighed 219 lbs. alive and 178 lbs. in the carcass, showing 81 per cent, of carcass weight. This pig was ten months and four weeks old and was covered with 1\ to 2 inches of fat on the back. The second prize pig at eight months old weighed 207 lbs. with a carcass weight of 81 per cent., and it was somewhat leaner than the other ; while the third prize weighed 218 lbs. at seven and a half months and showed 83 per cent, of carcass weight. Apparently pigs of this weight can be fed in seven months, or at the outside eight months, where the quality is suitable and the feeding carefully arranged. It is worthy of remark that, in the porker class referred to, the prize pigs were re- spectively four months, three and a half months, and three months old, so that these animals which sell better than pigs of larger size for pork, realise higher prices, cost much less to feed — apart from the fact that much time is saved in the process — and are much more economical to cultivate than pigs of larger size, whether they are intended for bacon or pork. Nothing in connection with the subject of pig-feeding is more important than the fact — to be emphasised later on — that as age increases the quality of food required to make each pound of live weight also increases, so that the longer a pig is kept the less profit it realises, while conversely the more quickly it is fed for slaughter the better it pays. We have observed that under the hammer fat pigs, like fat sheep, realise at the hands of the butcher less money per stone — and sometimes considerably less — than pigs with a smaller proportion of fat. It is highly important to maintain early maturity, and in consequence to retain from time to time the finest sow in a litter. Selection in this way coupled with good feeding, abundant exercise and plenty of green food, while the gilt is growing THE PIG INDUSTRY 27 into maturity, will ensure both size and prolificacy in addition to the same early maturity which has already been developed, but which needs main- taining by this process of selection. If, however, the breeder determines to take his first litters from a gilt at the end of her first year he will in some measures fail. A young animal put to the boar at too early an age is asked to perform two duties, and this she is unable to do, for while she is sus- taining and providing for the growth of her litter she is making a demand upon her own system which will check its development. A sow intended for breeding should be fully mature before she is asked to perform the duties of maternity. This will cause the loss of a litter in her first year, but it will pay her owner much better in the end. Size is all-important in the pig, and as we have — chiefly through the action of Agricultural Societies — ceased to offer prizes for the small breeds, so we must not only maintain the size of those which remain, but so increase them that the stock on British farms shall be approximately equal to the exhibits in the Royal Showyard. Just as the number of pigs in the litter of a mature sow is larger and heavier than the pigs of a gilt, so is the number larger and the weight greater in the case of a litter produced by a large sow than in a litter produced by a sow of small or medium size. We have seen from the details of pigs exhibited in the carcass competition at Smithfield that porkers weigh less — and sometimes considerably less — than 100 lbs. There are many pig-keepers who will scarcely credit the fact that the live weight of the champion porker in 1915 was only 84 lbs. and that the carcass weight was only 66 lbs., as shown above. The fact, too, that this type of carcass realises the highest price at the hands of the butchers who compete at the auction in the showyard, is sufficient evidence of the 28 BRITISH PIGS practical value of early maturity and rapid feeding. This point may be emphasised. This pig was four months old, and it is, therefore, obvious that if a litter can be sold fat enough to realise the highest price in the market at the age of four months from birth, it must be much more econo- mical to feed two such litters than one litter for double the length of time. Not only is the money turned over more quickly and risk reduced in proportion, but the quantity of food consumed in the production of a pound of carcass meat is much less. Apart from these facts, which closely touch the profit, the meat of the younger pigs, being more tender, realises a higher price per stone. A similar question is involved when we discuss the pig intended for bacon. The retailer prefers sides which weigh 56 lbs. apiece or thereabouts, inasmuch as they suit his customers better than heavier weights. CHAPTER II THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS One fact at least should console the British farmer : his stock practically rules the pig world. There are in America two or three breeds of growing importance, but all have been built upon one fabric — English stock. We may use this word advisedly, for Scotland is the poorest pig-producing country of any importance in the world, while Ireland — much more famous than England for its pig- breeding community, possesses no single variety of its own. We have had opportunity of examining the various types of pigs which are bred in all the leading European agricultural countries; not only on the farms of those countries themselves, with but one or two exceptions, but at the International Exhibitions in Paris, in Amsterdam, in Hamburg, and in the National Exhibitions of Denmark, France and Switzerland. It is, indeed, almost phenomenal; and as showing the bent of the English agricultural mind, that in all classes of domestic live stock our breeds are so superior that with the exception of two or three varieties of cattle in France, of the Dutch cattle of Holland, and the great milking breed common to Switzer- land, there is not one variety which can claim to compare for its economical properties with the cattle, sheep, and pigs of this country. We possess the only large breeds of pigs in the world : the Large White, the Large Black, and the Lincoln — a term which is quite sufficient to describe the 29 SO BRITISH PIGS animal which its admirers have called the Lincoln Curly Coated. There is, however, one fact worthy of notice, that although our large breeds of pigs are almost gigantic in size, their progeny — if badly reared and selected for stock — quickly return both in size and type to their earlier progenitors. It is partly for this reason that there are so few pigs of very large size of either variety in the country. The breeds, indeed, are kept in few hands and unless those who own them take every care by selection from first-class pedigree stock to maintain size — and this amateurs do not as a rule — these pigs will quickly resemble their first cousins, which are distributed throughout the country, but no longer possess the leading char- acteristics of their type. In order to obtain early-matured tender and rich meat it is now known to be essential to breed from a good strain of pig. The ancestors of our modern varieties, as already remarked, were of an entirely different type, and this was partly caused by their habits. Instead of being chiefly com- posed of fat their carcasses were more muscular and bony; and as a considerable time was required to prepare them for slaughter, the meat- — while less marbled with fat — was tougher and harder. It is worthy of remark that while we are so largely dependent upon Denmark and the United States for our bacon supply, the Danish farmer has been compelled to come to us for his breeding stock. In a word we have been content to provide the raw material to a foreigner who sends us the finished article in return. There is no greater example of our customary folly in agricultural matters than this. The new type of British pig is owing partly to the introduction of foreign blood in the Chinese and Neapolitan importations of nearly a hundred years ago, partly to the new environment of the pig which was formerly at THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS 31 liberty roaming in the fields and exercising his muscles, and partly to a change of food. Instead of rich concentrated meal, skimmed milk, and potatoes, which now form the bulk of the ration of the breeding as well as of the feeding pig, the original animal was fed — as were some of his descendants later on — upon waste offal, grass, and wild fruits such as the acorn and the beech-mast. Thus, owing to these changes and introductions the semi-wild hog of the eighteenth century was converted by the skill of Tuley the Keighley weaver, and by the Yorkshire breeder Wainman, and his manager John Fisher, to whom we were personally indebted before his death some thirty years ago, for numerous facts and foundation principles which have been of great assistance in providing us with a grip of the history of the evolution and the management of the pig. Under the skilful guidance of these men and numerous successors the unimproved pig of the early part of last century was succeeded by the Large White, the Middle White, and the Small White varieties, the last of which — a mere toy of no practical use — has disappeared from the showyard as it might well disappear from every farm in the country. It is true that the Berkshire was an improved and recognised type of pig before the appearance of the Whites, but it had not reached the position which it now claims, nor could it compare in size or value with the new introductions which caused the greatest sensation in agricultural circles for a long period. Since those days the Tarn worth has appeared and was installed in the Royal Show- yard some thirty years ago. From a sandy red local type it became a recognised breed, but it was many years before it was followed by the appearance of the Large Black, and subsequently by the White Lincoln pig, with its long and typically curled hair. With the exception of the 32 BRITISH PIGS Berkshire, then, we may regard all the English varieties as of large size, although it is true that many strains of the Middle White are gravitating towards the Small White, which will surely cause them to disappear. This breed retains a hold upon the affections of its admirers, partly because of its rapid feeding propensity, but still more on account of its characteristic head with its short dished face and prick ears set as they are upon a similarly short, thick, and unprofitable neck. It may be well to remark here that among the chief characteristics of the large breeds «are ears, heads, and necks of medium lengths. Directly we approxi- mate to the flap ears of the unimproved pig with its huge saw-like head, and its long, thin neck, we leave the rapid fattening property and the early maturity behind. On the other hand, if we follow too closely the reverse type of head like that of the Small and Middle White breeds, we certainly gain in rapidity of feeding, but we lose size and acquire excessive fatness of which butchers and the public alike disapprove. What is unusual to a modern writer we have direct evidence of what the pig was like between 1830 and 1835. This was given to us by a well-known public man, formerly Treasurer of the Birmingham Fat Stock Show, who died at a great age some thirty years ago. This gentleman depicted to us in vivid language precisely what the pigs were like which were brought to Birmingham at that early date, when they were apparently nearer in type to the wild boar than to the exhibition specimens of 1917. Although there is a difference in the colour, the size, and to some extent the form, of our English breeds there is practically no difference in the type. A good pig should be invariably symmetrical, with a long, deep body, broad loins, wide chest, full hams, fine hair, and plenty of it, and head, ears and neck of medium size and THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS 33 length. It is impossible to diminish either of these body points without spoiling the form or symmetry of the animal. A small contracted thigh means a small contracted ham; a narrow loin means a small spare rib, while a nipped-up body wanting in depth means a diminished quantity of the belly meat which provides the most approved streaky bacon for pickling or for curing. A restricted chest, like a narrow body, limits the room in the thorax and abdomen, and consequently the size of the vital and digestive organs of the body. Breadth of chest with depth means ample room for the expansion of the lungs and the action of the heart, and so it is that in breeding pigs for profit it is essential to look to the constitution of the animals of both classes as well as to their ancestry, and consequently to their adaptability to produce prolific litters, and pigs which will feed rapidly for the butcher. The most approved parts of a pig are the ham, the loin, and the belly, all of which should, therefore, be fully developed. On the other hand, the least valuable parts are the shoul- ders and the neck, although in such pigs as the Middle White, the latter point is frequently short and thick and — like the jowl- — produces an excep- tional quantity of meat in small compass, although that meat is very fat. Nevertheless, the neck realises in the carcass or in the side of bacon the lowest price. The colour of the pig is purely a matter of taste, for there is no evidence of the fact that the black pig is superior to the white in its powers of production, whether of litters of pigs or of meat, nor is there any evidence of the fact that the Tamworth is either inferior or superior to these two classes. And so with regard to the Lincoln and the Berkshire; the last-named, however, is a pig of smaller size, and although it is regarded by its admirers as pre-eminent, and although, too, D 34 BRITISH PIGS its published performances, as we shall see later on, form a splendid testimony to its economical powers, it is never likely to equal — still less to excel — the large breeds among the major portion of our population or among foreign buyers. If we were to test the value of colour by such a new introduction as the Spotted pig of Gloucester we might tell another story. This animal, however, has yet to win its spurs. It will be well to make some comparison between the leading varieties we have named, taking their weights as examples, as they were ascertained in Smithfield competitions which we have witnessed for a long series of years — HEAVIEST WEIGHTS OF PIGS AT SMITHFIELD IN 1915 I. Pens of Two Pigs not above Nine Months Old cwts. qrs. lbs. Large White 7 1 20 Large Black 6 3 21 Tamworth 5 1 11 Lincoln 7 2 26 Berkshire 6 1 18 Crossbred (Lincoln and Large White) ..70 5 II. Heaviest Weights of Two Pigs above Nine but not above Twelve Months Old cwts. qrs. lbs. Large White 7 3 24 Large Black 9 27 Tamworth 8 3 5 Lincoln 8 3 3 Berkshire 7 3 1 Crossbred (Lincoln and Large White) ..90 4 It will be noticed that in two cases the older of the two lots of pigs exceeded 4| cwts. each. The Large Blacks were ten months and three weeks old, and the cross-breds eleven months old. Practically there was little difference in the weights of the large breeds at the greater age. If we THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS 35 refer to the Middle White exhibits at the same Exhibition we shall find that while the heaviest weights under nine months reached 6 cwts. 1 qr. 18 lbs., at nine to twelve months they reached only 5 cwt. 2 qrs. 23 lbs. Sufficient has been said, however, to show that all the improved varieties of large type are equal to rapid growth and to the production of abundance of excellent meat between the ages of nine and eleven months. Other data, however, are presented to show from the carcass competitions that pigs intended for consumption as fresh pork can be fed, under six- teen weeks, while those intended for bacon can be finished in from twenty-four to twenty-eight weeks. The Large White This pig is suitable for the production of long, deep sides of bacon which, when taken from mature pigs, reach considerable weights. As, however, pork is now cured at a very early age, sizeable sides are produced from pigs which in earlier days would have been much too small at the age at which they are now killed. It is the Large White pig which has been employed in building the Danish bacon industry, and in im- proving not only the pigs of the world, but the other large varieties now bred in this country. A young pig of this breed will produce 1 lb. of live weight from 3 lbs. of meal at the earliest age up to 4 lbs. of meal a little later. As the animal grows older more meal is required, but as this means greater cost of production it follows that the precocity and early size of the Large White has enabled breeders and feeders to provide for the production of bacon at much less cost than has been possible with any other breed until the advent of the Tamworth, the Large Black, and the Lincoln. 36 BRITISH PIGS The Large White is a prolific, hardy, and good- tempered animal which for more than fifty years has held the field against the world as a most important large, typical, and economical variety of swine. He was evolved by crossing without any assistance from other British varieties, for — so far as is known — the Chinese pig which is believed to be responsible for the early fatting propensity of all the white varieties was the only outside pig which exerted any influence in the achievement of this result. On the other hand, the more modern pigs of large size — and possibly the Berkshire as well — have been improved by recourse to the Large White which again crossed with the Small White — now practically an extinct variety — gave rise to the Middle White pig. The skin should be perfectly white, but although judges are exacting in the summer show-yards I have frequently noticed that at the winter Fat Stock Exhibitions black spots are permitted, which they ought not to be. The head is of medium length ; on a smaller breed it would be regarded as long, although a comparatively long head would spoil the type. There should be no pugginess ; no sudden drop from the forehead to the root of the nose and no stop. There should be breadth between the ears, while the ears themselves — which are fringed with fine hair — should be thin in texture, fine in quality, rather long and leaning forward, but not drooping. There is no jowl as in the case of the Middle White, nor should the head hang low and out of the horizontal, as in the latter breed. The neck is of medium length, never coarse, fat, or short. The back is long, straight, and broad to the root of the tail, which is strong, fine in quality, and well-tasselled with fine hair. The sides should be ample in depth and provided with well-sprung ribs. Much de- pends upon the depth of the side from the point THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS 37 of view of its influence upon the subsequent flitch. The belly should be low, deep and thick and calcu- lated to produce substantial streaked breakfast bacon or salt pork. There should also be twelve teats in the sow. The hams are well filled to the hocks, thick, broad, and strong, with fine legs beneath them. There is breadth between the fore-legs showing width in the thorax and roominess in the abdomen. The faults of the breed are sometimes numerous. There should be no sign of bristles — especially on the mane, which suggests the wild hog, the hair being always fine, silky, and abundant. A short, chubby head is impossible on the large breed. Equally objectionable are small or pricked ears, a turned-up snout, a dished face, or a short, thick neck. The quarters should never be narrow or sloping nor the hams light and weedy. It is need- less to say that in a large breed, whatever the pedigree may be, no pig should be small, narrow, slightly built, or unsymmetrical. The breeder should look to the boar for quality first, and to the sow for size, although his object should be to obtain both quality and size in the members of each sex. The Middle White As already observed, the Middle White pig is the product of a cross between the Large and the Small White. In it is preserved to some extent the abnormal head of the Small variety together with the peculiar aptitude to fatten or to produce meat which is fat at the expense of the lean. The Middle White pig, although it possesses many excel- lent properties, is better adapted for crossing than for pork or bacon production. Used for improving the common sows of the country, it has done great service. There are few living men who have been acquainted in earlier days with the older type of 38 BRITISH PIGS English sow, with a head the shape of a hand-saw, long legs, lean contracted bodies, coarse hair, large litters and great speed when driven to market. It is this type of pig which has been practically abolished by crossing with the Middle White. I have frequently seen Middle White pigs exhibited in Large White classes. With heads of their own type they carried bodies equal in size to those of the large breed. But such pigs are not common for economical purposes; the meat is not so satisfac- tory as that of the Large Breed, although owing to its fatness it reaches from 85 to 90 per cent, of the live animal in excessively fat specimens. The sows are kind and gentle to their young and they are good mothers. They form, too, almost the only breed of the pig tribe which can be handled by their attendants — even to the examination of the mouth. They produce weight upon very small quantities of food at quite an early age, and in this respect are equal for the butcher's purpose to the Berkshires. In districts where the Berk- shire is the most popular of any variety of pig among butchers, the Middle White can take its place with confidence and satisfaction to the butcher's customers. The Middle White is perhaps of all pigs the best adapted for grazing, inasmuch as it makes such excellent use of its food. I have seen it in good hands maintaining the highest possible condition short of fatness with no other food than grass. Under normal conditions a good pasture will maintain it without corn, but on a moderate or poor pasture a few handfuls a day will suffice. In winter a smaller quantity of grain supplied in conjunction with roots or potatoes will maintain the Middle White in high breeding condition. The head is the leading feature of the Middle White variety ; it is short, drooping from the fore- head to the root of the nose, with a rise from this THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS 39 point to the stop — thus forming a dish. The ears are of medium size, carried slightly forward and neither vertical nor horizontal. The neck is some- what too thick, and in this respect it is faulty, embracing a heavily fattened collar. The cheeks are full and adapted for making excellent chaps. The legs are straight and rather short, the shoulders fine, of medium size and width between ; the chest is deep and broad, the sides long and deep, with a thick flank well let down and a well-furnished belly, which should be as straight as the top line of the back. The quarters are wide and long; the loin broad, like the whole of the back, and the tail fine, set high, of medium length, and finished with a tassel of fine hair, while the legs are straight, well set on the body from the point of view of symmetry, fine in the bone, and thick in the ham. The feet are level and straight, and the pasterns short. Like the Large White, the Middle White variety should be covered with fine silky white hair. There should be no patches of colour, no hollowness, and no imperfection in form. The Small White Of the Small White variety little need be said. It is an unpractical and uneconomical pig, perhaps adopted as a specimen of man's art in selection and production, but costing more to feed than it is worth. Much, however, is owing to this curious animal, for it was not only the progenitor of the type long known as the Prince Consort's breed, but of the two types of small pigs — although they were larger — which were respectively known as the Dorset and the Suffolk, with both of which we were well acquainted in their day. Inasmuch as the Middle White pig owes some of its peculiar characteristics to the Small White, and therefore to the original Chinese, and as it has been employed 40 BRITISH PIGS in crossing with other varieties, both directly and through the Large White, we may take it for granted that all the British breeds, perhaps with the exception of the Tamworth, owe something to this now unrecognised and almost defunct pig, which it is no longer necessary to describe. The Tamworth We have watched the growth and improvement of this variety for many years, long, indeed, before it was recognised and classified by the Royal Agricultural Society. It is descended from the Great Red pig of the first quarter of last century, which was sometimes red in colour and sometimes red and black. This pig was a slow feeder, a pro- lific breeder, active, lean, rather long in the leg, and narrow and long in the body. It possessed a wedge-shaped head, plenty of hair, and during a large part of the year found its own living in the fields. When crossed with the earlier Berk- shires — then unpedigreed like itself — it produced young pigs which were of both colours, indicating that each type was a distinct one and that it bred practically true. Whereas the Blacks were bred chiefly in the south and west of England, and the Whites in the north, the Red Tamworths were con- fined chiefly to Warwickshire and Staffordshire ; and they were made famous before they became an established and recognised breed at the earlier Fat Stock Shows at Birmingham, where we first saw them. The Tamworth provides excellent hams, long, lean sides, and useful breakfast bacon, and has in its time reached almost fabulous weights. I have known young pigs, a few days older than six months, to produce hams which — after curing and smoking — reached 20 lbs. in weight. The Tamworth is a precocious breeder, and has sometimes produced litters of pigs which have THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS 41 thrived exceedingly well, while the mothers were still a year old. They feed quite as well as the other large varieties, although this property has practically been conferred upon them by selection, crossing, and the process of time. Breeders known to us, who have tried other varieties, have shown their preference for the Tamworth because of their power to produce leaner meat. In 1915 pairs of pigs exhibited at the Smithfield Cattle Show, between nine and twelve months old, reached within 3 lbs. of 9 cwts., or 502 lbs. per pig. The points of the Tamworth vary slightly from those of the other large pigs, although the variety cannot claim to be quite so large, i. e. in height and length, however closely it may reach the Large Black and the Large White in point of weight. The body differs in form; although long it is not so deep, nor are the top and bottom lines so per- fect. The legs, too, are higher, and the head carried nearer the horizontal. There is no jowl to the cheek, as compared with the breeds which produce more fat, and no shortness in the neck nor excessive depth of flank. The head is of medium length, straight to the nose, without being dished, and broad between the ears, which are long, thin, of medium length, and carried slightly for- ward. The neck is long and muscular, the shoul- ders straight and fine, the chest broad, the back long and straight, and the loins massive. In all pigs the two last points should be marked in character, as they denote muscular strength and constitution. The loin in particular involves some of the most valuable meat of the carcass, and the more it is restricted in width or depth, the less meat of the finest type is provided. The ribs are well-sprung, the quarters straight, long, and deep, the hams meaty and thick, and they should be as well furnished to the hocks as possible. There is thickness to the tail, which is tasselled at the end, 42 BRITISH PIGS and carried high. As a rule, pigs — whether pedigreed or not- — present a curve from the back to the root of the tail, but this should not be. That point should be as nearly as possible in a line with the top of the carcass. The legs are strong and carried four-square, while the flesh-coloured skin is furnished with golden-red hair — the richer the better — fine in quality and fairly abundant. There should be no mixture of colours on the skin or the hair, black spots being extremely objection- able ; but it must be remarked that as pigs become older the richness of the colour fades, the skin becomes grizzled, and the hair tinted with black. In a young pig, however, these faults are fatal, and an animal in which they are present should never be used for breeding, if purity is regarded as a point of importance. The faults of the Tamworth include short heads, turned-up noses, small pricked or flap ears, dished faces, colours other than those described already, curly hair, and type other than the true one. The Lincoln The advent of this variety to the front rank of British pigs was an event of great importance to the industry. There had long been a decline among the Large Whites, while the best specimens of the breed were retained by those who supported it, either for export, for exhibition, or for their own purposes, while the second-class stock pigs sent out into the country were too small in size and deficient in quality. The White pig-breeding public had, therefore, an insufficient source of high- class productive animals to resort to. This has been, and will still further be, corrected by the advent of the White Lincoln, which is usually described as the Lincolnshire Curly Coated pig — ■ although we have yet to learn why the form of the o CO J o o is 3 THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS 43 hair should form part of its description. This pig has been bred in the county of Lincoln for a long period — sometimes by farmers to supply pig- meat to their men, sometimes by the farm labourers themselves. In both cases great weights have been achieved in the process of long and heavy feeding, but without that economy which ought to rule in such cases. As we show in this work the meat produced upon a pig of great size is much too costly, and the Lincolnshire farmers would do greater service by producing two pigs which to- gether weigh 500 lbs. than by raising one pig to that weight, whether produced for their labourers or not. In the one case, the meat would be manu- factured on a much smaller quantity of food than in the other, and money would be saved. The type of the Lincoln has been fixed by the Society which represents it, and therefore a breeder can ascertain precisely what points to look for. Already great strides have been made in the im- provement of the type and quality of the Lincoln, but too much is made of the coat, or hair, and too little of rapid feeding and early maturity. The Lincoln has not only a great future before it in this country, but for export; and. breeders who take care to ensure great size as well as rapid fattening quality, will be certain of a good market. Apart from its size- — which is quite equal to that of the Large White or the Large Black — the Lincoln is a prolific breeder, the sows producing large litters of strong, vigorous pigs ; it grows quickly, and on the basis of weight for age comes to market at an early period. In 1915 pens of two pigs under nine months old varied in weight from 6^ to 7| cwts., while all the pigs exhibited at Smithfield, to which Show we refer, exceeded 8| cwts. per pair. In 1916 the largest pair of pigs under nine months exceeded 6£ cwts., and probably owing to the war, both classes being small and less perfect than usual, 44 BRITISH PIGS the pens in the class between nine and twelve months old varied from 1\ to 8 cwts. per pair. The points of the breed are as follows : Head of medium size, wide between the ears, not dished in the face, and there is no stop to the nose. The ears are slightly beyond the medium and bent for- ward. They should be of fine quality and fringed. The neck is of medium length, muscular and well- formed, the chest wide and deep, causing the appearance of great breadth between the fore-legs. The back is long, straight, and strong, with plenty of width for the ribs and the loin. The ribs are well-sprung, the sides deep and long, and calculated to make large flitches of bacon, in the case of quite young specimens of the variety. The loin is wide and thick; the quarters long, wide, and well-formed; the tail set high, thick, strong and tasselled ; the hams broad, thick, and deep ; the meat coming as low down as possible, while the legs are straight and strong but rather short. The belly should be low, broad and thick, and carry twelve teats. The type of a Lincoln viewed broad- side is more like the Tamworth than the large York, except that it is deeper in the body, shorter in the leg, with ears which hang forward more completely, and a more decided stoop in the head, which by comparison is heavy. The Lincoln is altogether a massive pig, and to some extent approaching the leading breeds of France in its appearance, although it is bigger, stronger, and thicker. The Large Black It may be some years before the influence of the Large Black is seen on the pig-stock bred in all parts of the country. In more than half the counties of England and Wales the pigs bred by farmers and others indicate very considerable THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS 45 improvement, which has obviously been exercised by the Large and Middle White varieties, especially the former, while in the south and west of England we recognise a similar influence, which is attri- buted to the Berkshire. Except, however, in those districts where Large Black pigs were kept long before the pedigree type was evolved, there is no indication of the influence of the Large Black. It is possible to visit farm after farm and village after village in most counties, without finding a trace of its influence, or the results of its employ- ment for crossing. The Large Black is not yet twenty years old as a recognised breed. I have travelled more or less widely in every county in England, and have consequently seen black pigs of large size in earlier days which were practically mongrels. Without form, type, or apparent feed- ing value, they still contributed their quota to the pig industry, although, like the old type of the old-fashioned White pig, they had nothing to recommend them but their gaunt frame, which indicated size, and their powers of locomotion. The Large Black Pig Society was formed at the close of the last century, and from that date con- sistent progress has been made. A standard was formulated, and to that breeders of the Society are required to adhere. There must be no white on the skin or the hair. Animals intended for registra- tion must be entered within a year of their birth, while registration is quite impossible unless the pig has a pure pedigree during four generations. Owing to the fact that Large Black pigs possessed no type in early days, and therefore no exhibition value, they were never exhibited in my recollection at any of the great Agricultural Shows of the country. Nevertheless, black pigs which were termed Suffolks, and which were bred in that county, but which were represented by no Society or scale of points, were frequently shown and 46 BRITISH PIGS obtained a somewhat marked, if fragile, reputa- tion. They had, however, no claim to size, being smaller than the Middle White pig of the north, although of similar type and possessing great fattening properties. When the Middle White Society was formed, and its standard published, it soon obtained recognition in the showyard, and now no exhibition of live-stock is complete unless prizes are offered for the Large Black variety. The old type of black pig of large size was a lanky animal, very prolific, producing large litters of very active youngsters. Its ears were excessively large and coarse, but it was a hardy animal, able to find its own livelihood upon a farm when it was per- mitted its liberty, but taking a long time to con- vert into respectable bacon or pork. There is no doubt that it has been improved by crossing, and that pigs of recognised type were employed for the purpose. Its precocity is remarkable, and it not only grows with rapidity, but is capable of putting on great weights of fat. It has, indeed, exceeded the weights of the Large White variety already, and can hold its own on this account with any breed in the world. The Large Black is well adapted for the improvement of pigs in the various localities in which they are still of inferior character. It will give size to the dams of the future — a point which is very much needed — together with strength of constitution. Its influence will enable those who own pigs of inferior type to acquire great weights on a minimum quantity of food and in shorter time than usual. At the Smithfield Fat Cattle Show in 1915 a pen of two pigs ten months and three weeks old weighed 10 cwts. 35 lbs., or 5 cwts. 17| lbs. each. At this rate they had put on weight to the extent of almost 12 lbs. per week from birth. In the class at the same exhibition for two pigs under nine months old, a pair of youngsters eight months three weeks and three 5 1 ft V, z az sz THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS 47 days old weighed 777 lbs., or 388| lbs. each. These pigs, therefore, had gained in weight at the rate of more than 10^ lbs. per week. This fact is additional evidence proving what will be fully explained later on, that pigs are much more profitable to feed for early sale, and under six months, than when they are older. Each pound of gain in live weight, and consequently the butcher's meat, costs more for food as the age increases until the time comes, as it often has come upon the farm, when the value of the dead pig is less than the cost of the food it has consumed. In 1916 the weights of the pigs exhibited in the older class were smaller than in the previous year, while the weights of those ex- hibited in the younger class were greater. Thus a pair of Large Blacks, seven months three weeks and four days old, weighed 849 lbs., or 424£ lbs. each. These pigs had gained over 12 lbs. per week from birth. The Large Blacks, like the Large Whites and the Tamworths, have made no reputation in the carcass competitions at Smithfield, which have been of such service to the Berkshire variety. It is a pity that this is the case, not only for the popu- larity of the breed, but because of the value of comparison. If breeders of all varieties would compete in friendly rivalry, we should be able to learn more of their relative capacity to produce weight for age, and suitable meat for pork and bacon production. The points of the Large Black may new be referred to. When looked at from the side or in profile the Large Black is not handsome, some animals reminding us very much of the type of pigs in France, with their long, coarse ears lying upon their cheeks and pointing towards the ends of their noses. The ears should not be so large or so coarse, but fringed, and while falling over they should not hide the cheeks, but present a more symmetrical appearance. The ears are 48 BRITISH PIGS sometimes so large that the nose rises between their points and adds still further to their singularity. The top line of the pig is not sufficiently straight, for it is rounded at the rump, and presents a long curve from the shoulder to the forehead, the head being carried too low in most animals, with the result that the throat and part of the jowl of a fat animal lies lower than the belly or underline. In a well-formed pig the throat should form a part of the underline, which should be as straight as possible. The face is of medium length, and is not dished, the forehead white, the neck of medium length, although in some animals it is almost non- existent. The fore-legs are straight and well- covered with meat, the sides deep, the ribs well- sprung, and the belly full and thick. Both back and loin are broad and strong, the pig standing square upon its four legs, while the hind legs are well fleshed right down to the hocks, thus forming thick, meaty hams. The tail is set high, giving length to the back, which should represent a long- bodied pig. The hair is of fine quality and not too plentiful, and this may be a guide to the breeder. Very coarse hair indicates inaptitude to fatten and lean meat ; while fine hair, which may be abundant if it is silky, indicates aptitude to fatten and less lean meat. The Berkshire This popular pig is bred too much to the type of the " fancier." It is the only variety of British swine which is bred to a prescribed form of marking. There is a blaze in the face, a white tip to the tail, and four white feet, but white marking is forbidden on other parts of the carcass, whether as regards the skin or the hair. It is a curious fact, too, that Berkshires are found with two colours of the skin — black and plum — and in acting > 3 o o ■5 o 03 o •4 J eq H O « 3 THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS 49 judge I have frequently noticed this variation in different classes. On one occasion — judging at one of our most important exhibitions — the animal selected for the first prize in the older class had been artificially coloured. Its black skin was intensified with a black mixture which might properly be supposed to cover a white patch — this practice being by no means uncommon : and I consequently objected to award a prize to the exhibit, but my colleague dissenting, an arbitrator was called in. This gentleman — a well-known exhibitor — whose stock was frequently prepared for exhibition on similar lines, at once ridiculed the objection, and the artificially coloured pig walked off with the prize. I have had the advantage of a long acquaintance with some of the oldest of the Berkshire pig- breeders of the past, including Richard Fowler and Heber Humphrey, both of whom have long since passed away. These and younger men who have also departed this life — including Nathaniel Ben j afield — on many occasions afforded me information about the Berkshire variety of earlier days. There is no doubt that it was improved by the introduction of alien blood. Formerly a pig of larger size and less of a multum in parvo about it, was developed on the lines which were indicated by the early Yorkshire breeders of white pigs. This belief is supported by its white face, which approaches the dished type, its compactness, the shortness of its legs, and its remarkable aptitude to fatten. As, however, it cannot by any stretch of the imagina- tion be called a large pig, it has not fulfilled the r61e which is now filled by the Large Black, but which would possibly not otherwise have appeared as a new and improved variety. The Berkshire is a favourite wherever it goes, partly owing to its gentle disposition and partly to its appearance as a fancier's pig, its form, and its marking. It is 50 BRITISH PIGS bred in the United States to an enormously greater extent than with us, and we may almost assume that although England is its original home, the American breeder knows a great deal more about it. Concerning one question I am certain : its development on still more popular and economic lines is retarded — possibly checked altogether — by the insistence of Berkshire men upon the white marking of the face, feet, and tail. A mismarked pig practically cannot be used by a breeder who is breeding pedigree stock for exhibition ; while a pig with no marking at all, or no marking on the points where they should be, is placed in the same category. These facts limit the number of animals available for breeding purposes. It is well known that in an average number of litters of Berkshires the large majority are mismarked, and it is only by the exercise of the greatest care in selection that the white marking is maintained at its present high standard, although, mathematically speaking, that standard is still a low one, for the white blaze on the face in particular is frequently very imperfect on prize specimens. If the original Berkshires were coarse and lean, the modern pig — much finer in quality- — is fat, and sometimes excessively fat. It has, nevertheless, done excellent work in the carcass competitions. The earlier pigs, however, were frequently marked on the body with white and occasionally with red. I venture to point out that in face of the increasing demand for large pigs and early maturity, the Berkshire will not make the progress it has made in the past in the presence of the Large Black variety. The show Berkshire- — in a word — is not the right thing for a farm or for the economical breeder in general, for while the standard is in the way of its further improvement, it is too small to please those breeders who are new to pigs, and who at once look for size as indicated THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS 51 by the four large varieties of the country. There are, however, Berkshires and Berkshires — the exhibition type, and the less carefully bred black- and-white pig of the west country, which farmers breed and feed for pork and bacon curing. These pigs produce excellent sides and hams, and reach considerable weights at an early period. Taking the average of Berkshire carcasses, a fat pig will produce from 80 to 90 per cent, carcass weight. Indeed, this is one of the points in which it excels. Eighty per cent., however, is quite sufficient for a pig intended for bacon. As we approach 90 per cent, we get much fatter meat, and the taste of the century is in the other direction. There are two reasons, however, why the fatness of meat is worthy of discussion. A 90 per cent, carcass, for example, means a greater proportion of meat to offal. Thus, if a pig weighs 450 lbs. it provides no more offal than when it weighed 400 lbs., for there has been no appreciable gain in the weight of the bones or the unedible parts of the carcass. The increased weight produced as between 400 and 450 lbs. is practically all meat, but it is too practic- ally all fat. This is to the good, in one sense, but looking at the question from another standpoint, that fat has cost more money to produce than it is worth, as compared with many other fats in the market. When this question, however, is under dis- cussion, we must consider the cost of producing one pound of live weight, and as we have shown that cost increases with the age of the pig. We are, therefore, brought back to the proposition, made elsewhere, that the pig should be fattened and killed early — the earlier the better. The Berkshire is a good breeder, being sufficiently prolific for its purpose, although it is not often that — as with the older types of pigs — it produces twelve or fourteen pigs to a litter. Its faults are in its small size, the fact that it must be marked 52 BRITISH PIGS as already suggested, that its skin is found in two colours, and that it becomes excessively fat with high feeding. Yet it is an excellent pig for crossing, whether with the White breeds or with the Red Tamworth variety. The points of the Berkshire may now be described. The pig is deep from the back to the belly in proportion to her size, the legs being so short that the belly is often within a few inches of the ground. The back is straight and broad from the shoulders backwards, but the curves from the shoulders to the forehead and from the loins to the tail are too much emphasised, many Berk- shire pigs carrying their heads extremely low, and this appears to us to be characteristic of swine with short heads and short thick necks and collars. In some good specimens the tail is set quite high, giving length to the back, while the head is carried better, the throat being almost in a line with the belly, although it is usually somewhat heavy, like the chaps. The ears are of medium size and carried forward half-way between the erect position and the horizontal. The face is short, slightly dished, and the snout straight, but there is a blaze of white down the centre, which should be as sym- metrical as possible — neither an ugly patch covering a large part of the face, nor a mere indefinite streak. The legs and feet are strong, well-placed, and the feet white, like the tip of the tail. There is no imperative command on the part of Berk- shire breeders and judges that the marking on the feet should be specifically limited, but it should be obviously symmetrical, and there should not be too much of it. The hair should be abundant, but fine in quality, the finer the better; the skin black, although where a dark plum colour appears it does not seem to us that it should be a disqualifi- cation. Looked at from the front the pig is broad, especially in the chest and through the m (S THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS 53 body under the loin ; the hind-quarters are heavy, yet well formed, carrying good hams, which are especially well fleshed. The Berkshire is particu- larly well formed in the ribs, which give roominess to the carcass, but there is altogether a want of greater size. If we look at the carcass competi- tions at Smithfield we find evidence of great value from the economical standpoint, although it is just to remark that pigs of any other variety are seldom seen in competition. We have closely examined every carcass in this display year after year, and are, in consequence, bound to give the Berkshire its due as a porker and bacon producer. In 1915 the first prize pig under 100 lbs. in weight at four months weighed 84 lbs. alive, and 64 lbs. in the carcass, showing at this early age a proportion of 78 per cent. Pig-breeders and others equally interested should note, however, that the percent- age of carcass weight does not mean that a pig has produced 78 lbs. of food. At least 15 per cent, should be deducted from this figure to arrive at the actual meat value of the carcass. In this case the fat reached from £ to 1 inch on the back. In the class for a pig under nine months, weighing from 100 to 220 lbs. alive, the winning specimen, at eight months two weeks four days old, weighed 208 lbs. living and 171 lbs. in the carcass, the fat varying from 1 to 1J inches on the back. A Berkshire owned by the same breeder, Mr. Arthur Hiscock of Motcombe, Shaftesbury, in the class for pigs under twelve months, from 220 to 300 lbs., weighed at ten months two weeks four days 259 lbs. alive and 216 lbs. in the carcass. Lastly, in the class for pigs above 160 lbs. and under 240 lbs. best suited for the manufacture of bacon, a Berkshire was again the winner. This animal at ten months and four weeks scaled 219 lbs. alive and 178 lbs. in the carcass, showing 81 per cent, carcass weight, the fat on the back varying from l£ to 2 inches. The 54 BRITISH PIGS only specimen of any other breed in this class was a Large Black. In 1916, as in 1915, Berkshires were almost the only varieties of pig which were exhibited in the carcass classes. The winner, which was a cross-bred between the Berkshire and the Middle White, weighed, at four months one week six days, 98 lbs. alive and 76 lbs. in the carcass, the fat varying from 1 to lj inches, this being regarded as too large a proportion in so young an animal. On the contrary, the second prize pig, which was a Berkshire bred by the Duke of West- minster, weighed at three months and one day 86 lbs. alive and 64 lbs. in the carcass, the fat varying from | inch to 1| inches. It is remarkable that another pig — the third prize winner — only three months two weeks five days old, scaled 77 lbs. alive and 59 lbs. in the carcass. The class was remarkable for the weight and character of the pigs, which, in the case of the Berkshire, were all under four months old, two specimens being under three months. Again illustrating the im- portance of the variety as expressed by its live and dead weight for age, we chronicle the results in the other classes. The champion pig, which was under nine months and between 100 and 220 lbs. in weight, was extremely lean and only four months four weeks old. The second prize winner, five months one week one day old, weighed 153 lbs. alive and 121 lbs. dead, but it was fatter, the depth of the fat varying from 1 J to 2 inches. The third prize pig, however, reached seven months two weeks five days, and this was fatter still, its weight alive being 173 lbs. and dead 146 lbs. It may be noted that the Duke of Westminster's Berkshire averaged 1 lb. per day from birth — including its birth weight. The second prize pig in the older class just referred to made a slightly larger gain, its weight at the end of 153 days being 160 lbs. Coming to the class for pigs under twelve months THE BRITISH BREEDS OF PIGS 55 old, the winner shown by the Duke of Westminster, carrying from 1| to 2 inches of fat on the back, weighed 245 lbs. alive, at ten months three weeks one day, falling to 206 lbs. in the carcass, showing a gain from birth of less than f lb. per day. Thus we see another confirmation in practice of the fact that as the pig grows older it diminishes its daily gain in weight, although it consumes considerably more food. In the class for the best bacon pig the winner was again a Berkshire, seven months two weeks five days old. Its weight was 215 lbs. alive and 180 lbs. dead, while the fat varied from 1| to 2| inches in thickness. Here, too, is a further confirmation, for this pig failed to make a gain of one pound a day. CHAPTER III BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT Success in breeding pigs depends upon the con- stitution of the breeding stock, form or symmetry, size, age, the method of feeding, and the skill with which the industry is managed. Let us take these various points in succession and examine their relative value. The constitution of a pig is all-important. It can neither reproduce its species satisfactorily nor gain weight by the economical use of its food, or with profit to its owner, unless it is perfectly healthy. Yet a pig may be healthy without being robust and full of vigour and vitality. The breeder must secure both, for upon them depend not only the capacity of the animal to grow with rapidity, and gain flesh on a comparatively small ration of food, but to produce large and strong litters. If a sow produces an average of five, six, or seven pigs, and especially if these are of moderate quality and weight, she will not pay for her food and manage- ment. The labour demanded in the feeding of a sow with a small litter is precisely as great as that demanded in feeding a sow with a large litter. When a small litter of seven is weaned, and ready for sale, there is an obvious loss of money where that litter might have been composed often animals instead. Prolificacy is of the highest importance, and although this depends largely upon the strain of the sow and the properties which she has derived 56 BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 57 from her sire and dam, it also depends upon con- stitution. Where a sow or a boar is kept constantly in a sty, with restricted space for exercise, and comparatively imperfect ventilation, the vigour of the animal is of necessity diminished, and their capacity for reproduction inferior to that of parents which are constantly at liberty in the pure air, and feeding upon such food as grass supple- mented with a little corn and meal. Successful breeding absolutely demands freedom on the part of breeding stock. Pigs of a good prize-winning strain should be large in body, perfectly formed, and the best parts of the carcass well-developed. They should be of a type which feeds easily and quickly, the dams well supplied with milk after farrowing, and invariably producing large, strong litters. In the earlier days of the modern or improved pig the country was filled with mongrels of the old long-legged, long, narrow- bodied type ; but they were prolific breeders, and I have known a sow which, in the hands of a labourer, an old pig breeder who was born early in the last century, averaged some nineteen pigs to a litter for some two or three years in succession. When a breeder commits himself either to improve his stock or to commence to breed he should ask the follow- ing questions before making a purchase : Did the stock from which I propose to buy some specimens for reproduction produce large and strong litters ? Are they of a really large breed ? This last question is more difficult to answer than may be supposed. It is quite a common occurrence to find breeding sows kept in extremely lean condition, when it becomes difficult to really ascertain whether they belong to a recognised and large breed or not. A sow which is poor, having lost flesh after suckling her young, becomes an entirely different animal when she has been fed well for a few months, and when she represents the actual type to which she belongs. 58 BRITISH PIGS The only way to ascertain satisfactorily whether a breeding sow is a large specimen of her breed is to see her under the best conditions, short of fatness, together with her dam and her sire. Again, it is well to ask how old a pig is, and as far as possible to confirm the answer, for a sow bred from a gilt is of less value than a sow bred from a mature dam. Many breeders refuse to purchase gilts' pigs for breeding stock under any conditions. It may be observed that a gilt is a young sow which has not littered, or which has produced only one litter. With her second litter she becomes a sow, and may be regarded as mature. As it is the general custom in this country to take a litter from a gilt at the end of her first year, we claim that she can- not produce pigs at so early an age which will prove satisfactory as breeding stock, having been mated with the boar at the age of eight months, when she was herself immature. She has been utilising her food in two directions — or attempting to do so — for she has been sustaining her unborn progeny and building up her own constitution. In practice there is little doubt that her constitution suffers, and that she fails to attain to full size and to mature as she ought to do. It is argued that if she is left for two months longer than usual, having been born in March of the previous year, her first litter will not arrive until May in the year following, or too late to enable her to produce a second litter before December 31. Our suggestion is that only one litter should be taken in the second year of a gilt's life, as this will provide for better work afterwards with larger and stronger litters. Thus, if her first litter is farrowed in the summer of her second year, when she is fifteen or sixteen months old, and she is not mated again until the middle of November, her second litter will arrive in the following March ; so that thereafter regular dates will be kept, and under good management BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 59 litters will fall each March and September, thus preventing the young pigs having to contend in their early days with the cold months of December and January. Another question of great importance is whether the stock pigs belong to a family or strain which is sufficiently vigorous to withstand winter weather. This is all-important in the northern parts of the country where, as in Scotland, so few pigs are kept. Large numbers of pigs are lost during winter from rheumatism and other complaints which are caused through frail or faulty constitutions, as well as by imperfect housing and bad management. The bodily troubles of the pig are largely owing to three causes : faulty constitutions, confinement to the sty, and bad housing, which is summed up in damp floors and draught. A pig, like stock of any other species, will thrive well out of doors in practically all weathers, but nobody would turn them out in deep snow or severe frost when there is no food for them to work for by grazing. No stock pig should be kept wholly in the sty, and it is a question whether a pig-keeper should attempt to breed where he possesses no facilities for giving his stock their liberty and allowing them to graze. The profits of pig-keeping are largely increased where grazing is possible. One sow or more can be kept almost wholly upon grass from May to October, and to a large extent during the remainder of the year, much depending upon the district, the severity of the climate, and the rainfall. In all cases there should be a supplement of hard corn, the quantity depending upon the abundance of the forage at the disposal of the pigs. If there is no grass it is possible to supply them with green forage, such as vetches, clover, lucerne, and other crops grown upon arable land, and during the winter with roots. This question, however, is discussed in a succeeding chapter. 60 BRITISH PIGS We have remarked that the stock pig should be large. This applies in particular to the sow, for upon her depends the number and size of her litter. A small sow cannot carry a large litter unless the pigs are themselves very small. Buyers insist upon size, and they are wise in this matter. The smaller the pig the slower the growth, and, therefore, when a litter has been weaned its market value is very much lower if the pigs are small than if they are large, assuming that quality is piesent in each case. It is not so imperative that the boar should be of great size, although he should belong to, and properly represent, a large variety of pig. If a pig-keeper requires Large Whites or Large Blacks he must breed from good specimens of one of these varieties. He cannot expect to obtain large pigs from a Berkshire sow, although she may be mated with a boar of a large breed. It is, however, possible to obtain pigs of large size from a large sow of a large breed which has been mated with a boar of a smaller breed, although the cross will influence the form, the points of the head, and the feeding properties of the progeny. This practice is common enough where the pigs bred are intended for slaughter, but if they are intended for stock pur- poses it cannot be recommended. A man who breeds from a cross-bred sow is unable to tell what she will produce, however he mates her. Again, it is of prime importance that the sow should be a good milker, that in a word she should possess a large udder, which provides sufficient milk to feed her litter and to satisfy them. Although she may have twelve teats it is quite possible that out of nine or ten pigs one or two may be weak and imperfect and be jostled by stronger brothers and sisters who rob them of their milk. There is almost invariably one weak pig in a litter ; and if the litter is large it is quite as well to put it out of the way at the earliest possible moment. BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 61 The Milk of the Sow There is little known about the composition of the milk of the sow or of the quantity she produces, but there are some facts in existence which are worthy of particular study, and to those facts we now propose to refer. That little is known concerning sow's milk is in large measure owing to the difficulty of handling such a restive, im- patient and obstreperous animal ; but the difficulty seems to have been overcome in large measure by Professor Woll and Professor Henry, who, in order to ascertain facts of high importance to the swine industry, selected four sows : two of two years and two only one year old. In making these determina- tions Professor Henry resorted to the method of weighing. When the pigs were with their litters a partition was placed between them, and the pigs were weighed regularly on three days every two weeks, until weaning took place, both before and after suckling. It was thus found that the average milk yield of the sow varied from 4-1 lbs. to 5-8 lbs. per day for the whole period of the test. The highest yield of milk noted in any one day was 8-7 lbs., and the lowest 1-2 lbs., which was just before weaning. In order to obtain the samples for analysis a young pig was systematically re- moved from the udder as it had been in part emptied, and milk was quickly drawn by the operator before the sow had become aware of what was taking place. The samples drawn, however, were seldom more than an ounce in quantity. They showed an average of 81 per cent, of water, 7 per cent, of fat, 6-2 per cent, of casein and albu- men, and 4-75 per cent, of milk sugar, while the ash reached 1 per cent. There was but little varia- tion in the water percentage, but the fat percentage varied from 4 to 9-5, the casein and albumen from 62 BRITISH PIGS 5-3 to 7-3, and the milk sugar from 3 to 6 per cent. It has been ascertained by other observers that the fat of the milk of the sow ranges between 1 and 16 per cent., showing an average of 6-74 per cent., which closely agrees with the figures produced by Henry and Woll. Now if the yield as denoted above can be regarded as an average, and if the fat percentage is approximately reliable, it would appear that a sow will yield one-third of a pound of fat daily, which may be considered an excellent return in the case of a beast weighing so much less than a cow, and this, too, in the face of the fact that nothing artificial has been done by the breeder to improve her milk-yielding properties. When the milk was examined by the aid of the microscope it was found that the globules of fat were only about one-quarter as large as those found in the milk of the cow, but there are something like eight times as many in the milk of the sow as in that of the cow, a fact which is quite consistent with their much smaller size. The Number of Pigs in a Litter We do not believe that there are two opinions as to the number of pigs which should form a litter. In the case of a gilt six should be sufficient, especi- ally if she is only twelve months old at the time of farrowing. At fourteen or fifteen months seven may be regarded as a fair number, or even eight in the case of a strong and vigorous animal. We do not think that a mature sow can continuously feed more than ten, even though she has plenty of milk. This number should be a standard to which the breeder should aim. An average of eight pigs, for example, is insufficient, and if a sow can feed a litter at all she should feed ten or make room for a successor. Experienced men are aware that in all litters there are some pigs which are much stronger BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 63 than others, while there are one or two weaklings. The stronger pigs are apt to take the milk from the teats to which they are accustomed, and then steal the remainder of what is left in that part of the udder upon which the weak pigs are suckling. A weakling is better out of the way, and it is wiser to kill it in consequence. It can never be useful for stock purposes, while for bacon or pork it will cost more to feed than it will be worth. The fact that autumn born pigs are compelled to pass through a portion of the winter before they are fit for slaughter is sufficiently important to induce breeders to consider the value of constitution. The great majority of pig-keepers — putting the experts on one side — are careless with regard to the date at which their litters fall. Although it is not at all times possible to determine the day of the week of farrowing, it is still in the hands of the man who understands his business to arrange the week as nearly as possible. Pigs born in the middle of March fall at an excellent time. If they are weaned in eight weeks, and the sow is mated again immediately she comes into season, the second litter should fall in the middle of September. In this case — assuming that they are weaned at the end of eight weeks and commence feeding at once — they should be sufficiently strong to contend against the cold weather of December and January, when, if they are intended for porkers, they should be fit to kill. We have seen that porker pigs can be prepared for the butcher at the age of 3£ to 4 months, while pigs intended for bacon-curing can be ready for slaughter at the end of 6 to 7 months. Thus Sep- tember-born pigs are fit for slaughter in the first or second week in January if they are intended for pork, or by the middle or the end of March if they are intended for bacon. There is no practical diffi- culty in maintaining young pigs in sufficiently good 64 BRITISH PIGS condition to enable them to withstand the coldest weather if they are born at the right time, but when, owing to a litter being late in the spring — as in April or May — the following litter is late in the autumn, the sow farrowing in October or November, the result is that, instead of the pigs being ready for sale early in January, they are not ready until February or March in the one case, or May or June in the other. When pigs are being fed by the dam and are quite young they are not able to withstand severe cold, however well they may be provided with a warm bed and a substantial sty. To breed late in the year is to court trouble and loss, for, as with young stock of other species, pigs which are checked in their growth when they are young never reach the weights which the feeder has a right to expect. Unless the work goes well from first to last, profit is doubtful. Well-bred pigs, however, which are well managed and fed, are sufficiently hardy to withstand any ordinary treatment with- out harm to themselves. If they are healthy and strong and get plenty of food, nothing stops their growth, assuming that they are of the right type. The importance of disposition, or temperament, in the sow cannot be over-estimated. In times gone by, when pigs were frequently fed upon butchers' offal, bad temper was encouraged, and sows were frequently savage enough to kill whole litters, and sometimes to eat them. It is seldom that we hear of any such cases as this with the modern pig, bred as it is from a better class of sow, and fed solely upon grain, milk, potatoes, and other vegetables. Unless a sow is a good mother, her pigs will not thrive. Their sharp little teeth sometimes irritate her, cause her to lie upon them or squeeze them against the wall of the sty, and in this way to kill them. It is for this reason that many breeders erect rails within a few inches of the wall, so that when a large fat and careless sow is lying down BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 65 she cannot kill a little pig which gets behind her. Rails, however, are not so often seen as they were, and with a gentle dam they are not needed at all. In some cases the pig-man makes a point of remov- ing the young pigs as they are born, carrying them in a basket to a kitchen fire until it is time to return them to their dam. As a litter commences to appear there is excite- ment in the home of a small owner who attends to his pigs himself, and he ventures into the sty for the purpose just described. This is quite unneces- sary. If a pig is not of gentle disposition she had better not be kept, for, in spite of all precautions, there will be losses from her carelessness or her temper, and they will not be minimised by the attention given her by her owner. A good sow needs no assistance of this kind. She will take care of her pigs and delight in the knowledge that they are playing around her. Just as abundance of milk is an essential to success so is disposition in the sow. Size in the Dam The fact that within the last twenty years two large breeds of British pigs have been established — the Large Black and the Lincoln — is sufficient evi- dence to prove that large size is in demand. It is known by experienced breeders that large size is more essential in the realisation of profit than medium or small size. In a word, large pigs are more saleable than small ones. Dealers, buyers for stock purposes, and butchers like pigs that have plenty of growth. A small short-bodied, thick, chubby litter, with heads of the type of the Middle White, find few buyers in these days. How- ever well they may be fed, they fail to grow with rapidity, and breeders like to find that a young pig puts on at least 1 lb. a day on a good ration. In F 66 BRITISH PIGS order to produce large pigs and large litters, it is essential to keep a large sow. The reason may be further explained : The size of the pigs in a litter and of the litter itself is chiefly governed by the size of the dam. A small sow cannot — for natural reasons — produce large pigs nor so many of them. Hence the demand on the part of skilled breeders not merely for sows of a large variety, but for large sows of that variety. A breeding sow must have length of body as well as depth from the line of the back to the belly, and width as well through the region of the heart as beneath the loin. There must be room in the fore-part of the body for the heart and lungs, and in the hind-part for the intestines and the litter of pigs as they form and grow. Al- though in feeding a litter of pigs of a large breed more food is consumed in a given time, the increase of weight in these pigs more than pays for this in- crease. To begin with, the pigs of a litter of this character are much heavier at birth than the pigs of a litter of middle-bred or small-bred swine. Apart from this fact, they grow more rapidly and put on greater weight per day. The pigs of a large breed possess another qualification which is not characteristic of pigs of the small or middle breeds : there is more lean in proportion to fat, and that proportion is increased with their growth until they are at least six months old. With the small and middle breeds growth from an early age con- sists largely of fat, which is not desirable for the seller. Selection of the Sow Whether an intending pig-keeper is making a start, or whether an amateur is making a purchase in the ordinary way for breeding purposes, he will consider whether he should select a young gilt from a litter or an adult sow. Most men with money BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 67 in their pockets prefer to adopt the latter course, being sometimes impatient for a result, those in particular who have never bred pigs before being anxious for their first litter. In suggesting what course to adopt, I am speaking to those who can afford to buy a pig of good type which is well-bred, and which will return them a profit. Labourers and others with but a few shillings at their com- mand are not able to pay a price which will secure a first-class animal. Their course — following the lines which have been suggested in this work— is to do the best they can with their money. If it is decided to buy a young gilt, she should be selected from an unbroken litter — whether weaned or not — but which has been bred from a sow of large size and which is also a member of a large breed. Inquiry should be made as to the breed of the sire and the dam, and, if it is possible, an attempt should be made to see the dam of the sow from which the pigs have been bred, as well as the sire with which she was mated. It must be remembered that the best pigs in this country are in comparatively few hands, The average breeder — whether he is a farmer or not — takes little pains to maintain either size or type. Many do not keep a boar, arranging with some neighbour who does, and paying a fee for his services. It should be ascertained, too, how many litters the dam of the pig to be chosen has had, and how many pigs there were in her litters. If the facts elicited are satisfactory, the best gilt in the litter should be chosen if the seller permits and the price can be paid. Experience teaches us all that the best pay the best, even though they cost more money to buy. Where an intending purchaser is not a judge of pigs, he should obtain the assistance of some one who is, otherwise he is practically in the hands of the seller, who, under the circum- stances, will assuredly look after himself. In buying and selling, the man who is an expert holds 68 BRITISH PIGS the whip hand of the man who is not, and, although it is a question of bargain, the ignorant buyer cannot deal on the same terms with a seller as he could if he knew something about the matter in question. If the price asked is too high, and the buyer cannot afford to pay a good figure for a good sow from any one else, he will be wiser to wait until he can secure precisely what he requires. To buy an inferior pig because one has not sufficient cash to pay for a good one is unwise. An inferior sow, which is perhaps small and undersized, wanting in vigour and constitution, a failure in form or breed, and not adapted to the work which is re- quired, is a very bad bargain however little she costs. If it is possible to buy two sows at one time from the same litter it is a good plan to do so, for two pigs will always thrive better than one. A young pig purchased and kept alone in a sty will fret and fail to grow as it ought, and not until it has become accustomed to its new conditions will it eat its food with advantage. Although it may not be desirable to keep two breeding sows and take two litters, yet it may be found advantageous to buy two, and to sell the sow which is not required a week or two before she is due to farrow. Buyers are willing to pay much better prices for a farrowing sow than a sow under other conditions, for they see a rapid return for their money. It is, therefore, at this time that such a sow should be sold. A buyer who intends to breed and to feed pigs should learn to judge them by points and to value them. To this end he must make a point of occa- sionally attending a market and seeing pigs sold. He will also do well to visit an Agricultural Show where there are classes for pigs, and there learn to estimate what a good animal should be both as to size, form, and general character. A man who is a good judge of a pig will quickly learn to do BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 69 business. He can both buy and sell to better advantage, simply because he knows what he is doing, than other people who are not good judges like himself. The best plan with which I am acquainted is to select a young sow from a prize pen at a large Agricultural Show where the best pigs of the country are exhibited, but it must be remembered that a high price will be asked. No man, however, can obtain stock of the first rank unless he is willing to pay for it. Breeders who have attained reputa- tions in the show-ring for stock which it may be difficult to obtain elsewhere, can command a high price, and it is a much more practical plan to buy what is obviously their best stock than to send them an order for a younger sow at a low price. A breeder of pedigree pigs of pure blood has of necessity many inquiries for stock. He is prac- tically compelled to retain his best for exhibition, when it acts as an advertisement and secures him orders. These orders he fills by the sales of pigs of a similar strain, but decidedly lower quality, and this must be so as a matter of course. No buyer can expect to obtain the same size and high quality, by sending an order, as that which he has seen in the show-yard. If it is determined to purchase an adult, a mature sow should be selected with a character behind her. She should have had at least two litters, or be due to farrow with a second litter, but she should not be an old sow which has had many litters. Here, again, it is important to ascertain how often she has bred and how many pigs she produced in her litters, with some facts as to their size and quality. If some of the pigs she has bred can be seen so much the better. The progeny of a sow will fre- quently recommend her. It is not always possible to see what is wanted or to learn important facts, but the object exists, and all that^can be learned 70 BRITISH PIGS should be ascertained. It is in all cases important to see the sire of a sow and to learn how he was bred ; while if an opportunity is afforded to see his dam, so much the better. We have never met a breeder of horses or cattle who has made a repu- tation with stock of the first rank who has failed to learn all he could about the animals he buys for breeding purposes, their ancestry, for example, and what they have produced. The whole secret of suc- cess in breeding is in the employment of animals of first-class size and form which have been bred from first-class stock on both sides for generations. It is not, however, advisable to rely solely upon what one sees. However good an animal appears to the eye, it is essential to learn what it has accom- plished as a breeder, or what was accomplished by its sire and dam. The beginner or the amateur cannot expect to judge pigs so well as one who has long been acquainted with them, but the more he learns about them the more profitable he will find them. There are many successful men who are dealing with pigs every week of their lives, or who, keeping a number, are constantly among the pigs owned by other people. If a pure-bred sow costs more than a mongrel, it is equally true that her progeny sell better when they are sold. It is, therefore, a better plan to pay £20 for a first-class sow of high character, judged by what she has done for her owner, than half the money for a mongrel which has never produced a large litter or a good pig in her life. Management of the Sow The breeding sow, unless she is due to farrow, should be turned out on a pasture the whole of the day during the summer and as often during winter as weather permits. Grass is her chief natural food, and the more grazing is available the better BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 71 she will be, the stronger her progeny, and the less she will cost. The short grass of winter may be supplemented with roots, as we shall see in a later chapter, while similar foods should form the greater portion of her ration when she is kept in the sty. If there is no pasture available, she should be turned out in a yard, for exercise and air are essential to her constitution and her power of producing vigorous pigs. If during summer forage crops are available, they may be scattered in the yard for her consumption. If they are not, she must be fed upon the produce of a garden if this is available, house-waste — always clean and whole- some — with a small quantity of hard corn, which is a better food for her than a mixture of meal and water. Where there is no available space for the exercise of a sow. breeding had better be aban- doned, and pigs bought for fattening in the sty, as these will require no exercise. This is a point of importance, for a fattening pig's time should be occupied in eating and sleeping. Exercise would result in the expenditure of energy, and, conse- quently, weight would be gained much more slowly. If there is no room for the pig to be exercised, it may still be possible to feed her upon green forage during summer and upon roots and pota- toes during winter. Crops like clover, vetches, and lucerne, are equally as good as grass, and although it is better to scatter them on the clean soil outside a sty, or in a small paddock, or on a plot of grass, they may still be fed in the sty under other conditions. Such foods are frequently ob- tainable from farmers, some of whom deliver loads to owners of horses or cows kept in or near the vicinity of towns. The same may be said of man- golds or swedes in winter or, in their absence, of kohl-rabi, all of which are easily obtainable on a farm if they are fetched. A man with a garden can produce these foods — I refer to roots and potatoes — 72 BRITISH PIGS in accordance with its area. They are easily grown and at very little cost. The pig manure, for ex- ample, will help to improve the soil and to increase the possible crop. Contrary to the general opinion of the past, root feeding and the employment of green forage and pasture grass is of great import- ance in the feeding of pigs, and, therefore, where land is in the occupation of a pig-keeper he should make the most of it, because it will materially reduce the cost of purchased food. The sow should always be provided with a dry bed. If left to herself, she would prefer to make it low in the centre of the sty; but, as a rule, it will be found cleaner and healthier to provide her with a wooden bench upon which clean straw may be laid. Wood is warmer to the body than cold brick, stone, or concrete, which usually forms the floor of a sty, and most sows will keep it clean. When a litter of pigs has been weaned from a sow she soon comes into service again. Arrangements should already have been made with an owner of a boar to whom she may be sent at an opportune moment. It is foolish in the extreme to select an in- ferior boar because of the low price which is charged for his use. His character and value for stock will influence the whole litter, and if he costs a shilling per pig and the pigs are of first-class quality, no complaint should be made. Owners of good stock are not willing to allow them to be used unless they are adequately paid. When a sow is in service her condition is easily recognised. It needs, however, no description here, for any pig-keeper will give much more complete information than it is possible to write in clear and unmistakable terms. When the condition of a sow is noticed she should be taken at once to be mated, and, as it may be some distance to the farm, she had better be left there until the following day, by arrangement with the owner of the boar, if no service takes place. If by the BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 73 following day service has not taken place, the sow may be taken home and left until she is in season again. This will involve some little time, and that time will be lost, thus deferring the next date of farrowing. It is, therefore, of great importance to watch a sow for a few days after her pigs have been weaned. A breeding sow should never be over-fed, whether her pigs are with her or not. After the removal of the litter and she is alone, if she is turned on a pasture, she should receive as much green or succulent food as it is possible to supply without giving her too much, for it must be remembered that pigs are ravenous creatures and will usually eat as long as food is placed before them. The value of pasture, as compared with cut food, which is equally succulent, is found in the fact that the sow must work in order to obtain it : in a word, she is exercising her muscular system in the effort to graze. The sow is due to farrow 112 days after service, and no domestic animal is more regular in this respect. The breeder may, therefore, assume that she will produce her litter exactly on — or almost exactly on — the day. She may, however, farrow one day, or even two days, before or after the 112th day, but this practice is less frequently observed. Before farrowing she should become used to the sty by being constantly kept in it, while permitting exercise almost up to the last. Unless she is at home in the apartment in which she is placed she will be uneasy. She usually commences to make her bed just before she is due to farrow, and she will do this with more comfort to herself in the sty to which she has been accustomed. Where straw is provided she will take it in her mouth and lay it carefully down where she intends to lie. The de- velopment of the udder and the enlargement of the teats are indications of her condition, but there is no man who is capable of breeding pigs intelligently 74 BRITISH PIGS who cannot see for himself when his litters are due. The signs in the sow are unmistakable. There should be no excitement at the farrowing, nor should the owner or the pig-man busy themselves in the preparation of food. It is quite unnecessary and need not be supplied for some hours — until, in fact, the sow is lying comfortably with her young around her and is peaceful and content. It is much better, too, to leave her alone, for, in nine- teen cases out of twenty, she will do much better, usually farrowing in the night, and there is prac- sically nothing that man can do for her. Unlike a cow, or a ewe, the sow cannot be helped. The cow and the ewe resent no interference or effort to assist them, but the sow is unwilling to be touched. It is, indeed, difficult to draw milk from her udder, her temper being less equable and her character more determined. The Sow and Her Pigs Strangers should be kept from the sty of a farrow- ing sow. If there is any suspicion of her attitude to her young, or any likelihood of her harming them, as shown by an excited and uncertain con- dition, she had better be partitioned off, and as the pigs arrive, each one should be removed to the other side of the sty until all have been born. Then when she is quiet again, as she will be if patience is dis- played, they may be placed around her on clean straw and left. When the sow and her young are normally raised, and feeding time arrives, the food supplied to her should consist of middlings mixed with water and placed in a clean trough. There is no necessity to supply her with a large quantity at once. She had better be fed more often in the twenty-four hours, a small quantity being given at a time. From day to day the quantity of mid- dlings may be increased, as she shows the necessity BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 75 for more, and especially as the pigs grow, for they will require more milk. It will not be long before the young pigs commence to feed from the trough by the side of their dam. If it is possible, she should be turned out of the sty daily for two or three hours, or thereabouts, on grass, her pigs being kept in the sty and supplied with a handful or two of hard grain, such as wheat, barley, or peas. This food they will relish as soon as they are able to eat it, and it will assist in bringing them up prior to weaning. Before weaning takes place the pigs should have become accustomed to eat well, for they will need food. There should be no falling off in their con- dition, but on the contrary it should be continually improved by good feeding. Where it is impossible to turn out a sow twice a day the pigs had better be fed elsewhere. If there is a sty adjoining they can be let into that, and left for a time with a trough of clean food ; or they may be turned out in a yard and grain thrown upon the ground for them to pick up. It must be remembered that the prime object of feeding a litter after weaning is usually that they may soon become ready for sale. Thus the first food should still be middlings, but after a day or two this may be mixed with some good barley meal, or crushed barley, which costs less. Day by day the barley may be increased and the middlings diminished, until the pigs gradually get nothing but barley. Where skim milk or potatoes, or both, are added to barley or maize — as the case may be — the quantity of grain provided need not be so large. If during the course of feeding a sow and pigs together skim milk is provided it should be supplied solely to the sow. Young pigs still sucking the milk of their dam should not at the same time receive cows' milk. When the pigs have been weaned the sow will maintain good condition upon a ration of 1| lbs. of middlings and one quart of 76 BRITISH PIGS skim milk if she is turned out upon grass, or if house- waste, a few roots, or some green forage is given her. In all cases where straw is used for bedding, wheat straw should be selected. It is superior to oat straw, while barley straw is impossible for it en- courages vermin. A litter of pigs when alone should be bedded upon straw without the provision of a bench, from which they may roll off, for when they are quite young they are liable to be hurt. Before a sow is placed in a sty to litter, or a litter is placed in a sty to feed, the walls should be lime- washed and the floor thoroughly cleansed and maintained in good condition. In a breeding yard where the gilts are retained for stock it is a good plan to allow them to take service together, which they will often do if they come from the same litter. In this case they will farrow together, and it may happen where there are small and large litters side by side that a pig or two may be taken from one and added to the other if the man in attendance is skilful enough to deceive the sow to whose litter he adds them. A pig may be added to a small litter immediately after birth in the night, when it cannot be seen, but sows are such curious creatures that they will sometimes reject or snap at a strange pig and kill it at once. Thus care must be taken to protect it. The Litter Weaned When a litter of pigs has been weaned they may be let out on a pasture in summer once a day if they are not to be fed into pork. The first question that arises is whether they are to be sold as they are, or fed for slaughter, or whether part are to be fed and part sold. If, however, it is determined to retain one or two of the gilts or a boar for stock purposes the gilts should be removed into another sty and fed alone, for it is not wise to keep one gilt BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 77 by herself. It will be noticed that, as a rule, the boars are larger and stronger than the gilts, and that in consequence they are able to obtain an unfair share of the food. Where, therefore, all the pigs are to be fattened the sexes should be separated at an early age, this depending to some extent upon the capacity of the gilts to obtain what they require. Obviously the boars should be castrated, or later on there will be trouble from sexual causes or dominant temper. This question is discussed, however, in a later chapter. Where the pigs are only of moderate quality and not likely to realise the best prices as porkers or bacon pigs later on, owing to their want of feeding capacity, they had better be sold. The practice, however, although perhaps often imperative, is not desirable, for which reason better pigs should be bred in the future. Although sale is a natural thing it is not a pleasing act to sell inferior stock to those who do not under- stand pigs : but most pig buyers, dealers, and feeders in particular, are sufficiently good judges to be able to take care of themselves. The question of selling stores for others to feed, and that of buying stores for the purpose, is an im- portant one to discuss. The pig will not stand two profits — still less will he stand the dealer's profit as well. Circumstances, however, must be the guide. Apparently the seller of a litter of weaners — like the buyer — is unable to perform the two duties of breeding and feeding. The practice of the buyer who can breed pigs is wrong, for he loses half the profit, that which the breeder gains. In buying it is better to go to a breeder direct if he is known to be a seller of stores rather than to a market or to a dealer. There is not only the risk of disease, but of obtaining pigs of inferior blood. Before buying something should be learned about the stock from which the pigs have been bred, as already referred to in the case of buying a sow. Before 78 BRITISH PIGS selling a breeder should see what others are doing and what they are making of their stock. For this purpose a visit to a market auction in the neighbour- hood would be serviceable. What the pigs fetch under the hammer is usually a good guide, although when a man has obtained a good connection among buyers he can usually do better than by selling at an auction. Where a man breeds sufficient pigs to be constantly selling he had better become a dealer himself, and make a point of ascertaining where to sell, and he will soon come into contact with regular buyers. Some persons advertise and this is frequently found to succeed. But where prices are high pigs may be sent to a market if no trouble is involved in getting them back, as in case of disease in the neighbourhood when a licence may be neces- sary. It is important too to keep in touch with the law, or pigs may be sent to a market from which they cannot be returned. If the pigs are of an especially good strain, large and well -formed, it may pay to rear the best gilts until they are nearly due to farrow, when they may be kept for stock purposes or sold. Young animals invariably look best if they have been well-fed and managed just before farrowing, and it is then that they make the most money. Sometimes, however, an exceptionally good price may be obtained for a gilt with her litter if they are large, handsome, and strong. The point the breeder must consider is at what stage his pigs will pay him the best, and if he has no desire to keep them he may as well sell a gilt due to farrow, a gilt with her litter, or a litter of pigs. It matters little which course is taken if the requisite profit is made. Young pigs which are not to be fattened may be turned out upon grass. If intended for stock the sooner and oftener they are allowed to graze the better. Grazing with abundant exercise is a great help to health and growth, while it effects a saving BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 79 in food. As a rule male pigs are cut, fattened, and sold; and as during the war pig-meat makes a good price it will be found that, as a rule, a larger profit will be made by fattening a litter than by selling it. Another point is worthy of consideration: the earlier pigs are born in the year the better they sell. Litters exhibited at Agricultural Shows are frequently born in January, and they are consequently of large size and great weight by midsummer. Early breeding is not desirable in a regular way, inasmuch as it becomes necessary to combat the worst weather of the year, and this young pigs cannot stand without occasional harm. Young stores should be kept clean and in clean sties, perfectly free from vermin, and by care in feeding, scour — which is sometimes a fatal malady — may be prevented. As a rule litters are fit to wean at the end of eight weeks if all has gone well, and they are then ready for fattening. Selling to Fatten I confess that I always regret to see the pig section of a market crowded with litters of pigs or with stores offered for sale for the buyer to fatten. The practice has been the main cause of the dissemina- tion of disease ; it has almost created the dealer and promoted a system which is contrary to the prosperity of the pig industry. There is, too, another reason why the pig- breeder and the pig-feeder should abandon the whole thing. When a litter is weaned the pigs have been learning to eat from the trough with the dam. They have perhaps been trained for a few days to eat by themselves from a trough in which their food has been changed preparatory to the real commencement of fattening. This being so they have passed the first stage in the process without any change in their environment. This 80 BRITISH PIGS is highly important, as the young animal is easily influenced by a marked change and especially if he is wrenched from home and placed on different food supplied by different hands. Pigs which fatten the best are those which pursue the even tenour of their way from birth to slaughter. How, therefore, can we expect a litter of weaners suddenly removed from the side of their dam and the only home they have known to thrive equally well under conditions which have entirely changed ? Caught by the leg one at a time, thrust roughly into a cart, driven to a dealer's yard or the public market, bundled about by various buyers, caught again and returned to another cart — or, where there are no restrictions, driven possibly miles to their new home before feeding commences — they suffer the torture of fear as only young animals can, until in kind hands they ultimately settle down to content, but seldom with the same degree of happiness which they enjoyed in the old home. These remarks are intended to convey the belief that while the seller of weaners and stores gains only half, or perhaps less than half, the profit to which he is entitled, the buyer helps to pay the breeder for his portion of the work, and sometimes the dealer as well, while doing less with his pigs than he would do if he had bred them for the reasons already advanced. While it admittedly pays an experienced hand to breed or to feed it ought to pay doubly as well where the two practices are combined. Apart from the fact that there is risk in shifting a litter of pigs from one place to another — owing partly to the time which is lost by the change of environment' — there is not and cannot be the same certainty as to results. The buyer seldom knows anything of the history of the pigs he selects, for he is compelled to buy much upon trust. On the other hand the breeder is enabled to breed from the best class of stock, which he BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 81 constantly improves, always using the best sow and mating accordingly. Where young pigs are turned out as already suggested care must be taken to prevent their rooting and so damaging a pasture. It has been asserted by some experienced breeders that as this practice is natural to the pig it should be allowed, but this is impossible, for a clean, handsome pasture will soon be destroyed where the habit is common to the stock. To prevent rooting pigs must be ringed. The young pigs, whether they are being fattened or not, had better be kept in the sty to which they are accustomed, the sow being removed to another. The feeder should supply them with the same kind of food they have been eating, gradually introducing meal made from barley or maize, or preferably crushed barley, if they are to be fattened. Where they are not to be fattened the food may consist of sharps, pollard, or middlings, the quantity supplied depending upon whether they are grazed during the day, or whether green forage, roots, or potatoes are added. It is better to com- mence by supplying a small quantity of food at each meal five times a day, than to supply three heavy meals. Later on four meals will suffice, and still later three, as the pigs progress and are growing, the food consumed being increased from time to time as there is a demand for it. Litters of pigs should never be mixed when the ages are dif- ferent, for the larger pigs will dominate the smaller and obtain an unfair share of the food. All litters, however, unless they are very small may be divided in accordance with what has been said. Young pigs should not be reared by hand unless there is some knowledge of the practice and ample time at the disposal of the feeder. They require cows' milk mixed with a little sugar. After birth a pint of milk per day will suffice for one pig, but it must be given with a spoon in very small quantities seven G 82 BRITISH PIGS or eight times a day. Feeding must continue for at least three or four weeks, the milk being gradually- increased, so that the condition of the pigs may be maintained at its highest point. The practice, how- ever, cannot be recommended except in those cases where a poor person would seriously feel the loss of a litter. We have from time to time used the word " stores." There should be no store pigs- — apart from those which are retained for breeding purposes. The practice is absolutely wrong. A store pig is simply maintaining its condition without making meat. Every day, therefore, upon which it is fed upon a store ration that ration is practically lost, for a slight addition of food would add weight and reduce the time before selling is possible. Modern pig-breeding means quick returns as well as better returns, for the young pig realises a better price per stone ; it can be sent into the market for slaughter for pork at a very early age or for bacon much sooner than was customary a few years ago. Treatment of the Sow for Breeding again A sow should produce two litters a year, but in order to do this — -a practice which alone enables a pig-keeper to reap a good profit — dates must be faithfully kept. When her litter has been removed she may be turned out to graze — or, failing this, fed as usual in the sty, with sufficient green food, the middlings being substituted by sharps or pollard, while the quantity supplied should be in accordance with the provision of other materials, such as grass, green forage, roots, potatoes, house-waste, or wash. She should never be permitted to see — or possibly to eat- — a dead pig. Pigs are peculiarly sensitive to flesh, and years ago they were commonly fed upon slaughter-house offal with very bad results. The practice may tempt her to kill one of her own BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 83 pigs and consume that when the opportunity arises. It is by no means uncommon to find the sow in- sufficiently fed when her pigs have been weaned. There is a too prevalent idea that she can thrive on short commons when she has no litter depending upon her, but this is quite contrary to common sense. She is kept with the object of producing strong pigs and at all times a sufficient number to pay. For this reason alone she must be kept in strong and lusty condition, without fatness, but muscular, vigorous, and contented. To this end she requires sufficient of the right kind of food, abundant exer- cise, and fresh air. The character and nourishing value of the food depend upon the provision of the two latter requirements. Vigour depends upon health and a strong muscular system, but neither can long be maintained if a pig lives in a sty. The pig, like other domesticated animals, is a natural grazer, built for an active existence in which it finds its own food. The fact that food is usually supplied in a trough does not abolish the need for freedom and the maintenance of health. A sow cannot remain a succesful breeder if she is constantly confined. For these reasons, and because, too, grass is not only a natural food but one of the best with which she can be supplied, she should be daily turned out in a pasture between weaning and farrow- ing, when the weather is sufficiently fine. Snow, heavy rain, hard frost, are all to be avoided, and she is better in the sty, but at all other times she should be feeding on grass. The reasons for this are obvious. She costs less to feed : the food is exceedingly suitable, and needs little addition. A few handfuls of grain or pulse, or a mixture of both, with sufficient grass, will keep her in high condition of health, for the exercise she takes and the increased quantity of air she breathes will enable her to make the most of what she con - sumes. These reasons are not generally understood . 84 BRITISH PIGS The air inhaled in the process of breathing contains oxygen, which is the chief agent in the conversion of the starch, sugar, and fat of food — and these materials form much the largest proportion — into heat and energy. Fuel used in making a fire is useless in the absence of air of which oxygen is the most important constituent. The more air we pass through the burning fire the brighter and quicker it burns. The more air a pig or a man passes through the lungs the more perfect is the combus- tion of the fuel consumed in the starch, sugar, and fat. A pig resting in a sty breathes only about one fourth as freely as when she is active in the field. This activity increases her muscular power. The strength of the athlete is developed by regular and laborious practice. This increases the size and value of his muscular system. Without exercise there is flabby condition, an increase of fat, and a constant diminution of lean or muscle, for lean meat is actual muscle. The sow then needs more exercise, more air, and as much grazing as possible, if she is to produce large and strong litters of pigs. Where it is possible a sow will pay for grooming and handling. Carelessness and rough manage- ment encourage bad temper, grooming does the reverse, for it promotes trust and gentleness in her habits and she will gradually permit herself to be approached and handled, and exhibit pleasure in the act. If possible she should never be de- prived of her young until the expiration of eight weeks, but as her milk falls off considerably at seven weeks, or thereabouts, it is scarcely worth keeping her pigs with her. We have already referred to feeding the litter. It may be pointed out that the better the feeding — short of fattening — the quicker they mature, and so early do gilts sometimes arrive at maturity, that they are ready for breeding under six months, at which age some persons have put them to the BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 85 boar. Sexual maturity, however, at this age, should be ignored and they should be allowed to develop, which they will do, until they are at least twelve months old. One of the most exten- sive and experienced breeders has expressed his opinion that it will pay better in the end if the first litter is taken at the end of eighteen months instead of at an earlier date. In general practice, the breeder retains his best gilts, and the second-class gilts are fed with the boars — termed hogs when they are cut — and fattened for sale. For breeding purposes it is advisable, where it is possible, to retain a good boar on the premises, but he should be the very best that money can buy. A first- class animal will more than pay his way, for his services will be sought by neighbouring breeders. The trouble and disappointment involved in keep- ing a number of sows, and taking them for service to another yard is much more than compensated, where a home -kept boar can be used. It is, how- ever, imperative that no sow should be received for service which comes from an infected yard, or a yard in which disease has been present, or, indeed, from an infected neighbourhood — swine fever being the greatest enemy of the pig-breeder, and causing him irreparable loss. Sows which produce few pigs at a litter — and eight should be the minimum num- ber — should be disposed of as quickly as possible. Buyers are shy of purchasing from stock in which the litters are small. The subjects we have mentioned, should be well recognised by the pig- man or feeder, where such a person is employed to manage a herd of pigs. As a rule, however, though these men are in possession of considerable practical knowledge, they have yet much to learn, and should be instructed by the loan of a practical book on the subject, and the present of a weekly newspaper which discusses these questions. CHAPTER IV FEEDING AND THE FUNCTIONS OF FOOD The pig makes better use of its food than either cattle or sheep. In a word it produces a greater weight of meat upon its carcass for a given weight of food than either the steer or the wether. It was shown, in the Rothamsted experiments of Lawes and Gilbert, that when 27 lbs. of dry food, which contained 22 lbs. of digestible matter, were supplied to pigs the increase in live weight was 6" 4 lbs., whereas with 12J lbs. of dry food, containing 8-9 lbs. of digestible matter, cattle produced only 1-1 lb. increase. Again, to put the result of the experiments in another form, the increase in live weight for every 100 lbs. of digestible matter consumed, was 29 lbs. in the pig to only 12-7 lbs. in cattle ; while from every 100 lbs. of dry food consumed the pigs yielded a dry increase of 17-6 lbs., and cattle 6-2 lbs. : this increase being the residue after the removal of the water of composition. Important as these facts are, it is still more important to recognise that, since they were obtained, there has been such an improvement in the feeding capacity of the pig, that the transformation of food into pork is effected much more economically. The foods usually employed in feeding sows and other store pigs are middlings, dan, randan, top- pings, and sharps, all of which are of similar character although bearing different names. Pol- lard, bran, barley, maize, and peas — crushed or FEEDING AND FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 87 in the form of meal — skimmed milk, whey, potatoes, swedes, carrots, parsnips, artichokes, beet, mangold, and cabbage, with grass and various species of green forage. The average sow will maintain her condi- tion as a store pig during the winter, for she should never be too fleshy, upon If lbs. of middlings, or its equivalent, and 4 to 6 lbs. of potatoes, or 8 to 10 lbs. of swedes, with some house or garden waste, or a little grazing in addition. Where no grass or its equivalent is available, middlings and potatoes, which provide only 1-92 lbs. of digestible nutritious material, will scarcely suffice. If in place of these foods a sow is able to graze on a rich pasture it will be found that 25 lbs. of grass will be ample, this providing about 3| lbs. of nutritious food. Obviously, therefore, if a sow turned out to graze daily obtained this weight of grass in addition to the meal and potatoes, she would have eaten more food than would be sufficient to maintain her in a healthy, robust, and vigorous condition. If we take 1\ lbs. of middlings and potatoes as the food of a sow weighing 200 lbs. — and compare it with the weight of the food consumed by a man who, weighing 150 lbs., eats at the outside 2 J lbs. of food neither more nor less nutritious, we shall see that, without discussing the relative expenditure of energy, the sow obtains an ample allowance for the maintenance of her muscular system, and the provision of heat and energy. This is no unfair or unscientific comparison, for the system of the man and the pig are so similar that we may be pardoned for making it. There is similar action of the heart, the lungs, the liver, and the kidneys, a similar form of digestion and absorp- tion and of utilisation of the same elements of food for the purpose of heating the body, of pro- viding for the expenditure of energy, and of con- structing or repairing the muscular tissue, and the bones. 88 BRITISH PIGS If we substitute for middlings and potatoes and the grass suggested above as the maintenance ration of a sow — and this applies to store pigs of all types- — vetches, lucerne, or clover, or indeed any other similar forage crop, we shall find — basing our argument upon their known composition — that 20 lbs. of the first, 16| lbs. of the second, or 16 lbs. of clover, with 1 J lbs. of meal, would do similar work. These forage plants, however, are nitro- genous foods, rich in albuminoids, and, therefore, not economically adapted for constantly feeding a pig without some addition. A young pig in the process of growth requires and utilises considerably more albuminoids or muscle-forming materials than an adult pig. The relative proportion of albu- minoids required diminishes with age and growth, while the relative proportion of carbohydrates — chiefly starch and sugar — increases with the weight and age of the pig until it has reached maturity. Thus in a mature sow, or boar, rich nitrogenous foods like those referred to, should either be mixed with grass, which is a well-balanced food containing a much larger proportion of starchy matter, or supplemented by a concentrated starchy food such as maize, rice, or barley ; or they may be supplied in conjunction with such vegetables as the potato, the turnip, the mangold, the artichoke, carrot, or parsnip, all of which are rich in carbo- hydrates. It is a mistake to suppose that the pig requires concentrated food on account of its relative smallness in size. Its capacity for a large ration is considerable, and it is quite capable of consuming 25 to 30 lbs. of food in a day in addition to liquid such as skimmed milk, whey, or wash. We need, therefore, have no hesitation in supplying pigs with rich grass, green forage, or roots, in order to main- tain them in health and vigour, as well as to increase their weight. In feeding a store pig — whether a weaner or a FEEDING AND FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 89 pig a month or two older, a sow or a boar — the food should be sufficient to maintain equilibrium in the adult, and vigorous growth in the young. If it increases the proportion of flesh the pig is laying on fat. Equilibrium practically means the main- tenance of body weight and health and vitality. This can be accomplished by the provision of grass, as when a pig is grazing on a good pasture with, in summer, the addition of | lb. of whole grain — or slightly more, in accordance with its size — although with animals of the most perfect or quick-feeding type even grain is often unnecessary. In winter when a larger quantity of food is necessary, owing to the greater demand of the body for warmth, and consequently for fuel, grass is less abundant and less nutritive, and, therefore, although it may be consumed on the days when it is fit for a pig to turn out, potatoes, artichokes, mangolds, and the vege- tables named above, may be supplied in sufficient quantity to effect the purpose in view. The Functions of Food It will now be well to discuss the functions of food. The constituents of all foods consumed by animals — as well as by man — are usually divided into four groups : consisting of the carbohydrates (starch, sugar, gum, and a material known as cellulose, which may be described as the substance which forms the walls of the cells of plants) ; protein — a term which embraces all the nutritive albuminoids, and other nitrogenous materials which are employed in the construction of the muscular parts of the body ; fats and oils, which can only be consumed in limited quantities; and the mineral salts, which are essential in the construction of the bones and the teeth, and without which the blood is quickly impoverished, but supplied with 90 BRITISH PIGS which in sufficient quantity it maintains the animal in high condition and vitality. The function of the carbohydrates and the fats is the provision of heat, i.e. the maintenance of the temperature of the body which is one of the first necessities of life, and the provision of energy, power, or force. With every movement of the body energy is expended, and in man with every effort of the brain. The carbohydrates, however, have no part in the construction of the muscular tissue, which embraces all the vital organs, or of the bones, for in all cases this constructive work, demands a food containing nitrogen, which is not an element of the carbohydrates, and which is present in protein alone. When we consider that even in an active man the quantity of protein required daily for the maintenance of his muscular system — which wastes very slowly — is a matter of some 3j ozs., we can only express our surprise that he consumes in his food, chiefly in the form of meat, an enormously larger quantity than is necessary. And so it is with the animal where its food is highly nitrogenous. If a young animal in building up its muscular tissue requires food comparatively rich in protein, the adult requires little, and that little is consumed only to maintain equilibrium. It has been shown by continental investigators that, whereas a young pig weighing four stones requires one part of nitrogenous food to four parts of carbo- hydrates and fat, a pig weighing eight stones requires only 1 lb. to 5 lbs., and a pig weighing twenty stones requires only 1 lb. nitrogenous to 6| lbs. of carbohydrates and fat. When a pig is confined to a sty it expends but little energy, and there is therefore less loss of food than if it were grazing. In other words, the food which would be consumed or expended in the movement of the animal is employed in the con- struction pf flesh, and that chiefly fat, as the pig FEEDING AND FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 91 grows older. In a young pig recently weaned and fed for pork to be sold in some eight or ten weeks, the quantity of protein or muscle- (lean-) forming material required is — as we have seen — greater than when the pig grows older, until, when ap- proaching maturity, it has built up its muscular system. Without exercise it cannot utilise the protein it consumes. Thus, so long as we employ pigs which fatten rapidly and mature early, and feed them in the sty, we shall continue to depreciate the proportion of lean and to increase the proportion of fat. The proportion of lean meat in a pig is not so much the result of variety or blood, or even of food, as of management. The more the muscles of the body are exercised the larger they grow, and unless there is daily waste of muscular tissue there cannot be daily utilisation of more than a very small quantity of muscle-making food. These points should be assimilated by the feeder, as they will assist him in the provision and utilisation of the food, which he will be able in consequence to purchase and supply at a more economical rate. Obviously a muscular pig is a healthier pig than a fat pig with but little muscle in porportion to fat ; hence the importance of breed and exercise for stock pigs — both boar and sow. Confinement to a sty, by restricting the employment of the muscular system, encourages atrophy, and with it want of vitality, prolificacy, and every property which should demonstrate and encourage health. The Food Consumed The quantity of food consumed by a pig, varies with its age and weight. A pig which has recently been weaned may consume from 1 to 2 lbs. of grain food daily. When in the process of time its weight is doubled — assuming that it is consuming a fatten- ing ration, it will consume only 50 per cent, more 92 BRITISH PIGS than before. If again we wait until it has reached five times its original weight it will only consume 2\ times more than at first. Pigs are now able to mature so early that whereas in years gone by 5 lbs. of meal were required to produce 1 lb. of live weight, and subsequently 4§ and even 4 lbs., that same gain has since been effected on 3 lbs. of grain or its equivalent. The food supplied to a fatting pig must be in excess of its requirements for maintenance condition. That excess is then con- verted into flesh which is principally fat and is stored on the body. Rapid feeding and early maturity have this advantage that, while they provide more tender meat, they also save food. Thus if we compare a pig which has been fed up to a weight of 200 lbs. in twenty-five weeks with a fellow pig from the same litter which is so fed that it takes forty weeks to attain the same weight, we shall find that much of the larger quantity of food consumed might have been saved' — the excess having been expended in maintaining the heat of the body of the pig for an additional fifteen weeks, and in providing for the expenditure of energy during that period. Influence of Temperature Another fact to be taken into consideration is the temperature of the air at the period during which pigs are being fed. There is greater economy in feeding at a temperature of from 60° to 65° F., than at a temperature of 30° to 40° F., as during winter. In cold weather more food is required to maintain the heat of the body. To sustain a kitchen at 60° F. in winter, for which no artificial heat whatever is required in summer, it is obvious that fuel must be consumed in the stove — and so with the pig. Extra fuel must be supplied in the form of food, and it is therefore more costly to feed pigs FEEDING AND FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 93 in winter than in summer, and thus to fatten them. As there is waste of food in feeding during cold weather, so there is waste during extremely hot weather, when the body perspires, and when — owing to evaporation — heat is lost. I refer once more to the Rothamsted experiments, in order to contrast their results with those which have been more recently conducted in Scotland, with the object of showing how a small holder can earn a part of his income by feeding pigs. The food consumed by a given number of pigs which weighed an average of 135J lbs. each when put up to fatten, and which at the end of ten weeks had reached 276J lbs., was 60 lbs. per head during the first fortnight, increased to 69| lbs. in the fifth fortnight, showing an average in round numbers of 66 lbs. per head. The increase in live weight per head was 140 lbs. while the average food con- sumed in the production of 100 lbs. of increase in weight averaged 469 lbs. per fortnight or 4-69 lbs. per pound of gain. Practically each pig consumed 33 lbs. of barley meal and pea meal per week, or nearly 4| lbs. per day, while it showed a gain in live weight of 1 lb. per day. Foods and Feeding In the practice of feeding pigs at the Ontario College, to which I once paid a visit, it was found that when the pigs were increasing in weight from 54 to 82 lbs. the quantity of meal consumed in the production of 1 lb. of gain in live weight, was 3*1 lbs. When the pigs were growing from 82 to 115 lbs. in weight, they consumed 3| lbs. in acquir- ing the same gain. When the weight was increasing from 115 to 148 lbs., the food consumed reached 4-38 lbs., while in the last stage, when the weight was rising from 148 to 170 lbs., 4-55 lbs. of meal were consumed for each pound of live weight gained. 94 BRITISH PIGS The fact that with the increase in the age of the pig, there is an increased consumption of food for each pound of gain, cannot be emphasised too constantly. This was recognised by Professor Henry, whom I went to see in Wisconsin many years ago, and who has conducted perhaps the greatest number of experiments in pig-feeding of any living man. This experienced scientist has shown conclusively that very young pigs, averaging 38 lbs., consumed 2j lbs. of meal per day, which enabled them to effect an increase in their weight of § lb. per day. When the pigs were larger, averaging 128 lbs., the average consumption was 4§ lbs. of meal, and the increased weight gained 1-1 lb. Upon reaching an average of 226 lbs., the consumption rose to 6|- lbs. of meal, while the increase in weight was only 1^ lbs. It follows from these facts that it is unwise to feed pigs to more than the weights required for baconers, which at the outside means about 170 lbs., inasmuch as the increased cost materially diminishes the net profit gained. Arguing upon the basis of these facts, W. Bruce, B.Sc, pertinently remarks that a young pig, costing 20s., and weighing 28 lbs., is sometimes fed with meal until it has added 200 lbs. to its weight. Assuming that it consumes 4| lbs. of meal for every pound of weight it has gained, it would require in round figures, 8 cwt. to finish it. If the finished pig, weighing 228 lbs., yields 75 per cent, of its live weight in carcass, the net weight of pork would be 171 lbs., which would realise 85s. 6d. when sold at sixpence a pound, showing a profit of only 105. upon the whole transaction. I would add one remark to this practical argument, that a pig fatted to a weight of 228 lbs. should produce 80 per cent, of carcass. The great point of importance, however, is reflected in the figures. Under the new system of feeding, meal should not be used to this extent, but should be largely FEEDING AND FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 95 replaced — as already shown — by potatoes, roots, and green food. The Practice of Feeding Mixed food is superior in its results to food of one variety. Thus, potatoes and barley meal are superior to barley meal alone, while skimmed milk, added to potatoes, with barley meal, forms a still better and more profitable mixture, when the milk is procurable at the prices of pre-war days. In order to obtain a quick return by rapid fattening, a pig should be contented, but it is never so con- tented when it is living alone in its sty as when it has company. Hence two pigs together are more contented than one. It is, however, doubtful whether a whole litter of pigs, numbering nine to twelve, do so well as two or three of similar size. In a litter there are masterful pigs, and there are small and weak ones. The result is, that the stronger animals obtain more than their share, and the weak pigs less. Litters are, therefore, to be divided in accordance with their size, and as they grow and approximate to maturity, they should also be divided according to sex. A pig, like a hungry man, worries or is discontented if his meal is not provided at the proper time. If the midday food is brought at one o'clock the pig will expect it, and if there is delay it will fret. Discontent, worry and fretfulness, result in a waste of energy and a failure to lay on so much flesh as the food should do. The food should be supplied in accordance with the demand of the pig. It should never be too small in quantity, or the pig will be dissatisfied, while it should never be too large in quantity as this will occasion waste. Food left in the trough loses its flavour before the next meal, and ought not to be mixed with the food then supplied. A pig 96 BRITISH PIGS in the process of fattening must be tempted to eat, and for this reason the food should be sweet and fresh, giving a fillip to the appetite and enjoyment to the eater. Cleanliness is quite as important to the pig as it is to the human being so far as concerns its health and its appetite. A great deal of attention has been paid in the past to the process of cooking food for pigs. Does cooking pay ? A friend was accustomed for years to cook the food supplied to some 400 pigs, for which he had a regular demand by a Midland county firm. He kept no account and practically never knew how much he gained or lost, and being a man of means he never troubled to ascertain. In this herd disease was an expensive item, although I do not suggest that it was caused, or emphasised, by the process of cooking the food. The cost of cook- ing was considerable, occupying the time of one man, and the work of a steam boiler, which was kept constantly going. In our own experience, cooking is not only costly, but it is not followed by economical results, and pig-feeders will be well advised to avoid it. Some feeders make a practice of soaking whole grain, which they use in preference to meal, but in practice it is found that the grain frequently passes through the system without mastication, and is consequently undigested. This is not the case with meal. It is, however, a mistake to make meal into too thin a liquid, which is swal- lowed without mastication, or the intimate admix- ture of the saliva with the food. Meal should be made- — as in America — into a thick " mush " like fairly stiff oatmeal porridge, and ground coarsely, so that it resembles the coarse oatmeal preferred by the Scotch. This demands some mastication by the teeth, which are provided for the purpose of grinding, and it will be all to the good, inasmuch as it involves the employment of the saliva, which materially assists the digestive process,' and the FEEDING AND FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 97 proper absorption of the nutritive portion of the food. Reference has already been made to the quantity of meal required by pigs which are fattening. The various foods employed in this process will be discussed later on. In feeding sows, however, and this is one of the most important features of pig-keeping, special provision must be made. Summer grazing is all-important where grass is available ; and where the sow is necessarily kept in a sty she may be fed upon mown grass, or green forage, with or without potatoes or roots, in accord- ance with the time of the year. A sow may be supplied with 1 to lj lbs. of middlings per day in accordance with her size, or an equal weight of whole grain, preferably mixed — wheat, barley, maize, and peas, making an excellent ration : 1 to lj lbs. of middlings with 8 to 10 lbs. of potatoes, and some wash or waste from the house, or some green produce from the garden, will do exceedingly well. Or the potatoes may be in part substituted by roots such as carrots, parsnips, artichokes, mangolds, or swedes, wash or house-waste again supplementing these foods. Summer always affords an opportunity of feeding at little cost owing to the availability of grass, green forage, and garden produce ; and sows which are kept for breed- ing derive immense benefit by being turned out to graze when I have known them to keep fat with- out any addition. In winter when there is no grazing or green forage available the feeder may resort to potatoes and the roots already referred to, for the sow is able to consume a considerable quantity, with benefit to herself, and she enjoys them all. Composition of Pig-foods The following table, shows the composition of different pig-foods. H 98 BRITISH PIGS Water. Digestible Constituents. Foods. Albumi- Carbo- Fat. noids. hydrates. Com and Pulse : Maize 14-4 8-4 60-6 4-8 Wheat . . . 14-4 120 64-3 1-2 Barley . 14'0 8-0 58-9 1-7 Oats .... 14'0 9 43-3 4-7 Rye .... 14-2 9-9 65-4 1-6 Buckwheat . 140 6-8 47-0 1-2 Peas .... 14-3 20-2 54-4 1-7 Beans 14-5 23-0 43-6 1-4 Potatoes and Boots : Potatoes 75-0 21 21 '0 0-2 Mangolds 88-0 11 90 0-1 Swedes . 87-0 1-5 6-6 0-2 Artichokes . 80-0 2-0 16-8 03 Carrots . 85-0 1-4 12-5 0-2 Parsnips 85-5 1-6 11-2 0-2 Meals, etc. : Wheat Bran 130 11-8 44-4 3-4 Fine Middlings . 12-7 15-7 63-8 3-4 Coarse Middlings 13-5 16-4 56-2 5-0 Pollards . 13-3 14-4 55-5 4-7 Barley Meal 110 8-6 34-5 3-4 Rice Meal . . 110 9-9 63-3 6-4 Brewers' Grains 76-0 3-9 10-8 0-8 Palm-nut Cake . 10-5 16-3 55-4 9-5 Cocoa-nut Cake . 94 18-2 47-4 11-2 Skimmed Milk . 89-6 3-0 5-2 0-7 Buttermilk . 90-1 3-0 5-0 1-2 Whey . . . 93-5 0-8 5-0 0-3 Acorns . 55-3 2-0 30-9 1-6 Green Fodder : Lucerne, young 81-0 3-5 9-3 0-3 Sainfoin . 81 '0 3-2 8-0 0-3 Meadow Grass . 75-0 2-0 13-0 0-4 Rye Grass (Italian) 73-0 2-3 12-5 0-4 Trifolium 81-5 1-5 7-5 0-6 Red Clover . 83-0 2-3 7-4 0-5 White Clover . . 80-5 2-2 7-9 0-5 Maize .... 82-9 0-7 9-4 0-3 Vetches .... 82-0 2-5 6'7 0-3 Cabbage 89-0 1-5 7-0 FEEDING AND FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 99 Where roots and meal are consumed as part of a daily ration, the feeder may estimate that 5 lbs. of carrots, parsnips, or 6 lbs. of swedes, or mangolds are equal to 1 lb. of meal. There is, however, a material difference in the nutritive value of meals of different types. Fine middlings are a richer food than coarse middlings or pollards, and both are superior to bran, but neither are equal to whole- meal, wheat, maize, or barley. In the wholemeal, there is a larger proportion of starchy matter or carbohydrates than in the offals, which embrace middlings, sharps, toppings, or dan — which are almost synonymous terms — or in pollard or bran. The fine middlings, which are largely used by poultry-keepers, are sometimes termed biscuit meal or seconds, while the coarse middlings are frequently described as sharps, shorts, or thirds. There is also a third grade of offals, which include, pollards, sharps of the coarser type, and dan or randan. Roots are a distinct help to the system of the pig, maintaining the healthy and cleanly character of the intestines, and ensuring regular evacuations. The most valuable pig-feeding experiments with which I have been acquainted during a long series of years was made under the direction of a com- mittee, with a scientific adviser, and with the assistance of Mr. J. M. Harris, of the great Bacon curing firm at Calne. These were carried out in Wiltshire some eighteen years ago. I devote some space to the description of this work, believing it to be of the greatest possible value to the pig- feeder. Mr. Harris's conclusions were as follow : — (a) That the breed selected should be the Large White, or this breed crossed with the Berkshire, always avoiding cross-bred pigs for stock purposes. (b) That the house used for fattening should be dry, warm, well ventilated, and easily cleaned, and built in a sunny and sheltered position. 100 BRITISH PIGS (c) That the meal should be soaked in cold water, barley meal being selected as the best, and supple- mented by fresh skimmed, separated, or butter milk, at the rate of one gallon a day, and with 3 or 4 lbs. of boiled potatoes per pig per day. In the experiments — 64 in number, involving 24 different diets — during which 640 pigs were fed with the object of producing meat for curing, Tamworth pigs were tried, both pure and crossed with the Berkshire. While this breed produced the requisite lean meat, the pigs required too long a time to fatten, and were sometimes found coarse and hard in the skin. Berkshires were inclined to thickness in the shoulders, and in coarse-bred stock to thinness in the belly, which is regarded as a strong defect in the side. The Large Whites, however, both pure and crossed with the Berkshires, were found to be what the curer requires, feeding well, maturing quickly, prolific, thin in the skin, not too thick in the back, and with a thick, streaky belly. Mr. Harris pointed out that a profitable pig should be from six to seven months old, and weigh from 130 to 170 lbs. dressed. The foods employed in the experiments included barley meal, maize meal, separated milk, bran, potatoes, pea meal, bean meal, crushed oats, wheat meal, and maize germ meal. The pigs weighed at the commencement of feeding from 83 lbs. in one experiment to 141 in another, the fattening process varying from seven to fourteen weeks. It was found, as at Rothamsted in earlier days, that the quantity of food required to produce a given increase in weight, became greater as the period of fattening progressed. Having reached 170 lbs. the increase in gain in weight was less as a rule than during the earlier stages of fattening. It was the smaller pigs, varying from 83 to 141 lbs., which made the greatest weekly gain and profit. FEEDING AND FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 101 Basing the figures upon the practice of the Calne curing firm the carcasses were divided into four scales, the highest price being paid under Scale A for pigs from 130 to 190 lbs. dressed, the fat on the back never exceeding 2j inches in thickness. Under Scale B the pigs were between 190 to 210 lbs., with fat of 2 \ inches in thickness ; under Scale C 210 to 230 lbs., with 2| inches of fat as a maximum; while under Scale D the weight was restricted to 230 to 240 lbs., with a maximum thick- ness of 3 inches of fat on the back. Where the pigs were soft, or poor in the flank deduction was made in the price. The following diets were tried on the average three times : — (1) Barley meal ; (2) maize meal ; (3) barley meai with one gallon of separated milk ; (4) maize meal with one gallon of separated milk; (5) barley meal two parts and bran one part; (6) maize meal two parts to bran one part — always by weight ; (7) maize meal three parts to pea meal one part; (8) maize meal three parts to bean meal one part; (9) barley meal, separated milk, and 3 lbs. of potatoes. The average weekly gain in live weight was highest (15J lbs.) with ration No. 9, the next in order being No. 3, while the lowest results were obtained by diets 2 and 6, — 7 lbs. of No. 2 and 6 lbs. of No. 6 being supplied. Whether barley meal was used alone, or in combination with some other food, it always did better work than maize meal, while the addition of the skim milk to either maize or barley meal gave a considerable increase, as did the addition of pea or bean meal. After killing and dressing the smallest loss in weight was made by pigs fed upon maize meal alone (22-9 per cent.), and on maize meal and separated milk (23-2 per cent), while the heaviest loss was made with pigs fed upon barley meal and 102 BRITISH PIGS bran (27-9 per cent.) and barley meal alone (25-6 per cent.). Thus maize-fed pigs, from this point of view, lost less than barley-fed pigs. There was always a similar loss on killing where bran, peas, or beans were added to either maize or barley. Now we come to the quality of the flesh as pro- duced for bacon-curing from the various diets, and points are given for each, these varying from 990 for barley meal and bran to 908 for maize meal, and pea meal, which took the lowest place. The addition of pea or bean meal to the ration of maize produced better results during cold than during hot weather, but both varieties of pulse varied in their efficiency with individual pigs, some badly, and others doing exceptionally well. This fact points to the importance of care in the employment of pulse. Now with regard to the relative costs of the various diets. In those days of peace, barley meal was priced at £5 a ton, maize meal at £4 10s., bran at £4, pea meal at £6 3s. 4d., bean meal at £7 155., separated milk at a penny a gallon, and potatoes at 2s. per 240 lbs. On the basis of these prices, the cost of producing 20 lbs. of the dressed carcass of the pigs was as follows : — s. d. (1) With Maize Meal and Separated Milk 4 2 (2) With Maize Meal and Bran 4 5J (3) With Maize Meal 4 6| (4) With Barley Meal, Separated Milk and Potatoes . 4 7J (5) With Maize Meal and Pea Meal 4 7| (6) With Maize Meal and Bean Meal 4 11 (7) With Barley Meal and Bran 5 Of (8) With Barley Meal 5 if (9) With Barley Meal and Separated Milk .... 5 3 The best results were obtained from a combina- tion of barley meal, separated milk, and potatoes, for which 1000 points were allotted as a standard. The ration consisted of 3 lbs. of potatoes, one gallon FEEDING AND FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 103 of milk, and as much barley meal as the pigs could eat. We then obtain the following results : — (1) Barley Meal, Separated Milk, and Potatoes .... 1000 (2) Barley Meal and Separated Milk 903 (3) Maize Meal and Separated Milk 877 (4) Maize Meal and Bean Meal 590 (5) Barley Meal 519 (6) Maize Meal and Pea Meal 486 (7) Maize Meal 484 (8) Barley Meal and Bran 449 (9) Maize Meal and Bran 404 The rate of increase in the dressed weight of the pig varied from an average of 15 J lbs. produced by the best diet to 10 J lbs. with the diet of barley meal and milk, and only 4| lbs. on a diet of maize meal and bran. The value of separated milk is thus shown to be considerable, and it is possible, owing to its extensive employment in Denmark, that Danish bacon has obtained so high a position in the British market. Potatoes, too, materially increased the economic value of the diet, while maize meal was improved as a food by the addition of pulse. When we are led to consider the order of merit of the various rations, from the point of view of cheapness and efficiency, we obtain the following results, the best rations taking the highest place (No. 1) and the worst ration the lowest : — (1) Barley Meal, Separated Milk, and Potatoes .... 15 (2) Maize Meal and Separated Milk 15 (3) Barley Meal and Separated Milk 19 (4) Maize Meal and Bean Meal 27 (5) Maize Meal and Pea Meal 30 (6) Barley Meal 31 (7) Maize Meal 31 (8) Maize Meal and Bran 35 (9) Barley Meal and Bran 36 Mr. Harris pointed out on the basis of these results that £15 spent on barley meal, milk, and potatoes at the prices named might reasonably be expected to return as large a profit to the feeder as 104 BRITISH PIGS £30 spent on maize meal and pea meal. There is a volume of information in this Report, which should go far to assist the pig-feeder and breeder. Brief reference may now be made to the various foods which are employed in the feeding of pigs. Barley Barley is the best of all pig foods employed in this country. It is rich in starchy matter, and, used in conjunction with milk and potatoes, does much the best work. It is better ground into meal than used either whole, cracked, or boiled, but it should be of good quality, a thin, light, foreign grain producing inferior results. Barley dust is of less value, but if fine in quality it has definite merit. Barley is essentially a fattening food and not so well adapted for a maintenance ration, but a good sample may be crushed with advantage. Maize Maize, which may be ground or soaked — soak- ing, however, being an inferior process — is richer in oil than barley, and is apt to make the fat oily and slightly off colour. It should be used in conjunction with skim milk or pulse. The feeder, however, should determine whether to use barley or maize by the price at which both are sold in the market. There are maize products of various values, but the feeder should obtain an analysis before purchase, and compare the figures with those relating to whole maize. Maize germ, while poorer in starch, is richer in oil and albuminoids, and is less well adapted to pig-feeding than whole maize. Oats Oats have no place as a pig-food. Owing to the large proportion of husk and the light weight of the kernel in proportion to its cost they are not FEEDING AND FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 105 economical. The by-products of the oat obtained in the process of oatmeal production, while useful for cows, have no definite value for pig-feeding. Pulse Meal We have seen from the Wiltshire experiments that, as many experienced feeders are aware, both pea and bean meal answer best when employed in conjunction with maize. Both foods are too rich in albuminoids to be used alone, and moreover their mechanical influence upon digestion is less adapted to the purpose of feeding. Wheat This food, whether used as whole grain or whole meal is too costly for pigs, but the by-products of the meal, which include middlings, bran, and pollard are all of exceptional value for feeding the sow or the stock boar. The best wheat offal — biscuit meal — together with fine middlings, are well adapted for the suckling sow and the young pigs, but not so well adapted for fatting purposes. The cost, usually superior to that of barley meal is almost prohibitive as a rule, but fine middlings may be employed with advantage with potatoes, and in this case they are not only economical, but rapid in their production of weight. Miscellaneous Concentrated Foods Although rice meal, ground linseed cake, fish meal, palm-kernel cake, and other similar foods are employed from time to time in the feeding of the pig there is no advantage in using either where the cereals recommended above are obtainable. Nut foods are too concentrated to use in large quantities, and in this they resemble pulse meals, although they are richer ; but employed in conjunc- tion with maize or barley meal or potatoes, palm- 106 BRITISH PIGS kernel or cocoa-nut meals may be used in cases of emergency, or when the price is such that the feeder is warranted in buying them. Potatoes It should be pointed out that the waxy potato is richer in feeding material than the mealy potato, and that potatoes differ in quality to a considerable extent. In cooking, they should be first washed and then steamed, but never boiled, the skins containing valuable mineral salts. As the potato contains from 21 to 24 per cent, of nutritious digestible matter it is clearly the most valuable of all raw vegetables, for barley itself contains only some 68 per cent. We may, therefore, conclude that 3 to 3| lbs. of potatoes are equivalent to 1 lb. of meal. There is, too, this advantage- — that in buying meal money must be paid to include the cost of production, and usually the cost of transport from abroad, the profits of the importer, the merchant, and the retailer. The pig-feeder, except in com- paratively few instances, can, if he chooses, grow his own food-stuffs. Ten rods of potatoes, planted one foot by two, and each plant averaging one pound of tubers, will produce 12 cwts. or sufficient to feed pigs at the rate of 6 lbs. a day per head for some seven months. If the expense of producing this food is compared with the cost of the meal which it is able to replace, it will be found that pig-feeding upon home-grown produce is a highly profitable business, as compared with feeding upon purchased grain. The potato is also adapted to feeding store pigs, its poverty in albuminous matter not interfering with their development of energy or their health. It has, for example, been proved by the Danish Director of the Nutrition Department that man can live in health and do great work on potatoes and margarine alone. FEEDING AND FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 107 Roots Mangolds, swedes, turnips, carrots, parsnips, and artichokes all have considerable value, as reference to the table in this chapter will explain. All these foods possess a physical value to adult stock, but in neither case should they be boiled, or, as in the case of the beetroot, a large part of the nutritive sugar will be lost. The artichoke comes next to the potato as a food, containing, as it does, 17| per cent, of nutritive matter, which, unlike the potato, is not present as starch but as a gummy material, of practically equal nutritive value. The carrot is rich in sugar, it is sweet, and gives pleasure to the pig consuming it, while the parsnip — equally sweet when raw — and like the carrot, producing a great weight per acre, is of material value in the fattening process of the pig. The mangold takes a lower place, and the turnip a lower one still, but there is a sweetness in both which appeals to stock of all kinds. These foods are stomachics and have great value in the maintenance of health and condition, while all may be used in considerable quantities : for the pig is capable of consuming — in accordance with its weight — from 15 to 30 lbs. a day. Roots should be used, however, in conjunction with meal and potatoes when supplied to fattening pigs, but for store stock a few handfuls of hard grain or meal would suffice. In this case they may be used with liberality, but never boiled. Forage Crops Pig-farming on grass and green forage is referred to in another chapter, but it must be admitted that we have been slow in this work, while the Ameri- cans have been pursuing it for many years, If grass proves — as it does — such an important aid to the pig, clover must do the same, as this forage forms part of all good pastures. Clover, lucerne, sainfoin, 108 BRITISH PIGS vetches and trifolium are all excellent pig-foods, capable of maintaining robust health and condition in the store pig when supplemented by a small addi- tion of cereal grain, and of assisting in the fatting of young stock which are liberally fed upon them. A material difference between feeding upon succu- lent forage and ground cereal corn is only one of degree. The richness of the grain is met by the supply of a smaller quantity of food, while the presence of water in the forage or the roots supplied necessitates the provision of a larger quantity of the raw food per day. I have already observed that pigs can be bred in this country to a sufficiently large extent to provide for all the pork and bacon we require. The system by means of which this result might be accomplished is chiefly identified with grazing on pasture, or folding upon forage crops grown upon the arable land. A century ago, or slightly more, British pigs were turned out to graze, living almost entirely upon grass during summer, and grass, plus acorns, beech-mast, and foods of a similar character until winter arrived, when they were kept in yards. The pig is a natural grazer, and given sufficient good grass, or forage, the well-bred stock pigs of to- day will maintain good condition with a few hand- fuls of corn between spring and autumn, and live equally well upon roots and potatoes in winter, with a similiar ration of corn. The concentrated food, whether grain pulse and cake, required in the fattening process, is extremely small in quantity. Quick-feeding pigs, having grazed for some eight or ten weeks after leaving their dam, the herbage being of a sufficiently good quality for the purpose, may be finished in sties by the employment of meal or cracked corn, such as barley or maize, with pota- toes, the last-named being given almost ad lib. Outdoor feeding in summer is at all times the best for stock pigs, which are not to be fattened. FEEDING AND FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 109 In these days, however, it is highly important to prevent pigs straying or breaking through hedges and fences which divide the land of neighbours from that of their owner, or into fields on the same farm in which crops of some value are growing. To this end it is essential to provide hurdles of sufficient strength and stability to keep them in bounds. These hurdles, made of ash, like a gate, or of osiers, like the wattles of the south of England, may be secured by stakes forced sufficiently deep into the earth to stand firm against the pressure of the pigs. The folds can be made as often as they are required, supplying each time sufficient fresh herbage for the next day, or next few days, as the case may be. The pigs require a slight shelter against the sun and the rain. To this end, suitable huts or sheds may be built upon wheels, which can be drawn from one fold to the other, when the second is ready. No bed need be made on the ground, but a bench may be con- structed in the shed, and covered with short straw, when some form of litter is desirable, which is not always the case. Under this system the pigs are at liberty, and can eat what they like, being supplied in accordance with the demands of the moment, with a few handfuls of grain per pig every day. It will be instructive to refer to a successful example of open-air feeding in Gloucestershire, the details of which were contributed by Mr. F. Peter to the Journal of the Board of Agriculture. We may first refer to the advantages of open-air feeding, fully agreeing with the points which Mr. Peter lays down : — (1) The expenditure of capital which is required for the provision of huts and hurdles was in this experiment approximately £1 per pig, although it is obvious that where other pigs follow in succession, that expenditure is reduced. (2) The grass consumed by the pigs, unlike grain 110 BRITISH PIGS and meal, costs no more at one time than another. While barley like other grain has advanced in price to an enormous extent there is no advance in the cost of grass. (3) The manure, both solid and liquid, is saved for the improvement of the soil, there being no loss whatever. (4) There is less risk of disease in the open air than in the sty, the floor and court of which is frequently soaked with manure, and unfit for pigs to lie upon. The environment of the sty, indeed in nine cases out of ten, is utterly unfit to maintain live-stock in health, whereas upon the other hand it is most liable to prove the cause of disease. (5) By feeding in the open air it is possible to maintain a much larger number of pigs than is possible in the piggeries, or pigsties, which are built upon the farm. (6) By no means the least important result of the system is the improvement of the pasture land, poor grass responding to the treatment with such liberality, that it is quickly converted into grass of high quality. It must be obvious to the pig-feeder that grass is practically a staple commodity, so far as its value is concerned, unless in the case of bad grass being improved, or good grass being allowed to go back to nature. The war has shown us that when the prices of feeding stuffs are high, the profit remaining for the advantage of the breeder, or feeder, is so small that he regards it as not worth his while to pay much attention to the industry. The larger the number of pigs, too, the greater the expense, while with a general increase there would be a definite tendency for prices to rise. If farmers still determine to keep their pigs in sties it is difficult to suggest how the number of pigs in the country can be increased, for the accommodation is quite insufficient, and FEEDING AND FUNCTIONS OF FOOD 111 landowners are not likely to lay out more capital in the extension of the buildings. Again, there is a loss of manure where pigs are kept in a sty. Only a portion of the solid excrement is saved, while most of the liquid is lost, however carefully it may be drained into some receptacle. Liquid manure, when collected in this way, rapidly changes its com- position, with the result that ammonia is lost. Last of all it may be pointed out that there is no food so healthy as grass. It is suitable for all classes of stock, and is better able to maintain health and condition than dry foods, whatever their character may be. Where forage crops, such as vetches, lucerne, sainfoin, clover, cabbage, rape, or trefoil, are grown for the purpose of feeding pigs, they may be cut and carried to the fold, and spread upon the grass as required, or the pigs may be folded upon them as in the case of the sheep. Mr. Peter pointed out, in connection with his experiments, that the number of pigs which can be maintained on pasture land, as compared with the number which may be main- tained in sties, on an equal quantity of food, is rather over 30 per cent. He finds, too, that a pig fed in a sty requires an additional 200 lbs. of barley meal, to attain the same weight as a pig which is fed upon grass. Thus, for every million pigs grazed in this way, the quantity of barley meal which is rendered available for other purposes, as compared with a million pigs fed in sties, would approximate to 100,000 tons. We come now to the results of a demonstration which was arranged by the County Council of Gloucestershire, upon poor exposed pasture on the Cotswold Hills. The pigs employed in this case were bred from a Berkshire sow and a Gloucester Old Spots boar, and they had been running upon a pasture since they were six weeks old, costing 35s. a head at the age of ten to eleven weeks. These 112 BRITISH PIGS pigs were folded on pasture grass from May 20 to August 30, and were fit for the butcher at the end of three weeks' feeding in sties. The expenditure was £l per head for hut and hurdles, 355. per pig purchased at cost price, and £4 for barley meal and sharps, while 2s. was added for rent. As each pig sold for £8, there was a profit of 43s., without allowing for interest on the capital, or for deprecia- tion of the hurdles and the hut, or on the other hand for the improved value of the pasture through the manure. The size which is recommended for a pig-hut for use in this way is 6 ft. 6 ins. by 7 ft. by 8 ft. in length. The framework of the hut should be strong, but as light as possible, hence the timber for covering the framework need not exceed an inch in thickness. CHAPTER V THE SMALL PIG-KEEPER There are large numbers of persons living on the borders of towns and in country districts who keep one or two pigs. In some cases they keep a sow, selling their litters when weaned. In others they keep one or two pigs, which they buy from a breeder with the object of fattening them for their own use, or partly for home consumption and partly for sale to their neighbours in joints after slaughter. The number of such persons might be materially increased if greater facilities were afforded for the production of food in a garden or on an allotment, or if they were better acquainted with the profitable character of this simple industry. No man with the means at his disposal of keeping a pig need be without salt pork or bacon of his own curing during any portion of the year. Many persons have no means of buying a breeding sow, but there are few who, by prudence and self-denial, are now unable to find the money to buy a young pig after weaning. Although prices are higher than before the war wages are also higher, and therefore the money is no more difficult to find than it was. The small pig-keeper can pursue one of two courses. He can get a sow and breed two litters in a year — spring and autumn — and sell them when they are weaned. He may, indeed, retain one or two of the pigs for his own use, feeding them in a separate sty, and thus adding to his resources by I 113 114 BRITISH PIGS the economical production of a part of his own food. On the other hand he may prefer not to keep a breeding sow, but to purchase one or two weaned pigs of good type for the purpose of fattening, killing them one at a time, when they have reached a weight which he finds convenient for his purpose, selling some of the joints to his neighbours, and curing the remainder for himself. Most men on such an occasion consume a part of the carcass as fresh pork, pickling another portion, such as the belly for subsequent use, and curing the remainder. The small and inexperienced pig-keeper may rest assured that if he pursues the course suggested in this book he will succeed. Failure is possible in all matters, but pig breeding and feeding is a pro- fitable industry, especially where there is no expenditure for labour, and when a proportion — and it may be a large proportion — of the food is grown on the holding. The advantage of a garden or an allotment is inestimable, for pigs cannot be fed so economically by the purchase of meal to form its whole ration, as when that ration consists chiefly of potatoes and roots, or when the sow has the liberty of a pasture and is able to find a large proportion of her food. However small the resources of an intending buyer, he should make up his mind to accept the fact that no pig will pay him so well as one of the best. She should be selected from a litter bred from a big sow of one of the large varieties, such as the Large White or the Large Black, or failing these the Tamworth, or she should be a half-bred pig, the dam having been the product of one of these breeds and the boar of another. A half-bred sow, such as a cross between the Large White and the Berkshire, is usually an estimable servant, but she should be crossed for the production of a litter by a pure-bred boar of one of the large breeds. It is highly important that a young sow, picked from a THE SMALL PIG-KEEPER 115 litter, should have been born at the right time of the year, and particularly in the month of March. The reason is this : every sow should produce two litters in a year, preferably in March and September, other- wise the autumn pigs are too late to thrive well before the cold weather arrives. Thus a pig born in March will be ready for producing her first litter in the March succeeding that of her birth, and so all will go well. Where pigs are bred in a large way as a business, it is advisable that a young sow should not produce her first litter until autumn of the following year, this giving her time to mature : for it naturally follows that a sow put to a boar when she is eight months old is not able to develop so perfectly as she would do if this course was not pursued until she had reached the age of a year. As already observed a double demand is made upon her system, for she is required not only to maintain herself while still growing and maturing, but to maintain the young pigs which she carries. A sow may be kept in part on a pasture as described in a previous chapter, particularly during the summer months; or if, for reasons of space and accommo- dation, she must be kept in a sty, she should be fed as much as possible in the summer upon grass and green forage, with some potatoes and midd- lings, and in winter upon middlings, potatoes and roots. Where potatoes, roots, and green forage are sufficiently abundant there is of necessity a considerable reduction in the meal she requires, and so money is saved. Assuming that a sow re- quires from 3 to 4 lbs. of meal per day in accordance with her size, it follows that if potatoes are available, and that 3 to 4 lbs. of potatoes are equal to 1 lb. of meal, those produced in the garden will pro- portionately reduce the quantity of meal which has to be purchased. The small breeder's pig should be kept in a warm, dry, well-ventilated sty, with a sound dry floor and 116 BRITISH PIGS good drainage. She should be fed at regular hours upon mixed food, never suddenly changed, and kept thoroughly clean. Where a small breeder keeps a sow and sells a large proportion of his litters, retain- ing one or two for feeding for pork or bacon, he requires two sties, and he will find that two pigs are better adapted to thrive than one, for a single pig often mopes. Quick fattening is important. It has been shown in the carcass competitions at Smithfield that well-bred pigs kept under the best conditions are ready for killing as porkers in 15 to 16 weeks, whereas the majority of pig-keepers feeding their stock in the same way are not able to turn out similar pigs under 18 or 20 weeks. And so it is with the bacon pig. In all cases the small pig- keeper should avoid the dealer in selling his litters. These men have to make their business pay, and in buying pigs from one man to sell to another, they take a respectable profit, involving some which ought to be retained by the breeder himself. Nor is it advisable to send a litter to market. There is always the risk of disease by contamination, and whether the pigs are sold or not, there is always something to pay. If a small breeder starts with a first-class sow, he soon obtains a reputation, and is able to sell his pigs one or two at a time, if not all, at much greater profit to himself than if he sent them to the market, or called in a dealer. In order to obtain a good litter from a well-bred sow, some pains should be taken to ascertain where the use of a good boar can be had, and at what cost. The boar should be of a large breed, or, if the sow is exceptionally large, a Middle White boar should be used or even a Berkshire : for it is important to remark that the size of a litter is governed more by the size of the sow than that of the boar. There need be no fear of loss if the suggestions which have been made are strictly carried out. The small pig- keeper, however, should make a point of obtaining THE SMALL PIG-KEEPER 117 information from those who have greater experience than himself, and if he can ascertain what practice is followed by a large and experienced breeder of good stock he will constantly add to his knowledge. Another point to remember is, that the man who feeds his own pigs for slaughter should cut up the carcass himself. We venture to say from our own experience that a man who watches a butcher kill, dress, and cut up a pig on two occasions would be able to follow his example, and do it for himself If he will but trust himself. There is nothing more im- portant in economical feeding than the practice of growing a large proportion of the food in the garden or upon the allotment. The best foods are potatoes, as already observed, carrots, parsnips, artichokes, and swedes, all of which have considerable feeding value, able not only to supply a very large propor- tion of the ration for a sow, but of fatting pigs as well. CHAPTER VI THE PIGGERY AND ITS EQUIPMENT There are no structures in relation to live-stock which vary in their character, so far as relates to their form, size and construction, as the home of the pig. There are large breeders who pay great attention to the subject who have built piggeries of a particular form. They are made of brick, with a tiled roof, a passage down the centre and sties on either side, the troughs opening from the passage referred to for convenience in feeding. The sties vary in size in accordance with the require- ments of a sow and her litter, or of a number of young pigs which are put up to fatten. At one end of the building there is usually a food room in which the meal, which is kept in bins, is prepared or cooked, as occasion requires. Under these cir- cumstances the pigs can all be fed under cover during all weathers. They are, however, always confined to the inner sty and the outer court into which the sty leads. Each court and sty is entered from a door or gate built in the wall of the former. In some cases the pigs are fed from the outside, the trough being built in the wall of the court adjoining the gate. But this plan is unpractical, involving exposure to rain, or to any other excep- tional weather. Pig-sties built upon a smaller scale are much more numerous throughout the country, and they vary from the small wooden structure of the labourer to the more substantial building with 118 THE PIGGERY AND ITS EQUIPMENT 119 two or three sties and courts which obtain on so many farms. A pig-sty should be built to face the south, on high ground, to facilitate drainage and to secure warmth. The floor should be of concrete, or black fire bricks grouted in cement, preferably sloping from the sides to the centre, where an open but quite shallow drain is provided to carry off the liquid excreta. Floors constucted in this way facilitate cleanliness, as they can be flushed with water at all times and kept clean. As pigs are subject to swine fever and other fatal diseases which entail heavy losses the importance of clean- liness will be obvious. The building should be constructed of brick, with a tiled roof, which is warmer than slate, and fixed sufficiently high to enable the feeder to enter the sty from the door leading from the court. In all cases where the structure is substantially built the troughs should be approached under cover and built at the back of the sty itself, so that they can be filled or cleaned at all times. Drainage from both sty and court should be so arranged that the liquid can be carried outside of the building into a drain which is made for the purpose, and which is connected with the drainage of the farm, or with the liquid manure tank in which it can be saved for use on the land. Some pig-feeders make a practice of providing a wooden bench on which the pigs can lie embedded in a small quantity of straw, although straw is not always regarded as imperative. This makes a warm bed, and being porous it has its disad- vantages, for it easily becomes saturated with urine, or tainted with manure. Pigs are, however, as a rule too cleanly to soil the bed on which they lie, and those who have adopted the bench system are strongly in favour of its use. A sty in which a sow is kept for breeding purposes should be provided on three sides at least with a rail fixed 120 BRITISH PIGS about nine inches from the wall, and at a height of ten to twelve inches from the floor. This rail may be made of tubular iron or of wood, with the object of protecting the young pigs of the litter from being crushed against the wall when the sow is lying down. This plan will commend itself to all practical men. In a permanent structure, such as those to which we have referred, the troughs should be fixed in the wall at the back of the sty as already sug- gested, and adjoining the passage. Above it hangs a gate upon hinges, which swings backwards and forwards, so that the feeder is enabled, by the aid of the bolts at the bottom, to fill the trough at feeding time, without the interference of the pigs. When it is pushed back and the bolts are shut down on the inner side of the trough, the trough is open to the passage and can be filled at will. When filled, the gate is pulled forward towards the passage, and the bolt shut on the outer side that the pigs may be enabled to feed. Troughs are made of various types — of wood, iron, and fire-clay. A wooden trough should be made of oak, finely planed and lined with pitch at the joints, and then painted or tarred. As, however, there must be an angle at the bottom, this trough is apt to get foul, while the food is easily wasted. Home-made troughs of this description are un- economical in all senses of the word. Iron troughs are made in various forms. Some are made long- wise with half-round bottoms with or without a vertical back. A trough of the last type permits the pigs to feed only from the front, whereas where there is no such back they can feed from both sides at one time. It is much wiser to provide two or three troughs for a number of pigs to feed together than one, however large that one may be. The disadvantage of an iron trough, unless it is fixed, is that it is easily turned over and fractured. THE PIGGERY AND ITS EQUIPMENT 121 It may be mentioned, however, that a fractured or broken iron trough can be utilised if it is built in the floor, and laid in cement, so that the fracture affords no opportunity for the leakage of the food. Some makers manufacture a round iron trough for the provision of food for the little pigs of a litter. These troughs have a number of divisions which are fixed from the side to the centre, so that no two pigs can feed between the same two bars, and all are thereby enabled to obtain a fair chance of the food. We have found in actual practice that the best form of trough is that made of fire-clay. These are glazed, easily cleaned, and cannot be turned over by the strongest pig, owing to their great weight. They are made to provide the food for one, two, three, or four pigs, bars being fixed in those of the largest size to prevent strong pigs pushing the weaker ones away. Since the more extensive introduction of the open-air system of feeding, in which pigs are permitted to graze at liberty, or are confined to a portion of pasture, surrounded by hurdles, movable houses of various types have been made. So far, however, I have not come across one example of a structure which is really first-class. A movable pig- gery must of necessity be constructed of iron or of wood. Where they are intended only for summer use, iron will be found suitable for the work, and owing to its lightness and adaptability as a cover for the roof it can be used for the purpose intended. Between May and October, pigs may be kept on the land, but they should not have their liberty, and they should always carry rings in their noses. When a grass plot is marked off, it should be surrounded by movable hurdles, made of stout iron, and such as the pigs cannot pass through. The house in this case will be a mere sleeping place, in which they can lie warm and dry during the night, a bench being provided for the purpose, 122 , BRITISH PIGS owing to the fact that after heavy rain the ground is usually damp. Straw need not be used in such cases as this. When the whole question of a piggery is considered, it resolves itself into the provision of a warm substantial structure, which can be used to keep the pigs dry and warm in all weathers. It should, therefore, be built for winter protection rather than for summer. If we add to these conditions ventilation and light, we shall obtain all that the pigs require, conditional upon the drainage system being as perfect as possi- ble, and the feeding arrangements practical and satisfactory. E- K CHAPTER VII SLAUGHTERING — BACON AND HAMS Breeders and feeders, as a rule, prefer to sell their pigs on their feet, either to the dealer, or in the open market, whether by auction or not. In most cases this practice is a necessity, although there are some who slaughter their stock at home, or send it to the London or other large market for sale through a salesman who, on application, sends them baskets for the purpose. This plan we have tried, but never repeated, owing to the thoroughly unsatisfactory nature of the transactions. The weight of a cold carcase on leaving the farm is discounted on arrival at the salesman's store, while the price paid may be at any time less than the price quoted : practically never more. Slaughtering Small pig-keepers will be well advised to slaughter at home as far as possible. A week before the event orders may be frequently obtained from neighbours and other customers for joints, assuming that one pig is to be killed at a time. One buyer may prefer a loin, another a leg, a third the fry, for which there is usually a demand, while others will buy a portion of the belly for pickling, and pay retail prices, which makes all the difference 123 124 BRITISH PIGS to the feeder when he compares them with the wholesale prices of the day. Let us suppose that a pig produces sides which weigh 70 lbs. each, and that the back, hams, and belly are sold as suggested. There would probably be 25 to 30 lbs. remaining, partly for consumption in a fresh condition, and partly for curing, the second side being treated in the same way. For slaughtering at home a small equipment is necessary: a tub for scalding, a trestle upon which to lay the carcass, a butcher's knife, a gambrel, an implement for scraping off the hair after scalding, a hook and pulley, and a structure comprising two posts with a cross-piece at the top upon which the carcass is to be slung. Whether a butcher is to be employed or not, the pig is usually caught in his sty with a noose of fine cord, which is slipped over the upper jaw, and drawn tight behind the tusks. The animal, drawn or driven near the scalding tub, is stuck in the throat, this requiring some practice to be efficient, and allowed to bleed, when he is laid upon the trestle, and subsequently moved into the boiling water for scalding. For large pigs this water should be at a temperature of 175° F., or for small pigs from 20 to 30 degrees less. If it is too hot, it discolours the skin, and this is a point of importance where the carcass is sold. In two or three minutes the hair is removed by well scraping — and the back of a knife may be used for the purpose in the absence of anything better- — together with the nails on the toes, when the pig is removed, and laid upon the trestle, in order that the skin may be perfectly cleaned, and washed with a bucket of water. The main cords of the hind legs are then severed below the hock joint, when the gambrel is inserted, the hock attached to the pulley lowered, and the pig hauled up to a convenient height for opening. The carcass is then cut right through SLAUGHTERING— BACON AND HAMS 125 the belly to a point between the hind legs, the interior organs removed, and the " pluck " placed in clean water, when the carcass is once more swilled inside and out, and if all is complete, left until the next day to cool before which it should not be cut up. The head and feet are then removed and the pig divided into two sides, and subse- quently cut into joints in accordance with the practice of the locality, if it is to be cut up at all. Pigs should not be slaughtered in warm weather. The best periods are autumn and early spring, and the weights for the best type of bacon pig 160 to 190 lbs. Some farmers prefer to feed pigs intended for human consumption to much greater weights, especially where the housekeeper desires plenty of lard, but the greater the weight the greater the cost of production, as observed in a previous chapter. Before slaughter the pig should be fasted for twenty-four hours. Curing Although farmers' wives frequently prefer their own methods of salting and curing, we may mention one or two simple practices with which we are personally acquainted, and can, therefore, strongly recommend. There is no one unique system, ex- cept in a factory, where brine, usually mixed with boraoic acid, is pumped into the carcass. We have had the advantage of inspecting some of the best factories in England and Ireland, and have become closely acquainted with the subject. It is a good plan in home-curing to cut up the pig in accordance with the joints required, and, with the exception of the ham, to remove all the bones. It is con- venient to employ a pickling tray, about 4 feet 126 BRITISH PIGS in length and 2| feet in width, in which the car- cass of one pig can be laid. The pieces of meat are laid skin downwards, and well rubbed with thoroughly dry fine salt mixed with a little salt- petre, and some sugar. A pig of medium size will require 18 to 20 lbs. of salt with 1 lb. of salt- petre and 3 lbs. of sugar. The curing-room should be at a temperature of about 42° F. At the com- mencement each piece of meat should be well rubbed with the salt and saltpetre mixed together, by a man, and we say this advisedly. Brine will form within twenty-four hours, and on the following day this may be poured over the meat, which may be rubbed again with some fresh salt, and left with the layer upon it. On the third day, after an equally good rubbing, the joints may be turned, the meat, without regard to the skin, lying in the brine. The thickest parts of the meat, especially near the bone of the ham, should be rubbed more thoroughly, and the brine introduced, to soak inwards, but all cores or blood vessels should be removed. On the third or fourth day brown sugar may be rubbed in with the salt, and especially into the lean portion of the meat, which it assists in curing, and improves in flavour. At the end of ten to twelve days, small to medium sized carcasses will be cured, where mild bacon is required, but if the bacon has to be kept for a considerable time, it should be salted nearly a week longer. After removal from the trough, and drying with a cloth, the joints may be hung up for a day and then weighed before they are sent to the smoker to be smoked. Before salting commences, the entire carcass intended for curing should be weighed, so that with the assistance of the second weighing, and a third weighing after return from the smoking, facts will be known which will assist the curer in arriving at the cost SLAUGHTERING— BACON AND HAMS 127 of the bacon. Taking the average of pigs in the process referred to, and assuming that the carcass weighs about 75 per cent, of the pig, it will be found that about 25 lbs. will be lost in the pro- cesses of earing and smoking, where the weight of the pig is from 150 to 175 lbs. If, for example, a pig weighs 160 lbs. alive, and 120 lbs. in the carcass, and then loses 20 lbs. in curing and smoking, there will be 100 lbs. of meat in the two sides. If, as in normal times, the original carcass was worth 4s. a stone, or Qd. a pound, the gross value would be £4, including the head, " pluck," and the offal. If, however, the bacon is worth Is. a pound on the average, it would return £5 instead of £4, so that money will be gained by the practice of converting the fresh meat into bacon and hams. These facts and assumptions will assist the pig-keeper in arriving at a knowledge of the best method of selling his pigs. We must .not, however, lose sight of the fact that if the carcass can be sold as it is to customers it may pay equally as well as though it were cured. The figures on the next page, which were prepared at the commencement of the war, by the Danish Bacon Company, are intended to show what prices are obtained for the different joints of a side of pig, costing Ills, per cwt., or about Is. a pound. It will be noticed that the highest prices are realised by the back and the corner, the lowest applying to the hocks, which but a few years ago were sold at 5|d. a pound. As the price of the side increases or diminishes, the cost of the various joints are altered accordingly, and so the feeder — like the buyer — can tell what to charge for a cut of a side of bacon which he cures for sale, the side in this case being of prime quality. 128 BRITISH PIGS SMOKED SIDE WEIGHING 2 QRS. 7 LBS. 5 lbs. 5 lbs. 2 lbs. 2 lbs. 3 lbs. 4 lbs. 3 lbs. lib. 2 lbs. 4 lbs. 4 lbs. lib. 2 lbs. 5 lbs. 4 lbs. 3 lbs. 6 lbs. 12 oz. 4 oz. 7 oz. Ooz. 8oz. 12 oz. Ooz. 15 oz. 6oz. 12 oz. Ooz. 13 oz. 6 oz. 6 oz. Ooz. 14 oz. Ooz. Back Back Long Back Oyster Back . Top Bibs Back Prime Streaky Thin . . . Top Streaky . Elank . Collar . Collar . Slipper . Throat . Hock . Corner . Gammon Rasher Gammon Hook at 1/4 per lb. , at 1/2 per lb. , at 1/4 per lb. . at -/ll per lb. at -/ll per lb. at 1/1 per lb. at -/ll per lb. at 1/- per lb. at -/10 per lb. at 1/- per lb. at -/ll per lb. at -/ll per lb. at -/9 per lb. at -/8 per lb. at 1/3 per lb. at 1/2 per lb. at -/7£ per lb. 7 8 6 1J 3 3 1 10 3 2£ 5 2 2 9 1 11* 2 4 9 8 8 »i 7 61 9 Total : 2 qrs, 7 lbs. 3 oz. realises . Averages 111/- per cwt. £3 2 CHAPTER VIII THE SIMPLER DISEASES OF THE PIG Although this chapter is intended to discuss briefly the simpler diseases of the pig, some reference must be made to the great scourge known as Swine Fever. It is this disease which has con- tributed very largely to the diminution of our pig population, deterring by its vicious character large numbers of farmers from breeding or feeding pigs at all. As we, like others, have suffered from its depredations, we are only too cognisant of the loss involved by an attack. Swine fever breaks out without any warning, and it is generally difficult to determine in what way contagion was. effected. It may be useful to remark that in our own case it was attributed to the fact that a. waggon was sent for a load of straw to a neigh- bouring farm, on which the disease was rampant. Whether the virus was brought on the feet of the men or the horses, or the wheels of the waggon, which passed into the yard near the piggery, is a matter of question, but no other source could be discovered. The first symptoms of swine fever are a refusal of the pigs to feed — although thirst is always marked — or to rise from their bed. There is some shivering, and dullness of the eyes, which become gradually more changed until they are sunken. The skin, which exhibits red, and sometimes black, K 129 130 BRITISH PIGS patches, is hot and tender, while diarrhoea of a disgusting character, the faeces sometimes exhibit- ing blood, is also a more or less prevalent symptom. To prevent the introduction of this disease, the pigs should never be removed from the farm, nor should a pig from any other source be brought on to the farm without previous isolation. There can be no disease without contagion, hence the import- ance of carrying out this suggestion to the full. It is needless to say that the sty and the court should be clean to a fault, and that immediately an animal is noticed to be unfit it should be re- moved, isolated, and watched, and the sty at once swilled down with water in which carbolic acid, or some other equally powerful disinfectant, has been mixed. It is important to at once call in an inspector and notify the presence of the disease directly it is discovered. Should a pig be in a bad way it should be slaughtered at once, and buried in quicklime, to prevent all possible danger in the future. Foot and Mouth Disease is another dangerous disease of the pig, and it is only essential to remark that it seldom occurs, and as we write is unknown in the country. Directly this disease appears, action is taken by the Board of Agriculture, and the advice issued should at once be followed by all pig -keepers Husk is not a disease, but a physical trouble, caused by the presence of living organisms in the passages that lead to the lungs. The pig coughs continually and sometimes discharges a frothy mucus from the nose. It fails to eat as usual, and gradually loses flesh, but is continually drinking. The most permanent remedy is that of fumigation, the object being to destroy, or rather to kill, the DISEASES OF THE PIG 131 organisms without killing the pig. To this end the pig is enclosed in a small space, which should be almost air-tight, and which is fumigated by- burning sulphur upon a hot plate. The pig must be watched to learn how far it can bear the sulphur fumes. If the coughing becomes violent it should be released at once and brought into the air. The food should be liberal, and include porridge made with skim milk, and a little linseed meal, with some salt. It has also been recommended that a small dose — from half to one teaspoonful of tur- pentine — should be given daily. Inflammation of the Lungs. — When a pig is breathing with difficulty, and a yellow mucus discharging from the nose, this disease may be suspected, especially if there is a high tempera- ture, and the shivering which accompanies it. The complaint frequently follows exposure, especially in the case of delicate pigs, or pigs which are badly fed, and which lie upon a damp floor. The food should be good and tempting, the sty warm, and the bed liberally made with straw. In a bad case there is little hope of recovery, but in the early stages warmth, the application of mustard, mixed with turpentine, to the chest — and it should be well rubbed in — will help a pig as the best form of treatment. I refrain from suggesting any medical remedy, believing it to be much better for the owner of a pig in a case of this character to apply to a veterinary surgeon. Medicines which are so frequently suggested in books cannot possibly apply to pigs of all ages and constitutions, and they usually need modification in accordance with the conditions as they are observed by the specialist. During winter pigs are frequently attacked with Rheumatism and Cramp. This is frequently due 132 BRITISH PIGS to late farrowing and to their incapacity — owing to their tenderness and youth — to cope with the rigours of the weather. Cold, imperfectly constructed sties, draughts, wet damp floors, all contribute to cause these complaints, as well as to emphasise them when they appear. Some- times the hind-quarters are apparently half para- lysed, or difficult to move. There may, too, be tenderness in the joints. One of the best remedies is freedom for young pigs, which in their exercise cause the blood to flow freely through their system, and to keep them warm and healthy. The limbs may be well rubbed with a mixture of oil, mustard, and turpentine, in the proportion of two, one, and three parts. The bowels should be kept open, if necessary by the administration of an ounce of Epsom salts, but green food will help, and where the ration consists of cereal or pulse meal it should be amply supplemented by roots or green succulent food. Diarrhoea in the pig is an unfortunate com- plaint when the animal is young, for even though it is cured quickly there is a loss of flesh and delay in the process of feeding. This complaint may be caused by impure food or water, by dirty troughs or a dirty sty, or even by careless, indifferent, or irregular feeding. In bad cases a pig becomes prostrate to such an extent that recovery is im- possible. Old pig-keepers are accustomed to put soot in the food, but in ordinary cases the best remedy is a dose of castor oil, varying from one to three ounces, in accordance with the size of the pig, this being administered in the gruel or slop with which it is supplied. When Worms are noticed in the excrement of the pig they should be removed at once by the DISEASES OF THE PIG 133 administration of two or three grains of santonin, given some time before food. This remedy may be repeated in three days' time, and again in four days more if the trouble still remains. Worms are a frequent cause of simple diarrhoea, malnutrition, and a consequent loss of weight and general ill- health. Printed in Grkat Britain by Richard Clay & Sons, Limited, brunswick st., stamford st., s.b. 1, and bungay, suffolk- SPECIAL STOCK REGISTERS FOR PIGS No. 1. PIGS. REGISTER OF SOWS AND THEIR PRO- DUCTION, for 50 sows. Complete with Index. Post free, 2s. No. 2. PIGS. REGISTER OF EAR NUMBERS. (100 pages.) Will keep record of 1000 pigs. Post free, 2s. No. 3. PIGS. REGISTER OF SERVICE DATES, showing name of sow, name of boar used, date of service, three weeks' time, six weeks' time, and date due to farrow. Complete with Pig-breeders' Table, showing date due to farrow from service on any day in the year. Post free, 2s. No. 4. PIGS. REGISTER OF PEDIGREE CERTIFICATES, compiled for giving a pedigree certificate with an animal when sold and retaining a duplicate copy in the book. 400 Certificates and Duplicates, post free, 17s. 6d. 200 „ „ „ 10s. 100 >. „ „ 7s. COMPILED AND PUBLISHED BY— W. HALLAS, Helsby, via Warrington. THE MIDDLETON HALL TAMWORTHS TAMWORTHS (Pedigree Red) IN-PIG SOWS SERVICE AND YOUNG BOARS AND GILTS Bred from Prize-winners EXCELLENT STOCK FOR DISPOSAL. Prices Moderate. ^A>6-EGBERT DE HAMEL, Middleton Hall, Tamworth. ^m^mm^mm^ MIDDLETON M'BEGA— Second, pen of 2, Bath & W., 1909 ; First, pen of 3, Stafford- » shire, 1909; First, R.A.S.E., Liverpool, 1910 ; First, Staffordshire Leek, 1910. §S Happy, Healthy ^ Heavy M RADIAN U&-S ~>)%fc\ DfWDERS, PowoKns 7S ditto. 1/2: dm. zi*. ,144 ditto. Sit.' All Po«f- Free. / lN-Botk-mTiwa2^ ,J> Sole-Miraufasfuwr. fSfift tegWillsott, PETERBOBC?, JEROME, MRS., Bilton Hall, Tockwith, Yorks. PEDIGREE JERSEYS Heifers and young Bulls for Sale. JEROME, MRS., Bilton Hall, Tockwith, Yorks. PEDIGREE MIDDLE WHITE PIGS Prize-winners. Gilts and young Boars for Sale. BY THE AUTHOR OF THIS BOOK Crown 8vo. Price 5s. (inland postage 4d.)i THE ART OF HEALTH By JAMES LONG Author of " Pood and Fitness" " The Coming Englishman" " Making the Most of the Land" " The Story of the Farm" etc. Member of the Small Holdings Committee ; late Member of the Executive Committee of the Central Chamber of Agriculture ; formerly Professor in the Royal Agricultural College, and Chairman of the London Dairy Show. Danish and Dutch Medallist f I ''HE success of "Food and Fitness" has induced the author, who has been engaged for thirty years in a study of the feeding of the live stock of the farm, in relation both to science and practice, to prepare a second volume on the subject of Diet in relation to Health. Owing to some years of ill-health he was induced to make a similar study with regard to the feeding of man. The result of changing his diet was almost immediate, and mental and physical vitality, which were regarded as hopeless, were once more restored. Believing both from a careful examination of the subject of food, and from actual experience now of some years' duration, that where less is consumed, and that of a more suitable character, and where there is a sound practical recognition of the laws of Hygiene, health may be regained by thousands who are not suffering from organic disease — and improved in those who are — and that life may be prolonged from the existing average of forty-three to seventy years — he places his views before the public. CHAPMAN AND HALL, LTD., LONDON, W.C.