Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2010 with funding from The Library of Congress http://www.archive.org/details/hoghisoriginvariOOrich A <*. >°^ $> a * ° aV ^ • ' 1 AT v - - - , > THE HOG; ^^ HIS ORIGIN AND VARIETIES, MANAGEMENT WITH A VIEW TO PROFIT, AND ~~EATMENT UNDER DISEASE: ..„ .1 Vol .IELATIVE TO THE MOST APPROVED MODES OF G AND PRESERVING HIS FLESH. Date Spr BY H. D. KICHAKDSON, Author of "The Horse," "Domestic Fowl," "The Pests of the Farm," "The Hive and the Honey-Bee," etc. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ON WOOD. NEW YORK: C. M. SAXTON, AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHER, 1852. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1852, by C. M. SAXTON, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Southern District of New Fork. / ■r from Office Lib, mi J914, S. W, BENEDH 'I', StEBEOTTPEB ,Wh ('KIMaR, jo Sj/i no- tlreet, X. Y. PUBLISHER'S ADVERTISEMENT. The Publisher, haying found the want of small, cheap Books, of acknowledged merit, on the great topics of farming economy, and meeting for those of such a class a constant demand, offers, in this one, a work calculated to fill the yoid. The works of Richardson on the Hog, the Horse, the Bee, the Domestic Fowl, and the Pests of the Farm, are popular in England and in America, and, in evidence of their worth, meet with continued sale both there and here. Hitherto they have not been offered to the American public in an American dress : and the Publisher presents in this Reprint, one of the series, adapted to American wants, and trusts that a discerning Public will both buy and read these little Treatises, so admirably adapted to all classes, and fitted by their size for the pocket, and thus readable at the fireside, on the road, and in short everywhere. C. M. SAXTON", Agricultural Book Publisher. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Utility of the Hog Page .. 7 CHAPTER II. The Wild Original 9 CHAPTER III. Varieties of Domestic Hog , . . . J6 Page Chinese and Siamese 17 Berkshire 20 Irish 21 Hog of Ancient Ireland ib. Suffolk 22 Cheshire .'. ib. Hampshire 23 Yorkshire ib. Shropshire ib. Wiltshire ib. Herefordshire 24 Gloucestershire 24 Northamptonshire ib. Norfolk ib. Leicestershire ib. Lincolnshire 25 Essex ib. Improved Essex ib. Essex Half Blacks ib. Sussex ib. Old English 26 CHAPTER IV. Continental Varieties. Westphalian 26 Neapolitan 27 French Swine ib. Poitou 28 Pay d'Auge 28 Perigorde ib. Champagne ib. Boulogne ib. CHAPTER V. Points of a Good Hog, 28 CHAPTER VI. Houses and Piggeries. CHAPTER VII. Breeding, Rearing and Feeding CHAPTER VIII. Time requisite for Feeding Fat, Quantity of Food, and Proportionate In- crease of Weight in a given Time 43 6 CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. Page Diseases of Swine 44 Page General Remarks 44 Fever 45 Leprosy 47 Murrain lb- Measles 49 Jaundice ib. Foul Skin ib. Mange ib. Staggers 51 Crackings 51 Swelling of the Spleen, or "Katille,". ib. Surfeit 52 Lethargy ib. Hearings 53 Diarrhoea, or Looseness 54 Quinsy ib. Tumors ib. Catarrh, or Cold 55 CHAPTER X. Slaughtering and Curing Unnecessary Cruelty in Killing de- precated, and a Humane Method pointed out ; also various Modes of Killing, as now and formerly prac- tised 55 Dressing and cutting up 57 Different Modes of Curing 58 Mild Cure 59 Smoking ib. Best Sawdust for CO 94 Westphalia Hams (50 Limerick ib. Hampshire ib. Wiltshire 61 Skinning ib. Patent Curing Machine ib. On Extracting or Discharging Salt from Cured Meat 62 Practical Directions for Curing on a small or large scale ib HOGS; THEIR ORIGIN AND VARIETIES. CHAPTER I. UTILITY OF THE HOG. The Hog is an animal whose properties are calculated, in a very remarkable degree, at once to awaken the aversions and com- mand the consideration of mankind : the former excited by the habits and manners displayed by the animal during life ; the lat- ter the result of reflection upon the sources of profit derivable from his carcass after death. The hog is at once the foulest and the most useful of quadrupeds. In aspect and general form he is un- inviting ; his life is seemingly devoted to the attainment of sen- sual or disgusting objects which constitute his enjoyments : and yet, however filthy in his habits, unsocial, often ferocious, he may be, he is one of the most valuable of animals ; and is esteemed from the palace to the meanest cabin. It is probable, that the repulsive habits of the hog, in a domesti- cated state, are attributable to his domesticators — the human race. The wild boar, the original of the domestic hog, does not present the same disgusting habits or gross sensuality as does his reclaim- ed descendant. It may be stated, that the domestic hog is blood- thirsty and treacherous. The proofs of such a disposition rest upon a few occurrences ; we can easily bring forward instances of an opposite character. We have many proofs of the sagacity that the hog is possessed of, and to elicit which, education and judi- cious management are required ! Have we not had " learned pigs," capable of selecting cards from the pack, and of joining letters together to form words ; and of performing many other 6 HOGS. tricks that, were the sagacity of the hog of inferior grade, it never could have been taught to perform? Then' are two instances of this animal having been trained to the sports of the field : one oc- curred in the establishment of that celebrated sportsman. Colonel Thornton; and a sow was broken in to set game by Mr. Toomer, gamekeeper of Sir II. P. S. Mildmay. The latter animal turned out a most stanch pointer, and would quarter her ground, point, and even back the dogs, as correctly and as brilliantly as any first- rate setter of the canine race. Having been detected in the act of devouring a lamb, she was sold, and met the usual fate of her brethren — the knife of the butcher. Nor are instances rare of the hog having conceived affection for other animals of a different race. A domestic pig attached itself to a bulldog, whom he would follow everywhere, and with whom he would gambol and play in the most harmonious maimer; if the dog went with his master on a ramble, the pig would form, if permitted, one of the party; and when a stick was thrown into the water, for the dog to fetch, the pig would rival his canine as- sociate, boldly take to the water, and delight in swimming; if it succeeded in reaching the stick sooner than the dog, it would take it in its mouth, and fetch it safely to land. Such pigs as I have been for any length of time in the habit of visiting, have not only recognized me, but testified joy on my ap- proach, and satisfaction at my caresses; nor could this have origi- nated in motives of a selfish or sensual nature, as I was not their feeder. It may be said that the pig naturally loves foul food and filthy bedding. That the wild boar does not is evident from his cleanly habits, and the dr\ and clean lair which he forms in his native fo- rest ; and that the domestic hog does not will be admitted by any person who has witnessed the delight that animal manifests on being furnished with fresh straw after his sty has been cleansed. "A hog is the cleanest of all creatures, and will never dung or stale in his stye, if he can get forth." " The hog, though he tumble in the dirt in the summer, is not a filthy animal. Hedoeth it, partlie to cool himselfe, partlie to kill his 'lice; for when the dirt is drie he rubbeth it off, and therebie destroyeth the lice." And do not other members of the order, including the half -reason- ing elephant, practise the same ; a resource no more than parallel with the custom of some savage nations, anointing their skins with grease for the same purpose, "it is the fact that the hog will thrive THE WILD ORIGINAL. 9 better, and fatten more quickly, if kept with proper attention to cleanliness. We have not improved the character, or ameliorated the condition of this animal by domesticating him, — many of those habits that excite our disgust, are attributable to our misconception of his natural propensities, and mismanagement of him in a state of captivity. The hog, as we generally find him, is, in life, a very disgusting brute ; and still, all these disagreeable qualities are amply counterbalanced by his extraordinary utility after death. The flesh of the hog is remarkable for the property of taking salt more kindly than any other description of meat ; it conse- quently retains its sweetness for a much longer period, and is, on that account, particularly calculated for ships' stores. It can be used for a greater length of time without change, without produc- ing weariness of its use, or any of those unpleasant effects com- monly attendant on the continued use of salt provisions, as scurvy, &c, than any other description of salted meat ; besides, it is den- ser in texture, and therefore goes farther. The lard of the hog is in high esteem with the apothecary, for forming plasters, ointments, and other similar preparations — with the hairdresser, for forming pomatum, bear's grease, cold cream, and other accessories of the toilet. Its bristles are in demand with brushmakers and shoemakers ; of the skin is made pocket-books, saddles, boot-tops; and even the ears are frequently made into pies. The hog furnishes another article, when properly fed and managed with a view to its production, namely, brawn. Among the properties of the hog, we must not omit sausages and black puddings, the former so greatly relished as adjuncts to dishes of a less savory character ; nor, in conclusion, is the manure produced from the sty to be overlooked, nor its fertilizing properties forgotten. I thus offer an apology for the hog's disagreeable peculiarities ; he really is the most useful of quadrupeds. CHAPTER II. THE WILD ORIGINAL. The Hog belongs to the Class Mammalia, or animals possess- ing teats or mammw, for the nourishment of their young — to the sixth order, Pachydermata, or thick-skinned animals — to the ge- 1* 10 HOGS. nus, third of the order, Sus, or swine — and to the species, Sus Scropha, or Hog. The dentition of the hog is as follows : — Incisors £ or £ Canines };} Molars ffi The incisors of the lower jaw are directed obliquely forwards ; those of the upper are of a conical form. The canine teeth, or tusks, continue to grow, and increase in size during the whole of the animal's lifetime, projecting from the mouth, often to a very considerable length, and frequently curving outwards and back- wards towards the extremities. The molars, or cheek teeth, are simple and tuberculated. There are four toes on all the feet, of which the two middle ones only rest upon the ground ; but there exists a peculiar breed of swine, in other particulars true hogs, but possessing a solid hoof, formed of a single toe. These hogs arc found in Sweden, especially about Upsall. The nose of the hog is elongated, cartilaginous, and the snout is furnished with a particular bone. This arrangement is appar- ently with a view to facilitate the rooting and turning up the earth, in which the animal, in a state of nature, finds the chief portion of its subsistence. The teats are twelve in number ; the body is cylindrical in form, and is covered with a thick skin, furnished, more or less, with bristles and stiff hairs ; besides which, in some varieties, is an under coat of close curled hair. The ear is either small and upright, or large and pendulous. This member forms the chief characteristic of the domestic hog, and a large and pen- dent ear will be found the general concomitant of large size. The Wild Boar is the origin of our domestic varieties of hog. They resemble him closely in form, and when permitted the en- joyment of their natural propensities, in habits also. The period of gestation in the wild and domestic Sow is the same, viz., six- teen weeks, and the two animals freely breed together, and pro- duce fertile young ; and these young will breed between them- selves. Some writers have asserted the hog of the South Sea Islands, of China, and the Indian dominions to be distinct species, but without foundation. The Hog is to be found in Europe, Asia, and the North of Africa. It has been introduced into, and thrives in America, Aus- tralia, and the South Sea Islands. In America he presents a slight variation of form in the Dicoteles, and in Africa in the Phaco- choeres. That of the South Sea Islands has been asserted to be a THE WILD ORIGINAL. 11 distinct species of true pig ; but erroneously. It is not impossible that we might reclaim the Babyroussa and the Dicoteles ; and the acquisition would be sufficiently valuable to warrant the attempt. WILD BOAR. The "Wild Boar is very common in all the reedy marshes of Tartary and Siberia, and in the mountainous forests in the vicinity of Lake Baikal, as far as Lat. 50°, but is said not to occur in the northern extremity of Siberia. The hog was not indigenous to the American Continent, but introduced into it by the Spaniards ; either the original stock was a good one, or the breed has thriven peculiarly in that country, the present South American breed being remarkable for arriving early at maturity, and fattening easily. A sow, and a litter with her, were brought from Monte Video. One of these fattened, when very young, to 336 pounds ; and although ripe, it had, in the opinion of the butcher, more flesh in proportion than he had ever before witnessed. The food of the wild hog consists chiefly of roots and vegeta- bles. Worms, insects, as well as acorns, beechmast, chestnuts, are 12 HOGS. also greedily sought after and devoured ; and acting upon a knowledge of the animal's feral habits, some proprietors turn out their swine to feed in the forests, searching for and driving them home when in a fitting condition. The pork of hogs, thus suffered, for a time, towards the close of their life, to cater for themselves, is found to be peculiarly sweet and delicate. A simi- lar system is still resorted to in many parts of America, and with equal success; for we are not to judge of the true flavor of American pork from such as is at present imported into this country, its coarse taste and extreme hardness of texture being the result of the curing process adopted, and not of any improper method of feeding. The Hog is, unless hard pressed, by no means so foul a feeder as many suppose. This will be the better understood from the following table, representing the comparative graminivorous pro- pensities of the ox, horse, sheep, goat, and hog. The ox eats 276 plants and rejects 218 The horse 262 " " 212 The sheep 3S7 " " 141 The goat 449 " "129 The hog 72 " " 171 The boar is, in his wild state, an object of terror, but when re- duced to captivity, becomes comparatively gentle and manage- able. A wild hoar kept some years ago in the Parisian me- nagerie, performed several tricks, went through different exer- cises, and assumed various attitudes; — the stomach was however the "master of arts 1 ' on this occasion, for bread was the reward of obedience. In confinement, the wild boar soon becomes as inured to filth as the nastiest amongst his domesticated brethren. The color of the wild boar is a brownish black, inclining to grey ; he is usually not so large as our domestic breeds of hoe-, not exceeding from twenty-five to thirty inches in height at the shoulder; instances, however, of its attaining a larger size are recorded. He lives about thirty years; having attained maturity at about the fourth season. In habits, he is solitary, and lives apart from his kind in the forests. During the rutting season, in the months of December and .January, he goes forth from re- tirement, and rejoining the herd, selects a mate. This -election is of course not made without many an obstinate conflicl with fierce and formidable rivals, but the conqueror and his bride betake themselves to some unfrequented spot, and pair for thirty days. THE WILD OEIGINAL. 13 The sow brings forth from four to ten little ones at a litter. The domestic hog is more prolific than his wild original, and even fourteen and fifteen young have been produced by the domestic sow at one litter. At birth, the sow carefully conceals her farrow from the boar, who would otherwise devour them. The color of the young of the wild sow is a pale yellowish brown, marked with longitudinal black bands. The females live together in herds ; several litters, with their dams, joining company, and the young boars remain with the herd until maturity. The habits of the wild boar are nocturnal, for he lies close during the day, and in the evening he goes forth to feed. In harvest time he does much mischief to the grain crops, and to the vineyards, tramp- ling beneath his feet more than he consumes as food. The boar has been asserted to be in part carnivorous, and it has been stated that he eats horseflesh, and that the skins of deer, as well as claws and bones of birds, have been found in his stomach. It has even been stated that he will seek for and devour the smaller kinds of game, as partridges, leverets, and also eggs. Some, in alluding to the propensity for devouring their young, frequently displayed by the domestic sow, as also her occasionally destroying and devouring young children in the cradle, have endeavored to account for it, by attributing to them a violent craving for blood ; this may be so. Professor Lowe very naturally suggests that a sow's devouring her young is, in the strictest sense of the word, an unnatural act, one that would not take place in a state of nature, and most pro- bably the consequence of the artificial position in which the ani- mal is placed, — surrounded by filth and damp, and exposed to the annoyance of being constantly disturbed by visitors ; for at this period, the sow is particularly irritable. As to their destroying children, other animals have done so quite as frequently as the swine ; and yet, these solitary instances have never been recorded as a stigma upon their entire race. The fact is, that the poor pig has far more than its just share of sin to answer for. Hunting the wild boar is an exciting and dangerous amuse- ment, perhaps one of the most so amongst field sports. It is usu- ally followed by mounted huntsmen, armed with spears or rifles, aided by hounds, and attended by assistants, called on the conti- nent "piqueurs" or prickers, whose duty it is to find and rouse their game from his lurking place. The boar is an animal of no 14 HOGS. contemptible swiftness, and it is not every horse that is able to keep up with him, when once fairly afoot. Unless molested, or his lair threatened with invasion, the boar will not attack man ; but once aroused, his ferocity is formidable, and his defence of the most resolute description ; he displays so much courage and de- termination, that it is impossible not to regard his character as partaking of the noble, and almost to regret the destruction of so brave a foe. When overtaken and brought to bay, is the time when the affray becomes invested with a serious character. Woe then to the horse who suffers himself to be seduced or goaded into too close proximity with the infuriated animal : woe to the dog who attempts to seize the monster by the ear or flank, prior to its strength having been sufficiently reduced by the spears or bullets of his human foes : and woe to the huntsman, who, thrown from his steed, or whose own foolhardiness has induced him to venture too near, fails in heart or hand, so as to cause the fatal ball to swerve from its true course, or direct the boarspear with nerve- lessness or irresolution. In such case, death and destruction are dealt around ; — dogs, horses, and men are successively overthown with ferocity and irresistible force. The boar inflicts a terrific wound with his tusks ; and a horse once wounded by him, can never again be induced to approach him. Most clogs that have been thus served, and have recovered, have proved useless cowards. The wild boar of Europe is now, however, by no means the formidable quarry he once was ; and, in the foregoing description, it was his Indian Congener that I had more particularly in view. An old French newspaper details an account of an extraordinary boar killed near Cognac, in Augoumois. This was a beast of most formidable dimensions and notoriety. He had been fre- quently hunted, but unavailingly ; his prodigious strength and powers of endurance bringing him off on all occasions, safe, if not scatheless ; he had killed many horses and dogs, and maimed and killed several men ; when at last slain, several bullets, received during previous conflicts, were found between the skin and the flesh. His size was prodigious, but his exact measurement not known. He had a very lengthened head, an elongated and sharp snout, and a terrific mouth, with formidable tusks of unusual mag- nitude and shape. The hair on the body was white, on the head yellowish, and on the neck was a black band ; the ears were very large and straight. Notwithstanding the prodigious bulk of this creature, he displayed great swiftness. THE WILD OKIGINAL. 15 In India, boar-hunting is still deemed a favorite diversion, and is eagerly pursued. The chase is usually followed on Arabian horses, which are preferable on account of their superior speed and tractability ; the boar goes off at first in a slow trot, which soon, on being pressed, merges into a shambling gallop ; the pace of the animal is then so swift that he can only be taken by running down. In a run of three miles the boar has often escaped alto- gether, and instances frequently occur of the chase extending , over seven miles of country. The ordinary height of the Indian 1 boar is three feet, but sometimes three feet six inches in height. The young of the Indian animal are of a pale yellow color, irre- gularly brindled with yellowish brown. In former times, the wild boar roamed the glades of our own , forests, and, as one of the noblest beasts of chase, had the honor iof enjoying, with his compeers, the express protection of royalty. !Of its existence, various records remain, and these consisting i chiefly of edicts or proclamations that had been issued, announ- i cing sundry pains and penalties as the consequence of its illegal I destruction. Fitzstephen, who wrote in the latter part of the twelfth century, , states, that boars, wolves, wild bulls, and other game, abounded in I the great forests surrounding London ; and Scottish writers have | not failed to mention those of Scotland. Of the precise date of the extinction of the wild boar in the I British Islands, we have no available record ; but it is known, that ; so recently as the date of Charles I. that monarch endeavored to I introduce these animals to the New Forest, Hampshire; these jwere, however, all destroyed in the civil wars. We conclude this chapter with a few observations as to the es- timation in which the hog has been held in different ages and in \ various lands. Moses, the inspired lawgiver of the Jews, prohibit- j ed the use of swine's flesh to his followers : " Because it divideth the hoof, yet cheweth not the cud." The Egyptians could eat pork only once a year, viz., on the Feast-day of the Moon, on which occasion they sacrificed to that luminary as a goddess. At all other times the hog was held to be unclean ; and if any one only touched one of these animals, he could not enter a temple, nor hold intercourse with his fellow-men, until he had dipped, clothes and all, in the waters of the far-famed Nile. Those em- | ployed as swineherds belonged to a class or caste, degraded, des- 'pised, and, like their charge, held in utter abomination. This 16 HOGS. aversion to the hog became transmitted to Northern Egypt, and the Copts altogether avoided rearing or keeping any of the race. The causes for these prohibitory enactments have been variously explained, but perhaps the most probable is, that in Egypt, Syria, and even the southern parts of Greece, the flesh of the hog, though in appearance white and delicate, is destitute of firmness, and is so overloaded with fat as to be calculated to disagree with the strongest stomach. An indulgence in such pork, therefore, under a burning sun, would possibly be attended with fatal conse- quences. Tacitus states, as the cause of swine's flesh being re- jected by the Jews, the liability of that animal to be afflicted with leprosy ; the use of sow's milk is mentioned by Plutarch as pro- ductive of that loathsome disease. It has been affirmed that the chief cause of the rejection of Ma- hometanism by the Chinese was, their partiality for the flesh of the hog, denounced by that religion as an abomination. During the days of the Roman empire, when epicurism had probably attained a greater height than it has ever since been per- mitted to reach, one of the most favorite dishes of the time, as well as the most fashionable, was a pig roasted entire, stuffed with various delicate birds and spices, steeped in choice gravies and costly wines. Another great Roman dish was an entire hog, one half roast and the other boiled, and so carefully and curiously prepared, that the most accurate eye could not discover the process by which the animal had been put to death, or the stuffing introduced. CHAPTER in. VARIETIES OP THE DOMESTIC HOG. Domestication has invariably the effect of producing varieties of any given species of animals. These variations from the orig- inal, spring from variety in the feeding and management — indi- vidual taste or caprice in breeding, with a view to a particular form or size — or the crossing with other and allied stock. It is possible that all these have operated in the case of the hog ; and it is certain that we have now, in the breeding of that animal, arrived as nearly at perfection as we could reasonably hope. It VARIETIES OF THE DOMESTIC HOG. 17 were well that breeders always knew where to stop, for even im- provement has a limit ; and crossing, when carried beyond a cer- tain point, will almost inevitably result in deterioration. It has been asserted, that there exist only three actual varieties of the domestic hog— the Berkshire, Chinese, and Highland, or Irish ; and that all other breeds, described as separate varieties, are nothing more than offshoots from one or other of these three main stocks. That such, to a certain extent, is the case, we admit. The fact is, however, that we are indebted for our numerous varie- ties of hog, as at present known, not only to these three well-known varieties, but also to the African hog — the Spanish, and Portu- guese, and the Italian — chiefly, however, to the wild boar of the European forests. THE CHINESE HOO. The Chinese Hog is to be met with in the south-eastern coun- ties of Asia, as Siam, Cochin China, the Burman empire, Cambo- 'dia, Malacca, Sumatra, and in Batavia, and other eastern islands. There are varieties of the hog in India and China, and hence the 18 HOGS. occasional confusion of nomenclature met with in Looks of natural history. There arc two well-marked varieties of the Chinese hog — that from Siam, and that from China proper. The chief, if not only, point of difference subsisting between them is, however, in color — the Siamese variety being usually Mack and the Chinese white. Neither of these hogs, however, present constant uniformity in this respect, their color frequently varying, and Mack hogs coming from China, while white ones are brought from Siam. Even in the same litter, have pigs of different colors frequently been seen, and instances of the occurrence of pied individuals. In the case of all animals submitted to the influence of domestication, color alone is by no means a safe criterion in the enumeration of varieties. The Chinese hog is of small size. His body is very nearly a perfect cylinder in form ; the back slopes from the shoulder, and is hollow, while the belly is pendulous, and in a fat specimen almost touches the ground. The ear is small and short, inclines to be semi-erect, and usually lies rather backward. The bone is small, the legs tine and short. The Bristles are so soft as rather to resemble hair. The skin itself is, in the Siamese variety, of a rich copper color, and the hair black, which gives to the general color of the animal somewhat the effect of bronzing. In the Chinese variety, the color is usually white, sometimes black, and occasionally pied. The white sort are deemed preferable, from the superior delicacy of their flesh. The face and head of the Chinese pig are unlike those of any other description of swine, somewhat resembling a calf. Both the Siamese and Chinese hogs are very good feeders, arrive early at maturity (a most important particular in any description of live stock), and feed fat, on less food, and become fatter and heavier within a given time, than any of our European varieties. The Chinese value the hog very highly ; they live more upon pork than on any other description of animal food; and it is said, that they even use the milk of the sow. The Chinese take great care of their swine, and pay particular attention to the quality and quantity of their food, feeding them at regular and stated intervals. They do not permit them to walk, but when necessary, have them carried from one place to another. They keep the beds and styes of their hogs scrupulously dry and clean ; it is to this attention that we are possibly to attribute the excellent qualities of Chinese pork. The Chinese hogs that VARIETIES OF THE DOMESTIC HOG. 19 we generally see in this country come principally from the vicinity of Canton, brought thence as sea stock. It is scarcely to be re- gretted that this breed is not sufficiently hardy to thrive in our climate. From this circumstance, we are compelled to limit the advantages we might otherwise derive from its introduction to crossing with our own coarser domestic breeds of swine. For this purpose it is truly valuable ; and the improved race, thus produced, is infinitely superior even to its Chinese progenitor, the latter, in a pure state, being too small, and hence answering rather for pork than bacon, besides fattening even too easily. Both these objec- tions are obviated in the cross, which has further the effect of re- storing diminished fecundity. The most profitable cross to be resorted to, was, in the first in- stance, found to be between the old English, which is not unlike the present Irish breed, and the black Chinese. This cross pro- duced a most capital breed, and a little judicious intermixture after- wards, with proper selection of boar and sow, has eventuated in the desired improvement. By too constant crossing with the Chinese, we may possibly diminish both the size and fecundity of our own hog. This circumstance should induce breeders at all events to use cau- tion and judgment, that they may be aware of the precise moment when they have arrived at the highest attainable perfection ; these observations will apply only to a very limited per centage of breeders ; the majority, requiring rather to be aroused from the indolence which induces them to abstain from all endeavors towards bettering the condition or character of their stock. The Chinese breed is not so well known in Ireland as it is in England, or in Scotland, although the climate of the last-named country appears so unsuitable to its constitution. France culti- vated this breed earlier than we, and the hog usually described as the Portuguese, is so extremely like the Chinese, that it has been made a question whether these varieties are not identical. In cases where the reader has reason to suspect that he has crossed too long from the Chinese breed, he will find a dash from the wild boar, or Westphalian, most valuable ; this cross will aid in restoring size, but have a still greater effect on the quality of the meat, causing the fat and lean to be more regularly mixed, and imparting to them a delicacy of flavor that will be duly ap- preciated by the lover of good pork or of sound sweet bacon. The imperfections in shape, and excess of bone and offal which cha- racterize the wild boar, will altogether disappear in the finer form 20 HOGS. of the degenerated stock with which you cross him. This cross will further supply a suitable thickness of skin — a most essential quality, especially in ptork — for in thin-skinned pork the cracklin or skin becomes so hard and metallic that no teeth can master it, whereas in a thick-skinned animal it is merely gelatinous, may be easily masticated, and is a part of the animal too much valued by epicures, and consequently too valuable in the shambles, to admit of being neglected by the judicious breeder or producer. This thinness of skin, so objectionable in a pork pig, becomes the reverse when the animal is designed for bacon. The small size, however, of the eastern hog renders him only suitable for pork, and hence one reason why too long crossing from him should be avoided. The thinness or thickness of the skin must not of itself alone be deemed a recommendation or the reverse. The thick skin must not be coarse, for a coarse thick skin denotes a bad stock, and pork encased in such a cuticle is shrunk in the cooking ; hence a practice with some cooks to score the skin even of boiled pork, in order to allow to the flesh room sufficient for swelling. THE BERKSHIRE. This county has the honor of being the first to avail itself 01 VARIETIES OF THE DOMESTIC HOG. 21 the opportunity of improvement afforded by the introduction of foreign stock, nor have its breeders paused where they began, or omitted following up with judgment, perseverance, and success, the advantage they thus, in the first instance, obtained. The Berkshire hog is of large size, and is almost invariably of a reddish brown color, with black spots or patches. The old breed of Berkshire is now extinct, and has been so for many years ; it had maintained a high reputation for centuries. It was long and crooked-snouted, the muzzle turning upwards ; the ears large, heavy, and inclined to be pendulous ; the body long and thick, but not deep ; the legs short, the bone large, and the size very great. This, of course, was not any thing like perfection ; the want of depth of body and the weight of bone were highly objec- tionable, but it was altogether a material improvement upon the gaunt and rugged old English pig, whom it speedily superseded. The modern and improved Berkshire was in Laurence's time lighter both in head and ear, shorter and more compactly formed, with less bone, and higher on the leg. This breed has been since still further improved by judicious crossing ; it still has large ears, inclining forward, but erect, is deep in the body, with short legs, small bone, arrives early at maturity, and fattens easily and with remarkable rapidity. In these improvements we recognize the results of intermixture with the Chinese, but also with another variety yet to be described. The colors and marking of the Berkshire hog show him also to owe a portion of his blood to the wild boar. The true and improved breed of Berkshire is of large size. One of the greatest improvers of modern times was Richard Astley, Esq., of Oldstone Hall. THE OLD IRISH "GREYHOUND HOG." These are tall, long-legged, bony, heavy-eared, coarse-haired animals, their throats furnished with pendulous wattles, and by no means possessing half so much the appearance of domestic swine as they do of the wild boar, the great original of the race. In Ireland the old gaunt race of hogs has, for many years past, been gradually wearing away, and is now perhaps wholly confined to the western parts of that country, especially Galway. These swine are remarkably active, and will clear a five-barred gate as well as any hunter ; on this account they should, if it be desirable to keep them, be kept in well-fenced inclosuies. The breed of hogs in 22 HOGS. Ireland has improved greatly of late years, and this, the old un- profitable stock, is rapidly disappearing. The form of the Irish hog is now so nearly approximated to that of the English, that the two animals are not readily distinguished from each other. Notwithstanding the rather unpromising exterior presented by the original old Irish hog, it would be unfair to omit recording his peculiar susceptibility of improvement. It may be well to add that the Irish swine possesses flesh of a peculiarly good flavor. The most remarkable breeds of hogs, are those of : SUFFOLK BOAR. Suffolk, said by most writers to be the most nearly related to the Chinese : my reasons for espousing this opinion will be found in the description of the animal, that of the Chinese being at the same time duly borne in mind. The Suffolk breed of Swine are a small, delicate pig, thin-skinned, soft-haired, small, pricked ear, — color white; they are in character like the Chinese, fed almost as easily, are more hardy, and possess more lean meat. The Cheshire breed is chiefly remarkable for its vast size, VARIETIES OF THE DOMESTIC HOG. 23 which is almost gigantic. It has a very large and heavy head, long narrow body, long legs, large bone, great heavy ears, and loose, ungainly skin : color, large patches of black and white, or blue and white, or white. This breed is susceptible of much im- provement by crossing with the Chinese, or the Neapolitan. The Hampshire. — This breed is not unfrequently confounded with the Berkshire, but its body is longer, and its sides natter ; the head is long, and the snout sharp. The color is usually dark spotted, but sometimes black altogether, and sometimes white. In many parts of Hampshire, especially in the neighborhood of the New Forest, it is usual to permit swine to pass a considerable portion of their existence in the woods; the result is superior quality of flesh, exhibiting much resemblance to that of the West- phalian hog, but still more delicately flavored. On this account, the Hampshire bacon is in much demand, and fetches a higher price than that of Westphalia. This is partly attributable to the mode of curing. The original breed of Hampshire was not such as I have described, being generally of a white color, coarse, raw- boned, and flat-sided. The present race owes its origin to the Berkshire, Suffolk, and Chinese breeds, and latterly to a cross from the Leicester ; the effect of the last has been increase of size, the j original race seldom exceeding four hundred pounds. The Yorkshire. — The old breed was about the very worst and | most unprofitable we had, being gaunt and greyhound shaped, I with long, ungainly legs and great excess of bone. Its constitu- I tion was likewise bad, it did not well endure the cold of winter, ! when severe, and hence was a bad sty-pig. These swine, how- | ever, attracted the attention of breeders to the improvement of | their form, for they possessed one excellent quality. They were j quicker feeders, and fattened more rapidly than many pigs more 'promising in external appearance. The improvement that ulti- imately proved successful was a cross with the true Berkshire. Shropshire. — The original pigs of this county were of a white j or brindled color ; the head was long and coarse, the ear large *and flabby, and the hair wiry — the leg also too long and the jweight of the bone great. A cross with the Berkshire and ori- ginal Chinese has greatly improved this stock. The same may be said of the Wiltshire breed, originally, it is believed, from Wales. They were long-bodied, low and hollow about the shoulder — high on the rump, of middling size, round-limbed ; large pointed ear ; of 24 HOGS. a light color. Of itself, of comparatively little value, but like the preceding breed, an excellent cross with the Berkshire stock. Herefordshire. — Generally supposed to be the result of a cross with the Shropshire ; it is shorter in the body, carries less bone than that breed, has also a lighter head, a smaller ear, a less rugged coat, and is altogether a far more valuable animal. This hog is little inferior to the Berkshire breed. Gloucestershire. — The Gloucestershire hogs are somewhat less in size than the preceding, and are also shorter in the body, rounder both in frame and limb, and altogether more compactly built. They make good store hogs, and their pork is of prime quality. Northamptonshire, of a light color, of a handsome shape, light and small ear, little bone, deepsided and compactly formed. This is a profitable porker and a good store, for he feeds well, fattens rapidly, and arrives early at maturity. Norfolk. — A small breed, with pricked erect ears ; color vari- ous, but generally white. The white colored are said to be the best ; when striated or blue, the breed is inferior, at least generally so. This is a short-bodied and compactly formed pig, and is an excellent porker. There is another Norfolk variety, of larger size, spotted, but inferior in point of delicacy. THE LEICESTER SOW. Leicestershire. — An ancient breeding district, and once great- ly celebrated for its swine. The old stock were large-sized, deep VARIETIES OF THE DOMESTIC HOG. 25 in the carcass, and flat-sided ; head and ear light and handsome ; color light spotted. Lincolnshire. — The old Lincolnshire breed was light color- ed, or even white, with, in most specimens, a curly and woolly- coat, of medium size ; good feeders, came early to maturity, and fattened easily. The Essex was in former days a very capital hog, but degene- rated, and, of course, lost the esteem of breeders. A recollection of the former good qualities which characterized the breed in- duced "some persons of practical judgment to revive it, which was accordingly done ; and now this hog, under the name of The Improved Essex, ranks, most justly, very high amongst our British breeds of swine. The improvement of this hog is due to a cross with the Neapolitan ; and this cross has been so fre- quently resorted to, that the pure Essex breed and the Neapoli- tan are so much alike that it is not every cursory observer who is capable of discriminating between them. It is probable, also, that the Chinese was employed in the regeneration. The Essex hog is up-eared ; has a long, sharp head ; a long and level carcass, with small bone ; color most frequently black, or black and white. This is a quicker feeder, but he requires a greater propor- tion of food than the weight he attains to justifies ; besides which, he is troublesome in a fold, being restless and discontented. The pure breed should be almost bare of hair, and black in color. There is another improved Essex breed called the Essex half blacks, resembling that which I have described in color, said to be descended from the Berkshire. This breed was originally intro- duced by Lord Western, and obtained much celebrity. They are black and white, short-haired, fine-skinned, with smaller heads and ears than the Berkshire, feathered with inside hair, a distinctive mark of both ; have short, snubby noses, very fine bone, broad and deep in the belly, full in the hind quarters, and light in the l bone and offal. They feed remarkably quick, grow fast, and are I of an excellent quality of meat. The sows are good breeders, and : bring litters of from eight to twelve, but they have the character j of being bad nurses. iTHE Sussex. — Black and white in color, but not spotted, that is to say, these colors are distributed in very large patches ; one-half — say, for instance, the forepart of the body — white, and the j hinder end black ; or sometimes both ends black, and the middle 2 26 HOGS. white, or the reverse. These are no way remarkable ; they sel- dom feed over 160 lbs. The Original Old English Breed was not very unlike the Old Irish or Highland ; long in the legs, large coarse ear, heavy head, rugged hair, and carrying too much bone to be profitable. This breed has yielded to the march of improvement ; and, unless in parts of Cornwall, it would be difficult to discover a surviving specimen. CHAPTER IV. varieties of the domestic hog continued CONTINENTAL VARIETIES. Of the Continental varieties of the hog, the most important, and which requires our attention in the first instance, is The Westphalian. — This is the animal whose hams are so VARIETIES OF THE DOMESTIC HOG. 27 much relished amongst us, and which, on that account, form no small item of the importations for which we are indebted to our German neighbors. The Westphalian hog requires little descrip- tion, for he is a very near relative of the wild boar of his native country ; and like that fierce and once formidable animal, usually roams at large in the forest, feeding chiefly upon beechmast and acorns, until slaughtered. The color of the adult Westphalian hog varies ; but in every case whatever may be the hue of the pa- rents, the young are, at birth and for some months afterwards, marked with the longitudinal bands characteristic of their wild blood. "* As to the improvement resulting from an occasional cross with the wild original, I refer to the animal under consideration. It is, in the first instance, to the cross that their excellent quality of flesh must be attributed. The Westphalian swine are seldom over-fat ; but they are not on that account to be deemed difficult to fatten. On the contrary, they will, if kept up, take fat with remarkable facility, and attain an enormous weight. The Neapolitan Swine. — This is a variety well worthy of at- tention, as a cross from it is productive of very remarkable im- provement. The color of the Neapolitan swine is black, with no bristles, and little or no hair. The flesh of these swine is ex- tremely delicately flavored, and the fat has not that rankness so objectionable in some other varieties ; they are anything but hardy animals, not being able to endure our climate ; it is merely as affording the opportunity of forming, by crossing, a valuable mixed breed, that they are deserving of notice. With the true Berkshire breed, the Neapolitan produces a cross, surpassed by none in every desirable quality, especially if a dash of the white Chinese be added. The intermixture of these breeds — the Nea- politan, Chinese, and Berkshire — may be regarded, if done judi- ciously, as the perfection of swine breeding. After having been a short time in this country, the Neapolitan hog begins to lose his naked appearance, and to acquire a coat better suitable to a more chilly climate. The French Swine. — The French appear to have long known the value of a cross with the Chinese variety of hog, and most of their best breeds bear evidence of having, more or less, relation- ship to that animal. The most remarkable French breeds are, those of Poitou, the Pays d'Auge, Perigord, Champagne, and Boulogne. 28 HOGS. The Poitou has a long and rather bulky head, with pendulous and somewhat coarse ears — an elongated body, broad and strong feet, and large bones ; its hair and bristles are harsh. That of the I'.iys d'Auge has a smaller head, with a sharp muzzle, narrow and pointed ears, long body, broad and strong limbs, but small bone — hair coarse, scanty in quantity, and of a white color. The Perigord swine are generally black — a very short and lumpy neck, with a broad and compact carcass. Those of Champagne are of considera- ble size, long-bodied and flat-sided, with a broad pendant ear. Those of Boulogne are related to the English breeds. Their color is usually white. They are of a large size, have a large broad ear, and are quick fatteners. It is to these swine that we are in- debted for the celebrated Boulogne sausages. CHAPTER V. POINTS OF A GOOD HOG. I would caution the reader against being led away by mere name, in his selection of a hog. A hog may be called a Berkshire, or a Suffolk, or any other breed most in estimation, and yet may, in reality, possess none of this valuable blood. The only sure mode by which the buyer will be able to avoid imposition is, to make name always secondary to points. If you find a hog pos- sessed of such points of form as are calculated to ensure early maturity, and facility of taking flesh, you need care little what it has seemed good to the seller to call him ; and remember that no name can bestow value upon an animal deficient in the qualities to which I have alluded. The true Berkshire — that possessing a dash of the Chinese and Neapolitan varieties — comes, perhaps, nearer to the desired standard than any other. The chief points which characterize such a hog are the following : — In the first place, suffi- cient depth of carcass, and such an elongation of body as will en- sure a sufficient lateral expansion. Let the loin and breast be broad. The breadth of the former denotes good room for the play of the lungs, and a consequent free and healthy circulation, essen- tial to the thriving or fattening of any animal. The bone should be small, and the joints fine — nothing is more indicative of high breeding than this ; and the legs should be no longer than, when POINTS OF A GOOD HOG. 29 fully fat, would just prevent the animal's belly from trailing upon the ground. The leg is the least profitable portion of the hog, and we require no more of it than is absolutely necessary for the sup- port of the rest. See that the feet be firm and sound ; that the toes lie well together, and press straightly upon the ground ; as, also, that the claws are even, upright, and healthy. Many say that the form of the head is of little or no consequence, and that a good hog may have an ugly head ; but I regard the head of all animals as one of the very principal points in which pure or im- pure breeding will be the most obviously indicated. A high-bred animal will invariably be found to arrive more speedily at maturity, to take flesh earlier, and with greater facility, and, altogether, to turn out more profitably, than one of questionable or impure stock ; and, such being the case, I consider that the head of the hog is, by- no means, a point to be overlooked by the purchaser. The de- scription of head most likely to promise, or rather to be the con- comitant of, high breeding, is one not carrying heavy bone, not too flat on the forehead, or possessing a too elongated snout — the snout should be short, and the forehead rather convex, curving up- wards ; and the ear should be, while pendulous, inclining somewhat forward, and, at the same time, light and thin. Nor should the buyer pass over even the carriage of a pig. If this be dull, heavy, and dejected, reject him, on suspicion of ill health, if not of some concealed disorder actually existing, or just about to break forth ; and there cannot be a more unfavorable symptom than a hung-down, slouching head. Of course, a fat hog for slaughter, or a sow heavy with young, have not much sprightliness of deport- ment. Nor is color altogether to be lost sight of. In the case of hogs, I would prefer those colors which are characteristic of our most esteemed breeds. If the hair be scant, I would look for black, as denoting connection with the Neapolitan ; but if too bare of hair, I would be disposed to apprehend too intimate alliance with that variety, and a consequent want of hardihood, that, however unim- portant if pork be the object, renders such animals hazardous speculations as stores, from their extreme susceptibility of cold, and consequent liability to disease. If white, and not too small, I would like them, as exhibiting connection with the Chinese. If light or sandy, or red with black marks, I would recognize our favorite Berkshire ; and so on, with reference to every possible variety of hiK'. These observations may appear trivial ; but they are the 30 HOGS. most important I have yet made, and the pig buyer will find his account in attending: to them. CHAPTER VI. HOUSES AND PIGGERIES. An enclosure, proportionate to the number of swine which you intend to keep, and, if possible, so managed as to admit of extrud- ing the accommodation, will be found the best for general purposes. It should be provided with a range of sheds, so situated as to be thoroughly sheltered from wind and weather, paved at the bottom, and sloping outwards. Relative to the paramount necessitv of cleanliness and dryness, let both enclosure and sheds possess the means of being kept so. In order to keep the sheds, which are designed as sleeping places, in a dry and clean state, an inclination out war- Is is necessary : a shallow drain should run along the whole of their extent, in order to receive whatever wet flows down the inclined plane of the sleeping huts ; and provision should also be made for this drain to carry off all offensive matters beyond the precincts of the piggery. The ground, on which the piggery is established, should likewise be divided into two parts, by a drain, which should run through it; and towards this drain each section should slope. This the main drain should be carried beyond the fold, and fall into a large tank or pit formed for that purpose. The object in view is to keep the pig-fold and styes in a clean and <]vy state, and to preserve the valuable liquid manure, which conies from the animals you keep. Some will probably inquire whether it would not be better to suffer the moisture to soak into earth or straw, or other substances on the floor of the enclosure, and then to clear all away periodi- cally, than to drain oil' the liquid into a tank. By drawing off the liquid you add to the cleanliness of your swine, and, in propor- tion, to their health and capacity for thriving; and the collection of the liquid manure into tanks is less troublesome than the re- moval of substances, saturated with it, from the floor of the fold, WOUld he. The sties should be so constructed as to admit of being closed up altogether, when desirable; for swine, even the hardiest breeds, HOUSES AND PIGGEKIES. 31 are susceptible of cold, and if exposed to it in severe weather, it will materially retard their fattening. The sty should be kept con- stantly supplied with clean straw. The refuse carted into the tank, will, in the form of manure, more than repay the value of the straw. It has been asserted, that swine do not thrive, if kept to- gether upon the same ground in considerable numbers ; this asser- tion rests on a want of ventilation and cleanliness. As to troughs, let them be of stone or cast metal ; — if of wood, the pigs will soon gnaw them to pieces ; — and let them be kept l y i y i y 1 a l d a @ n* 1 2 P 03 V \ V \ v } v A OS B DG D6 /d 5 PIGGERY. A, B, front ; C, C, rear for pens ; 5, 5, pens with alley between ; v, v, v, v, vats on level with pens; 1, safety valve ; 2, Steam pipe; 3, supply barrel to boiler; 6, boiler; /, furnace ; p, platform partly over boiler; 4, chimney; t. drain; w, water-cistern; g-, door to cellar; s, s, stairs; d, d, doors; 6, 6, scuttles to cellar ; t/, y, yards to pens. 32 HOGS. clean. Before each feeding, a pail of water should be dashed into the trough : this may be deemed troublesome, but it will confer golden nturns on those who attend to it. A supply of fresh water is essential to the well-being of swine, and should be freely furnished. Some recommend this to be effected by having a stream brought through the piggery ; and undoubtedly, when this can be managed, it answers better than any .thing else. Swine are dirty feeders, and dirty drinkers, usually plunging their fore-feet into the trough or pail, and thus polluting with mud and dirt whatever may be given to them. One of the advantages, therefore, derivable from the stream of running water being brought through the fold is, its being, by its run- ning, kept constantly clean and wholesome. If, therefore, you are unable to procure this advantage, it will be desirable to present water in vessels of a size to receive but one head at a time, and of such height as to render it impossible, or difficult, for the drinker to get his feet into it. The water should be renewed twice daily. I have hitherto been describing a piggery capable of contain- ing a large number ; a greater proportional profit will be realized by keeping a number of swine than a few. It may happen, however, that want of capital, or of inclination to embark in swine-feeding as an actual speculation, may induce many to prefer keeping a small number of pigs, or even perhaps one or two, in which case such accommodations as I have been describing would be more than superfluous. In this case, a single hut, well sheltered from wind and rain, and built with a due regard to com- fort, to warmth, with a little court surrounding its door, in which the tenant may feed, obey the calls of nature, and disport himself, or bask in the sunshine, will be found to answer ; a small stone trough, or a wooden one, bound with iron, to preserve it from being gnawed to pieces, will complete the necessary furniture. The trough will serve alternately for food and drink. Even, however, when this limited accommodation is resorted to, a strict attention to cleanliness is no less necessary than when operations are carried on, on the most extensive scale. Both the floor of the hut and that of the little court should be paved, and should' incline out- wards ; along the lowest side should be a drain, with a sufficient declination, and so contrived as to communicate with your dung- tank. The farther the manure-heap, or tank, from the dwelling, the better : vegetable matter, in progress of decomposition, gives rise to pestilential vapors, or miasmata. 33 When the weather is fine, a few hours' liberty will serve the health and the condition of your hog, and a little grazing would be all the better. Should you be desirous of breeding, and keep a sow for that purpose, you must, if you have a second hog, pro- vide a second sty, for the sow will require a separate apartment when heavy in pig, and when giving suck. This may be easily effected by building it against that which you have already erected, thus saving the trouble of raising more walls than are absolutely necessary ; and it need not have a court attached it, should it bo inconvenient for you to have one, as the best accommodation can be given up to the breeding sow, and your pigs will do well enough with a single apartment, if not too confined, and have sufficient ventilation ; and if you permit them the advantage of taking the air for a few . hours daily. The extensive feeder should have a boiler of large size, properly fitted up, and an apparatus for steam- ing, as some vegetables are cooked in this mode more advan- tageously than by boiling. The poor man can use a pot as a sub- stitute for a boiler, remembering in every case to clean it before using. Food should be presented to swine in a warm state — neither too hot nor too cold. A sty should be about seven or eight feet square, and the court about ten feet. The second sty need not be more than six feet square, and does not absolutely require a court. CHAPTER VII. BREEDING, REARING, AND FEEDING. In the selection of a boar and sow for breeding, much more atten- tion and consideration are necessary than people generally imagine. It is as easy, with a very little judgment and management, to procure a good as an inferior breed ; and the former is infinitely more remunerative, in proportion to outlay, than the latter can possibly ever be. In selecting the parents of your future stock, you must bear in mind the precise objects you may have in view, whether the rearing for pork, or bacon ; and whether you desire to meet the earliest market, and thus realize a certain profit, with the least .possible outlay of money, or loss of time ; or whether you mean 2* 3-i • :tit a ].-■■■ . what protracted return. If bacon, and I ct you will do well ■ s ge and heavy s _ care that the has the charact \ ssess f thos lalities i 51 likely a heavy return, viz : growth, and J _ I 5S ss :i. To that description I ref r my i pork, you will find your account in s nailer varii ties ; s h as arrive _ ?t rapidity at ma- turity, and which are like! I the mosl I sh. In t, it is not advisable that it should be too fat. without tiding proportion of lean : and. on this account, rather take a ss- - w than a pure Chii - -took, from which the over-fatl g results I s1 naturally be . The Berks! eros: < ;e, is - >rker lean In every case, whether \ . the points .'land chest, round ril 5, = , a haunch, falling almost ' • I loin, ample hips, and considerable 11 diould pi in view, and, perhaps, - the first point to ted, viz.: small 'iiess of b Let the Boar be less s I ' sow, s and more . with a raised and brawny neck, . small . firm, hard flesh, and his neck well furnished with bristl -. — in other res] ts. k for the s ts as 1 '-scribed in sow. Br _ ■ ithin too - 2 - ■■? con- _ inity, or, ; , is ulated to produced also 1 : fertility : it is ther< I lers maintain that a first crosi no harm, but, on the contrary, that it produe - - g which are ive earlier at maturity, and take fat with greater facility. This may in some insl - se ; it is so with tie, lit as far as , it is not my own ise age r and . r which bi _ 3 51 ■ will, if pen - : ; is . prac- -. :•> let the - .:r. at least, eighteen months ; but, 35 if the former have attained her second year, and the latter his third, a vigorous and numerous offspring are more likely to result. The boar and sow retain their ability to breed for about five years, that is, until the former is upwards of eight years old, and the latter seven. I do not recommend using a boar after he has passed his fifth year, nor a sow after she has passed her fourth, unless she have prove proved a peculiarly valuable breeder ; in which case, she might be suffered to produce two or three more litters. When you are done with the services of the boar, have him emasculated — an operation that can be performed with perfect safety at any age, — fatten or sell him. When it is no longer desirable to breed from the sow, kill her. Before doing so, it is a good plan to put her to the boar, as she takes fat afterwards more rapidly than she otherwise would. If a sow be of a stock characterized by an unusual tendency to take fat, it is well to breed from her at an unusually early age, — say eight or nine months ; for this tendency to fat, in a breeding sow, is highly objectionable, as conducing to danger in parturition. Let her have the boar a couple of days after pigging, and let her breed as frequently as she is capable of doing. This will effectually check the tendency to fat ; and, after having taken a few litters from her, you will find the rapidity with which, should you desire iier for the butcher, she will take flesh, quite extraordinary. In the case of such a sow, do not give the boar before putting her up to fatten. Feed the breeding boar well ; keep him in high condition, but not fat : the sow, on the other hand, should be kept somewhat low, until after conception, when the quantity and quality of her food should be gradually increased. The best times for breeding swine are, the months of March, and July or August. A litter obtained later than August has much to contend with, and seldom proves profitable ; some, indeed, state that when such an occur- rence does take place, whether from accident or neglect, the litter is not worth keeping. It is little use, however, to throw any thing away. Should the reader at any time have a late litter, let him leave them with the sow ; feed both her and them with warm and stimulating food, and he will thus have excellent pork, with which to meet the market, when that article is at once scarce and dear, and consequently profitable. By following this system of manage- ment, he will not only turn his late fitter to account, but actually ot> HOGS. realize almost as good a profit as if it bad been produced at a more favorable season. The period of gestation in the sow varies ; the most usual period during which she carries her young, is four lunar months, or six- teen weeks, or about one hundred and thirteen days. M. Teissier, of Paris, a gentleman who paid much attention to this subject, in connexion not merely with swine, hut other animals, states that it varies from one hundred and nine to one hundred and forty-three days; he formed his calculation from the attentive observation of twenty-five sows. The sow produces from eight to thirteen young ones at a litter, sometimes even more. Extraordinary fecundity, is, however, not desirable, for a sow cannot give nourishment to more young than she has teats tor, and, as the number of teats is twelve, when a thirteenth one is littered, he does not fare very well. The sufferer on these occasions is of course the smallest and weakest; a too numerous litter are all indeed generally undersized and weakly, and seldom or never prove profitable; a litter not exceeding ten will, usually, be found to turn out most advantageously. On ac- count of the discrepancy subsisting between the number farrowed by different sows, it is a good plan, if it can be managed, to have more than one breeding at the same time, in order that you may equalize the number to be suckled by each. The sow seldom recognizes the presence of a strange little one, if it have been in- troduced among the others during her absence, and have lain for half an hour or so amongst her own offspring in their sty. While the sow is carrying her young, feed her abundantly, and increase the quantity until parturition approaches within a week or so, when it is as w T ell to diminish both the quantity and quality. AVhile she is giving suck you cannot feed too well. You may wean the young at eight weeks old, and should remove them for that purpose from the sow ; feed them well, frequently, abun- dantly, but not to leaving, and on moist, nutritions food, and pay particular attention to their lodgment — a warm, dry, comfortable bed is of fully as much consequence as feeding, if not even of Should the sow exhibit any tendency to devour her young, or should she have clone so on a former occasion, strap up her mouth for the first three or four days, only releasing it to ad- mit of her taking her meals. Some sows are apt to lie upon, and crush their young. This may be best avoided by not keeping the sow too fat or heavy, and by not leaving too many young upon 37 her. Let the straw forming the bed also be short, and not in too great quantity, lest the pigs get huddled up under it, and the sow unconsciously over-lie them in that condition. The young pigs should be gradually fed before permanently weaning them ; and for first food, nothing is so good as milk, which may be succeeded by ordinary dairy wash, thickened with oat or barley meal, or fine pollard ; this is better scalded, or, better still, boiled. To the sow, some dry food should be given once daily, which might consist of peas, beans, Swedish turnips, car- rots, parsnips, or the like, either well boiled, or raw ; but I prefer the food to be always boiled, or, what is still better, steamed. Some wean the pigs within a few hours after birth, and turn the sow at once to the boar. Under certain circumstances, this may be found advantageous ; but I think that the best mode of manage- ment is to turn the boar into the hog-yard, about a week after parturition, at which time it is proper to remove the sows for a few hours daily from their young, and let them accept his over- tures when they please. It does not injure either the sow or her young if she take the boar while suckling, but some sows will not do so until the drying of their milk. Castration and Spaying should be only performed on such as you intend to keep, as you do not know what a purchaser's wishes on the subject might be. It is, of course, unnecessary for me to give any directions as to the mode of performing this ope- ration, as no amateur should attempt it, and men who make the practice their means of livelihood, are, in every district, not diffi- cult to be got at, or exorbitant in their terms. The sow is, if de- sirable, to be spayed while suckling ; the boar, as I have already stated, may be castrated at any age with perfect safety. At weaning time, Ring the young pigs. This operation must be a painful one, but scarcely so much so as the little sufferers would seem to indicate. Ringing is, however, absolutely neces- sary, unless the cartilage of the nose be cut away, a practice re- sorted to in substitution for it in some parts of England ; the lat- ter practice is, however, far more cruel than ringing, and its efficacy is by many stated to be at the best questionable. After about five weeks' high and careful feeding subsequent to weaning, the young pigs may be put up for stores, porkers, ' ; they are left so for two days, and then taken tin and rubbed as before, when they are laid down again, accord- ing to the space they have to fill — from three to six hams in height, with layers of salt between. After six days, the hams are reversed in the piles, that is, those that were packed on the top are put at the bottom. They then remain for six days longer in the pile, when they are considered cured. They are then taken up, and washed, and hung up to dry in the air. When they are to be smoked, they should be placed in a house made for that pur- pose, and smoked — in Belfast, with wheaten straw and sawdust, in Limerick with peat or turf. •• Tie' English method of cutting up and curing is similar to that practised in Belfast and Limerick, with the difference, that, with the. exception of Hampshire, and, I believe, one other county, they never smoke their bacon. " We have, this season, had imported a great quantity of hams and other bacon from Cincinnati, and Baltimore, in America. They are cut in the same manner as the Limerick, and are in much esteem. The cured shoulders of the hog have also been imporl d — cut straight across, with tie- blade in, and tic .-hank left attach- ed. We have also received middles, and quantities of pork, in bar- rels, which is merely the hog cut up in pieces, and pickled. " I have reason to know that there are at the present time num- bers of curers emigrating from our best curing districts to America, ami we may accordingly expect, ere long, to find our American hams surpassing, owing to tie- quali ty of tie- hogs they will have to operate upon, even our long-famed Limerick hams/' THE ESD. BY C. M. SAXTON, 152 PULTOK STEEET, NEW YORK, SUITABLE FOB SCHOOL, TOWN, AGRICULTURAL, AND PRIVATE LIBRARIES. The American Farm Book; The American Farm Book ; or, a Compend of American Agriculture, being a Practical Treatise on Soils, Manures, Draining, Irrigation, Grasses, Grain, Roots, Fruits, Cotton Tobacco, Sugar-Cane, Rice, and every staple product of the United States ; with the best methods of Planting, Cultivating, and Preparation for Market. Illustrated by more than 100 engravings. By R. L. Allen. Cloth, $1 ; mail edition, paper, 75 cts. 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