jSF 1973 j4o '; . -. Cornell University Library SF 973.G46 Pig in health and how to avoid swine fev 3 1924 003 340 860 (Somen WLmvmity jSitafg BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME FROM THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND THE GIFT OF Hcnrg W. Sage 1891 .fMkiffL 9963 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/cu31924003340860 i 7 ? f C5. U-' a. c5 • O W H Ph i— i H w M o t* H W EH PIG IN HEALTH tAnd how to avoid Swine Fever By Sir WALTER GILBEY, Bart. Author of The Great Horse or War Horse; Small Horses in Warfare; Horse-Breeding in England and Army Horses Abroad ; Horses Past and Present ; Young Race-Horses ; The Harness Horse ; Thoroughbred and other Ponies; Hunter Sires; Colour of Horses ; Poultry Keeping on Farms and Small Holdings, &c. VINTON & CO., London ~ho[ 5F 7 / Qs^L CONTENTS I'AGK The Recent Increase of Swine-Fever . . . . i ■ CHAPTER I. —Wild Swine in England — Conformation of Wild and Domestic Swink 3 Habits of the Wilt} Pig' , . . . . . . , 4 Forest Swine . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Intelligence of the Pig 5 CHAPTER II. — Old Authors' Accounts of Pig Keeping, Feeding and Breeding .. .. .. .. 8 CHAPTER III. —Various Breeds of Pigs 14 CHAPTER IV. —Diseases of Swine in the Olden Time . . . . 20 CHAPTER V. —Swine-Fever 24 The Losses Sustained . . . . . . . . 25 A New Disease of Swine . . . . . . . . 28 Farmers and the Swine-Fever Regulations 28 CHAPTER VI. —Modern Swine-Keeping CHAPTER VII. —Housing of Swine The Sty CHAPTER VIII. —Selection and Feeding 34 36 44 ILLUSTRATIONS Thic Yorkshire Hog A Pig Pointer Chinese Cross-Bred Pig .. Mr. William "White's Large Hog .. Map of Essex . . Shkds for Store Pigs Formed by Old Railway Sleepers .Single Pig Sty .. ,. .. Sty for Sow and Pigs . . i J AGii . . Frontisj iece . , Facing 7 . , Facing 17 . . Facing 18 3° 39 4i 43 The Recent Increase of Swine-Fever The sudden increase in the number of swine-fever cases reported in 1906, after the steady decrease in prevalence of the disease during several previous years, has once more attracted attention to the subject discussed in the following pages. It is now acknowledged that the symptoms of swine- fever are much more difficult to detect than was formerly thought to be the case, and perhaps the occurrence of mistakes in diagnosis influenced the autho'rities in their decision to relax the regulations under which such pro- gress towards stamping out the disease had been made. Farmers have been exceedingly prompt to report illuess when it appeared among their animals, and, naturally enough, many of the outbreaks of illness brought to the notice of authorities have proved due to some cause other than the dreaded swine-fever. No fewer than 9,147 suspected cases were reported in 1904, and of these only 1,196 turned out to be cases of fever. It is not wonderful that mistakes should often be made in diagnosing disease in an animal when we remember that many similar mistakes are made in respect of a disease so well-known to the medical faculty as scarlet fever. In 1904 some 21,000 patients were admitted to the hospitals of the Metropolitan Asylums Board, and in nearly 2,000 of these cases the event proved that the patient was not suffering from scarlet fever at all ! If so large a proportion of error is made by doctors in diagnosing disease when their patients can help them by describing their feelings, it is not surprising if farmers make mistakes in naming the malady from which their swine are suffering. On one point all are agreed, namely, that swine kept under healthy conditions are far less liable to disease than those which are not well cared for; and, in considering how we may best succeed in keeping our domestic animals in health, we cannot attach too much importance to their habits in a wild state. Though, by careful breeding and maintenance, we have gradually changed the natural beast into one more or less artificial, we cannot escape from the fact that the natural existence of any wild animal is the healthiest. CHAPTER I. WILD SWINE IN ENGLAND Conformation of Wild and Domestic Swine Domestication and improvement produce changes in the size and conformation, and, to a great extent, in the constitution of an animal; and these changes sometimes compel change of habit. To none of our farm animals does this remark' apply more forcibly than to the pig. If we compare the wild boar with the most representative of modern improved pigs — say the Berkshire — we find the differences between the two so striking that it is hard to believe that one is descended from the other. The longer legs, thinner and narrower body and longer snout of the wild boar distinguish it at once from the short-legged, round-bodied and short-snouted domestic pig. The process of converting the pig from an animal that depended, for its living, on the power to travel great distances, to root deeply and to furrow the soil with its snout, and, for its safety, on the ability to push a way rapidly through tangled underwood, into one whose sole business is to lay on meat has brought about these remarkable changes in its conformation. The long legs, useless in the bacon hog, have become stunted. The high, narrow carcase has become low and rounded. The long snout, so perfectly adapted for rooting up the soil, has been almost bred out of the improved pig as a feature worse than useless. An authority on swine has recently remarked that the modern Berkshire, were he turned out to find his own living ( would die of inanition before he developed a snout long enough to procure him a sufficiency of food. Habits of the Wild Pig There is, probably, no animal more widely distributed than the pig. We find one species or another in nearly every country throughout the world, saving only in regions remarkable for the coldness of their climate. The habits of wild swine are everywhere much the same. Haunting woodlands by day, they emerge from cover at night to seek roots and vegetables, or to invade the corn or rice fields and sugar plantations, in which they do enormous damage. The wild pig is naturally a clean feeder, subsisting almost entirely upon a vegetable diet. Given a sufficiency of such food, it does not seek flesh. Carrion is only consumed under pressure of hunger. The wild sow is less prolific than the tame ; she brings forth one litter a year. Goldsmith, in his " History of the Earth and Animated Nature," suggests that this is because she is " probably exhausted by rearing her former numerous progeny." Although the author of " The Deserted Village " was no naturalist, there can be little doubt but that the wild litter suck the mother for a longer period than they are allowed to do in a state of domestication. The young are said to continue to herd with the dam for three years. The boars leave their mother when they reach maturity, and thenceforward, except in the pairing season, lead solitary lives. The courage of the wild boar is proverbial ; while he does not seek danger, he confronts the most formidable foe with dauntless bravery and fights to the last. 5 Forest Swine In early times, when this country was still largely covered by forest, wild swine were numerous. William Fitzstephen, in his " Description of London," written about the year 1191, says that north of the city lay "an immense forest full of the lairs of beasts and game ; stags, bucks, boars and wild bulls." Judging by the remains which have been found in Briton, wild swine must have been extremely numerous in remote times. As the country was brought under cultivation their numbers gradually decreased ; but there is evidence to show that some remained in Lancashire as recently as 1617. They had then, however, become rare. Having regard to the methods of pig-keeping in vogue during early times, it seems certain that the domestic swine of our ancestors must for a long period have interbred with the wild stock from which the best authorities hold they originally descended. Intelligence of the Pig Though the intelligence of the pig is hardly a matter which comes within the purview of this book, it may be worth devoting a few lines to the subject. Thompson * gives a most interesting account of the manner in which swine, both wild and tame, combine to defend themselves and their young when attacked by wolves ; the methods adopted display no small sagacity and power of co- operation. In ancient days, when swine were fed in woods and wastes, the herd called them to follow him out in the morning and home in the evening with a blast on his bugle. * " Passions of Animals." A few years ago an account of the German swineherd's methods was given in the Field * by a visitor to Rothenbuch, in Southern Bavaria. He says : — Each morning of my stay in the village I saw the pigs rush out of their sties at the sound of a bugle and collect at one end of the village preparatory to accompanying the herdsman to that part of the forest which was then open to grazing ; and in the evening back they all came, apparently quite as eager to get back to their sties as they had been in the morning to leave them, each pig scampering straight home to its own sty and displaying an amount of sense quite out of keeping with one's ordinary idea of a pig's mental capacity . The pig's intelligence is displayed in much more decided fashion in some parts of Italy. Mr. F. V. Darbyshire, of Balliol College, Oxford, sent to the Zoologist t an account of the manner in which he saw pigs employed to do the work of sheep dogs when he was staying at Gavinana, near Pistoia. There the peasants dwelling on the Apennines possess large tracts of chestnut forest, and some have flocks of sheep. Unable to afford good dogs to aid them in shepherding their flocks, they employ pigs of a small mountain breed ; these, he states, are as clever as dogs in keeping the sheep together and preventing them from straying. The pig's nose is remarkably keen, and its scenting powers, as is well known, are turned to account in France by men who pursue the calling of truffle hunters. Though by no means of shape that would commend them as bacon-pigs, these animals are invaluable for the work required of them. They learn the business very quickly ; if taken in hand when young, four or five lessons are said to suffice to teach the animal what it is expected to do — * 8th July, 1899. + 1889. fe s N ■<; u r § u *< £ P3 a; H o H 0) S=i i— i O i ^ Ph c& bn i— i ■1 Ph ft g O to namely, to discover the presence of truffles a few inches below the soil. The pig roots about from place to place, thrusting its snout deep into the soil at intervals, while the owner follows. When the pig scents truffles it utters a cry, and is promptly rewarded by a handful of grain. Swine, the truffle hunters maintain, have greater staying- power than dogs, and are therefore preferred for this work. One of the most remarkable examples of intelligence in the pig is the famous case of the " pig pointer," in the New Forest. This was a black sow which, within the space of a fortnight, was taught by the King's keepers- two brothers named Toomer — to find game, point and back almost as well as a pointer. An interesting account of this animal will be found in Binge's " Memoirs of British Quadrupeds," to which work Sir Henry St. John Mildmay, who ultimately acquired her, contributed it. The sow's nose was exceedingly good ; she stood well to partridge, pheasant, black game, snipe and rabbit, but never pointed hares. A contemporary engraving, from the Sporting Magazine, is reproduced on the opposite page. Mr. Stephen Harding sent Dr. Romanes an account of an incident he observed himself on 15th November, 1879 :— I saw an intelligent sow pig about 12 months old, running in an orchard, go to a young apple tree and, shaking it, pricking her ears at the same time as if to listen to hear the apples fall. She then picked the apples up and ate them. After they were all down she shook the tree again and listened, but as there were no more to fall she went away. The, cleverness with which pigs open the fastenings of gates has been frequently observed, though the mischief which follows the proceeding perhaps blinds the farmer to the intelligence displayed by his swine. CHAPTER II. OLD AUTHORS' ACCOUNTS OF PIG-KEEPING There is abundant evidence in history to show that their swine were the most valuable stock possessed by our ancestors. In autumn and winter it was usual to drive the herds into the woods and keep them there for weeks together, to feed on the beechmast, acorns, haws and similar forest produce. The importance of the pig in the rural economy of old days is shown by the fact that men who dwelt on the outskirts of a royal forest enjoyed the right to depasture their swine therein for fifty days in each year — viz., for ten days before Michaelmas and for forty days after, the season when acorns, mast, &c, &c, would lie most plentifully on the ground. When we remember how jealously the royal forests were guarded against possible poachers, the licence granted to swineherds is eloquent of the value attached to their stock. The edition of Fitzherbert's work published in i6oi: ;: says. that the hog will thrive on any ground, mountain, field or marsh, but that it does best in woods where there are plenty of wild fruits. Failing woodlands, marshes are *"Four Books of Husbandry," by John Fitzherbert, has long been incorrectly attributed to Sir Antony Fitzherbert. The book was first published about 1525. This and the succeeding 16th century editions contained little on the subject of swine. The issue of 1601 was edited by another hand. to be preferred, as affording abundance of roots and grasses. For winter feeding, when meat fails abroad you must preserve a store of acorns in cisterns in the water, or dried upon smoky floors. Al?o beans, peas and tares must be given them, and not so much as barley spared, for this kind of feeding doth make them fair, and not only fats them but giveth the flesh a pleasant taste. It should be noticed, in connection with Fitzherbert's advice as to winter feeding, that Thomas Tusser, in his rhyming " Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry," written in 1573, advises that hogs be driven to the woods in November when " brake roots be good." Clearly the swineherd's policy was to feed his pigs in the woods as long as possible. Gervaise Markham, writing in 1613,* is more precise in his information. From him we learn that it was usual to drive the swine out in the morning and bring them home at night. Before the herds were driven afield at dawn, and after their return, they were given in their troughs "drasse (Fr. dreche = malt ?), pulse or other garbage with swillirigs," and frequent supplies of fresh straw were to be put in the sty. Three years later was published Markham's translation t of Estienne's "La Maison Rustique," in which is advocated more careful treatment of swine. The swineherd is advised to have in store, against variable weather, bran, coleworts, or boiled turnips and great navets (Fr. navct = root), the idea clearly being that the swine should be fed at home in bad weather. The swine's lot would seem to have improved about this period, as the writer recommends that " some dainty hot meat, as whey, the droppings of cheese (whey), mingled with bran and water," should be prepared every evening and given them on their return from the fields. " After • "The English Husbandman." f" The Country Farm." 1616. IO such a meal," he says, " they will rest better at night and be less subject to disease." From Markham, too, the swineherd first learned that " Ale or beer grains,* mixed either with whey, buttermilk, or the washings of vessels," and chandler's grains, mixed with wash, made a meal which, given three times a day, fattens hogs quickly. Markham's teaching, borrowed from the French, was, perhaps, in advance of the times in England; for, fifty years afterwards, Leonard Mascal, chief farrier to James II., advocates t much more economical methods : — Forest and commons are most convenient to them to feed on, and where there is great plenty of oak trees, beech, ash and thorn or briars, hazels and crab trees, wild pear or plum, fir roots and such like ; for these trees do not, ripen all at one time, but at different times of the summer, and so nourish them (the swine) all the year long, with some help now and then in winter. He advises that if no woodlands be available the swine be driven to " soft ground " or marshes to dig roots, &c. In a later edition of his works (1680), Mascal says : " It is good to have sties in the forests or commons, and there give (the swine) their meat." Edward Lisle, a gentleman who settled at Crux Easton, in Hampshire, and devoted himself to the study * The profitable use to which brewers' grains might be put was recognised in a very practical way by Metropolitan distillers a century ago. At Messrs. Johnsons' Distillery, Vauxhall, no fewer than 3,000 hogs were fattened each year; Messrs. Benwell, the Battersea. distillers, fattened between 3,000 and 4,000, and Messrs. Bush, of Wimbledon, about 2,000 pigs a year. Markham thus describes " chandler's, grains :" " The dregs and offal of rendered tallow, as hard skins and fleshy lumps which will not melt, together with coarse skins of tallow and suet." This form of food was much used by pig-keepers who lived in cities. " The bacon of pigs fed on chandler's grains," says Markham, "was not so good as that of swine fatted on more natural diet." t " The Countryman's Jewel and Government of Cattle." 1662. of agricultural affairs, gives, in his " Observations in Husbandry" (1705), particulars of the method of feeding practised in Wiltshire, then, as now, famous for its bacon.* Bean flour was considered better feeding than barley flour ; it produced more milk in the breeding sows. Whey was held to be more nourishing than skim milk ; beans were regarded as equal to peas for fattening purposes, and were preferred to the latter because, " after peas, pigs would not eat beans, peas being the sweeter food." Towards the end of the same century, as we learn from John Mills' "Treatise on Cattle" (1776), the method of pig-keeping had undergone a certain measure of change. The vast tracts of forest and waste had been greatly reduced in area by cultivation and enclosure ; hedges, walls and fences were much more numerous than they had been in former days, and altogether the lands available for pasturage of swine were smaller and rarer. When Mills wrote, the herds, from March to October, were turned out twice a day ; this shows that they could not have been taken far from the homestead. In winter they were driven afield but once a day, and then only if the weather were fine. In a word, the pig was becoming more of a sty animal than his progenitor of a century or two centuries earlier. The common method of fattening at this time was to give " plenty of barley, mast, cabbage, and other greens boiled, and a great deal of water mixed with bran." Turning to a very practical book, " The Breeding * Daniel Defoe, in his "Tour through Great Britain" (1744), says of Wiltshire and Hampshire bacon: "The farmers in Wilts and parts of Gloucestershire adjoining send a great quantity of bacon up to London, which is esteemed the best bacon in England, Hampshire only excepted. This bacon is raised in such quantities here, by reason of the great dairies, the hogs being fed with vast quantities of whey and skimmed milk." 12 of Swine," written by an Annandale farmer, Robert Henderson, in 1814, we find that the system of feeding in the fields was still in vogue, as Henderson remarks that " over all England and Wales swine are kept in large flocks." In Annandale pigs appear to have been maintained in small numbers, and to have been confined entirely to the sty except when young. The young stock, after harvest, were allowed to range the fields with their dams, to pick up any corn, peas, beans, etc., that might remain on the ground. Henderson refers to the value of kitchen refuse for pig-feeding, and advocates the use of boiled potatoes,* otherwise the diet of the Annandale pig did not differ from that given in England. The necessity for cleanliness in the sty was recognised by the old pig-keepers. It was urged by Thomas Tusser in his " Four Hundred Points of Good Husbandry," written in 1573. He advises that the boar to be used for breeding should be " stied up" in September, lest it stray away and be lost. He counsels the husbandman to "shift boar (for ill air) as best ye think" — perhaps the earliest recognition in print of the importance of pure air to stock of any kind — and admonishes the dairymaid to " make cleanly his cabin, for [i.e., to guard against] measling and stench." The " Maison Rustique or Country Farm" (1616) also shows that cleanliness in the sty was studied. " Fresh straw, oftentimes given and renewed, doth fat swine as much as their meat. And you must take care that their troughs be always clean." In breeding, as in feeding, the methods of the * Cultivation of the potato on a large scale began about the end of the 17th century, as we infer from the edition of John Houghton's "Epitome of the Art of Husbandry," published in 1685. Until this vegetable was extensively grown it could not have been used for the feeding of swine. r 3 swineherd of the early and middle ages more nearly approached Nature than do those of modern times. Palladius, a monk whose work on English husbandry * is the earliest of its kind known,, says that the sow breeds from her second year; a century later Fitzherbert says she may be allowed to breed when a year old. Mascal, 140 years later still, says "some young sows, well fed, being one year old, will have pigs." Nowadays the young sow is put to the boar when eight months old. Both Palladius and Fitzherbert held that a sow should be allowed to rear not more than six of her litter, the former observing that he had known the strain of suckling more to weaken or even kill the mother. Tusser (1573) advises that only three should be left with the sow if it be desired that the pigs grow very large. We can well understand that forest-fed sows would be less able than more luxuriously nurtured 'mothers to rear a large family. Modern authorities hold that a yelt may rear seven or eight of her progeny, while a mature sow may safely be left with ten or a dozen. We find no definite information concerning the number of litters farrowed in a year till 1662, when Mascal i tells his readers that " some sows will have pigs twice and some thrice." As regards the boar, Fitzherbert says the best age is one year. Mr. Sanders Spencer tells us that opinions on this point vary, some practical authorities holding that the boar should serve when seven or eight months old, others thinking it should be nine or ten months old. The better feeding and more careful management of modern days no doubt explain the earlier development of boar and sow. * Palladius on " Husbandry," about 1420. t " The Countryman's Jewel and Government of Cattle." 14 CHAPTER III. VARIOUS BREEDS OF PIGS The early writers make no reference to different breeds. Turbervile* says that tame swine, in his day, were " white, sanded and of all colours," differing thus from the wild boar, which was " commonly black or grisled (grizzled- grey) or streaked with black." This variety of colour points to the absence of distinct breeds. Fitzherbert, in his " Four Books of Husbandry," written in 1523, describes the pig as it should be : — Long, large-sided and bellied, wide-buttocked and short- legged and footed, big-necked and well brawned, short-groined and turning upward his tail wrinkled. The kind is most commended that bringeth (forth) many pigs, the country (that which) breedeth large and great. Here we have an indication that the swine of some parts of the country were larger than those found elsewhere ; but the differences were due, as we cannot doubt, to differences of climate and feed. Gervaise Markham, in i6i6,t practically repeats Fitzherbert's description, adding that boars may be black or white, though he prefers that the sows should be all white. Leonard Mascal,J in 1662, indicates that there were two different breeds in his time ; for he advises that * Book of Hunting." 1575. t "The Country Farm." J " Countryman'j Jewel an3 Government of Cattle." J 5 " where the countries are cold and subject to frosts, it is best to choose hogs which have high and hard bristles, thick and black ; in warm countries, hogs with thin, small and low bristles, because they are commonly more tender than others." This is a difference of Nature's making, and not one due to man's endeavour. So far the swine- herd followed nature, and made no attempt to improve upon her. Writing later, in 1680, of hogs, Mascal tells us that "there are all sorts to be had," but the best were those which show the character of the male rather than that of the female. Such, in his day, were called " boar pigs." He repeats his remarks as to selection of swine by the bristles, and affirms that "hogs nourished in towns and houses are whiter than others." With reference to this observation, it would appear that dwellers in towns frequently kept pigs, and that the animals were allowed to roam the streets, picking up their living as best they might — acting, in fact, as scavengers.* Edward Lisle, whose book has been mentioned, speaks of the superiority of the bacon, of Wilts and Hampshire, and this declaration of his, in 1693-4, seems to be the first intimation we have that the swine of one particular district were considered better than those of the rest of England. Thirty-three years later — in 1727 — was published "The Art of Husbandry," in which the author, J. Mortimer, F.R.S., tells us that "the largest swine and the greatest numbers are bred in Leicestershire and Northamptonshire and the countries thereabout." John Mills, in I776t, is the first writer to refer, in a practical spirit, to differences of breed. His brief remarks * In the year 1377 an order was issued by the city authorities of Beverley, forbidding the townspeople to let their swine run the streets, and nearly four hundred years later — in 1760 -a similar order was issued in Cardiff. t "A Treatise on Catt!e." i6 are worth quoting,, since they give us a clue to the date of the importation of the Chinese pig, to which our modern breeds owe so much of their merit : — The Chinese hogs (he says) differ from those of Europe in that they are smaller, their legs considerably shorter and their flesh much whiter and more tender. Some persons breed them here, and they engender with our common swine. The valuable results which were to follow the intro- duction of the Chinese pig had not been realised when Mills wrote. When Culley produced his " Observations on Live- Stock " (1776), he observed that "the Chinese or black breed will always be valuable, and though they do not fatten to any great weight, the) - fatten amazingly well and afford the sweetest bacon." He says nothing of its much greater value for crossing purposes, and this must have been known to so good an authority had it then been discovered. Culley reviews the breeds of pig which were recognised in his time. The most numerous was the Berkshire — " reddish-brown with black spots, large ears hanging over their eyes, short-legged, small-boned and exceedingly inclined to make fat readily." A breed of large white pigs which, a few years before the time he wrote, was common in parts of Lancashire and Yorkshire, had disappeared, and as these pigs were " plain and awkward, with very long legs," it is not surprising' to read that they had given place to a better stamp of swine. The black breed, distinguished for > its mischievous propensities, and the Highland or Irish — thin, active and high on the leg, " a kind not worth naming " — rwere all the distinct breeds of swine in the kingdom known to Culley. From " A General View of Agriculture," written by a number of different authorities and published in 1794, we ascertain that there were many varieties of swine in the i— i P-, a w Pn pq zh za o Pn o W o 17 various counties of England, but few of them appear to have been known by distinctive names. There was, about this time, a system in vogue which must have contributed to indiscriminate crossing. Herds- men or "jobbers" travelled about the country with droves from which they sold swine to farmers and others. The Berkshire breed, which at this period was very frequently crossed with the Chinese, was the most highly esteemed. The value of the Chinese pig for cross-breeding was now recognised. In Ryedale, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, it was "gaining ground." In Kent the "smaller sorts" were mixed with Chinese. In Lancashire at least one breeder used Chinese blood, and in North Wales it had been employed long enough to produce two distinct varieties. Convincing proof of the esteem in which it had come to . be held is forthcoming in the fact that, at a meeting of the Bath and West of England Society in 1802, a prize of five guineas was given for "an excellent boar of Chinese admixture, and three guineas for the best fat pig of Chinese admixture." No other breeds are mentioned. Perhaps the earliest portrait of a Chinese cross is that given in the Sporting Magazine of 1805. This picture, reproduced on the opposite page, represents a nine months old pig, cross between the Chinese and Leicester breeds, which was exhibited at Lord Somerville's cattle show, held in Dixon's Yard, Barbican, on 4th March, 1805. The pig was bred by Mr. Isted, and was fattened on the estate of the Duke of Bedford, one of the most prominent agricul- turists and stock breeders of the time. It measured 23 inches in height, 3 feet 9 inches in length, and girthed round the shoulders 4 feet 9 inches. The production of hogs of enormous size was occa- sionally recorded a century ago. Illustrations of two of these are given. Mr. William White, of Kingston, in Surrey, on 28th March, 1798, killed a pig which stood 4 feet high, was 8 feet 9 inches long, girthed 9 feet 2 inches, and carried 5 inches of fat " all over." It was two years and six months old, and weighed 70 stone 6 lbs., or 986 lbs. ; and, we read, it was " generally allowed that this pig would have fattened as much again." Even more remarkable was the famous Yorkshire Hog bred by Mr. Benjamin Rowley, of the Red House, near Doncaster, and fed on Colonel Beaumont's estate, Bretton Hall, by Joseph Hudson. The print from which the frontispiece has been reproduced was published in February, 1809, as the portrait of a specimen of an " improved breed ; " but, unfortunately, we are not told from what strains the animal was bred. It stood 12J hands (4 feet 2 inches) high, was g feet 10 inches long, girthed 8 feet round the body, and weighed 96 stone, or 1,344 lbs. As in the case of Mr. White's pig, it was held that this hog would have fed to a much greater weight ; but its further development was hindered by the frequency with which it was " raised up to exhibit its stature." This Yorkshire Hog excited a great deal of interest and curiosity among all classes ; so numerous were the persons who came to see it that the owner is said to have gathered, in three years, upwards of £3,000 in " admission money." Culley mentions an enormous pig of the Cheshire breed which, before slaughter, on 24th January, 1774, weighed 12 cwt. 2 qrs. 10 lbs., or 1,420 lbs. . This animal measured 9 feet 8 inches from the nose to the end of the tail, and stood 4 feet 5 inches high. The Cheshire breed, accord- ing to the "The Complete Grazier" (7th Edition, 1839), was the largest known in the Kingdom ; but was not held in particular esteem, being " of great length, but much too C5 o W 02 H En 1— 1 w Es I— < 19 narrow; curved in the back and flat-sided, large-boned and long-legged, with much loose skin and and altogether ill-formed." Richardson, in 1847,* described numerous English breeds. Among others, the Suffolk, Cheshire, Shropshire, and Gloucestershire, which are no longer recognised. The " mixed " character of these so-called county breeds has led to their being ignored, and at the present day only six breeds are recognised as pure — viz., the Berkshire, Tarn worth, Small Black, Large White, Middle White and Small White ; the last three being sub-divisions of the Yorkshire breed. "Pigs." By H. D. Richardson. 20 CHAPTER IV. DISEASES OF SWINE IN THE OLDEN TIME Measles, a disease now fortunately uncommon in this country, would seem to have been very prevalent in former times. It is a malady to which all the old writers refer. The symptoms described by Fitzherbert and others indicate that it was identical with the affection which is given the same name at the present day. The terrible scourge which is denominated "swine- fever " or " plague " seems also to have been known in our ancestors' pig-keeping. In 1131 England was visited by a " great murrain of cattle " which destroyed cattle, pigs, and ultimately the "hen fowls."* So virulent was this disease that " the man who had two hundred or three hundred swine had not one left." From the fact that plough cattle perished equally with the swine we may perhaps conclude that this " murrain " was anthrax. Thomas Tusser (1575) warns the pig-keeper to guard against measles by keeping the sty clean, and advises that the infected hog should be isolated; but he makes no mention of murrain, pestilence, plague or fever. Had any such serious contagious disease often decimated the herds, Tusser would hardly have ignored it. * " The Saxon Chronicle." 21 The earlier editions of Fitzherbert's work" contain no reference at all to the diseases of swine. The edition of 1601 describes "a fever" whose symptoms bear some resemblance to those of swine-fever. They hang their heads at one side and suddenly, as they run abroad, they staye (stop), and, being taken with a turning giddiness, they fall down." Gervaise Markham, in i6i3,t tells us that "murrain and pestilence are very much incident to swine." The particular symptoms he notes are " moist eyes and heads borne on one side." Markham attributes the malady to eating rotten fruit, too much butcher's garbage or too rank grass ; but our forbears' knowledge of the cause of diseases was vague. Markham's translation of " La Maison Rustique " (1616) shows a better understanding of the cause of disease. " Murrain," says the author, " most readily attacks, in contagious times, foul and filthy bodies." Mascalj (1662) has this passage: "To know fever. When they hang down their heads or bear it aside, or suddenly run and suddenly rest again, and so fall to the ground as if they were giddy." He says nothing of its contagious nature, nor does he indicate that it was at all prevalent. Edward Lisle § says : — This (1705) was a wonderful dry summer, in which, for three weeks, we fetched water for our cattle. At the end of October a sow with pigs fell ill, and a few days after a fatting hog fell ill and died. The hog doctor said they were dying in many places, and the cause of the murrain was the *"A Book of Husbandry." 1st Edition, 1525(7) Divided in Four Books in the Edition of 1598. t " The English Husbandman : General Cure of all Cattell." X " Government of Cattle." § " Observations in Husbandry." mighty dry summer, whereby the hogs had not water in plenty to drink nor mire to roll themselves in. Mortimer,* in 1727, mentions measles and garget as the diseases to which swine are liable ; and he attributes the latter to bad or unwholesome food. He does not refer to fever or plague at all. None of the old writers from whom quotations have been given lay any special stress on murrain, or on the " fever " known to them. The disease is described as one of the several maladies to which swine were liable, and we do not gather that it was a source of great mortality. If our ancestors feared one disease of swine more than another, it was measles. So we may infer from the prominence given to it in lists of diseases, and from the particularity with which it is described. Neither Markham, writing in 1616, nor Edward Lisle, in 1705, give us to understand that " murrain " (if we are right in supposing this to have been a form of some plague or fever) was constantly present in England. On the contrary, the passages quoted from Markham and Lisle, indicate that the disease, or diseases, they describe were of only occasional occurrence. If a malady bearing any relation to the scourge we call " swine-fever " was known to our ancestors — and the S3 T mptoms described suggest that it may have been known — it certainly took a form far less contagious than the modern plague. Had it been equally contagious, the pig-keeper of old days must have suffered much heavier losses than were sustained in England in our own times when swine-fever was at its height; for there existed no legislative machinery to control or restrict the * The Art of Husbandry." ; By J. Mortimer, F.R.S. 2 3 movements of swine, and the disease, once established, must have spread and maintained its hold upon the country. As is shown by the works from which quotations have been given, the " murrain," plague or fever was less dreaded than leanness or lethargy, imposthumes or kernels under the throat, vomit, garget or pain of the milt. Measles, easily identified with the disease now so called, was, as already said, the malady which gave pig-keepers most concern. 2 4 CHAPTER V. SWINE-FEVER Swine-fever — in its modern extremely contagious form, at all events — would seem, then, to be a modern importation in England. The evidence at the disposal of the Committee which was appointed to study the disease in 1895 led to the conclusion that swine-fever, as we now know it, " must have been introduced from the Continent of Europe some time prior to the year 1858." It did not spread with any rapidity at first, because most of the imported swine were slaughtered at once by the receivers. There was a very limited demand for foreign pigs in the country districts, and carriage by rail in those days was so expensive that it was unprofitable to take imported animals far from the port of landing. It was not until 1862 that the disease was discovered among home-bred swine. In that year it was observed by Professor Simonds on a farm near Windsor ; two more serious outbreaks were reported in the same year from Somersetshire ; and in 1864 cases occurred in Berkshire, at Clifton and Edinburgh. By 1864, therefore, it had become somewhat widely, though sparsely, distributed. In 1865 its very infectious character was recognised, but no steps were taken to deal'- with it. At this period the facilities for conveying animals by rail were greatly increased, and, in the absence of regulation or control, diseased swine were carried freely all over the country, until, by the year 1878, the disease 25 was firmly established in nearly every county of England, and in parts of Scotland and Wales. In 1878, at the urgent request of some local authori- ties, more particularly those of Norfolk, swine-fever was scheduled among the contagious diseases, and, from that time onward till 1893, varying measures, somewhat half- hearted in some districts, were taken to cope with it. How urgently necessary strong measures had become the appended figures show. The Board of Agriculture took the matter in hand, and, in November, 1893, were framed the regulations which remained in force until 1905. Considerable progress was made towards stamping out the disease, but the recent relaxation of preventive measures has been followed by marked increase in the ■ number of outbreaks, as is shown by the figures below. The Losses Sustained How serious are the losses sustained is made plain by the figures for the last twelve years : — Number of Pigs Number of Number of Pigs Year in the Outbreaks of destroyed as United Kingdom Swine-fever diseased or infected 1895 4,238,870 6,305 69,931 1896 4,301,328 5,166 79,586 1897 3.683,403 2,155 40,432 1898 3,7I9>2I9 2,464 42,700 1899 4,003,589 2,322 30,797 1900 3,663,669 1,940 !7,933 1901 3,411,040 3,140 15,237 1902 3,639,782 1,688 8,263 1903 4,085,764 1,478 7,933 1904 4,192,092 1,196 5,603 1905 3,601,665 817 3,876 1906 3,581,089 1,280 7,359 — — 329,650 26 Though the number of outbreaks and swine destroyed has so greatly diminished of recent years, one disquieting factor must be noticed before we consider the cause of the increase in swine-fever during last year. The disease now is still spread over an area nearly as wide as it was twelve years ago. In 1894, some 5,682 outbreaks of swine-fever were reported from 72 counties in Great Britain. In 1904 only 1,196 outbreaks were reported, but these were distributed among 64 counties. The following figures, which have been kindly furnished to me by the Board of Agriculture, show what this disease and the cost of stamping it out have cost the farmer and the taxpayer : — During the ten years 1895-1904, the total number of pigs slaughtered, as diseased or infected, by order of the Government, was 318,415. For these the owners were paid — In compensation ... ... ... ... ... ^578,564 Less received for " salvage " ... ... ... ^132,390 ;£446,i74 Administration expenses (e.g., salaries, travelling and other expenses of officials of the Board) ... ^568,808 Showing a total loss to the country of ,£1,014,982 Or an average of over one hundred thousand pounds per year. It will be observed that during the seven years 1 899- 1 905 inclusive a rapid and fairly steady decrease in the number of swine destroyed was recorded. The decrease in the number of outbreaks during the same period, with the exception of 1901, was also very satisfactory. The returns of the Accounts Department show that the cost of stamping out swine-fever had fallen from £112,165, in 1899, to £53,292 in 1904. 27 The sudden increase in the number of outbreaks reported in 1906 and the still larger proportionate increase in the number of swine slaughtered arrests our attention. This is due to the change of policy adopted by the authorities in the year 1905. Until that year the regula- tions required the slaughter not only of every pig which had the disease, but of every pig which had been in contact with diseased animals. No doubt this drastic policy was often productive of hardship to individuals, but its results are clearly shown by the rapid, diminution of the disease, and the official returns might have been held ample justification for pursuing the policy which had produced such good results. For reasons into which we need not enter, a change was decided on. Compulsory slaughter of " contact cases" — i.e., of pigs which were themselves healthy, but had been in contact with diseased pigs — -was no longer required ; isolation was permitted as the alternative when the responsible officer thought evil consequences were not likely to follow. The results of this relaxation of the old regulation is shown by the figures of the year 1906. ' It must be admitted that a case could be shown for adoption of these milder methods. One great difficulty in the way of dealing effectively with the . disease lies in the obscurity of its symptoms. The late Mr. Hanbury, while President of the Board of Agriculture, consulted several of our leading veterinary authorities, and he came to the conclusion that a thorough knowledge of the disease had not been arrived at, and accordingly he ordered a fresh enquiry to be undertaken. It was formerly believed that an attack of fever was necessarily fatal, but recent investigations have shown that this is not the case. The late Chief Veterinary 28 Officer of the Board, Mr. A. C. Cope, wrote, in his Report for 1904 : — It is a matter of by no means common occurrence, when the Veterinary Officers are examining the intestines of contact pigs (e.g., pigs which have been in contact with diseased animals and slaughtered as infected) in London to discover that some of them have already passed through the active stage of the disease and recovered, without the owner having the least idea that the animals had been affected. Since, however, experience has shown that the isolation system is not to be compared with the compulsory slaughter system enforced until 1905, as a means of stamping out swine-fever, reversion to the latter is clearly most desirable. A New Disease of Swine In the year 1905 some alarm was caused by the appearance of a new disease of swine in Cambridgeshire and the Midlands. It was said to differ essentially from fever, but appeared to be equally contagious, if not more so. Veterinary experts diagnosed it as Erysipelas, a malady common in Germany, where the losses caused by it are said to amount to upwards of £225,000 a year. How this new disease was introduced is unknown, but its appearance seems to show that our swine are become peculiarly susceptible to any contagious malady. Fortunately, strong measures we're taken to prevent its spread, and it was quickly stamped out. Farmers and Swine-Fever Regulations The success which has attended the endeavours of the Board of Agriculture to check swine-fever has been due, in no small degree, to the loyalty with which farmers 2 9 have carried out the regulations prescribed, needlessly harassing as these regulations often are. The restrictions and obstacles placed in the way of trade are well shown by the following letter from Mr. Sworder, of Bishop Stortford :— The position is this. When there are, in the opinion of the Board of Agriculture, an excessive number of swine-fever cases in any particular district in a county, that portion is declared an infected area, a cordon is drawn and the movement of swine into or out of that cordon is prohibited ; these restrictions override all County Council regulations. As soon as the cases have, in the opinion of the Board, sufficiently abated, their restrictions are withdrawn, and the County Council regulations again take the place of them. I have had it from Board of Agriculture Inspectors that when they remove their restrictions there is no reason why the movement of swine should not be free in the district, and then I am told by the Essex County Council that the Board of Agriculture insist upon their making these local restrictions ! But those which they make, especially in Essex, are most suicidal and vexatious. I enclose copy from the Observer, of July 15th, of the evidence, including mine, given before the House of Commons Committee, which may help you to understand the difficulty in which Stortford market is placed, and the impossibility of getting pigs back from a market into the county of Essex, and the same applies to all towns similarly situate. The whole of these county regulations want sweeping off the face of the earth. I have long been of your opinion that the only sensible and most effectual way of stopping the disease is to work the restrictions upon the cordon system. I should draw a cordon of, say, one or two hundred yards round every infected place, and station men upon the roads night and day, to see that no pig was allowed to go into or out of that cordon for 14 or 21 days; outside that cordon, pigs should be moved free, without any regard to county boundaries or otherwise. I have been asked to form one of a deputation to the Diseases Committee of the Essex County Council on Friday next, at Chelmsford, with a view to getting some modification of the existing orders. 30 The most mischievous clause of the County Council's regulations was that which forbade- the moving of any pig into the county of Essex unless it had been for 28 days in the place whence it was to be moved, and no other pig had been brought on to the same premises during the 28 days. As no exception was made in favour of markets, it will be seen that pigs could not be taken from an Essex farm to Bishop Stortford market, and that the Essex farmers could not buy swine at that market, because they were not allowed to take them over their own county boundary. The -weakness of the system of controlling contagious diseases of cattle by the hard-and-fast method of county boundaries has never been more clearly shown. The accompanying map of the county will help to make the situation clear : — • SUFFOLK 3 1 It is right to say that the arguments put forward by the deputation, of which Mr. Sworder was a member, convinced the local authority that its restrictions were needless, and on September ist, 1905, the regulations were abolished. They had been' in force for some years and had most seriously and unnecessarily affected the markets on the borders of Essex, Herts, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. So grave were the disabilities caused thereby that the Local Government Board had sanctioned the transfer of the ten Essex parishes in the Bishop Stortford Union to Hertfordshire, an unprecedented measure which a Special Committee of the House of Commons refused to permit. 32 CHAPTER VI. MODERN SWINE-KEEPING Greater variation occurs in the number of pigs kept in the United Kingdom than in the number of. any other stock. To show how the total fluctuates, the figures given on page 25 are reproduced : — 1895 4,238,870 1901 3,411,040 1896 4,301,328 1902 3>639>782 1897 3.683,403 1903 4,085,764 1898 1>1 19,1*9 1904 4,192,092 1899 4>°°3>5 8 9 1905 3,601,665 1900 3,663,669 1906 3,581,089 Many causes are at work to influence the rise and fall in the number of swine kept. Vexatious restrictions on the movement of pigs operating against the trade must necessarily induce farmers to refrain from breeding swine where such restrictions are enforced. But a glance over the foregoing returns shows that the tendency of the past ten years has been downward, while the figures on page 25 show a steady decrease in the prevalence of swine-fever and accompanying restrictions. It would seem as though the decline in British and Irish pig-breeding were due to foreign competition. In 1904, we imported from the United States "hog products" — bacon, hams, pork and lard — to the value of twelve millions sterling ; and from Denmark, in which country 33 co-operative bacon-curing factories have increased with great rapidity during the last fifteen years, we now import bacon to the value of about three millions a year. Our imports of bacon and hams from the United States, Denmark and Canada — the three principal sources Of supply — is now nearly double the quantity we imported thirty years ago. The United States ad-mittedly enjoy peculiar advantages for raising large numbers of swine in the most economical fashion, more especially in those regions where maize is grown. The pig population . of the United States is something over 47 millions ; but the facilities for pig- rearing in the United Kingdom are not less than they were ten years ago, and there is only too much reason to think that the falling off in this branch of the farming industry is due very largely to the increased competition from the United States and Denmark. The quantity of " hog products " sent to us from Canada is comparatively insignificant. The modern " bacon hog " is a different animal from the pig of thirty or forty years ago. He has been more carefully bred and more judiciously managed. Corn- feeding, urged by some authorities for a time, is being given up by the farmer, results proving that the profit was not commensurate with the increased expense of feeding. And though the old practice of " stubbling ". swine — i.e., turning them out into the fields after the harvest has been carried — is now regarded with disfavour, it is found that pigs fatten well and rapidly if allowed access to good pasture, and well fed in the sty on the refuse products of dairy, mill and brewery. 34 CHAPTER VII. HOUSING OF SWINE The greater degree of confinement to which modern pigs are subjected lends a greater degree of importance to the methods of housing them. Swine-fever is not known to exist among wild pigs, and we must conclude that it is one of the maladies that arise from the conditions under which oar domestic pigs are kept. As has been shown in the foregoing pages, swine-fever, in its modern virulently contagious form, was not known in England in the days when pigs spent much of their lives feeding in the forests and wastes. When, by the importation of diseased pigs from abroad, it laid hold upon this country, there can be no doubt but that foul, damp sties were those in which the disease most readily found victims. The pig's love of wallowing has given rise to the idea that he is naturally a dirty animal, completely at home in mud and mire ; and that a foul sty is more suitable for pigs than a clean one. Nothing could be farther from the truth, and from the time of Thomas Tusser, more than four hundred years ago, writers on farming subjects have endeavoured to correct this idea. Overcrowding is also a prolific source of disease. We find object-lessons in the evil results of overcrowding 35 everywhere, from the slums of our great cities to the pheasant field, where birds are reared by hand, and the grouse moor which is periodically ravaged by " disease." The pig, like every other animal, requires a certain area of space, and, like other animals,* he suffers if kept on ground which has been tainted by generations of swine occupying the same spot before him. The life led by the domestic pig differs so widely from the conditions in which the wild animal passes its existence that he is particularly liable to disease. Unhealthy sties, foul air, overcrowding, extremes of heat and cold, and excessive, if not unsuitable, food given for fattening purposes, all combine to predispose him to diseases to which he is not liable when, in small companies, he roams forests and wastes, travelling long distances and continually breaking fresh ground in search of food. An ill-constructed sty, in which it is possible for pools of water, urine and droppings to lie is obviously unhealthy. A leaky roof which admits the wet, or a floor which is damp, plainly fosters disease. Badly ventilated sheds, which become overheated in the sultry days of summer, are equally likely to lead to sickness. Even if disease does not make its appearance in such sties, it is surely clear that pigs cannot thrive as they would do if they were kept in wholesome surroundings. The importance of cleanliness in the sty and of clean straw as factors in promoting the well-being of the fattening pig were recognised three hundred years ago. To keep the pig in health it is necessary, to begin with, that the building in which he is confined should be so * " Young Race Horses: " A Suggestion. By Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. Vinton & Co., London. 1898. 36 constructed that light, fresh air, warmth, dry floors and cleanliness are ensured. Pigs will not thrive in draughty sties. The Sty In selecting a site for the pig-sty, the first point to consider is the aspect. A south or south-easterly aspect is preferable. All beasts and birds appreciate the warmth and brightness of the early morning sun, and nothing is more conducive to health. The sty need not necessarily be a large one, but the purpose for which it is intended must be kept in view. A sty for a large breeding-sow should be bigger than the sty in which it is proposed to house and fatten a single pig. It is not imperative that the pig-owner should go to much expense in building. A perfectly suitable sty can be constructed of almost any material, provided that care is taken to ensure cleanliness and ventilation, and to avoid extremes of temperature. The material selected must depend much on con- venience. Stone, brick or wood all answer equally well, and the pig-owner will choose the material which happens to be cheapest in his neighbourhood. The floor is the most important part of the whole structure. A well-made floor which will not allow water, etc., to collect in pools, and can be easily cleansed, is indispensable. The difference between a dry, hard floor and a damp, cold and dirty one is the difference between healthy and sickly pigs. The floor has to be hard to prevent the pig from rooting it up. Therefore the material used, must be proof against exercise of this habit. 37 Concrete or Portland cement makes the best flooring. One of these should be used if possible. Money spent on a good floor is money well laid out. A mixture of gravel and tar, rammed down into a solid mass, will answer. The objection to this material is the possibility that the heat of the sun will melt the tar and make the surface soft. ' If bricks are used, they must be new and unbroken, and. must be laid on at least six inches of good concrete or cement ; but bricks are liable to chip and crack under the weight of the pigs, however carefully laid. Stone flags should be avoided. It is impossible to prevent the manure from sinking in between the joins, and thus the ground below becomes foul. In course of time, moreover, the soil, reduced to the consistency of mud, no longer supports the flags on a level, and the filth below is forced up over the floor by the treading of the pigs. Wooden floors are, perhaps, the worst of all, unless made in such wise that they can be removed for cleansing and repair, but movable sty floors cause continual trouble. The method of laying the floor is hardly less important than the material. It should be given a gentle slope from back to front. About one in eighteen — that is, two inches in the yard — will suffice. The floor of the outer court should be lower than that of the hut or shelter by about two inches. The object of this step from the hut floor to the outer court is to ensure perfect drainage of the sleeping place. Small channels should be made in the floor to aid in earring off wet. These should run diagonally across the shed and court and carry the drainage out under the gate as shown in the diagram. The walls of the sty may be of corrugated iron, stone, brick or wood. Stone flags, set up on edge, are used in some parts of the country, and, if available, these make good 38 walls. . Old railway sleepers serve excellently if the timber be sound. The makeshift palings of plank or old packing cases so frequently used for sty walls are a mistake ; firmly built walls are essential. The best and cheapest wall is one of corrugated iron, but three or four well-laid courses of brick — preferably in cement instead of mortar — with a strong wooden fence on top leave little to desire. Whether wood be used wholly or in part for the walls, it should always be faced on the inner side with sheets of iron or zinc. The metal preserves the timber and protects it from injury by the pigs. The uprights must be placed outside the sty. The wall should be no higher than is necessary to keep the pigs safely confined and to shelter them from cold winds. If too high, the walls merely . serve to exclude the air and light essential to the animals' health. A height of 3 feet 6 inches is best. The floor is most likely to give way at the angle of junction with the wall ; the angle should, therefore, be filled in with a sill of cement. The roof over the inner part of the sty should be raised well above the floor, to ensure plenty of fresh air. The " lean-to " shed is the most popular form, and is as good as any. It should be quite 6 feet from the floor at its highest part. This not only affords air space, but will be found convenient for cleaning out the place. The roof may be made of tiles or slates, of planks covered with roofing-felt, tarred, or of thatch. The material is not important, provided the roof serves its purpose in keeping out the wet. Galvanised iron is not to be recommended ; it is cold in winter and unduly hot in summer. A window is very necessary, if only a pane of glass let into the wall ; needless to say, this should be set in the upper part of the wall. It may be put in the roof if it cannot conveniently be set in the wall, but roof lights ROUGH SUGGESTION fOft TOWING SHEDS EOR STORE PIGS WITH OLD RAILWAY SLEEPERS. w ^xn&UH&xi ai«.|^- SuT < ^j^yj^^^t^Ksa^ |.-- ~5ftTE si«fw sni i6. o .: PLAN. ELEVATION Of SHED5 v . . . . f SCALE OT rttT 40 are to be avoided where possible, owing to the difficulty of making the setting proof against wet. In building the sty, it must be constantly borne in mind that light, warmth, dryness and cleanliness are the four greatest foes of disease. The shed must be furnished with a low, wooden platform, made of inch boarding, with ledges below to ensure space for free ventilation, and on this the bedding, straw or bracken, is placed. The bedding, whatever its kind, must be constantly renewed. Clean, fresh bedding is as necessary to the pig's health as proper food. The drainage channel runs under the bed platform ; though the healthy pig seldoms befouls its bed, it is advisable to make this provision to carry away any fluid. A glance at the diagram of ' a sty for a single pig will show the method of arrangement recommended. The gate at the right hand side ; the trough, which should be made of iron or earthenware and fastened to the floor, on the left, under the front wall. The entrance to the shed is on the left, opposite the trough, so that the pig, running out to its food, comes straight and is thus less likely to slip. The bed is placed in the inner or most sheltered part of the shed. The entrance -gate should be strongly put together and faced with iron sheeting on the inner side ; an ordinary stout iron bolt and socket will suffice as fastening. If the shed be furnished with a door it should be made in two halves, as shown. In the wall or fence there should be, where the feeding trough stands, a hole of such size as will conveniently allow the contents of a bucket to be poured through. This hole should be closed by a flap of corrugated iron, hinged on its upper edge, and, of course, opening inwards. SINGLE PIG STY Feeding GMZ^H To Sumpf w SECTION THROUGH SHED AND YARD. PLAN. *■ forruMU Iron / I : r**A