Harris on the pig. Breeding, rearing, management, and improvement

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HARRIS ON THE PIG.

BREEDING, REARING, MANAGEMENT,

AND

I M PR OVE M E N T.

BY

JOSEPH HARRIS,

MOEBTON PAKM, BOCHBSTKB, K,

ILLUSTRATED.

NEW YORK:
ORANGE JUDD AND COMPANY,

245 BROADWAY.

H 3

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1870, by
ORANGE JUDD & CO.,

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern
District of New York.

PREFACE.

Paradoxical as it may seem, in writing a book on Pigs
and in endeavoring to show that we can obtain more
meat from a well-bred pig, in proportion to the food con-
sumed, than from any other domestic animal, it is no part
of my object to stimulate the production of pork.

For over twenty years I have had the honor to be con-
nected with the Agricultural Press of America, and have
had my thoughts constantly directed to the means neces-
sary to improve our general system of farming. A farmer's
son, and myself a farmer, all my sympathies are with the
farming class rather than with the consumers ; but I am
satisfied that, in many respects, our interests are identical.
It should be our study to furnish good food at reasonable
rates. At the present time .the consumers in our large
cities are obliged to pay much more for flesh-meat than
it is intrinsically worth ; and, on the other hand, with
the exception of those who produce beef and mutton of
the best quality, farmers make nothing by raising and
feeding cattle and sheep. We receive more for our meat
than it is worth, and yet it costs us more than we get for it.

The remedy for this unsatisfactory condition of affairs,
will be found in cultivating our land more thoroughly, in
growing better grass, in keeping better stock and in liber-
al feeding.

The introduction of better breeds of pigs will in itself
do little towards improving our farms; but the farmer
who once uses a thorough-bred boar and adopts a liberal
system of feeding, will find that he can produce better
pork at a far less cost than when he uses a common boar ;
3

4 HAEKIS OX THE PIG.

and he will be likely to study the principles of breeding
with an interest he has never felt before. The introduc-
tion of a thorough-bred boar will lead to the introduction
of a thorough-bred ram and a thorough-bred bull of a good
breed, and this, in conjunction with cleaner culture and a
more liberal feeding, is all that is needed to give us better
and cheaper meat ; and at the same time we shall make
more and richer manure, and be enabled to grow larger
and far more profitable crops of grain.

I believe I was the first writer who contended that,
other things being equal, it was desirable to get animals
that would eat, digest and assimilate a large amount of
food. In the following pages I have endeavored to give
some reasons for this opinion and have cited some experi-
ments that confirm it. If true of pigs, it is equally true
of cattle and sheep. If generally admitted, it will lead to
a more liberal system of feeding and to the production of
more and far better meat.

It may be thought that I should have said more in re-
gard to the different breeds of pigs in the United States.
There is in almost every section a class of useful pigs of
more or less local reputation ; but it is doubtful if they
have been kept pure for a sufficient length of time to war-
rant us in speaking of them as established breeds. And
even if this were the case, I know of none of them that
possesses the smallness of offal, perfection of form, early
maturity, and fattening qualities of the Yorkshire, Essex
or Berkshire. There is none of them that would not be
improved in these respects by crossing with a thorough-
bred boar of either of these breeds.

Of the diseases of pigs I have said little, for the simple
reason that I know little in regard to them. Cleanliness
and good treatment are the best medicines for a pig.
Anatomically, a pig approximates more closely to a man,
than any other of our domestic animals, and if we know
how to treat a cold or a diarrhoea in ourselves, we shall

PREFACE. 5

not be far wrong in treating a pig in the same way. And
so of other diseases. It should be observed, however,
that a pig grows as much in eight months, as a man does
in eighteen years. This rapid growth enables the pig
either to throw off disease in a few days, or failing in
this, the disease soon spreads throughout the whole sys-
tem and carries off its victim. Thus typhoid fever is often
so rapidly fatal as to be popularly spoken of as " Hog
Cholera. " Our first aim, therefore, should be to guard
against all hereditary diseases in the selection of pigs for
breeding and to exercise great care in maintaining the
health and vigor of our swine.

In preparing this book, I have corresponded with many
experienced breeders, and in the appendix have given
some extracts from this correspondence.

We have been asked by a scientific fiiend to call this a
book on " the Hog " instead of on « the Pig." If it were
a work on natural history, hog would be the proper word,
but it is purely a practical treatise on domestic swine. A
pig is a young hog ; and the aim of this work is to induce
farmers to so breed and feed their pigs, that they will be
in the pork barrel long before they attain the age of an
old-fashioned hog. It is proper to speak of " the wild
hog," and there may be varieties of swine so little im-
proved as to be hogs stilL Let those who have them call
them hogs, but we cannot see the propriety of calling a
highly refined Essex or Berkshire pig, a hog. All the
modern agricultural writers on swine seem to have adopt-
ed this view. Not one of them speak of the improved
breeds as hogs. Stephens, in his Book of the Farm, and
the writers in Morton's Cyclopedia of Agriculture, treat
of pigs, not hogs. And Youatt, Martin, Richardson,
Sydney, and Darwin, all speak of domestic swine as pigs,
and it is hardly worth while for us to endeavor to change
the usuage of the best writers. We have no desire to
have our Western friends speak of the " Magie Hogs " as

6 HAEEIS ON THE PIG.

Pigs. We presume Hogs is the appropriate name for
them ; but if they should find it to their interest to cross
them with some of the refined thorough-breds, the grades,
if well fed, will arrive at maturity before they become
hogs. The wants of consumers, and the interests of pro-
ducers, call for more pigs, and fewer hogs, and it is the
object of this work to advocate the change.

J. H.

Moreton Farm, Itochester, )
N. Y., April, 1870, J

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY Page 9

CHAPTER H.
BREEDS OP PIGS 14

CHAPTER HI.
THE FORM OP A GOOD Pia 17

CHAPTER IV.
DESIRABLE QUALITIES IN A PIG 20

CHAPTER V.
LARGE vs. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES... .. 22

CHAPTER VI.
VALUE OP A THOROUGH-BRED PIG . . 35

CHAPTER VII.
GOOD PIGS NEED GOOD CARE 37

CHAPTER VHI.
THE ORIGIN AND IMPROVEMENT OP OUR DOMESTIC PIGS 41

CHAPTER IX.
IMPROVEMENT OP THE ENGLISH BREEDS OP PIGS 47

CHAPTER X.
THE MODERN BREEDS OP ENGLISH PIGS 56

CHAPTER XI.
BREEDS OP PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES 98

7

8 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

CHAPTER XII.
EXPERIMENTS IN'PIG FEEDING 118

CHAPTER XIH.
LAWES AND GILBERT'S EXPERIMENTS IN PIG FEEDING 122

CHAPTER XIV.
SUGAR AS FOOD FOR PIGS 135

CHAPTER XV.
THE VALUE OF PIG MANURE 137

CHAPTER XVI.
PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS 144

CHAPTER XVH.
SWILL BARRELS, PIG TROUGHS, ETC 169

CHAPTER XVm.
MANAGEMENT OF PIGS 175

CHAPTER XIX.
ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IN PIG FEEDING 181

CHAPTER XX.
LIVE AND DEAD WEIGHT OF PIGS 190

CHAPTER XXI.
BREEDING AND REARING PIGS 192

CHAPTER XXII.
MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BRED PIGS 203

CHAPTER XXHI.
THE PROFIT OF RAISING THOROUGH-BRED PIGS 220

CHAPTER XXIV.
COOKING FOOD FOR PIGS... 221

CHAPTER XXV.
SUMMARY...

CHAPTER XXVI.
APPENDIX

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

CHAPTER L

INTRODUCTORY.

Domestic animals are kept for several objects. The
Horse, Mule, and Ass, for labor ; the Ox for labor and
beef; the Cow for milk and beef; the Sheep for wool and
mutton, and in some countries for milk also ; Poultry for
feathers, eggs, and meat. The Pig, agriculturally, is kept
for meat alone. The sole aim of the breeder is to obtain
a pig that will produce the largest amount of pork and
lard from a given quantity of food.

The same is true of cattle when kept solely for beef. In
this case the main difference between the two animals is,
that the ox is provided with four stomachs, and is capable
of extracting sufficient nutriment, in ordinary cases, from
bulky food, while the pig has but one stomach — and that
comparatively a small one — and, consequently, requires
food containing a greater amount of nutriment in a given
bulk. Grass is the natural food of the ox ; roots, nuts, and
acorns, worms and other animal matter, the natural food
of the hog. The pig unquestionably requires a more con-
centrated food than the ox or the sheep.

The stomach of an ox weighs about 35 Ibs. ; tnat of a
Southdown or Leicester sheep from 3 to 4 Ibs. ; and that
of a pig 1 J Ibs.

The weight of the stomach, in proportion to each one
9 1*

10 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

hundred pounds of live weight, is : ox, 3 Ibs. ; sheep, 3 to
4 Ibs. ; fat pig, 0.66 Ibs. In other words, in proportion to
live weight, the stomach of an ox, or sheep, is about five
times as great as that of a pig.

It is quite evident, from these facts, that the pig is not
so well adapted to feed on grass or hay as the ox or sheep.

This is a strong argument against the hog as an eco-
nomical farm animal.

In proportion to the nutriment they contain, the con-
centrated foods are more costly than those of greater
bulk. Not only is their market price usually higher, but
it costs more to produce them. Elaboration is an expen-
sive process. The common white turnip, containing from
92 to 94 per cent of water, can be grown with less labor
and manure, and in a shorter period, than the Swedish
turnip, containing from 88 to 90 per cent of water, and
this less than the Mangel Wurzel, containing only 86 per
cent of water. Carrots, which are still more nutritious,
are even more costly, in proportion to the nutriment they
contain. This is probably a general law.

As the ox can subsist and fatten on less cencentrated
and less costly food than the pig, it follows, therefore, that
a pound of beef ought to be produced at less cost than a
pound of pork.

There are, however, several circumstances which modify
this conclusion. Pigs will eat food which, but for them,
would be wasted. Where grain or oil-cake is fed to cattle,
a certain number of pigs can be kept at a merely nominal
cost. We can in no other way utilize the refuse from the
house and the dairy so advantageously as by feeding it
to swine. On grain farms, pigs will obtain a good living
for several weeks after harvest, on the stubbles, and in
some sections, they find a considerable amount of food in
the woods.

Even where we have none of these advantages, the dif-
ference in the cost of producing a pound of beef and a

INTRODUCTORY. 11

pound of pork is not so great as the above considerations
would lead us to suppose. The hog is a great eater. He
can eat, and digest, and assimilate, more nutriment in a
given time, in proportion to his size, than any other of our
domestic animals.

The extensive and elaborate experiments of Messrs.
Lawes and Gilbert show that, notwithstanding pigs are
fed much richer food than oxen and sheep, they neverthe-
less eat about twice as much food, in proportion to live
weight, as a sheep. On the other hand, it was found that
401 Ibs. of Indian corn meal and bran (dry) produced
100 Ibs. of pork (live weight), while it required 1,548 Ibs.
of oil -cake and clover hay (dry) to produce 100 Ibs. of
mutton (live weight.)

Why a pig should gain so much more from a given
quantity of food, than a well-bred sheep or steer, has not
hitherto been explained. It has been attributed to the
fact that the pig possesses larger and more powerful as-
similating organs.

Thus, Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert say : " An examination
of these tables [of results of experiments] will show
that the stomachs and contents constituted

In the oxen about \\.}4 Per cen* of the entire weight of the body.
" " sheep " 7>£ " " '• " " " "

" " Dl£? " I1/ " " " " " " "

" The intestines and their contents, on the other hand,
stand in an opposite relation. Thus, of the entire body,
these amounted

In the pig to about 6%" per cent.
" " sheep " " m " "
." " oxen " " 2% " "

" These facts," they remark, " are of considerable inter-
est, when it is borne in mind, that in the food *of the
ruminant there is so large a proportion of indigestible
woody fibre, and in that of a well-fed pig a comparatively
large proportion of starch — the primary transformations

12 HARRIS Otf THE PIG.

of which are supposed to take place chiefly after leaving
the stomach, and more or less throughout the intestinal
canal."

These facts explain very clearly why an ox or a sheep
can thrive on more bulky food than a pig ; also why a pig
can assimilate more food than an ox or a sheep, but they
do not show why a given amount of food should produce
so much more flesh and fat when fed to the pig than when
fed to oxen or sheep — unless, indeed, we are to suppose
that in the case of the ox and the sheep, a considerable
proportion of the food passes through the body undigest-
ed and unassimilated. But an analysis of the excre-
ments indicates nothing of this kind. Except when an
excessive amount of grain is allowed, the food is unques-
tionably as thoroughly digested and assimilated in the
ox and the sheep, as in the pig.

We must, therefore, look for some other explanation of
the fact that pigs can gain more rapidly on a given
amount of nutriment than oxen or sheep.

An animal requires a certain amount of nutritive matter
merely to sustain life. This matter may be derived either
from the daily food supplied, or from matter previously
stored up in the body. The actual amount required, va-
ries greatly according to the conditions in which the ani-
mal is placed. If kept comfortably warm and quiet, less
is required than if exposed to cold, or compelled to labor.
But in all cases, wherever life exists, a certain amount of
nutritive matter is necessary for its support. Directly or
indirectly, this is always derived from the food.

How much food is necessary to keep an animal so that
it shall neither gain nor lose in flesh, has not been accu-
rately ascertained. Thousands of animals are so kept,
but the actual amount consumed is seldom determined.
It often happens that cows, not giving milk, are so kept
during the winter that they do not weigh a pound more
in the spring than in the fall. We receive absolutely noth-

INTRODUCTORY. 13

ing for the food they eat. It is all consumed in sustaining
the vital functions.

A well-bred Shorthorn has been made to weigh 1,200
Ibs. by the time it was a year old. On the other hand, an
ox is sometimes kept five years before it attains this
weight. The Shorthorn was fed a considerable amount
of food over and above that required to sustain life, while
the other had little more than was necessary for this pur-
pose. Let us assume that the latter ate 4 tons of hay a
year, and that 80 per cent of it was used merely to sus-
tain life. At the end of five years he would have con-
sumed 20 tons of hay, 16 tons of which have been used
merely to sustain the vital functions, and' 4 tons have been
converted into 1,200 Ibs. of animal matter.

The Shorthorn accomplished the same result in one
year; and we may reasonably suppose that in this case
also, 4 tons of hay or its equivalent, were sufficient to fur-
nish the material necessary for the formation of this
amount of animal growth. We may further assume that
at any rate no more food was required to sustain the vital
functions in the Shorthorn than was required by the other
animal. This we have estimated at 3 tons 4 cwt. a year.
It follows, therefore, that the Shorthorn, by eating 7 tons
4 cwt. of hay or its equivalent, in a single year was ena-
bled to produce as much beef as the other steer produced
by the consumption of 4 tons a year for five years. The
consumption of less than twice as much food enabled the
Shorthorn to increase five times as rapidly as the other.
Seven tons 4 cwt. of hay, or its equivalent, produced as
much growth (and probably more beef and fat), when fed
to the animal capable of eating and assimilating it.

These considerations will show why a pig, that can eat
so much more food than a sheep or an ox, in proportion
to size, is enabled to grow so much faster, in proportion to
the food consumed.

The fact that the pig has greater powers of assimilating

14 HAERIS ON THE PIG.

food, merely explains why he can grow so rapidly, but it
throws no light on the fact that he can gain more rapidly,
in proportion to the food consumed, than any other do-
mestic animal. The real explanation of this fact is the
one given above. He can eat more, digest more, and as-
similate more, over and above the amount of food neces-
sary to sustain life.

CHAPTER II.

BREEDS OF PIGS.

Like all other animals, pigs adapt themselves to the cir-
cumstances in which they are placed. Where the supply
of food is scanty and uncertain, they grow slowly, and
are long in coming to maturity. Where they have to
travel far in search of their food, they have legs adapted
for the purpose ; and if they are obliged to seek their
food under ground, their snouts soon become long and
powerful. Where they are liable to molestation or attack,
they soon acquire a ferocious disposition and the means
for defence. On the other hand, where they have a liberal
and constant supply of food, where they are provided
with warm and comfortable quarters, and are never harshly
treated, they become gentle in disposition, are indisposed
to roam about, have finer hair and skin, shorter and finer
legs, smaller head, ears and snout. They grow rapidly
and mature early.

Such a change does not take place at once ; and the
same may be said of the conditions. A rude system of
agriculture is never immediately followed by high farm-
ing. There must be intermediate changes. And so it is
with our domestic animals. We have almost as many
kinds of hogs as we have different kinds or systems of
farming. We do not call them breeds, because there is

BREEDS OF PIGS. 15

little permanency of character about them. They are
constantly changing, just as the management of their own-
ers varies.

A breed possesses fixed characteristics. If fully estab-
lished, and the conditions of feeding and management are
not changed, these characteristics are transmitted from
generation to generation. In pigs, owing to their fecund-
ity, it is a comparatively easy matter to establish a breed.

Man does not create a breed. God alone creates. All
that we can do is to avail ourselves of that inherent dis-
position which animals have of adapting themselves to
the conditions in which they are placed. The conditions
are under our control. Let the breeder first make up his
mind what system of feeding and management he will
adopt. Then let him steadily and perseveringly adhere
to it. An unstable man can never be a successful breeder.
If he wishes a breed that will grow moderately 0n a mod-
erate allowance of food, and arrive at maturity in two or
three years, he can attain his object by feeding moderately
and selecting such pigs to breed from, as come nearest his
wishes. If any pigs in the litter manifest a disposition to
grow rapidly, they must be rejected. Such pigs are not
suited to a moderate allowance of food. Their offspring
will certainly degenerate. Better select those which
make the slowest growth, and which are consequently
least likely to experience the injurious effects of starva-
tion. By steadily pursuing this method, a breed can be
obtained which will eat little and grow slowly, and yet
remain healthy. If it is desired to have them attain a
greater weight without increasing the daily allowance of
food,' attention must be directed to this object. Do not
let either the sow or the boar breed until they have at-
tained their fullest growth, say at three, four, or five years
of age.

The advantage of such a breed lies in the fact that it
would suffer less from occasional starvation, than breeds

10 HARRIS OX TEIE PIG.

which are adapted to grow rapidly, and mature early, on
liberal feeding. But of course such a breed can only be
profitable where the food costs little or nothing — and
even in this case it may well be questioned whether a
breed that eats more and gains faster would not be more
profitable. All that we wish to show is, that no matter
what the object of the breeder is, he can attain it. He
can raise a breed adapted to any system of feeding and
management he desires to adopt. In point of fact, the
pigs will adapt themselves, sooner or later, to the supply
of food and the means necessary for them to use, in order
to obtain it. The breeder can, by selection, greatly acceler-
ate the change, but the main cause is the food and treat-
ment. In this sense the " breed goes in at the mouth."

If a farmer wishes a breed of pigs that will grow with
great rapidity and fatten early, he cannot attain his object
without liberal feeding. If he will furnish this for sev-
eral generations and at the same time provide warm and
comfortable quarters, and never suffer the pigs to be
harshly treated or neglected, he will do much to secure
his object. Selection will do the rest. It is generally
supposed that the success of the breeder depends mainly
on his ability to select a boar — having those points fully
developed in which his sows are most deficient ; and
doubtless this requires much skill and nice discrimi-
nation. But we are satisfied that the cause of failure
is generally owing to inconstant or illiberal feeding.
The breeder must love his animals, and must give them
his constant personal attention. A few weeks' neglect,
starving at one season and surfeiting at another, harsh
treatment, and damp, dirty pens, will counteract all the
advantage derived from months of good management.

Nature protects herself. The offspring of animals lia-
ble to such occasional neglect will, so to speak, expect such
treatment, and even if they themselves have liberal and

THE FORM OF A GOOD PIG. 17

constant feeding, they will not possess the qualities of
rapid growth and early maturity, in the highest degree.

It is the weakest link that determines the strength of a
chain. And so far as inherited qualities are concerned,
the rapidity of growth will be influenced more by the pe-
riods of neglect and starvation, than by the occasional
periods of high feeding. Starving a young, well-bred
sow may not show any great and injurious effect on the
sow herself, but the offspring of such a sow, if she breed
at all, will be seriously injured. A few months starvation
and neglect may counteract nearly all the advantages
which the breed has acquired by generations of careful
breeding and feeding.

CHAPTER III.

THE FORM OF A GOOD PIG.

The aim of all breeders of animals designed solely for
meat, is to have the body approximate as closely as possi-
ble to the form of a parallelepiped. In proportion to the
size, an animal of this form contains the greatest weight.
Hence it is, that farmers who have kept nothing but
common pigs, and who look upon a well-formed, grade
Essex or Suffolk as " small," are surprised to find, when
brought to the scales, that it weighs more than an old-
fashioned, ill-formed pig of much greater apparent size.

Another advantage of this form is, that it gives a greater
proportion of the most desirable parts of the pig.

In a pig of this form the ribs are well-arched. We can-
not have a flat, broad, " table-back " without this. And
consequently the muscle which runs along each side of the
vertebrae, is well developed, and we have a large quantity
of meat of the best quality.

18

HAEEIS ON THE PIG.

This form also affords abundant room for the lungs,
stomach, and intestines ; and it is on the capacity of
these organs to convert a large amount of comparatively
cheap food into a large quantity of flesh and fat that de-
termines the value of the animal

We annex a portrait of a tolerably well-formed pig,
with lines showing how to apply the test above alluded

to. The nearer he
will fill the rectangu-
lar frame, the nearer
he approaches to
perfection of form.
It would be well, for
lr farmers to place a
straight cane along
the back, also along

Fig. 1.-TESTINC, THE *OEM O* A PIO. ^ ^^ shoul(Jers

and hams of their pigs, and see how near they come up to
the desired standard.

The length of a pig should bear a certain proportion to
his breadth. Many farmers object to the improved breeds,
because they are too short. In point of fact, however,
they are often longer than their ill-bred favorites. They
appear short, because they are so broad. A large-boned
hog is longer than one having small bones. There are as
many vertebrae in the shortest Suffolk as in the longest
Yorkshire.

A fine-boned pig cannot be long-bodied. It may ap-
pear long, but this will usually be because it is narrow.
Breadth and depth are of far greater importance than
length. Robert Bakewell, the originator of the improved
Leicester sheep, and one of the most skillful and expe-
rienced breeders in the world, is said to have formed a
breed of pigs that, when fat, were "nearly equal in
height, length, and thickness, their bellies almost touching
the ground, the eyes being deep set and sunk from fat,

THE FORM OF A GOOD PIG. 19

and the whole carcass appearing to be a solid mass of
flesh." Bakewell left no record of his mode or principles
of breeding, but the following sentence from the descrip-
tion of his pigs above quoted, throws light on the point
we are now considering : " These pigs are remarkably fine-
boned and delicate, and are said to lay on a larger quan-
tity of meat, in proportion to bone and offal, than any oth-
er kind known." In other words, Bakewell, with all his
skill, could not obtain fineness of bone, and length too,
any more than a builder could reduce the size of his
bricks, and then make the same number form as long a
wall. What he probably did, was, to take a large pig and
reduce the size of the bones, and consequently the length
of body, without reducing the breadth and depth of the
animal.

In a common sow, to be crossed with a thorough-bred
boar, length of body is often very desirable ; but in a
thorough-bred pig it is a doubtful quality, as indicating a
want of breadth and fineness of bone.

The head of a pig should be set close to the shoulders.
The broader and deeper the cheeks, the better, as next to
the ham and shoulder there is no choicer meat on the pig.
A well-cooked cheek of bacon, with roast chicken, is a
dish for an epicure.

The snout should be short and delicate, and the ears
small and fine. A thick, heavy, pendant ear is an indica-
tion of coarseness and is never desirable in a thorough-bred
pig. It should be small, fine, soft, and silky. It should be
well set on the head and lean a little forward, but not fall
over. An ear that is upright indicates an unquiet disposi-
tion.

20 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

CHAPTER IV.

DESIRABLE QUALITIES IN A PIG.

As the domestic hog is kept solely for its flesh and fat,
the pig that will afford the greatest amount of meat and
lard of the best quality at the least cost, other things be-
ing equal, is the most profitable breed.

It has been well said that Cincinnati owes its wealth to
the discovery of a method of putting 15 bushels of corn
into a three-bushel barrel, and transporting it to distant
markets. This has been accomplished by means of the
pig. He converts 7 bushels of corn into 100 Ibs. of pork.

In accomplishing this result, the organ of first import-
ance is the stomach. It is here that the first change in
this wonderful process commences. In a flouring mill we
have a water-wheel or steam-engine which drives the
stones, and the machinery for removing the bran and oth-
er inferior products of the grain from the fine flour. The
capacity of the establishment is determined by the motive
power and the " run of stones." A pig is a mill for con-
verting corn into pork. The stomach is at once the
w;iter-vvheel or steam-engine, and the stones for grinding
the grain, — and the motive power, which runs the mill
and the machinery, is derived from the consumption of corn.

Now, if we furnish merely corn enough to run the ma-
chinery, and put no grain in the hopper, we lose not only
the use of the mill, but of all the grain used for fuel.

If we should keep the mill supplied only half the time,
and yet keep the machinery running at full speed night
and day, (as we must needs do in the case of an animal)
would it be considered good management ?

Let us see. Suppose it takes 75 Ibs. of corn to run the
machinery. If we furnish no more than this, we get noth-
ing in return. If we furnish 100 Ibs., (say 75 Ibs. for
fuel and 25 Ibs. for the hopper,) we may obtain, say 20

DESIRABLE QUALITIES IN A PIG. 21

Ibs. of flour. If we furnish another extra 25 Ibs. to the
hopper, or 125 Ibs. in all, we get 40 Ibs. of flour ; if we
furnish 150 Ibs., we get 60 Ibs. of flour. In other words,
150 Ibs. of corn will furnish three times as much flour as
100 Ibs.

It may be said that more power would be required to
run the mill when it is grinding than when it is running
empty. But in the case of an animal it is doubtful how
far this objection holds. It is not improbable that the
conversion of each additional pound of corn into pork
generates the amount of power necessary for the change.
But whether this be so or not, no one can question the
advantage to be derived from furnishing all the grain that
the mill will grind and manufacture.

Of the desirable qualities in a pig, therefore, a vigorous
appetite is of the first importance. A hog that will not
eat, is of no more use than a mill that will not grind. And
it is undoubtedly true that the more a pig will eat in pro-
portion to its size, provided he can digest and assimilate
it, the more profitable he will prove.

The next desirable quality is, perhaps, quietness of dig-
position. The blood is derived from the food, and flesh is
derived from the blood. Animal force is derived from the
transformation of flesh. The more of this is used in un-
necessary motions, the greater the demand on the stomach,
and the more food will there be required merely to sustain
the vital functions — and the more frequently flesh is
transformed and formed again, the tougher and less pala-
table it becomes.

This quality, or quietness of disposition, combined with
a small amount of useless parts or offal, has been the
aim of all modern breeders. Its importance will readily
be perceived if we assume that 75 per cent of the
food is ordinarily consumed to support the vital func-
tions, and that the slight additional demand of only
one-sixth more food, is required for the extra offal

22 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

parts and unnecessary activity. Such a coarse, restless
animal would gain, in flesh and fat, in proportion to the
food consumed, only half as fast as the quiet, refined
animal.

A little calculation will show this to be true in theory,
as it is undoubtedly true in practice. Thus take two pigs.
No. 1 eats 100 Ibs. of corn, 75 Ibs. of which are required
to sustain the vital functions. He gains, say 20 Ibs.

No. 2, a coarse, restless pig, eats 100 Ibs. of corn, 87£
Ibs. of which are necessary to support the vital functions.

No. 1 has 25 Ibs. of food over and above the amount
required to sustain the vital functions, and gains 20 Ibs. of
pork. No. 2 has only 12J Ibs., and consequently, cannot
produce more than 10 Ibs.

To assume that a rough, coarse, savage, ill-bred, squeal-
ing, mongrel hog will require only one-sixth more food to
"run his machinery," than a quiet, refined, well-bred
Berkshire, Essex or Suffolk pig will not be considered ex-
travagant ; and yet it undoubtedly follows that, for the
food consumed, the quiet pig will gain in flesh and fat
twice as fast as the other. If in addition to this he will
eat 25per cent more food, he will gain four times as fast.

The two great aims of every pig breeder should be to
lessen the demands on the stomach for offal or least valu-
able parts, and for unnecessary activity on the one hand,
and on the other to increase the power of the stomach,
and digestive and assimilative organs as much as possible.

CHAPTER V.

LARGE vs. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES.

Mr. Lawes' experiments on the different breeds of sheep,
prove conclusively that well-bred mutton sheep of the same
age, consume food in almost exact proportion to their size

LARGE VS. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES. 23

or live weight. Two Cotswold sheep, weighing 120 Ibs.
each, will eat as much food as three Southdown sheep,
weighing 80 Ibs. each. But the two Cotswolds will gain
much more than the three Southdowns. The average in-
crease for one hundred Ibs. live weight was, with the Cots-
wold, 2 Ibs. 2 oz. per week ; and with the Southdowns,
1 Ib. lOf oz. per week — both breeds having precisely the
same food. In other words, two Cotswold sheep, weigh-
ing 120 Ibs. each, would eat the same amount of food as
three Southdowns weighing 80 Ibs. each; but the two
Cotswolds would gain 17 Ibs. each, while the three South-
downs gained only 9 Ibs. each. Where Cotswold mutton
brings as much per pound as the Southdown, it is evident
that the Cotswolds are the more profitable breed for fat-
tening.

We know of no similar experiments on the different
breeds of pigs. Reasoning from analogy, we might con-
clude that, as the large Cotswold sheep gained much more,
for the food consumed, than the small Southdowns, the
large Yorkshire pigs would gain much more, for the food
consumed, than the small Suffolks.

This may or may not be true. If it should prove to be
a fact, we should conclude that a pig of the large breed
ate much more food over and above the amount required
to keep up the animal heat and sustain the vital functions,
than a pig of the small breed; and, as we have attempted
to show in a previous chapter, the large pig would, in such
a case, gain much more in proportion to the food consum-
ed, than the small pig of the same age.

There can be no doubt that a large pig, other things
being equal, will eat more food than a small pig of the
same age.

It is equally true that a large pig, at ordinary temper-
atures, will not require, in proportion to its weight, as
much food to keep up the animal heat as a small pig. A
pig weighing 100 Ibs. will not radiate as much heat as two

24 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

pigs weighing 50 Ibs. each. The larger the pig, the less
surface is there exposed to the atmosphere in proportion to
weight.

It follows, therefore, that a large pig, eating more food
and losing less animal heat, would have a greater amount
of food to be appropriated to the formation of fat and
flesh, in proportion to live weight, than a smaller pig of
the same age.

So far as this kind of reasoning goes, therefore, it would
seem that the large breeds of pigs are preferable to the
small breeds.

This conclusion is opposed to the opinion of a large
number of very intelligent and observing pig breeders
and feeders. There can be no doubt that the weight
of testimony, so far as the production of a given amount
of pork from a given amount of food is concerned, is
against the large breeds.

The truth of the matter is probably this : The small
breeds mature earlier than the large breeds. This in itself
is a great advantage. The pigs are not only ready for the
butcher at an earlier age, but as animal life is always at-
tended by a constant transformation of tissue, every day
we gain in time, saves the amount of food necessary to
supply this waste and keep up the animal heat.

Early maturity, therefore, is one of the principal aims
of the breeder and feeder. But early maturity is always
attended with a diminution of size ; and the small breeds
owe their value, not to their small size, but to their early
maturity and tendency to fatten while young.

In point of fact, however, the term Small Breed or
Large Breed, as used by our Agricultural Societies, has
no very distinct meaning. The New York State Agricul-
tural Society offers prizes for two classes of pigs — and
only two.

1st. " Large Breed ; which, when full grown and fatten-
ed, will weigh over 450 Ibs. dressed."

LARGE VS. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES. 25

2d. " Small Breed ; which, when full grown and fatten-
ed, will not weigh over 450 Ibs. dressed."

Exhibitors seem to have entered their pigs in the class
for small breeds one year, and in that for large the next.
Berkshire, Essex, Suffolk and Yorkshire have all been ex-
hibited, first in one class and then in another, and fre-
quently the same breeder will exhibit Berkshire or Essex
at the same fair in both classes.

The, same state of facts seems to exist in England.
There are Large Yorkshires and Small Yorkshires, Large
Berkshires and Small Berkshires. Of late years, a
new class of " Medium " Breeds has been formed at the
Agricultural Shows. There, as here, it is not always easy
to determine the class to which a particular breed belongs.
An English breeder of " Small Yorks," says he can " get
them up profitably to 600 Ibs. when thick bacon is required."

On the other hand, the advocates of the Large York-
shires claim that pigs of this breed " attain a good bacon
size at a very early age, and when killed, they cut more
lean meat in proportion to the fat than the smaller breeds."

A sow of this breed, which took the Prize at Rother-
ham, in 1856, age three years and two months, weighed
1,315 Ibs.*

The author above quoted, says : " The large breed is
equally valuable for making large or small bacon, that be-
ing only a matter of age ; as porkers of a few weeks old,
they are un equaled ; their flesh being very rich and well-
flavored, and not so fat as the small breeds."

On the other hand, Mr. George Mangles, of Givendale,
Ripon, one of the largest and most successful breeders
and feeders in Yorkshire, furnishes the London Farmers'
Magazine, for June, 1861, the following interesting ac-
count of his experience :

" About ten years ago, I commenced pig-keeping on a

* Youatt on the Pig. By S. Sidney. London : ISfljO. Page 14.
2

20 HAKKIS ON THE PIG.

larger scale than the generality of farmers. What I
wanted, and what my farm required, was a quantity of
good manure. I first tried buying stores in the neighbor-
hood, but soon gave that up, as they were chiefly of the
large breed, and required too much food and liberty. I
had no alternative but to breed my own stores. With a
view to find a profitable sort, I purchased a few of the
best from different breeders of note, and kept them sepa-
rate, and also a few stores of each sort together, living on
the same kind of food. I also tried the different crosses ;
but, to get the cross, I must have pure stock at first ; so I
considered it best to keep to a pure breed. I tried the
Essex, the black Leicester, the Berkshire, the large York-
shire, the small Yorkshire, and lastly the Cumberland
small breed. I must confess that at the outset I had but
little experience to guide me ; not understanding the prin-
ciples of breeding, I committed many foolish mistakes,
which I paid dearly enough for ; and if these few lines
should meet the eye of any one wishful to form and keep
a breed of pigs, I shall be glad for such a man to profit
by the experience of another. I never expected pigs to
live on nothing : because the manure made from pigs liv-
ing on nothing would be worth nothing, and it was good
manure I was aiming at. I found any breed pay, except
the large breeds. All the crosses having the small breed
for the sire always paid : whichever breed is intended to
be kept, the best bred ones should be obtained. I do not
advocate breeding in-and-in ; but I do advocate, if you
want to maintain the same style of animal, generation after
generation, to cross with the same blood, but as far dis-
tant as you can get it. I do not know a better sign of
pure breeding than a litter of pigs all alike, or three or
four sisters breeding alike to the same boar. "When the
breed is obtained, one thing must always be kept in mind,
the first boar a sow is put to, influences the succeeding lit-
ters for three or four times.

LARGE VS. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES. 27

"After the breeding, come the feeding and attention.
Milk and fat must go in at the mouth before it makes its
appearance in the animal. I do not believe those, who say
their pigs get fat on nothing. I know from experience
that one pig would live where another would starve, and
what it would take to make one large-bred pig fat, would
make several smaller-bred ones 'up.' A great help to
profitable pig-keeping is warmth, and confinement, and
regularity in feeding ; as "by also keeping the skin of the
animal clean by washing and brushing occasionally. If
two animals of the same litter be put into two different
sties, and have the same quantity of food each, the one
that is kept warm and with the skin clean will gain more
weight than the other. I found that out one winter, when
Jack Frost was astir, before I put up a new pig-shed. My
man was feeding a lot of pigs alike, tfnly some were in
common sties and others in a warm shed. The difference
was very striking : those kept warm fed nearly half as fast
again as the others. This induced me to build a long
covered shed sixty feet long and eighteen feet wide, that
would hold seventy porkers or fifty bacon pigs, where,
when the thermometer has been below freezing point out-
side, it has inside been very warm and comfortable. The
pigs have their food warm in winter, and are never starv-
ed by the cold ; they are bedded with clean straw every
otlier day, and the shed is kept rather dark. The manure
made is of first quality and fit to use for turnips.

" Perhaps some of the readers of this paper would like
to know something about the dietary of my pigs. I have
not included sugar in my list of feeding ingredients. I
have never gone higher than new milk, which they always
take without sweetening. In the first place, I must say
that I exhibit at a few of the leading agricultural meet-
ings, and am generally, if not at the top of the ladder,
not many spokes off. I keep my breeding stock different
to my show stock, as I do not like breeding animals to be

28 HABRIS ON THE PIG.

over-fat ; but show animals are obliged to be fat, or the
judges will pass them over. The over-feeding of prize
animals is a very great evil, but one that can not be very
well remedied. A show of lean breeding animals would
be a very lean show indeed in many respects : an exhib-
itor must always sacrifice some of his best animals to
please the public fancy. I think there is less risk in fat
breeding pigs than any other animal. I have had several
very fat sows pig, and never lost any. I gave them noth-
ing but a very little bran and water a week before pig-
ging, and but little after for a week, while I put a little
castor oil in their food directly after pigging. I have the
greatest trouble in reducing the male animals, as they will
nearly hunger to death before they will part with their
fat. I generally turn them into a large yard, and give
them plenty of water, and a wurzel or two every day, or
turn them out to grass in summer.

" To my regular breeding pigs and stores, I am giving
boiled rape-cake and barley-meal, one feed a day, and one
feed of raw potatoes or wurzel ; and if in summer, I turn
them to grass, or soil them with clover in the yards.

" I soil a good many every year. A week or two be-
fore the sow pigs, I contrive to put her into a loose box,
with a railing around to keep her from crushing the pigs.
I can always tell when she is going to pig by trying if she
has milk in the paps : if a sow gives milk freely, she will
pig any time. I then contrive to be, or have some one,
near at hand, to take the pigs away as she pigs them, as
the sows are sometimes uneasy and will crush them. Af-
ter she has pigged, I feed her with warm water and bran,
and then give her the pigs and leave them, because the
less they are disturbed the better. I always feed the sow
sparingly at first, as I have sometimes found, when a sow
has been fed too liberally at first, the flow of milk is
greater than the pigs can take; consequently the udder be-
comes hard, and the sow is very uneasy, and will scarcely

LARGE VS. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES. 29

let the pigs suck her. If such is the case, the best way is
to rub the udder well with the hand three or four times a
day. Small-bred sows are commonly very quiet and
tractable.

" Generally when the pigs are three weeks or a month
old, they will scour, if proper care has not been paid to
the sow's feeding. I never could get a man that could
get me a litter through without scouring. I have tried
different plans, but the one I have found most successful
is, to always give the sow a tablespoonful of the following
mixture in her food : Mix together 2 Ibs. of fenugreek, 2
Ibs. of anise-seed, -J Ib. of gentain, 2 oz. carbonate of soda,
and 2 Ibs. of powdered chalk. The sow gets very fond
of this, and the little pigs, too, like it. Give the pigs also
plenty of coal ashes to root amongst. I prefer oats,
wheat, and a little barley ground together, for sows giving
milk. I have never tried the sugar diet, but I have found
new milk fresh from the cow to work wonders in a short
time.

" Warmth, cleanliness, and regularity in feeding, a lit-
tle good food and often, are the main secrets in rearing
young pigs. I never like to see food left in a pig's trough :
just give what they can eat up and no more. When pigs
are put up to feed they should be kept warm and quiet.
Five porkers or three bacon pigs are plenty together. The
pen they are kept in need not be very large, but the pig8
should be rung, and a little fresh bedding spread about
them every second day. Pigs like to be kept warm, but
plenty of fresh air must be allowed to circulate through
the pens, or else disease will soon show itself."

According to the editor of Youatt on the Pig, Mr.
Mangles " is a plain farmer, feeding pigs for profit," and
his statements will be received with all the more confi-
dence on this account. We give the details of his manage-
ment, not only because they are interesting and instructive
in themselves, but because the system of management and

30 HAEKIS ON THE PIG.

feeding have often more to do with the profits of pig
breeding and feeding than the mere question of large or
small breeds.

On page 66 we give a portrait of one of his Prize pigs
of the Small Breed, from a steel engraving in the London
Farmers' Magazine for June, 1861.

It will be observed that Mr. Mangles says he " found
any breed pay except the large breed." " All the crosses
having the small breed for the sire always paid."

To the same effect is the testimony of Mr. Hewitt Davis,
a name familiar to all readers of English agricultural liter-
ature. He says:

" My experience in stock keeping has been so decidedly
in favor of breeding and fatting of pigs, that I may, with
advantage to many who think differently, give some ac-
count of my management. That I should do so is the
more necessary from farmers having generally a very low
opinion of the profit to be gained from the breeding of
pigs, and I cannot but ascribe their failures too often to
the negligence with which this stock is looked after. On
an arable farm of 200 acres my stock has been 12 sows
and two boars ; and their produce, according to the season,
consisted either of rising stores running in the yards, or
on the leas or stubbles ; or of porkers in the sties fatting
for the market. From March to October my stock may
be said to have lived loose on store keep, principally green
food ; and from October to March (the parent stock ex-
cepted) in sties, fatting on roots and boiled corn. The
sows on an average gave me, one with another, 14 pigs a
year each, so that in summer my stock was about 100 up-
on store keep, and in winter about 200, of which 180 were
in sties finishing for market. The spring litters went off
in January and February as large porkers of 30 stones
(240 Ibs.) each, and the autumn-born as small porkers of
about 7 stones (56 Ibs.) each ; the first realizing about £5
each, and the last about 30s. each, so that each sow re-

LARGE VS. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES. 31

turned about £45 a year ; and this amount there is no dif-
ficulty in obtaining, large pork selling at 3s. 4d. per stone
of 8 Ibs. (II cts. per lb.), and small pork at 4s. 4d. (14 cts.
per lb.). Success, in the raising of pig stock, I found, was to
be attained only by attention to fully carrying out the fol-
lowing principles — viz., the accommodation for pigs must
be sunny, dry, sheltered from cold wind, and yet well ven-
tilated. Their sties being carefully protected on the north,
east, and west sides, and open only on the south ; so that
whilst no cold winds can have access, there should be no
obstruction to the sun shining in and on to their beds.
The pigs must be regularly and carefully attended ; suf-
ficient should be kept to wholly occupy their attendant's
time, and to them should that attendant's time and atten-
tion be wholly given. An old man is better than a young
one ; and this is an office suited to one infirm or past gen-
eral labor. The sows must never be permitted to farrow
earlier than the end of March, nor later than October. The
cold of winter is fatal to many farrows, and young pigs
are ill able to bear up against it. Provide roots (potatoes,
kohlrabi, swedes, carrots, and mangel wurzel) for their
keep, aided with boiled corn, from September to June ;
and tares, clover, beans, and maize, green, from May to
September. Breed from large, strong sows, with boars
of the finer breed, having in view the gaining of large far-
rows, good nursing, and a rapid attainment of weight ;
look to the mother for nursing, and the father to correct
coarseness of form in the mother. Attached to the sties
have a boiling-house with copper and food cisterns ; and
in front of the sties a yard for the pigs to be turned into.
Attention to these points makes all the difference between
profit and loss."

The point in Mr. Davis5 statement to which we wish to
call particular attention is this : " Breed from large,
strong sows, with boars of the finer breed, having in view
the gaining of large farrows, good nursing, and a rapid

32 HAEEIS ON THE PIG.

attainment of weight ; look to the mother for nursing,
and the father to correct coarseness of form in the mother."

In other words, aim to get the digestive powers of the
large breed in the body of a small, highly refined pig.
Increase the supply of food and lessen the demand upon
it for everything except the formation of flesh and fat.

It will be found that, consciously or unconsciously, all
the eminently successful pig feeders have aimed to attain
this result.

The question of Large vs. Small Breeds, therefore, can
only be answered by taking these objects into considera-
tion. We need both breeds. The large breed to give us
sows, and the small breed to give us boars. It is a mis-
take to refine and reduce the size of the large breed, and
then to breed from these " improved " pigs of the large
breed. To produce pigs merely for the butcher, we should
resort to crosses with a large, vigorous, unpampered sow
put to the finest, thorough-bred boar of the small breeds
that can be obtained. The larger the sow and the smaller
the boar, the more will the little pigs be able to eat in pro-
portion to their size, and the greater will be their growth
in proportion to the food consumed.

Mr. John Coate, a breeder of " Improved Dorsets," who
took the Gold Medal, five years in succession, at the Smith-
field Club Show, for the best pair of pigs, says :

" Crosses answer well for profit to the dairyman, as you
get more constitution and quicker growth."

One of the most extensive farmers in West Norfolk
writes to Mr. Sidney : " The cross between the Berks boar
and Norfolk sow (white), like all cross breeds, is most
profitable to the feeder, but we must have pure breeds
first." And Mr. S. adds : " This Norfolk opinion is con-
firmed by all my correspondents. The Berkshire pig is
in favor in every dairy district, either pure or as a cross,
but chiefly as a cross."

Again, the same author says : " The Improved Essex is

LARGE VS. SMALL BREEDS AND CROSSES. 33

one of the best pigs of the small black breeds, well calcu-
lated for producing pork and hams of the finest quality
for fashionable markets ; but its greatest value is as a cross
for giving quality and maturity to black pigs of a coarser,
hardier kind. It occupies, with respect to the black
breeds, the same position that the small Cumberland- Yorks
do as to the white breeds — that is to say, an improved
Essex boar is sure to improve the produce of any large
dark sow."

Again: "The Berkshire breed have benefited much
from the improved Essex cross. The best Devonshire
pigs have a large infusion of this strain. The improved
Dorsets, the most successful black pigs ever shown at the
Smithfield Club Shows, have borrowed their heads, at
least from the Boxted [Essex] breed."

A Bedfordshire farmer writes : " The Woburn breed
described by Youatt was a good sort of pig, of no partic-
ular character, except great aptitude to fatten. They
were discontinued in consequence of the sows being very
bad sucklers, in favor of a cross-bred animal, the produce
of Berkshire sows and white Suffolk boars, the best that
could be got. These are prolific, of good quality, can be
fed at any age and to a fair medium weight. A cross
like this pays the farmer best."

Mr. Thomas Wright says, the cross of the Berkshire
with the Tarn worth " produces the most profitable bacon
pigs in the kingdom, the Berkshire blood giving an extra-
ordinary tendency to feed, and securing the early maturity
in which alone the Tamworth breed is deficient. The
cross of the Berkshire boar with large white sows has been
found to produce most satisfactory results to plain farm-
ers."

The editor of the work from which these extracts are

made says, that the current of opinion among English

farmers, both as regards sheep and pigs, is towards crosses.

" Breeding pure-bred stock pays well as a separate busi-

2*

3 i HARRIS OX THE PIG.

ness, if judiciously conducted; but the ordinary tenant
farmer will generally find that a cross-bred sheep, a cross-
bred pig, and even a cross-bred ox, in the first cross, fat-
tens more profitably than a pure-bred animal."

That this is the general opinion among practical farmers
there can be no doubt. But there is no advantage in
crossing merely for the sake of crossing. There should
be an object in view. We should aim to improve the
form, early maturity and fattening qualities of the off-
spring. In doing this, the tendency always is towards
reducing the size. Bakewell reduced the size of the Lei-
cester sheep, and Ellman of the Southdowns. Fisher
Hobbs reduced the size of the original Essex pigs by using
Lord Western's Neapolitan-Essex boars on selected Essex
sows of large size, with good constitutions, and enormous
eaters. The Berkshire pig was originally " a much larger
and coarser animal than now." The small Leicesters were
" the great improvers of the gigantic Yorks."

" What, then," it may bo asked, " have we gained by the
improvement ?" — We have gained this : While the size to
which the animal would attain at maturity has been reduced,
yet we can get a much greater weight, with less offal, in
a given time, and with a far less consumption of food.
An improved Essex pig at three years old will not weigh
as much as the original unimproved pig at the same age,
and with the same food. But at one year old the improv-
ed Essex can be made to weigh as much as the other would
at eighteen months or two years. They have, or ought
to have, the digestive powers of the large, old breed, com-
bined with the small bones, little offal, early maturity,
and fattening qualities of the Neapolitan Essex. They
can eat a large quantity of food, and convert it rapidly
into pork of the highest quality.

We say they ought to be great eaters, and have power-
ful digestive organs. But the high feeding necessary to
develop the fattening qualities in a breed, is apt to weaken

THE VALUE OF A THOROUGH-BRED PIG. 35

the digestive organs ; and it is best, in raising pigs for the
butchers, to breed from large, healthy, vigorous sows, and
a thorough-bred highly refined boar of a small breed.
Such a cross will furnish grades that will eat more and
fatten more rapidly than the thorough-breds.

To cross thorough-breds is absurd. There is nothing to
be gained by it that cannot be obtained by breeding from
common or grade sows with a thorough-bred boar ; be-
sides thorough-breds are always more costly than common
stock or grades. That a cross, for instance, between a
thorough-bred, highly refined Essex boar and a thorough-
bred Berkshire sow would afford healthier, hardier, and
more profitable pigs for the butcher than either thorough-
bred Essex or thorough-bred Berkshires, may be true.
It is not an easy matter to maintain the health and high
character of any of our improved breeds. In-and-in-
breeding, especially with pigs, leads to degeneracy ; and
all pig breeders find it necessary to introduce a new strain
of blood, either from animals bred distinct on their own
farm, or, what is considered better, from the same breed
kept in another section of country. By judicious selection,
in this way, the breed can be maintained or improved.
For the same reason, a cross between two distinct breeds,
may give a litter of pigs better than either of the parents. •
But this is not only an expensive way of raising pigs for
the butcher, but equally good, if not better pigs can be ob-
tained by using a thorough-bred boar on grade, or common
sows, selected with judgment.

CHAPTER VI.

THE VALUE OF A THOROUGH-BRED PIG.

It cannot be denied that many farmers in the United
States have purchased thorough-bred pigs, and after keep-
ing them a few years, have given them up in disgust. One

36 HABEIS ON THE PIG.

cause of this result may be found in the erroneous ideas
prevalent in regard to the object of keeping improved
thorough-bred animals. No farmer could afford to keep a
herd of high-bred Duchess Shorthorns simply for the pur-
pose of raising beef for the butcher. Their value consists
in their capacity to convert a large amount of highly
nutritious food into a large amount of valuable beef, and
in the power they have of transmitting this quality to their
offspring when crossed with ordinary cows. It is in this
last respect that pedigree is so important. But the former
quality is due in a great degree to persistent high feeding
for several generations. Were they submitted to ordinary
food and treatment, especially when young, they would
rapidly deteriorate. But put one of these splendid Short-
horn bulls to a carefully selected ordinary cow, and we
get a grade Shorthorn that, with ordinary good feed and
treatment, will prove highly profitable for the butcher.

The same is true of improved thorough-bred pigs.
Their valuable qualities have been produced by persistent
high feeding, and by selecting from their offspring those
best adapted to high feeding. Pigs that grew slowly were
rejected, while those which grew rapidly and matured
early were reserved to breed from. In this way these quali-
ties became established in the breed ; and these qualities
cannot be maintained without good care and good feeding.

In the case of pigs, we could well afford to give the
necessary food to fatten thorough-bred pigs for the butch-
er. But we cannot afford to raise the young thorough-
breds for this purpose. This would be true, even if we could
buy thorough-bred sows and boars to breed from, at the
price of ordinary pigs. The reason we cannot afford to
raise highly refined, thorough-bred pigs for ordinary pur-
poses, is, that if we feed them as they must be fed to
maintain their qualities, they are apt to become too fat
for breeding ; and if we feed and treat them as ordinary
slow-growing pigs are treated and fed, they lose the qual-

GOOD PIGS XEED GOOD CAEE. 37

ities which it is the object of the breeder to perpetuate.
To raise highly improved, thorough- bred pigs, requires
more care, skill, judgment, and experience than we can
afford to bestow on animals designed to be sold in a few
months to the butcher.

The object of raising improved thorough-bred pigs is
simply to improve our common stock. They should be
raised for this purpose, and for this purpose only. The
farmer should buy a thorough-bred boar from some relia-
ble breeder, and select the largest and best sows he has to
cross him with. A thorough-bred boar at six weeks or two
months old can usually be bought for $20 or $25. Such a
boar in a neighborhood is capable of adding a thousand
dollars a year to the profits of the farmers who use him.

CHAPTER VII.

GOOD PIGS NEED GOOD CARE.

We have said that an improved thorough-bred boar in
a neighborhood is capable of greatly improving the qual-
ities of the common stock, and adding largely to the prof-
its of feeding pigs. But it is nevertheless a fact that such
boars have been used by some farmers with little or no
benefit.

There are several reasons for this : There are farmers in
every neighborhood who half starve their breeding sows.
Some of them do this deliberately, from a conviction that
it improves their breeding and suckling qualities, just as
some dairymen think a cow must be kept poor if she is to
be a good milker. They mistake the cause for the effect.
The cow is thin because she is a good milker, and not a
good milker because she is thin. So a good sow gets very
thin in suckling her pigs, but it is a great mistake to keep
her thin, in order to make her a good breeder and suckler.

38 HARRIS OX THE PIG.

We have kept thorough-bred boars for some years, and
have observed that those farmers who are liberal feeders
speak highly of the cross, but those who believe in starv-
ing their sows, and letting the little pigs get their own liv-
ing, assert that their pigs from a thorough-bred boar are
no better than those from common boars.

The trouble is not in the thorough-bred boar, but in the
sows. We use the improved thorough-bred boar in order
to obtain pigs that will grow rapidly. But a pig cannot
grow rapidly unless it has a liberal supply of food.
It would be absurd to buy a superior mill, and then
condemn it because it would not make choice family
flour out of bran ; and it is equally absurd to expect a pig,
however perfect in form and fattening qualities, to make
flesh and fat out of air and water.

-A sow that has been starved all her life cannot produce
vigorous, healthy pigs of good size, and with a tendency
to grow rapidly and mature early. To put such a sow to
an improved, thorough-bred boar, in hopes of getting good
pigs, is as foolish as it is to hope to raise a large crop of
choice wheat on wet, poor, neglected land, simply by pur-
chasing choice seed. There is no such easy method of
improving our stock. We must commence by adopting a
more humane system of feeding, especially while the pigs
are young. Then select the largest, thriftiest, and best-
formed sows and put them to a good thorough-bred boar.
Let the sow be regularly and liberally fed, without mak-
ing her too fat. When with young she has a natural ten-
dency to lay up fat, and it sometimes happens that a sow
gets so fat that her pigs are small, and there is considera-
ble danger of her lying on them. But there is far less
danger from having a sow fat than is generally thought.

After she has pigged, feed the sow on warm slops, and
other food favorable for the production of milk. Let the
little ones be fed liberally, as soon as they commence to

GOOD PIGS NEED GOOD CARE. \, 39

eat, and then the beneficial effect of using a good thor-
ough-bred boar will be seen.

" But," it may be asked, " will not such liberal feeding
produce good pigs without using a thorough-bred boar ?"
It will certainly produce better pigs than the starving
system. But the effect of an improved thorough-bred
boar in such a case is wonderful. We would rather pay
$5 apiece for such pigs at two months old, than to accept
as a gift, pigs from the same sow got by a common boar.
At a year old we should expect the grades, in proportion
to the food consumed, to bring at present prices, at least
$10 a head more than the common stock.

We have a neighbor who is a good farmer, and who
takes delight in feeding a good pen of pigs every fall and
early winter. He " did not believe " in thorough-breds,
and always spoke of my Essex, Berkshires, and Suffolks,
as " nice little pigs." After watching the effect of a cross
with good-sized common sows, he finally concluded to
bring a young sow to one of our Essex boars. She was
16 months old, and certainly would not weigh over 120
Ibs. It was then our turn to speak of little pigs. It so
happened that we had a grade Essex sow the same age
that accidentally took the boar at nine months old, and
had a litter of nine pigs. She was very fat, and lay upon
three of them. The remaining six were as handsome pigs
as could be desired. These six pigs we sold at two
months old, for feeding, for $35, and the sow, in a month
after they were weaned, was killed, and dressed over 300
Ibs., worth at the time 14 cts. per Ib. or $42. Here then
were two sows of the same age, one of which brought in
$77, and the other at a liberal estimate was not worth
$20. The difference was due simply to the use of a thor-
ough-bred boar, and to liberal feeding. The one was half
starved, under the mistaken impression that such treatment
was best for breeding sows. The mother of the other
was liberally fed, and her little ones were never starved.

40 HARMS ON THE PIG.

During the summer, however, they had nothing but the
wash and milk from the house, and the run of a good
clover pasture. On this, the whole litter kept quite fat,
and with the exception of this one sow, that proved to be
with pig, were sold the first of October to the butcher,
without having had any corn or grain of any kind for sev-
eral months. The sow alluded to above, out of this litter,
received the same treatment ; but in a week or ten days
after she pigged, we commenced to fatten her, and never did
sucking pigs thrive better ; and when they were weaned,
the sow was actually fat, and in a month afterwards was
very fat.

Now there is nothing remarkable in all this. We have
had pigs do very much better, because better fed. But
it certainly enabled us to silence the sneers of a prejudiced
farmer against liberal feeding and thorough-bred pigs.

Another case deserves to be mentioned, showing the
importance of liberal feeding in the case of well-bred pigs.
One of our neighbors, a city man, who believed in good
breeds and good feeding, had a common sow of good size
and pretty fair form. He put her to a thorough-bred
Prince Albert Suffolk boar, and had a litter of capital pigs.
He afterwards put her to a thorough-bred Essex boar. But
by this time, he got tired of farming, and at the sale, this
sow was purchased by another neighbor who half starved
her. She had a fair litter of pigs sometime in October.
During the winter they had a little wash from the house
and what they could pick up in a yard where cows receiv-
ed little or nothing but straw. The next summer they
had the run of the roadside, with yokes around their necks
to keep them out of mischief. A meaner and more ut-
terly forlorn lot of pigs it has never been our lot to see.
And this good man attributed his ill-luck to our thorough-
bred boar !

In one sense he was right. The sow had been accus-
tomed to liberal feeding, and the boar was descended from

ORIGIN AND IMPROVEMENT OF OUR DOMESTIC PIGS. 41

stock which, since the days of Lord Western and Fisher
Hobbs, had been bred for the purpose of rapidly convert-
ing all the food they could eat into, choice pork. No won-
der that such a litter of pigs would not stand starvation
as well as those more accustomed to it. Had the sow and
the litter of pigs been liberally fed, they would have
brought more money, with pork at 14 cts. per lb., than
he received that year from his whole farm of 100 acres !

CHAPTER YHI.

THE ORIGIN AND IMPROVEMENT OF OUR DOMESTIC PIGS.

JsTathusius has shown that all the known breeds of pigs
may Be divided in two great groups : one resembling, in
all important respects and no doubt descended from, the
common wild boar ; so that this may be called the >SW
scrofa group. The other group differs in several import-
ant and constant osteological characters ; its wild, parent-
form is unknown ; the name given to it by Nathusius, ac-
cording to the law of priority, is Sus Indica, of Pallas.
This name must now be followed, though an unfortunate
one, as the wild aboriginal does not inhabit India, and
the best known domesticated breeds have been imported
from Si am and China.*

Wild hogs still exist in various parts of Central and
Northern Europe. The wild boar is described as having
large tusks, a stronger snout, and a longer head than the
domestic pig ; smaller ears, pointed and upright ; in color,
when full grown, always black. He does not attain his
full growth under four or five years, and will live for

* Darwin Animals and Plants Under Domestication, Vol. 1, page 85 •

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

ORIGIN AND IMPROVEMENT OF OUR DOMESTIC PIGS. 43

twenty or thirty years. The sow breeds only once a year,
and has seldom more than five or six at a litter ; suckles

3. — WILD BOAK.

them three or four months, and does not allow them to
leave her until they are two or three years old, and able

Fig. 4. — ORIGINAL OLD ENGLISH PIG.

to defend themselves. Occasionally they grow to a great
size, but usually they are not as large as the domestic pig.

44 HARRIS OX THE PIG.

The engravings in different parts of the book are, many
of them, selected from different works, for the purpose of
illustrating the changes which have been wrought in the
hog by domestication, breeding, etc.

Great improvements have been effected by skillful
breeders in the form of cattle and sheep, but we think
these illustrations will show, that far greater improvement
has been effected in the form of the pig than in any other
animal. The picture of the " original old English pig "
(fig. 4), shows a decided improvement in form over the
Wild Boar (fig. 3). It has shorter legs, shorter head and

Fig. 5. — OLD IRISH PIG. From Richardson.

snout, heavier cheeks, a straighter and broader back, and
larger hams. It will weigh more, in proportion to size,
and afford more meat and less offal than the wild hog.

The engraving of the old Irish " Greyhound Hog " (fig.
5), shows an intermediate form between the wild and do-
mestic animal. Richardson, from whose work the picture is
taken, describes them as follows : " 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 domes-
tic swine as they do of the wild boar, the great original

IMPROVEMENT OP THE ENGLISH BREEDS OP PIGS. 45

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 the
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 is desirable to
keep them, be kept in well-fenced inclosures."

The picture of the " original old English pig " shows
that great improvement can be made merely by regular
feeding and judicious selection ; but it must be remem-
bered that probably it took hundreds of generations to
effect the change indicated in the engravings. That it
could have been effected in a much shorter time, is undoubt-
edly true. But the fact remains that, centuries after the
wild pigs had generally disappeared from the Island, the
domestic pig derived from them was still a very coarse,
slow maturing, and unprofitable animal.

The French and Germans, as compared with the Eng-
lish, have made but little improvement in the breeds of
pigs, and many of the animals to be found upon the Con-
tinent are very much like the old English hog, bony, tall,
gaunt, wiry-haired, and slow to fatten. On page 46 we
give a portrait of a Craonnaire boar, which took a prize at
a French agricultural show in 1856.

HAKEIS ON THE PIG.

IMPROVEMENT OF THE ENGLISH BREEDS OP PIGS. 47

CHAPTER IX.

IMPROVEMENT OF THE ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS.

The improvement in the breeds of pigs has kept pace
with the improvement in general agriculture. High
breeding is profitable when accompanied with high feed-
ing and high farming; but a highly refined animal is not
suited to a rude, primitive system of agriculture. The Eng-
lish breeds of pigs to-day, as compared with those of half a
century ago, do not show greater improvement than is
found in the general system of farming. There are still
poor farmers in England, and there are also poor breeds
of pigs ; but it must be admitted that we can find in
England the best specimens of high farming, and the best
specimens of well-bred cattle, sheep, and pigs ; and as
good culture is rapidly becoming more general, there is
an increasing demand for improved breeds, at high prices.
There can be no doubt that the general improvement in
agriculture, and the more general demand for improved
breeds has greatly stimulated the efforts of the profes-
sional pig breeders ; and it is doubtless true that several
of the English breeds of pigs are to-day superior in form,
early maturity, and fattening qualities, than any other
breed in the world.

The early English breeders made great improvements,
but being ahead of their times, they met with compara-
tively little demand for their improved pigs, and no ade-
quate remuneration for their skill and labor.

It is not necessary to review the means employed by
the breeders of the last century to improve the English
breeds of pigs. Suffice it to say that it is generally ad-
mitted that much of this improvement is due to crossing
the large English sows with the highly refined Chinese
boars, and in selecting from the offspring such animals as

48

HAERIS ON THE PIG.

possessed, in the greatest degree, the form and qualities
desired. By continued selection, and " weeding out,"
the breed at length became established.

The Improved Berkshire is one of the earliest and best
known of these Chinese-English breeds.

The old Berkshire hog had maintained a high reputa-
tion for centuries. It is described as <c long and crooked

Fig. 7. — IMPORTED CHINESE SOW

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." It was probably the best pig in
England, and was wisely selected as the basis of those re-
markable improvements which have rendered the modern
Berkshire so justly celebrated.

It would be interesting to trace the different steps in
this astonishing improvement, but, unfortunately, the nee-

IMPHOVEMENT OF THE ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 49

essaiy information cannot be obtained. We give four en-
gravings from London's Encyclopedia of Agriculture, the

Fig. 8.— BERKSHIRE PIG.

first edition of which appeared in 1825, which will give
some idea of the change that has been effected. Figure 8

ii i.

Fig. 9.— HAMPSHIRE PIG.

is the Berkshire pig, as represented by London, which is
stated to represent " one of the best of its kind," and there
can be little doubt that it was taken from what was con-

50

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

sidered a good specimen of the breed at the time the work
was written. As compared with the figure of the old origi-
nal English pig, and also with those of Hampshire, Here-
fordshire, and Suffolk, given by Loudon (figs. 9, 10, and
11), it is easy to trace the influence of the Chinese cross.
Loudon speaks of the Berkshire, at that time, as a small
breed, and it is undoubtedly true that the first effect of
an improvement in the fattening qualities and early ma-
turity of an animal is to reduce the size. On the whole,
this picture of an improved Berkshire, forty-five or fifty
years ago, doos not give one a very favorable idea of the

Fig. 10. — HEREFORDSHIRE PIG.

breed at that time; yet it was then probably the best
bred pig in England. Comparing this engraving with the
one given by Youatt (fig. 12), in 1845, and with those given
by Sydney in I860 (figs. 20 and 21), we can form some
idea of the remarkable effects of judicious breeding and
high feeding. The engraving, figure 12, indicates the
effect of a cross with the Chinese; the others show
what can be done by persistent efforts in improving
a breed of a mixed origin. It is highly probable that

IMPROVEMENT OP THE ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 51

boars of the improved Chinese-Berkshires, after the breed
had become established, were employed to cross with the

Fig'. 11. — SUFFOLK PIG.

large, old Berkshire sows, and that the effect of this less

Fig. 12. — BERKSHIRE SOW.

violent cross was more beneficial than the direct use of

52 HARRIS OX THE PIG.

the pure Chinese. Certain it is, that the pure Chinese
pigs are now seldom, if ever, resorted to by English
breeders. They find it more advantageous to resort to
pure-bred boars of some of their own established breeds,
although there is probably none of these breeds that have
not, at one time or other, been crossed with the Chinese.
It is a mistake, however, to speak of them, on this ac-
count, as "cross-bred " pigs, as is sometimes done. They
have been bred pure long enough to become fully estab-
lished.

The history of the Improved Essex Pig is of great in-
terest, because better authenticated than that of any other
breed.

The old Essex breed is described by Loudon as " up-
eared, with long, sharp heads, roach-backed, carcasses
flat, long, and generally high upon the leg, bone not large,
color, white, or black and white, bare of hair, quick feed-
ers, but great consumers, and of an unquiet disposition."

Lord Western, while traveling in Italy, saw some Nea-
politan pigs, and came to the conclusion that they were
just what he wanted to improve the breed of Essex pigs.
He describes them, in a letter to Earl Spencer, as " a
breed of very peculiar and valuable qualities, the flavor
of the meat being excellent, and the disposition to fatten
on the smallest quantity of food unrivaled." He pro-
curred a pair of thorough-bred Neapolitans, and crossed
them with Essex sows, and probably with black Sussex
and Berkshires. He obliterated the white from the old
Essex, and obtained a breed of these cross-bred pigs that
could scarcely be distinguished from the pure-bred Nea-
politans.

These Neapolitan-Essex had great success at agricul-
tural fairs, but as Lord Western continued to breed from
his own stock, selecting the most highly refined males
and females, they " gradually lost size, muscle, and con-
stitution, and consequently fecundity ; and at the time

IMPROVEMENT OF THE ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 53

of his death, in 1844, while the whole district had bene-
fited from the cross, the Western breed had become
more ornamental than useful."

In other words, while this highly refined breed was of
great value to cross with the large, vigorous sows in the
neighborhood, they were not profitable to raise pure.
This is the case with all highly refined, thorough-bred
pigs. They are not as profitable for the mere production
of pork as the pigs from the common sow and a thorough-
bred boar. It is as true to-day as it was then, that any
highly refined throrough-bred pigs are " more ornamental
than useful," unless farmers know how to use them ;
then they are of great value. In the meantime, a tenant
farmer of Lord Western, the late Fisher Hobbs, of Box-
ted Lodge, had availed himself of the opportunity to use
the thorough-bred Neapolitan-Essex boars belonging to
Lord Western, and crossed them with the large, strong,
hardy, black, and rather rough and coarse Essex sows,
and in process of time he established the breed, since be-
come so famous — the Improved Essex.

The difference between the two breeds is shown by the
engraving of one of Lord Western's Neapolitan-Essex
boars (fig. 23), drawn for the first edition of Youatt on the
Pig, and that of "Emperor" (fig. 22), an eight-year-old
Improved Essex working boar, taken in 1860 for Sidney's
last edition of Youatt on the Pig.

Sidney, in his last edition of Youatt, says : " The Im-
proved Essex probably date their national reputation from
the second show of the Royal Agricultural Society, held
at Cambridge, in 1840, when a boar and sow, both bred
by Mr. Hobbs, each obtained first prizes in their respec-
tive classes.

" Early maturity, and an excellent quality of flesh, are
among the merits of the improved Essex. They produce
the best * jointers ' for the London market. With age
they attain considerable weight, and often make 500 Ibs.

54: HARRIS ON THE PIG.

at twenty-four months old. * Emperor ' (fig. 22) is 2 ft.
8J in. high at the shoulder, and 6 ft. 1 in. long. Boars
bred at Boxted have been known to reach 36 in. in height.

kt The defect of the improved Essex is a certain delicacy,
probably arising from their southern descent, and an ex-
cessive aptitude to fatten, which, unless carefully counter-
acted by exercise and diet, often diminishes the fertility
of the sows, and causes difficulty in rearing the young.
As before observed, they are invaluable as a cross, being
sure to give quality and early maturity to any breed, and
especially valuable when applied to a black breed where
porkers are required. For this purpose they have been
extensively and successfully used in all the black pig dis-
tricts of this country [Great Britain], where, as well as in
France and Germany, and in the United States, they have
superseded the use of the imported Neapolitan and Chinese.
Many attempts, on a limited scale, to perpetuate the breed
pure, have been unsatisfactory, because it is too pure to
stand in-and-in breeding. They require much care when
young. ' In the sows the paternal fattening properties
are apt to overbalance the milking qualities, and make
them bad nurses.'

" The Berkshire breed have benefited much from the
improved Essex cross. The best Devonshire pigs have a
large infusion of the same strain. The improved Dorsets,
the most successful black pigs ever shown at the Smith-
field Club shows, have borrowed their heads at least from
the Essex breed. The improved Oxfords are the result
of a judicious blending of pure Neapolitan, Berkshire,
and improved Essex blood ; and throughout the midland
and western counties, the results of Lord Western's
Italian tour are to be found in every parish where a black
pig 4s patronized.

" The history of this breed affords a good illustration of
the advantages of the system under which landlords,
stimulated by patriotism or competition, or mere love of

IMPROVEMENT OF THE ENGLISH BKEEDS OP PIGS. 55

tilings agricultural, breed and experiment with great zeal,
varied success, and little or no profit, until they reach the
point where the tenant farmer, with sufficient capital,
equal zeal, and a clear eye to the £. s. d., takes up the
work, breeds, and works the problem out with a degree
of practical knowledge, personal attention, and enthusi-
asm, which few, except farmers breeding for a profit, can
contrive to combine, and persevere to bestow for a long
series of years.

" Foreign governments endeavor, with very limited suc-
cess, to produce the effect of our aristocratic breeding
enthusiasts by government studs. But an official, however
gilded, titled, or crossed, has never the influence of a peer
or squire ; and besides his name, the raw materials — the
working bees, the great tenant farmers — are wanting on
the continent.

u The improved Essex are ranked amongst the small
breeds, and there they are most profitable ; but exception-
al specimens have been exhibited at agricultural shows in
the classes for large breeds, as, for instance, at Chelms-
ford, in 1856.

" There is probably no black pig which combines more
good qualities, as either porker or bacon hog, than the
produce of an improved Essex boar and an improved
Berkshire sow."

The facts here narrated are of great importance as il-
lustrating the principles of breeding which we have en-
deavored to lay down in the first chapters of this work.
The old Essex pigs were great eaters. All the authorities
mention this fact as one of the objections to the breed.
The Lord Western Essex were highly refined pigs, of
good form, little offal, maturing very early, and fattening
with great rapidity, but destitute of size and vigor.
Crossed with selected sows of the old, hardy, vigorous
race, the offspring possessed the form, early maturity, and
fattening qualities of the improved breed, united with the

56 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

constitution of the common stock. They had the stomach
of the mother, and the refinement of the sire. No won-
der that they " have an excessive aptitude to fatten."
What else can they do with the large amount of food
they are capable of eating and digesting except to convert
it into flesh and fat ? There is a minimum of offal in this
breed, and they are exceedingly quiet. There is little
demand on the large quantity of food they can eat, and
nearly the whole of it must be converted into flesh and
fat ; and we have endeavored to show the immense ad-
vantage of having an animal that will consume a consid-
erable excess of food over and above that required to
sustain the vital functions. In this view of the matter it
is easy to see why the Improved Essex proved such a use-
ful breed in the hands of intelligent farmers.

Many other similar instances of the improvement of
English breeds might be given, but it is not necessary to
do so. The principle which underlies them all is the same.
A large, vigorous, healthy sow, crossed with a highly re-
fined, thorough-bred boar, and the offspring carefully bred
until the desired qualities become established in the new
or improved breed.

CHAPTER X.

THE MODERN BREEDS OF ENGLISH PIGS.

English writers on swine, twenty years ago, describe a
dozen or more breeds of pigs, then kept in England, and
nearly as many more in Scotland and Ireland. Youatt
and Richardson, both of whose works on the pig were re-
printed in this country, give a full account of these old
breeds. Many of these breeds have been, at one time or
another, introduced into the United States and Canada;

THE MODERN BREEDS OF ENGLISH PIGS. 57

but comparatively few of them have been kept pure,
either here or in England. The common stock of pigs in
America is made up of these old breeds. Occasionally
we see a pig that has some distinct characteristics recog-
nizable as belonging to some known breed, but, as a gen-
eral rule, it is impossible to trace the slightest resemblance
to any distinct breed, either of the past or the present.

The same is true, to a considerable extent, in England.
The common stock of pigs is of such a mixed character,
that it can be traced to no particular breed. Many of the
old breeds have become .extinct. We have so-called
"Cheshire " pigs in America, but there is no such breed
raised or known in Cheshire, and has not been for twenty
years or more.

Culley, in his work entitled " Observations on Live-
stock," published in 1807, gives a well authenticated ac-
count of a Cheshire pig which measured, from the nose
to the end of the tail 9 feet, 8 inches, and in height, 4
feet, 5|- inches. When alive, it weighed 1,410 Ibs., and
when dressed, 1,215 Ibs. The age is not given. It was
probably as fat as it could be made, and yet it only
dressed 80J per cent of its live weight.

This breed, if we may call it a breed, was evidently
very large and coarse. It is described as " remarkably
long, standing very high, on long, bony legs ; head largo,
ears long and hanging; back much curved, and narrow;
sides flat and deep ; color white, blue and white, black
and white." This breed has become extinct.

The old Yorkshire or Lincolnshire breed is described in
Morton's Cyclopedia as "one of the largest breeds in
the kingdom, and probably one of the worst ; extremely
long-legged, and weak loined ; very long from head to
tail ; color chiefly white, with long, coarse, curly hair ;
tolerable feeders, but yielding a coarse, flabby flesh, of in-
ferior marketable quality."

It is from this race of pigs that the modern Yorkshire,
3*

58

HARRIS ON THE 1'TG.

THE MODERN BREEDS OF ENGLISH PIGS. 59

now perhaps the most popular breed in England, has been
derived. This breed is divided into three classes: the
Large, Medium, and Small

THE LARGB YORKSHIRES. — (FlgS. 13, 14 and 15.)

We have shown what the old Lincolnshire and York-
shire pig was before any especial efforts had been made to
improve it. In 1854, Mr. A. Clarke, of Long Sutton,
Lincolnshire, the author of a valuable treatise on the
breeding and management of pigs in Morton's Cy-
clopedia of Agriculture, writes : <c In the adjoining county
of Yorkshire the breeders have outdone the Lincolnshire
breeders in point of size, but not in any other respect.
The specimens lately exhibited at our meetings, of the
large Yorkshire breed, by Messrs. Abbot, Taylor, Tuley,
and others, have attained a size too large for any useful
purpose, and would exceed in weight that of a moderately
grown Scotch ox. The present taste of the public is de-
cidedly set against such an overgrown sort ; at present,
however, they make large prices." We believe there is
now no breed known as the Lincolnshire. It has been
merged in the Yorkshire.

Of the old, unimproved large Yorkshire, Sidney
says : " It was a long time coming to full size, and
could be fed up to 800 Ibs., but whether with any profit,
is doubtful. It was and is still very hardy, and a very
prolific breeder. Attempts have been made to improve it
by crossing with the Berkshire, Essex, Neapolitan, and
other black breeds, which produced a black and white
race. Those from the Berkshire are a hardy, useful sort,
but fatten slowly ; the other crosses have little or no hair,
are too delicate for the North, and are fast wearing out.

** The first step taken in the right direction for improv-
ing the old Yorkshire seems to have been the introduction
of the White Leicesters. These were a large sort, with

60

HABEIS O2* THE PIG.

THE MODERN BREEDS OP ENGLISH PIGS. Cl

smaller heads than the old York, erect ears, finer in the
hair, and lighter in the bone.

" The improvement in the York large breed commenced
early in the century, when the White Leicesters were in-
troduced. The general run of pigs in the grain-growing
districts of Yorkshire shows that they partake more or
less of this cross. The old sort is seldom seen except in
the northern part of the county."

A Yorkshire correspondent of Mr. Sidney, writing in
1860, says " The Leicester cross has been still further im-
proved by putting the largest and best sows of the Lei-
cester cross to boars of the small white breed from Castle
Howard* and Bransbyf , breeding from the progeny, and
selecting the largest and best of the young sows and the
best formed boars for that purpose, taking care that they
were not too nearly related. By this means the size and
constitution of the large breed, with the symmetry and
tendency to fatten of the small breed, have been, in a
great degree, transmitted to the offspring. If a sow shows
too much of the old sort, she is put to a boar of the small
breed for her first litter."

Such seems to have been the origin of the present breed
of Large Yorkshires.

" These improved Large Yorkshires," (says Sidney, in
I860,) " are principally bred in the valley of the Aire, in
the neighborhood of Leeds, Keighley, and Skipton. They
are in great request as breeding stores, and purchased for
that purpose for every part of the United Kingdom, as
well as for France, Germany, and the United States, at
great prices."

These pigs " can be fed to 60 stone, of 14 Ibs., dead
weight, or 840 Ibs. The Prize Boar at the Royal Agri*
cultural Fair at Chester weighed, alive, 1,232 Ibs. The

• The Earl of Carlisle.

t Mr. Wyley, of Bransby, introduced a small breed of White Leicester?, now
called Yorkshires.

HA11KI3 O1J THE PIG.

THE MODERN BREEDS OF ENGLISH PIGS. 63

Prize Sow at the Royal Fair at Warwick, 1,204 Ibs. At
Northallerton, in 1859, the finest lot of large sows ever
seen in one place were collected together. There were at
least a dozen, each of whose live weight would not be
much less than half a ton (1,120 Ibs). The Royal Agri-
cultural Prize-winner at Norwich was only just good
enough to get second honors."

Mr. Wainman, the owner of Carhead Farm, has been
one of the most successful breeders of the Large York-
shires, having won more than two hundred prizes, and
sold, in the language of one of his Yorkshire admirers,
the produce of one sow " for as much as would build a
church." Mr. Fisher, who is bailiff at Carhead Farm,
gives the weight of two of these pigs. One, killed at
less than 7 months, dressed 255 Ibs., and one at 12 months
old, 489 Ibs.

THE SMALL YORKSHIRES.

Mr. Mangles, " one of the first pig-breeders and feeders
in Yorkshire," gives the following description of the Small
Yorks : " The small Yorkshire is peculiar to Yorkshire,
and different from any other breed I have seen. It has a
short head, small, erect ears, broad back, deep chest, and
short legs, with fine bone. It is always ready to fatten,
and turn to account either in the way of roasters, small
porkers, small bacon, or medium. Three or four of the
small breed might be fed well, and kept fresh and sym-
metrical on the food which would barely keep one lean
and gaunt large Yorkshire."

THE SMALL CUMBERLAND.

" The Cumberland small breed," pays Mr. Sidney, " are
described by Mr. Brown, of Aspatria, who is one of the
most noted founders of the modern breed, from whom
Lord Ducie purchased some of his most celebrated animals,
as not small in reality, but a medium size, short in the

ON THE PIG.

THE MODERN BREEDS OF ENGLISH PIGS. 65

legs, back broad, straight, and evenly fleshed ; ribs well
developed, rumps and twists good ; hams well down, and
low ; breast and neck full, and well formed ; no creases in
the neck ; ears clean, fine, of a moderate size, and standing
a little forward ; nose short ; body evenly covered with
short, fine hair."

At the Birmingham show, in 1850, Mr. Brown won ail
first prizes in small breeds for the "best boar," "best
sow," and "best pen of pigs," with his Cumberland
breed ; and sold a boar and sow under six months old for
forty-three guineas to Earl Ducie. At the sale, on the
death of the Earl, the sow " Miss Brown " was sold to
the Rev. F. Thursby for sixty-five guineas. " She paid
me," he writes to Mr. Sidney, " very well, having sold
her produce for £300, and have now (February, I860,)
four breeding sows from her."

THE YORK-CUMBERLAND BREED (fig. 16).

Mr. Sidney classes the Small Yorkshire and Cumberland
together, " because, although originally, they somewhat
differed in size, — the Cumberland being the larger — they
are being continually intermixed, with mutual advantage ;
and pigs of exactly the same form, the result of crosses,
are constantly exhibited under the names of Yorkshire or
Cumberland, according to the fancy of the exhibitor."

Mr. Mangles writes — " The Small Cumberland is a great
deal larger than the Small Yorkshire. By judiciously
crossing the two, I have obtained a breed combining size,
aptitude to fatten, and early maturity. From the Cum-
berland I got size, and from the Yorkshire quality and
symmetry. I have tried a great many breeds of pigs,
and, keeping the pounds, shillings and pence in view, have
found no breed equal to the Yorkshire and Cumberland
cross."

A Warwickshire correspondent of Mr. Sidney writes :

CG

HARRIS ON THE PIGr.

" No animal of the pig species carries so great a propor-
tion of flesh to the quantity of bone, or flesh of as fine a
quality, as the small Yorkshire, or can be raised at so
small a cost per pound. With common store food they
can al \vays be kept in condition — with common care, and
slight addition to food, they are ready to be killed, for
porklets, at any age ; and if required for bacon, take one

Fig. 17. — PIUZE YORK-CUMBERLAND PIG. SMALL BREED.

From Farmers' Magazine,

farrow of pigs from a yelt.* You ought to. have from
seven to ten pigs the first time. I have four sisters, yelts,
that have brought me thirty-eight pigs this last January.
They are as pure as ' Eclipse,' being descended from the

* A " yelt " is a young sow before she has had pigs. The idea here is, when it
is desired to obtain bacon from the small breeds, to take one litter of pigs from
a young sow, and then fatten her. Ordinarily, it will not pay to keep these pigs
long enough to make large pork : but if a litter of pigs can be obtained iu the
meantime, it is then very profitable. But if we should continue to breed from
pigs of the first litter, the size would soon become too small.

THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 67

stock of Earl Ducie and Mr. Wyley, of Bransby, near
York, and are of good size. I killed a sow this winter
that weighed 26 score — 520 Ibs.

"The ordinary weight is from 14 to 17 score — 280 Ibs. to
340 Ibs. In some cases, where very thick bacon is re-
quired, they may be profitably got to 30 score — 600 Ibs.
The Small Yorkshire owes its present superiority to
choice selections, and judicious crossing of different fami-
lies of the same breed ; by this means size is maintained
with character."

These " Small Yorkshires " which this gentleman calls
as " pure as Eclipse," are descended from the stock of
Earl Ducie and Mr. Wyley ; but, as has been already
shown, Earl Ducie purchased Cumberland pigs from Mr.
Brown, and Mr. "Wy ley's original stock were White Lei-
cesters.

Mr. Sidney says : " The wide extension of this Cum-
berland and York blood is to be traced wherever the
Royal Agricultural Society's prizes for white pigs are won.

"Thus : — Mr. H. Scott Hayward, of Folkington, a prize-
winner at Chelmsford, in 1856, in small breeds, with a
white sow, states that he has used boars from the follow-
ing breeders : — The late Earl of Carlisle, Castle Howard ;
the late Earl of Ducie ; the Earl of Radnor, Coleshill ;
and at present (1860) one from the Prince Consort's stock.

" The card of Mr. Brown's boar ' Liberator ' contains the
following pedigrees, and shows a distinct connection be-
tween Cumberland and Yorkshire, and all the most cele-
brated white breeds in the south : —

" ' Liberator ' was bred by Earl Ducie, got by * Glouces-
ter,' dam ' Beauty' by Lord Radnor's boar, gr.-d. 'Julia
Bennett ' by Lord Galloway's boar, etc.

" ; Gloucester ' was bred by the Earl of Ducie, got by
4 General,' dam ' Hannah ' by the * Yorkshiremnn ;' gr.-d.
bred by the Earl of Carlisle, and purchased by Lord
Ducie at the Castle Howard sale.

68

HAEBIS ON THE PIG.

THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 69

" 'General,' bred by Mr. Wyley, sold to Mr. Mackintosh,
of London, and hired by H.R.H. Prince Albert, the Earl
of Ducie, and Lord Wenlock, and was the sire of two
pens of pigs, the property of H.R.H. Prince Albert, that
obtained the first prize at a Smithfield Christmas Show.

"It may, therefore, safely be assumed that all the best
white pigs of modern times have been bred from York-
shire or Cumberland and white Leicesters, or both ; and
many breeds, such as Middlesex, Coleshill, etc., may be
dismissed as mere variations of the white small Yorkshire.

"Mr. G. Mangles, of Givendale, near Ripon, Mr. Brown
writes me, was one of the first to cultivate the cross of
the York-Cumberlands."

THE MIDDLE OB MEDIUM YORKSHIRE BREED (Fig. 18).

"The Yorkshire medium or middle breed," says Mr.
Sidney, " is a modern invention of Yorkshire pig-breeders,
and perhaps the most useful and the most popular of the
white breeds, as it unites, in a striking degree, the good
qualities of the large and the small. It has been produced
by a cross of the large and the small York, and the Cum-
berland, which is larger than the small York. Like the
large whites, they often have a few pale-blue spots on the
skin, the hair on these spots being white. All white
breeds have these spots more or less, and they often in-
crease in number as the animal grows older.

"It was not until 1851 that the merits of this breed were
publicly recognized at a meeting of the * Keighley Agri-
cultural Society,' when, the judges having called the at-
tention of the stewards to the fact that several superior
sows, which were evidently closely allied to the small
breed, had been exhibited in the large-breed class, the
aspiring intruders were, by official authority, withdrawn.

" They included the since celebrated c Sontag,' * Jenny

70 HARRIS OX THE PIG.

Lind,' ' Kick-up-a-dust,' and some other distinguished
grunters, forming altogether such an imposing troupe, that
the authorities gave them a performance (/. e., a class) to
themselves, with a benefit in the shape of first and second
prizes, and called them the ' middle breed?

"This example was generally adopted throughout York-
shire, and at local shows they are the strongest and best-
filled of all the classes.

" The principal prize-takers amongst the boars in this
breed have been ' Paris,' * Nonpareil,' ' Lord Raglan,' ' Sir
Colin,' and ' Wonder ;' and amongst the sows, ' Zenobia,'
* Lady Airdale,' who held her own during two seasons, in
one of which she took ten prizes, ' Craven,' ' Lady Kate,'
' Queen Anne,' and ' Miss Emily ' (see portrait), who has
never found her marrow, having taken nine first prizes in
succession, including the champion cup at Caldervale show
in 1859, for the best pig in all classes. This competition
brought all Yorkshire, several Warwick, Royal Highland
Society, Dublin and Irish Royal, as well as Cheshire and
Lancashire champions, to the Cloth Hall, Halifax.
Amongst the rest, 4 CARS WELL,' the second winner in the
large boar class at Warwick, entered in the middle class,
and carried off the first prize in that class ; but in the
trial for the championship, he was beaten like the rest,
and the plate, with the ' white rosette of York,' went to
' Miss EMILY,' whose girth, taken behind the shoulder,
was at this time eighty-five inches. She fully qualified
for ail the prizes she had taken as a breeding sow, by
producing at Carhead the following October a fine litter
of pigs.

" The middle Yorkshire breed are about the same size as
the Berkshire breed, but have smaller heads, and are much
lighter in the bone. They are better breeders than the
small whites, but not so good as the large whites ; in fact,
they occupy a position in every respect between these two
breeds."

THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 71

Y2 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

WHITE LEICESTERS (Fig. 19).

We can ascertain nothing satisfactory in regard to the
origin of this breed of pigs. This is the more to be re-
gretted as the fact that they were " the great improvers
of the gigantic Yorks," invests them with more than ordi-
nary interest.

Mr. J. W. Williams, of Somersetshire, is the principal
breeder of White Leicesters. He first exhibited in 1852,
and has taken the Smithfield Club gold medal, two gold
medals at the Paris Exposition in 1855, and numerous
other prizes. The portrait of the Paris Prize Leicesters
is given on page 71 (fig. 19). Mr. Williams states that
his fat pigs of this breed generally average the following
weights :

5 to 6 months, 7 to 9 score Ibs 140 to 180 Ibs.

8 " 10 to 12 " " 200 to 240 "

10 " 12 to 15 " " ...240 to 300 "

12 to 18 " 15 to 18 " " 300 to 360 "

The pen of three pigs of this breed which received the
Smithfield Club gold medal in 1854 weighed, sinking offal,
at 18 weeks old, 180 Ibs. each.

SUFFOLK AND OTHER WHITE BREEDS.

Mr Sidney says : " Yorkshire stands in the first rank
as a pig-breeding county, possessing the largest white
breed in England, as well as an excellent medium and
small breed, all white, the last of which, transplanted into
the south, has figured and won prizes under the names of
divers noblemen and gentlemen, and more than one
county. The Yorkshire are closely allied with the Cum-
berland breeds, and have been so much intermixed that,
with the exception of the very largest breeds, it is diffi-
cult to tell where the Cumberland begins, and where the
Yorkshire ends. It will be enough to say, for the present,

THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 73

that the modern Manchester boar, the improved Suffolk,
the improved Middlesex, the Coleshill, and the Prince
Alberts or Windsors, were all founded on Yorkshire-
Cumberland stock, and some of them are merely pure
Yorkshires transplanted, and re-christened."

Speaking of the pigs kept in the dairy district of
Cheshire, he says : " White pigs have not found favor
with the dairymen of Cheshire, and the white ones most
used are ' Manchester boars,' another name for the York*
shire-Cumberland breed. ' Mr. Youatt,' he says, in an-
other place, * and all the authors who have followed him,
down to the latest work published on the subject, occupy
space in describing various county pigs which have long
ceased to possess, if ever they possessed, any merit worthy
of the attention of the breeder. Thus the Norfolk, the
Suffolk, the Bedford, the Rudywick, the Cheshire, the
Gloucester breeds, have each a separate notice, not one of
which, except the Suffolk, is worthy of cultivation, and
the Suffolk is only another name for a small Yorkshire

BLACK BREEDS.

If all the modern white breeds in England, of any
special value to the breeder, are Yorkshires, or York-
Cumberland and Leicesters, it is equally true that there
are but two breeds of black pigs that deserve any special
attention — the Essex and Berkshire.

" Black pigs and their crosses," says Mr. Sidney, <c oc-
cupy almost exclusively the counties of Berks, Hants,
Wilts, Dorset, Devon, and Somerset. Sussex has a black
county breed, and in Essex a black-and-white pig has be-
come all black. In the Western counties, the prejudice
against a white pig is nearly as strong as against a black
one in Yorkshire. In Devonshire, white pigs are supposed
to be more subject to blistering from the sun when pas-
turing in the fields.
4

74 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

"For breeding purposes, the black breeds may be divided
into two — the improved Berkshire and the improved
Essex, because there is no dark breed that has special
characteristics so well worth cultivation as these two, and
there is no black pig that may not be advantageously
crossed by boars of one or both of these breeds. Hamp-
shire has an ancient, coarse, and useful breed of black
pigs. They are inferior to Berkshire, and not in the same
refined class as Essex, therefore not worth taking from
their native county"

BERKSHIRE.

" Among the black breeds," says Mr. Sidney, " by uni-
versal consent, the improved Berkshire hog stands at the
head of the list, either to breed pure, or to cross with
inferior breeds. The Berkshire was originally a large
breed (it has very recently cariied off prizes in the large
classes at Royal Agricultural and other shows) of a
black-and-white and sandy-spotted color, as represented in
the portrait given by Mr. Youatt (fig. 12), in this respect
distinctly differing from its neighbor, the old black
Hampshire hog, rather coarse, but of general form very
superior to the old white and black-and-white farm hog
of the northern counties.

" The late Lord Barrington (who died in 1829) did a
great deal towards improving the Berkshire breed, and the
improved Berkshires are almost all traced back to his herd.
They are now considered by Berkshire farmers to be di-
vided into middle (not a large breed) and a small breed.
If first-class, they should be well covered with long black
silky hair, so soft that the problem of ' making a silk
purse out of a sow's ear ' might be solved with a prize
Berkshire. The white should be confined to 'four white
feet, a white spot between the eyes, and a few white hairs
behind each shoulder*

THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 75

76 HAIIBIS ON THE PIG.

"At Mr. Sadler's, Bentham, near Cricklade, one of the
most successful improvers of Berkshires, and eminent as a
manufacturer of North Wiltshire cheese, the committee
of the Ayrshire Agricultural Association saw ' three hun-
dred, every one of which was. marked in this manner.'

" Mr. Sadler obtained his original stock from the late
Lord Barrington's herd. At Baker Street, he once won
the prize for the best fat pig in the yard with a sow near-
ly four years old, (a portrait of which is given in fig.
20,) which had been the mother of a numerous progeny.
She was 6 ft. 4 in. in length, 7 ft. 6 in. in girth, and
weighed 42 score, 16 Ibs., or 856 Ibs., — more than many
fat heifers. But it seems to be the general opinion of
feeders that Berkshires pay best at moderate weights.

" To develop the full size, they must not be allowed to
breed until twelve months old at least. Mr. Sadler con-
siders the improved Berks superior to any other (black ?)
breed, for size, quality, hardiness of constitution prolific^
ness, early maturity, and aptitude to fatten.

"My friend Mr. Thomas O wen, of Clapton, Hungerford,
who has had, in his forty years' experience as a Berkshire
farmer, ' some thousand through his hands dead,' writes
•me:

" * I remember the Berks pig a much larger and coarser
animal than now ; at present they are a medium, not a
large breed. They have been improved by judicious se-
lection and distant crosses with the Neapolitan, which
have added to their fattening qualities. They are much
esteemed by butchers for evenness of flesh (that is, more
lean to the proportion of fat) than any other breed, — and
this is a good recommendation.'

"The late Rev. T. C. James, who was a successful exhib-
itor of pigs at Chelmsford, and one of the judges of pigs
at the Royal Agricultural Society's show at Warwick, in
1859, wrote : * The improved Berkshire is a good big
animal, well calculated to produce a profitable flitch. A

THE MODERN ENGLISH BKEEDS OP PIGS. 77

\

78 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

good little pig is very well, but a good big pig is better,
if with aptitude to fatten : two exhibited at Chelmsford,
in 1856, (of Sadler's breed) weighed, each, twelve score at
seven months old, and with that weight, were of such
good constitution, that they were well upon their legs.
They had walking exercise in an orchard every clay while
fattening.'

" One of the most extensive farmers in West Norfolk
writes: 'Dissatisfied with the Norfolk pigs, I flew to
Mr. Sadler, of Bentham, Wilts, gave him 20 guineas for
three sows and a boar. I sold over one hundred in the
first eighteen months for £2 each when ten weeks old, and
the only complaint I have is, that they do not breed so
many as the old Norfolks ; but I say eight or nine good
ones are better than ten or eleven ordinary ones. They
are good graziers, and our butchers are very fond of
them. There is plenty of lean meat with the fat, which
is not the case with the fancy pigs. The cross between
the Berks boar and Norfolk sow (white), like all cross
breeds, is most profitable to the feeder, but we must have
pure breeds first.'

"This Norfolk opinion," says Mr. S., " is confirmed by all
my correspondence. The Berkshire pig is in favor in
every dairy district, either pure or as a cross, but chiefly
as a cross ; he does not fatten so quickly as some other
breeds, but his constitution and bacon quality are famous.

" The average weight of a bacon improved Berkshire
hog, fit to kill, will be about 400 Ibs. The ham-curers
who purchase from these farms, prefer the small breed of
Berkshires, of from nine to fourteen score.

"The improved Berkshire boar was used to give size and
constitution, many years ago, to the Essex ; and the most
eminent breeder of Essex has informed me that on one
occasion, in a litter of Essex pigs, two little pictures of
the Berkshire boar, their remote ancestors by at least
twenty-eight years, appeared. It seems to be generally

THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 79

80 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

agreed that the Berks breed is best adapted for hams and
bacon, and not for small fresh pork. As I have already
mentioned, the Berks boar has been used to cross the
large breed in Yorkshire, but without permanently satis-
factory results in establishing a breed ; for a first cross with
almost any breed, it is sure to produce a well-sized useful
animal. In reply to questions addressed through the
landlord of the Arley Hall estate, in Cheshire, to his prin-
cipal tenants, it seems that the dairy farmer of that
county finds it profitable to cross the dark or spotted sows
which they have in the county, and also those they pur-
chase largely from Shropshire and Wales, with a Berk-
shire boar. The produce is all, or nearly all, made into,
and sold for making bacon. On the other hand, in Kent,
Mr. Betts, of Preston Hall, buys Berkshire sows and
crosses them with a white Windsor boar, ' the produce
being invariably white."

IMPROVED ESSEX (Fig. 22).

We have already given some account of this celebrated
breed, but the American farmer will be glad to read what
Mr. Sidney writes in regard to it. He says : " The im-
proved Essex is one of the best pigs of the small black
breeds, well calculated for producing pork and hams of
the finest quality for fashionable markets ; but its great-
est value is as a cross for giving quality and maturity to
black pigs of a coarser, hardier kind. It occupies, with
respect to the black breeds, the same position that the
small Cumberland-Yorks do as to white breeds — that is to
say, an improved Essex boar is sure to improve the prod-
uce of any large dark sow.

" The original Essex pig was a party-colored animal,
black, with white shoulders, nose, and legs — in fact, a sort
of ' sheeted ' pig, large, upright, and coarse in bone.

" The first improvement was made by the late Lord West-

THE MODERN ENGLISH BSE EDS OF PIGS.

81

em, when Mr, Western, an Essex squire, who divided his
life pretty equally between the cultivation of live-stock
and the passionate support of the politics of his friend,
Charles James Fox. While traveling in Italy (making
the grand tour), he observed, admired, and secured a male
and female of the breed called Neapolitan, * found in its
greatest purity (according to a letter addressed by Lord

Fig. 23. — LOUD WESTEUN ESSEX.

Western to Earl Spencer in the Farmers1 Magazine, Janu-
ary, 1839) in the beautiful peninsula, or rather tongue of
land, between the Bay of Naples and the Bay of Salerno.
. . A breed of very peculiar and valuable qualities, the
flavor of the meat being excellent, and the disposition to
fatten on the smallest quantity of food unrivaled.'

" From this pair Mr. Western (afterwards Lord Western)

bred in-and-in, until the breed was in danger of becoming

extinct — a sure result of in-and-in breeding. He then

turned to Essex, and, there is reason to believe, to black

4*

82 HAKKIS ON THE PIG.

Sussex and Berkshire sows ; and obliterating the white
of the old Essex, produced a class of animals of which he
says, in the letter already quoted : ' I have so completely
engrafted this stock upon British breeds, that I think my
herd can scarcely be distinguished from the pure blood "
(of Neapolitans). (See figure 23.)

" The Western Essex pigs had great success at agricul-
tural shows. The old Essex, with its ' roach back, long
legs, sharp head, and restless disposition,' was capable of
being made very fat, but then it required time and an un-
limited supply of food. The advantage of a cross with
the Italian was obvious, and the fact that the new breed
was in the hands of a popular county squire was no small
help in extinguishing the native and unprofitable parti-
colored race.

" But as Lord Western bred exclusively from his own
stock — having attained what he considered perfection —
always selecting the neatest and most perfect males and
females, his breed gradually lost size, muscle, and consti-
tution, and consequently fecundity ; and at the time of
his death, in 1844, while whole districts had benefited
from the cross, the Western herd had become more orna-
mental than useful.

"But, in the meantime, the well-known Mr. Fisher
Hobbs, of Boxted Lodge, then a young tenant farmer at
Mark's Hall, on the Western estate, had taken up, among
other farm live-stock, the Essex pig, and made use of the
privilege he enjoyed of using Lord Western's male ani-
mals to establish a breed on strong, hardy black Essex
sows, even if somewhat rough and coarse, crossed with
the Neapolitan-Essex boars. On the carefully selected
produce of these, divided and kept as pure separate fam-
ilies, he established the breed that he first exhibited, and
has since become famous as the ' Improved Essex? a title
which Lord Western himself adopted when his tenant and
pupil had successfully competed with him. On Lord

THK MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 83

84

HARRIS OX THE TIG.

Western's death, Mr. Hobbs purchased his best breeding
sows. The difference between Lord Western's Essex
and Mr. Fisher Hobbs' improved Essex, is shown very
plainly by the two portraits which illustrate this section,
the one drawn by Mr. Youatt, in 1845 (fig. 23), and the
other from ' Emperor,' an eight-year-old working boar
drawn for me in April, 1860 (fig. 22).

" The improved Essex, with symmetry, have more size
and constitution than the original Essex-Neapolitans, and

Fig. 25. — ESSEX sow.

this has been maintained without any crosses for more
than twenty years, by judicious selection from the ' three
distinct families.' "

Very excellent specimens of the Essex pigs are owned
by various breeders in this country. We give engravings
(figs. 24, 25, — ) from photographs of animals owned by
L. A. Chase, Esq., Northampton, Mass., descended from
animals imported by Samuel Thome, Esq., from Fisher
Hobbs' stock. They are in only working condition.

THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 85

IMPROVED OXFORDSHIRE.

" These black pigs," says Mr. Sidney, " although they
are scarcely numerous enough to enable them to claim
tlie title of a breed, are interesting, because representing
a successful attempt to unite the best qualities of the
Berkshire and improved Essex. The old Oxfordshire
breed were very like the old Berkshire. The first great
improvement is traced to two Neapolitan boars imported
by the late Duke of Marlborough when Marquis of Bland-
ford, and presented by him to Mr. Druce, senior, of Eyns-
ham, and the late Mr. Smallbones, in 1837. These Nea-
politans were used with Berkshire sows, some of which
were the result of Chinese crosses. Two families of jet-
black pigs were formed by Mr. Smallbones and Mr. Druce.
On the death of Mr. Smallbones, Mr. Samuel Druce, jun.,
purchased the best of his stock, and had from his father,
and also from Mr. Fisher Hobbs, improved Essex boars.
The produce were a decided ' hit,' and very successful at
local, Royal, and Smithfield Club shows. The improved
Oxfords are of fair size, and all black, with a fair quantity
of hair, very prolific, and good mothers and sticklers.

" Mr. Samuel Druce writes me : ' I have recently used
one of Mr. Crisp's black Suffolk boars. In fact, wherever
opportunity offers, I obtain good fresh blood of a suitable
black breed, with the view of obtaining more lean moat
than the Essex, better feeding qualities than the pure
Berkshires, and plenty of constitution. I have never been
troubled with any diseases among my pigs. Without
change of boars of a different tribe, if of the same breed,
constitution cannot be preserved. Where breeding in-
and-in from a limited stock is persisted in, constitution is
lost, the produce of each sow becomes small in size and
few in number.' The Oxford dairy farms have a first-rate
market for pork in the University. Porkers at thirteen
to sixteen weeks are wanted to weigh 60 Ibs. to 90 Ibs. ;

86 HAKKIS ON THE PIG.

bacon pigs at nine to ten months, 220 Ibs. to 280 Ibs., but
at that age the improved Oxfords are easily brought to
400 Ibs."

BLACK AND BED PIGS.

" Birmingham has long been one of the greatest pig
markets in the kingdom, and the pig-breeding of the
district has been not a little affected and improved by the
winter fat-stock show, which has for some years past been
held there, at Bingley Hall, with great success. The town
of Birmingham unites Staffordshire and Warwickshire.
The old Warwickshire breed was a white or party-colored
animal of the old-fashioned farm-yard type, and has never
been improved into a special breed. The Staffordshire
breed was the ' Tamworth.' At present the Tamworth
are rapidly going out of favor with farmers, from the
want of aptitude to fatten, and are being replaced by use-
ful pigs, the result of miscellaneous crosses of no special
character. The best are the middle-sized white pigs, a
cross of the Cumberland-York with local white breeds,
often called the Cheshire. The northern cross improves
the constitution, and gives hair of the right quality, 'hard,
but not too much or too coarse.'

" At Bingley Hall the class of Berkshire breeding-pigs
under six months old generally brings from twenty to
twenty-five pens. At present, however, the Berkshires in
the Birmingham district are chiefly in the hands of ama-
teur farmers, tenant farmers not having taken very kindly
to them.

" But the breed must be spreading rapidly if the ready
sale of the young pigs at the Birmingham show be taken
as evidence.

"Mr. Joseph Smith, of Henley-in-Arden, one of the most
successful exhibitors of Berkshires, keeps three or four
sows, and sells all their young ; and others find the de-
mand for young pigs constant -throughout the year.

THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 87

" Mr. Thomas Wright, of Quarry House, Great Barr,
(who did so much toward founding the Bingley Hall
show,) considers the cross of the Berkshire with the Tarn-
worth 'produces the most profitable bacon pigs in the
kingdom, the Berkshire blood giving an extraordinary
tendency to feed, and securing the early maturity in which
alone the Tamworth breed is deficient. The cross of the
Berkshire boar with large white sows has been found to
produce most satisfactory results to plain farmers. My
own notion with regard to all agricultural stock is, that
we should abandon crosses and stick to our pure breeds,
adapting them to our particular wants by careful selec-
tion.'

" The TAMWORTH BREED is a red, or red-and-black pig, —
hardy, prolific, and the best specimens well shaped, but
slow in maturing. It seems a near relation to the old
Berkshire ; but modern Berks breeders carefully exclude
all red-marked pigs from their breeding-sheds. Reddish
hairs at the tips of the ears of Essex would be permitted
and admired. Mr. Alderman Baldwin, of Birmingham,
is a noted breeder of this hardy, useful pig, which, how-
ever, does not seem to have any success as a prize winner.
At the Royal Agricultural Show at Warwick, 1859, the
Yorkshire and Berkshire breeds divided all the honors."

DEVONS.

" Devonshire," says Mr. Sidney, " has an excellent breed
of black pigs, which partake, for the most part, of the
character of the improved Essex and Berkshire. The
climate seems to require less hair than the northern and
midland counties. Mr. George Turner, the great cattle-
breeder of Devon, has done a good deal in the last forty
years towards improving the west country black pigs by
his * stud ' and importations.

" The ' original Devon pigs were valued according to

83 HARRIS OX THE PIG.

the length of their bodies, ears, noses, tail, and hair ; the
longer the better, without reference to quality or sub-
stance,' just like some Devonshire squires of 500 ragged
acres, who value themselves on the length of a pedigree
unilluminated by a single illustrious name or action.
* They were of no particular color or character; but within
the last forty years they have been improved perhaps
more than any other stock, by judicious crosses and im-
portations.' Within the last twenty years a good deal
of Mr. Fisher Hobbs' stock (Essex) has been intro-
duced, and seem well adapted to the climate. The Berk-
si i ires nre also much approved. Mr. George Turner's
stock * are black, with short faces, thick bodies, small
bone, and but little hair, and exhibit as much good breed,
shape, and constitution, as any tribe of pigs in the king-
dom, and have won as many prizes at the breeding-stock
shows of the Royal Agricultural Society.'

" 4 At eighteen months old they generally make from 18
to 20 score — 360 Ibs to 400 Ibs., sinking the oifal.

" Some of the original breed of the county may still be
seen in parts of North Devon ; they will jump a fence
that would puzzle many horses and some hunters. But,
taken as a whole, the pig stock of Devonshire is far above
the average of other counties ; the black pig being, per-
haps, the only foreigner who has ever been cordially wel-
comed as a settler in that very exclusive county."

CORSETS.

" Dorset," says Mr. Sidney, " has no reputation as a
pig-breeding county ; but one breeder, Mr. John Coate,
of Hamoor, has achieved a reputation for his Improved
Dorsets, by winning, amongst other prizes, the gold
mednl for the best pen of pigs in the Smithfield Club
Show not less than fiva times, viz., 1850, 1851, 1852, 1855,
and 1856.

THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 89

" Mr. Coate writes me that he purchased, about * twenty
years ago, a boar and sow in Somersetshire, of a breed
said to have been sent from Turkey. They resembled, in
some measure, the wild boar,* being short on the leg,
with very long, wiry hair, black in color, and very inclined
to fatten. I was led to believe it was a mixture between
the wild boar and Neapolitan breeds. I crossed them
with some Chinese I had, and by so doing, both ways, pro-
duced the animals I named, when first exhibited, the
' Dorset breed,' although not properly ; but they had,
from their beauty, previously found their way into many
farm-yards in the county. I had two distinct breeds to
begin with (Mr. Coate means, I presume, the Chinese-
Turks and the Turk-Chinese,) which I kept pure a long
time for crossing ; but as both wore away, have used my
own stock as far akin as possible, and have once or twice
introduced fresh blood by getting a boar as much like my
own as I could. I have tried crosses with other breeds,
but not liking the offspring, got rid of them again.
Crosses answer well for profit to the dairyman, as you get
more constitution and quicker growth ; but for me, who
sell a great number of pigs for breeding purposes, I find
it will not do, as it requires many years to get anything
like purity of blood again. With all animals, the first or
second cross is good ; but if you ever get away from the
pure breed, it requires years and great attention to regain
it, as the cross often shows itself in color or shape years
after it has taken place, when you fancy you are quite
safe.'

" There is no manner of doubt that Mr. Coate's Dorsets
have been improved by a strong cross of Mr. Hobbs' im-
proved Essex. Experienced pig judges tell me that they
carry the relationship plainly in their faces ; and this

* According to this description, they did not in the least resemhle any wild
boar I have ever seen.— S. S.

90 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

would be a safe cross, both being derived from Neapoli-
tans.

" But Dorset, as a county, is so far from being celebrated
for pigs, that one of the greatest dairy farmers, who feeds
whole herds, writes me — ' All I know is, that our breed
of pigs is very bad.'

" They are, for the most part, black and white, of a Berk-
shire character. The ancient Dorset pig is said to have
been blue, perhaps the original of the blue boar. One
well-known parish in Dorset is called l Toller Porcorum.' "

Mr. Sidney certainly deserves credit for the boldness
with which he endeavors to classify the different breeds
of English pigs. It is not an easy or an agreeable task.

It would seem from the facts given above that the
White Breeds are decidedly of a mixed origin. The
Yorkshire breeders furnish pedigrees, but if we may judge
from the specimen given on page 67, these pedigrees, when
analyzed, show conclusively that the breeders who have
been most celebrated as prize-winners, have found it de-
sirable to resort to an occasional cross. They have aimed
to produce a pig that will grow rapidly, and fat at an
early age. In other words, they have aimed, as breeders,
to produce what we want as feeders. This is, we think, a
mistake. The object of the breeder should be to pro-
duce a pig which, when crossed with common sows, will
produce the best pigs for fattening.

Agricultural Societies will not allow a grade Shorthorn,
or a grade Hereford, or a grade Devon, or a grade Ayr-
shire to compete with a thorough-bred. But both in
England and America, pigs are shown without reference to
pedigree ; and as long as this is the case, the breeders of
thorough-bred pigs receive injury rather than benefit from
these exhibitions. None but thorough-breds should be
allowed to compete with thorough-breds. The importance
of " pedigree " is admitted, but the societies do not insist

THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 91

upon it, and the consequence is that nearly all the prizes
go to grade pigs, or to some recently made-up breed.

If one of these successful exhibitors of a made-up breed
is a conscientious man, he endeavors to keep his pigs pure,
and every year they become more valuable for the purpose
of improving common stock, but less likely to take a
prize. Mr. Mangles' York-Cumberlands, of which we
give a beautiful portrait on page 66, are as handsome pigs
as can be desired ; but if kept pure for a dozen genera-
tions, they will be no better than they are now for " show"
purposes; in fact, they will probably not be as good.
Some newly made-up breed, with equal refinement, but
with stronger digestive organs, will take on fat more
rapidly and will win the gold medal — as they themselves
did when not half as valuable for the purpose of im-
proving ordinary stock as they are now.

We cannot better conclude this account of the English
breeds than by copying the following remarks from Mr.
Sidney's book :

" It will be right to say a few words about two or three
county pigs of no particular merit, but which, neverthe-
less, are ' familiar in our mouths as household words.'
For instance, there is the HAMPSHIRE HOG — a name used,
very unjustly, no doubt, to designate a county man as
well as a county pig. There are some very pretty things
to be said about the herds of swine in the New Forest,
but they have been said so often, that they are scarcely
worth repeating. The county animal is black or spotted
with red, and about the size of a Berkshire, but coarser,
and has had less attention paid to its improvement. There
are also a considerable number of white pigs in Hamj>
shire. Like every other breed within reach of a good
market, they have been much improved within the last
twenty years ; but no Hampshire man has made himself
celebrated as a pig-breeder, and I cannot find any instance
of Hampshire pigs taking prizes at the Smithfield Show;

92 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

therefore, it may be concluded that, although the county
abounds in useful animals, it is not worth while to resort
to it either for establishing a new or improving an old
breed. Of his class, the Berkshire is a better animal than
the dark Hampshire hog, both having, when unimproved,
a want of thickness through the shoulder, which has been
corrected by a cross of Neapolitan or Essex, and both are
slow feeders.

u The LINCOLNSHIRE PIG cannot now be distinguished
from Yorkshire. At the Lincoln Royal Agricultural So-
ciety's Show, the prizes were easily earned away by
Berkshires; but that proves nothing, as some judges
never give a prize to a white pig, and others never to a
black one.

" The SUFFOLK, a white pig, once appeared frequently in
the catalogues, and in the prize-lists of the Smithfield
Club Show, but of late years it seems to have given way
to more popular names. Suffolk has a leading breeder of
pigs in Mr. Crisp, of Butley Abbey ; but he breeds both
black pigs and white pigs, and calls his black pigs Suf
folks, being a sort of cosmopolitan breeder, a purchaser
of the best pigs he can find of any color. His most cele-
brated pigs are quite black. Mr. Barthropp, of Creting-
ham Rookery, celebrated for his Suffolk horses, but not a
pig-breeder, writes of the swine of his native county in
terms which might be applied to almost every district not
distinguished by a thorough-bred sort. 'The old Suf-
folks were white, with rather long legs, long heads, flat
sides, and a great deal of coarse hair ; they made good
bacon hogs, but were not so well adapted for porkers as
the present improved Suffolks are. These are the white,
with short heads, and long cylindrical bodies upon short
legs, and fine hair, which breeders try to get long, fine,
and thin. These are the best Suffolks ; but there are a
great many about the county, the result of crosses with
the black Essex, which have 'no character,' although they

THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OP PIGS. 93

are useful animals.' The best Suffolks, as before men-
tioned, are Yorkshire-Cumberlands, that have emigrated
and settled in Suffolk, and thence been transported to
Windsor.

" The NORFOLK PIG, also described by Youatt, is, accord-
ing to the report of one of the best farmers in the county,
' an indescribable animal, the result of the mixture of
many breeds in a hocus pocus or porous style ; and al-
though they have improved of late years, the county
stands very low in that division of live-stock.' ' They
really are (writes another Norfolk farmer) a disgrace to
our county. The only thing to recommend them is, that
they are great breeders. If they would have three or
four less, and better quality, it would pay better.' In
the days of the first Earl of Leicester, he had, of course,
some good pigs for the time, and they then found their
way into book, and have remained there ever since. The
only noted pig-breeder in Norfolk cultivates the improved
Berkshire.

" BEDFORDSHIRE cannot boast of a county pig, but a pig
was bred at Woburn, white, with occasional brown spots,
and depicted in Youatt's original edition of this book,
which I have the very best Bedfordshire authority for
saying, was ' a good sort of pig, without any particular
character, good feeders, but bad swillers, and they were
therefore allowed to die out, and replaced by Berkshire
sows, crossed with Suffolk boars. Indeed, the Bedford-
shire breed were so little known, that a tenant of one of
the first-class farms of that county told me that ' he did
not know that they had a breed until he saw it marked
over one of Prince Albert's pens, about ten years ago, at
the Smithfield Club.'

" At present a white breed is the most fashionable, which
means salable, in Bedfordshire.

" Another very eminent Bedfordshire farmer says : * The

94 HAEKIS ON THE PIG.

breed of pigs in this county is wretchedly bad, and has
been ever since I have known it.'

" A third writes me : ' The Woburn breed, described by
Youatt, was a good sort of pig, of no particular character,
except great aptitude to fatten. They were discontinued,
in consequence of the sows being very bad Bucklers, in
favor of a cross-bred animal, the produce of Berkshire
sows and white Suffolk boars, the best that could be got.
These are prolific, of good quality, can be fed at any age,
and to a fair medium weight. A cross like this pays the
farmer best.'

" Herefordshire has a useful white pig, but no attention
has been paid to it.

" The dairymen in Cheshire breed and buy a great many
dark pigs, black, black-spotted, and red-and-black, of the
Shropshire and Welsh breeds, using Berkshire boars, and
also Manchester or * Yorkshire ' boars.

" A tenant of R. Egerton Warburton, Esq., of Arley
Hall, writes in answer to a set of questions which that
gentleman was kind enough to circulate among his tenants:

" ' There is no distinct Cheshire breed. The pigs are
mostly cross-bred, short-eared, and long-sided. The fa-
vorite breed is a cross between Berkshire and Chinese.'

" The Shropshire, of which great numbers are introduced
into Cheshire by traveling pig-jobbers, are of a dark red-
and-black color, long-snouted, and lengthy ; not very fine
in the coat.

" The Welsh pigs are generally a yellow-white, but some
are spotted black-and-white.

"The (Cheshire) dairymen depend more on these Welsh-
men and proud Salopians than on breeding. The cross
of the Manchester boar with the Shropshire and Welsh
produces a larger and coarser breed than the small York-
shire.

" The Cheshire farmers buy in their stores at about six-
teen weeks, feed them from eight to twelve months, and

THE MODEHN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 95

sell them weighing from 240 Ibs. to 300 Ibs. These are
considered, in Cheshire, the best selling weights for bacon.
I observe that the farmer who uses most Welsh pigs keeps
them twelve months, and sells them at 300 Ibs., which will
scarcely pay for four months more keep than the York-
shire, Manchester, and Shropshire sold after eight months.

" An immense improvement has taken place in Cheshire
pigs within the last thirty years, in quality and weight.
They are made fat at least six months sooner than thirty
years ago.

" One farmer says few or no Irish pigs are brought into
Cheshire; another, a good many, but not so many as
formerly. The great importation is of Shropshire and
Welsh. Yet a county member, who ought to be an au-
thority, writes me that * Shropshire cannot boast of a
county pig.'

" As a general rule, dark pigs would seem to be in favor
on English dairy farms.

" The MIDDLESEX is a name which has become known
from winning prizes at the Smithfield Club, in 1841, 1848,
1850, 1851, 1854, 1856. It is not a county pig, but of the
same class as the Windsor. Mr. Barber, of Slough,
Buckinghamshire, is the principal breeder and exhibitor
of Middlesex. Captain Gunter used to show it before he
settled permanently in Yorkshire.

" The NOTTINGHAMSHIRE BREED, whatever that may be,
has won one prize in Baker-street, and the Warwickshire
crossed with Neapolitan two, many years ago.

FANCY BREEDS.

" By fancy breeds, I mean pigs named after a person or
a place. The prizes awarded to pigs at the Smithfield
Club Shows are a very good evidence that the breed, if a

96 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

breed, had good feeding qualities, although it may not
have been suited for the ordinary work and treatment of
a farm. Cross-bred animals have had the greatest suc-
cess. Pure Essex and Berkshire, and large Yorkshires,
have not met as much success as at breeding stock shows.
The most successful animals at Smithfield have been cross-
bred. The prize- winning white pigs, under whatever
name, have all had a large dash of Cumberland- York-
Leicester ; the black pigs, of Neapolitan-Essex.

" Among the most successful exhibitors at the Smithfield
Club Shows, has been H.R.H., the Prince Consort, with
what has lately been called the Windsor breed.

" This is a white pig, the result, apparently, of many
crosses, the prevailing blood being small York-Cumber-
land. Thus, H.R.H. won, according to printed prize-list,
in

1846, with Bedfordshires.

1847, " Bedfordshire and Yorks.

1848, " Suffolks.

1849, " Suffolks.

1850, " Yorkshires.

1851, « Bedfordshire and Suffolks.

1852, " Suffolks.

(These were, all but one, second prizes.)

1853, " Suffolks.

(First prize and gold medal for best pen of pigs in
any class.)

1854, " Windsors.

" And since that time only the breed has been called
Windsors. His Royal Highness took a first prize in small
boars at Warwick with his Windsor breed, and a com-
mendation for a Berkshire sow.

" It is a tribe greatly in demand among gentlemen pig-
breeders, and crosses admirably with strong county sows.

" The COLESHILL is a white pig, closely connected with

THE MODERN ENGLISH BREEDS OF PIGS. 97

the York-Cumberlands bred at Coleshill, by the Earl of
Radnor, who had stock from Earl Ducie, who had stock
from Mr. Wyley, of Bransby, Yorkshire, and Mr. Brown,
of Cumberland, for more than twenty years. The Coles-
hills, between 1847 and 1850, had great success at the
Smithfield Club Shows ; since that time, they seem to
have somewhat lost their reputation, and two of my York-
shire correspondents describe them as * toys.' ' At one
time they were of a good size, but they have by no means
maintained the even character that would entitle them to
the name of a breed." When any of Lord Radnor's stock
pass into other hands in England, the produce generally
ceases to be called Coleshill s. They become Suffolks,
Yorkshires, Middlesex, according to the fancy of the
breeder. They are esteemed, and much better known
among the fashionable pig-breeders in France than in
England, and there their opponents term them ' drawing-
room pigs ' — (cochons de salon). The Coleshills carried
off first prizes and gold medals at the Smithfield Shows
in 1846 and 1847, and second prizes in 1844, 1845, 1847,
and 1850.

" The BUSHEY BREED are white, bred by the wealthy
banker, Mr. Majoribanks, and were long called York-
shires, and have recently been named after their place of
birth. They have no distinctive character to distinguish
them from their competitors.

" The BUCKINGHAMSHIRE took the first Smithfield prize
in 1840, but in these and many other names it is difficult
to find any distinctive character."

This is additional evidence, if any were needed, that
the most successful prize-winners resort to crossing. The
whole system of awarding prizes to pigs needs a thorough
revision. As it now stands, it is simply a means of ena-
bling breeders to sell highly fed, cross-bred " toys " at
high prices. The " Prince Albert Suffolks," which we now
5

98 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

learn are nothing but high-bred grades, have been intro-
duced into the United States. Perhaps the writer has
less cause than he supposed, to regret that one which he
kept until four years old, finally found her way to the
pork barrel without ever breeding a single pig.

CHAPTER XI.

BREEDS OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES.

We have no " native " American pig. Our stock origin-
ally came from Europe, and principally from Great
Britain. And it is highly probable that the largest and
best specimens of the period were brought over by the
colonists ; and as improvements were afterwards effected
in England, good animals of the improved breeds were
imported.

Attempts have also been made to improve our pigs by
using Chinese boars and their crosses ; and there can be
no doubt that individual breeders in this way succeeded
in effecting a great improvement in the early maturity and
fattening qualities of their stock. But although these
attempts attracted considerable attention at the time, the
pigs so obtained were never generally popular. They
were too small and delicate for the prevailing taste of the
period.

In 1832, the Improved Berkshires were introduced into
the United States, and soon attracted the attention they
so well deserved. In the course of half a dozen years,
they were introduced into nearly every State in the
Union. Breeders became excited. The agricultural pa-
pers were filled with communications extolling the merits
of the Berkshires — and after a careful perusal of these

BKEED3 OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 09

articles at this time, we find that the statements were not
as highly colored as might have been expected. As a
rule, the pigs were quite as good as they were represented
to be. It was hardly to be expected that breeders should
say to intending purchasers, " It is of no use for you to
get a well-bred pig unless you are prepared to give it bet-
ter treatment than you do the common sort." The trouble
was not in the pigs, but in the farmers. Berkshires were
fully as valuable as the breeders claimed, and yet a great
and wide-spread disappointment soon manifested itself.
For a time the supply was not equal to the demand, and
doubtless hundreds of pigs were sold as " pure Berk-
shires " that were nothing but grades. But the general
complaint was that the Berkshires were not large enough.
The advocates of the breed met this complaint by state-
ments of weights, giving many instances where the Berk
shires and their grades dressed 400 Ibs. at a year old, and
that at 18 or 20 months old, they could be made to weigh
500 or 550 Ibs., dressed. One of the prominent breeders
stated that he had a thorough-bred Berkshire that gained
496 Ibs. in 166 days, and when killed, dressed 626 Ibs.

To meet the demand for large pigs, fresh importations
were made of the largest Berkshires that could be found
in England. One boar, " Windsor Castle," imported in
1841, by Mr. A. B. Allen, it was claimed would weigh, at
two years old, when in good flesh, 800 Ibs. At the same
time, Mr. Allen deprecated the prevailing taste for such
large hogs, and very justly argued that smaller pigs, with
less offal, would mature earlier and fatten more rapidly on
a given amount of food. But then, as now, the demand
was for the largest pigs that could be found, and it is said
that this very boar was afterwards sold to a gentleman in
Ohio for one thousand dollars.

But the excitement soon began to abate. Farmers who
had paid $50, $100, and, in one instance we have met with,
$250 for a single pair of Berkshires, found that their

100 HARRIS OX THE PIG.

neighbors did not like the looks of the new comers.
Ordinary pigs were selling at from 81 to $3 per cwt., and
few could be persuaded to pay even 810 for a pair of
thorough-breds. Thus ended the Berkshire excitement.
The reaction was so great, that for years afterwards there
were farmers who would not have received as a gift the
best Berkshire in the world. And to this day, thous-
ands who do not know a Berkshire pig when they see it,
have a very decided prejudice against the breed.

A few years later, the Suffolks were introduced by the
Messrs. Isaac & Josiah Stickney, of Boston. These gen-
tlemen unquestionably procured the best specimens of the
breed that could be purchased in England, and they bred
them with great care and skill. Other importations were
made, and the Suffolks have probably been more exten-
sively diffused throughout the New England, Middle, and
Western States than any other improved English breed.

About the same time, the Improved Essex were intro-
duced, but, being entirely black, they never became popu-
lar in the Northern States. They are principally in the
hands of our large stock breeders, and other gentlemen of
wealth, but are rarely found on ordinary farms. Being
in the hands of men knowing the value of pedigree,
they are probably, to-day, as "pure-bred" pigs as can be
found in the United States or in England.

The large Yorkshires were introduced soon after the
breed became noted in England, and importations have
been made from time to time. But no special efforts have
been made to create an excitement in regard to this breed,
and it has not been extensively diffused. The small York-
shires, or Prince Albert Suffolks, were introduced about
ten years ago, and, for a time, attracted considerable at-
tention. But they are not favorites with the majority of
farmers.

The above comprise the principal English breeds that
have attracted any special attention in this country, and

BREEDS OF PIGS IX THE UNITED STATES. 101

before alluding to breeds originating in the United States,
it may be well to inquire why these valuable English
breeds have never been favorites with the generality of
our farmers ?

That these breeds are not now, and never have been
popular, is unquestionably a fact. Except some kept by
the writer, we do not know of a single thorough-bred
Berkshire, Essex, Suffolk, or Yorkshire pig within ten
miles, and it is doubtful whether there are any in the
county, although they have been repeatedly introduced.
As a general rule, these thorough-bred pigs are kept only
by persons who raise them to sell for breeding purposes.
They are not kept for the sole object of making pork.
For the latter purpose they are seldom as profitable as the
offspring of a good common sow and a thorough-bred boar.

The handsomest pigs we have ever seen were so ob-
tained ; and one would think that farmers, seeing such a
result, would continue to use thorough-bred boars. But
such is seldom the case. They prefer to use one of these
large handsome grades, rather than the smaller and more
refined thorough-breds, and in this way the beneficial in-
fluence of the improved blood is soon lost.

We think this is the principal reason why these highly-
refined English breeds are not favorites with ordinary
farmers. Their real value consists in their perfection of
form, smallness of bone and offal, and the great develop-
ment of the ham, shoulder, cheeks, and other valuable
parts ; and added to this is their ability to transmit these
qualities to their offspring. This ability is in proportion
to their purity, and hence the value of pedigree. When
one of these pure-bred boars is put to a good grade or
common sow, we get precisely what we want — pigs hav-
ing the form, the refinement, the early maturity, smallness
of offal, and tendency to fatten of the thorough-bred,
combined with the vigor, constitution, appetite, and great
digestive powers of the larger and coarser sow. In other

102 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

words, as far as the production of pork is concerned, we
get a perfect pig — and there the improvement ends. We
have attained our object, and all that we have to do is to
repeat the process. To select boars from these grade pigs,
and to use them in hopes of getting something better, is
mere folly. It can lead to nothing but disappointment.
And yet this is the common practice of those who are,
once in a while, induced to try the thorough-breds. They
soon find themselves possessed of a stock of non-descript
pigs, none of them equal to the first cross, and some of
them inferior to the sow first put to the thorough-bred
boar. Then we hear complaints of the " degeneracy"
of the improved breeds, when, in point of fact, no sensi-
ble man could expect any other result. Another cause
of the unpopularity of the thorough-bred English pigs is,
the wretched treatment to which they are often subjected.
When we first commenced keeping thorough-bred pigs, a
farmer of the neighborhood who, some years before, had
paid a high price for a pair of Suffolk pigs, and who failed
to raise a single thorough-bred pig from them, remarked,
" You will soon get tired of this business. I have tried
it. They won't breed. You are keeping them too fat.
The only way to treat them is to turn them to a straw
stack, and let them live on that." The fact that he never
raised a pig from his sow did not commend his treatment,
and we continued feeding our pigs sufficient food to keep
them growing rapidly, and have had no cause to regret it.
The only sow that has ever failed to breed with us was a
Prince Albert Suffolk, purchased in the neighborhood
from a farmer who had probably tried the " straw-stack "
mode of feeding.

The aim of a good breeder of pigs is to get a breed
that will grow rapidly and mature early. And the better
the breed, the more rapidly will they grow. But the best
stove in the world cannot give out heat without a supply
of fuel ; neither can the best-bred pig in the world grow

BREEDS OF PIGS Itf THE UNITED STATES. 108

rapidly without food ; and the more thoroughly the
power to grow rapidly has become established by long
and careful breeding, the less capable does the pig be-
come to stand starvation. It may sometimes be necessary
to starve a pig for a short time when it has become too
fat. In this case the pig gets food from its own fat and
flesh, and sustains no permanent injury. But to starve a
young, growing pig, is always injurious — and the more
rapidly the pig is designed to grow, the more detrimental
and permanent will be the effects of such treatment. The
handsomest lot of white pigs we have ever raised, were
from a sow got by a thorough-bred Earl of Sefton (York-
shire) boar. She was a very large sow, and not coarse for
her size. This sow we put to a thorough-bred highly re-
fined Prince Albert Suffolk, and had a litter of " beauties."
There was not a poor pig among them, and they were so
uniform that it was difficult to tell one from another. The
sow had been liberally fed, and at the time of pigging
was very fat, and we continued to feed her and the little
ones all they would eat. The result was a lot of pigs
that we have never seen excelled. Encouraged by this
result, we purchased from a neighbor, at an extra price,
a litter of pigs got by the same thorough-bred boar, and
at the same time another litter of common pigs from an-
other neighbor. Both litters ran together, and had the
same food and treatment, and the common pigs did better
than the grade Suffolks.

The grade Suffolks were, in fact, decidedly poor pigs —
a very different lot from the pigs from our own sow, got
by the same boar. One cause of the difference must
probably be assigned to the fact that the sow was not as
large or as good as ours, and was not as well fed. And
another reason for the difference was, the pigs, for the first
two months, had not had all the food they were capable
of eating. They never recovered from this neglect, and
the common pigs were a stronger, more vigorous and

104 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

healthier lot, and ultimately made much the heaviest
pork. If we had had no other experience than this, we
should certainly condemn thorough-bred pigs. But we
know that the fault was not in the breed, but in the treat-
ment which the sow and her young litter had received.
Common pigs are better than improved pigs that have
been injured, while young, by neglect and starvation,
but the improved pigs, if the mother has been liberally
fed, and they themselves are allowed as much food as
they require to grow rapidly, will be found altogether su-
perior to the common pigs, and vastly more profitable.

To say that, up to the time they shut them up to fat-
ten, the majority of farmers half starve their pigs, will
not be considered too strong an assertion by any one who
has turned his attention to the subject. And this being
the case, it is very evident that the improved English
breeds cannot be popular — and the same is true of all
other improved breeds of animals. We must adopt a
better system of farming before we can hope to see the
improved breeds of cattle, sheep, and pigs generally in-
troduced and fully appreciated. Improved breeds necessi-
tate improved farming, and improved farming cannot be
very profitable without improved breeds, improved seeds,
and improved implements. To tell a poor farmer that " it
is just as easy to raise a good animal as a poor one," is
telling him what, in his case, is not true. If he
thinks he can do so merely by buying one or two im-
proved animals to start with, he will soon find out his
mistake. He should first improve his farm, and adopt a
better system of feeding and management, and then he
will find it nearly as easy to raise good animals as pool-
ones, and vastly more profitable.

We are now prepared to consider the breeds of pigs
which are most popular in the United States, and may be
able to discover the cause of their popularity.

BREEDS OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES.

CHESTER COUNTY WHITE PIGS. (Figure 27.)

105

The most popular and extensively known breed of pigs
in the United States at this time is, unquestionably, the
Chester County breed, or, as they are generally called, the
"Chester Whites." The rearing and shipping of these
pigs has become a very large and profitable business.
One firm alone in Chester Co., Penn., informs us that, for
the last three or four years, they have shipped from 2,500
to 2,900 of these pigs each year, and many other breed-
ers have also distributed large numbers of them.

There are several reasons why the Chester Whites are

Fig. 27.— CHESTER COUNTY WHITE.

more popular than the English breeds. In the first place,
they are a large, rather coarse, hardy breed, of good con-
stitution, and well adapted to the system of management
ordinarily adopted by the majority of our farmers. They
are a capital sort of common swine, and it is certainly for-
tunate that they have been so extensively introduced into
nearly all sections of the country. Wherever Chester
Whites have been introduced, there will be found sows
5*

10G HAEKIS ON THE PIG.

admirably suited to cross with the refined English breeds.
No cross could be better than a Chester White sow and
an Essex, Berkshire, or Small Yorkshire thorough-bred
boar. We get the form, refinement, early maturity, and
fattening qualities of the latter, combined with the strong
digestive powers, hardiness, and vigorous growth of the
Chester Whites. If the first cross does not give pigs
possessing sufficient refinement and early maturity, a
good, thrifty, well-formed sow should be selected from the
litter and put to a thorough-bred boar, and this second
cross will, so far as our experience goes, be as refined as
is desirable for ordinary farm pigs. When the pigs are
to be killed at four or five months old for fresh pork, a
sow may be selected from this second cross, and again put
to a thorough-bred boar. This is probably as far as it is
desirable to carry the refining process. The pigs from
this third cross would have 871 12 per cent of thorough-
bred blood in them, and so far as the production of pork
is concerned, would be more profitable than the thorough-
breds.

We think this is the proper use to make of the Chester
White pigs. They have many excellent qualities. They
are large, hardy, strong, vigorous, have good constitu-
tions, breed well, and are good mothers. Whether, as a
breed, they are thoroughly established, is rather doubtful.
There are probably families among them that have been
bred long enough to permanently establish their good
qualities. But it is certain that many Chester Whites
have been sent out that produce litters, the pigs of which
differ from each other as widely as the litters of common
sows — and far more widely than the litter of a common
sow put to a thorough-bred boar.

Paschall Morris, of Philadelphia, who has bred Chester
Whites for many years, and who is thoroughly acquaint-
ed with the breed, describes them as follows : " They are
generally recognized now as the best breed in this coun-

BREEDS OF PIGS IN TIIE UNITED STATES. 107

try, coming fully up to the requirements of a farmer's
hog, and are rapidly superseding Suffolks, Berkshires, and
other smaller breeds.

"The best specimens maybe described as long and deep
in the carcass, broad and straight on the back, short in
the leg, full in the ham, full shoulder, well packed for-
ward, admitting of no neck, very small proportionate
head, short nose, dish face, broad between the eyes, moder-
ate ear, thin skin, straight hair, a capacity for great size
and to gain a pound per day until they are two years old.
Add to these, quiet habits, and an easy taking on of fat, so
as to admit of being slaughtered at almost any age, and
we have, what is considered in Chester County, a careful-
ly bred animal, and what is known elsewhere as a fine
specimen of a breed called ' Chester County White.'
They have reached weights of from 600 to 900 Ibs.

"We have recently heard of a case where a farmer in the
West had purchased some pigs from Chester County, and
wrote back that part of them were full-blood, part half-
blood, and part no Chesters at all. We know of another
case where a purchaser insisted that a pig from Chester
County was half Suffolk.

"There is considerable misapprehension about the Ches-
ter County breed, so-called. It is constantly forgotten
that it is not an original, but a made up breed. They
differ from each other quite as much as any one known
breed differs from another. We have often seen them, —
and the offspring, too, of good animals, — with long noses,
whicli would root up an acre of ground in a very short
time, slab-sided, long-legged, uneasy, restless feeders, re-
sembling somewhat the so-called race-horse breed at the
South, that will keep up with a horse all day on ordinary
travel, and that will go over a fence instead of taking
much trouble to go through it. They show more develop-
ment of head than ham, and as many bristles as hair, and
are as undesirable a hog as can well be picked up. Any

108 HA KRIS ON THE PIG.

traveler through Chester County can see such specimens
continually. The standard of excellence in all animals,
no matter how high or how pure may be the breed, so-
called, is only to be kept up by judicious care in feeding,
breeding and management. If either is neglected, they
are sure to run out, and go down hill. With swine most
especially, ' the breed is said to be in the trough.'

" When persons speak, therefore, of a pure Chester hog,
or a half-blood, or a quarter-blood, we consider it only
absurd. There is no such thing. By an original breed is
meant, one that has been long established, and of which
there are peculiar marks and qualities by which it has
been long known, and which can be carried down by
propagation. Such is the Devon cow and the South-
down sheep. The difference in results between an original
and a recently made up breed may be compared to that
between a seedling and grafted variety of fruit. If the
seed of a very fine pear or apple is planted, there is no
certainty, perhaps no probability, that the fruit will be
the same as the parent. A graft of the parent tree, how-
ever, always produces the same. The results of the other
are accidental. The law of breeding domestic animals,
that c like produces like,' applies more certainly to dis-
tinct and original breeds, like Devons or Southdown s,
than to a made up breed of recent origin, like the Chester
County hog. The owner of a very fine animal, who, for
several years, has been selecting his stock carefully, and
feeding them liberally, has the chances greatly in his favor
that c like will produce like,' but there are very often to
be seen very poor specimens from good parentage, and
also very good individual animals from very inferior pa-
rents. We have one now which, at a year old, will not
weigh over 250 Ibs. ; she is the offspring of large and
well-shaped parents. In adjoining pens are others which,
at the same age, will weigh about 400 Ibs. The hair,
sometimes, is straight, at others, waved or curly. The

BREEDS OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 109

ear is often small and erect, then again large, thick, and
lopped, like that of an elephant. Blue spots often appear
on the skin, and sometimes black spots on the hair. These
and other great variations, in external form and other
qualities show that the Chester County pig represents his
individual self, and is not a type of a well established
breed.

"In the best specimens there are, however, a contribu-
tion of more valuable points than belong to any other.
As Ellman and Webb and Bake well did with sheep, and
with a far less favorable starting point, it is hoped some
one may be found to take up the Chester County hog,
and, by a persevering course of careful selections, breed
him up to a still higher standard, and give him a more
definite type and character.

"Any one can do this for himself, but the constant varia-
tions in their appearance would seem to show that it has
not yet been done by any one. An impure Southdown
lamb cannot be produced from a full-bred dam and sire ;
and yet a misshapen and ill-shaped pig is sometimes pro-
duced from what are called ' pure Chesters.' ''

Coming from a distinguished advocate and breeder of
Chester County pigs, this statement is as candid as it is
explicit. We may take it for granted that the Chester
Whites are not an established breed, like the Berkshires
or Essex. They will not breed true. This would not be
so very objectionable in itself, but it follows that, when
we wish to improve our common stock, we should not re-
sort to a Chester County boar. It is an axiom in breed-
ing that we should use nothing but thorough-bred males.
Chester County sows, when judiciously selected, are far
superior to our ordinary run of pigs, and this breed will
long continue valuable for the purpose of furnishing good
breeding sows to cross with some good thorough-bred
boar of the English breeds.

And it may be, as Mr. Morris suggests, that we shall

110 HARKIS OX THE PIG.

be able to so improve the Chester County pigs by such
" a persevering course of careful selections," as to give
the breed a better and " more definite type and character,"
and to so thoroughly establish these characters, that we
may use the boars with a reasonable prospect of improv-
ing any common breed with which they are crossed. Until
this is done, however, it will be a mistake to use Chester
County boars, except for the purpose of obtaining large,
vigorous sows, to be crossed with some thoroughly estab-
lished breed.

The " Hog Breeders' Manual," a little work published
in the interest of Chester County pigs, says : " The
Chester and Suffolk make a very fine cross. If a new
breed could be made by crossing these two breeds, and
continuing, and the offspring were a uniform mixture of
the two, I should consider it the maximum of perfection."

In other words, the Chester Whites are too coarse, and
need to be refined by crossing with some of the thorough-
bred English breeds. This is undoubtedly true; and
coming from a prominent breeder of Chester Whites, may
be regarded as decisive on this point. But why should a
farmer wish for a " new breed " when, by using a thor-
ough-bred Suffolk boar on a Chester White sow, he can
attain at one step the cc maximum of perfection ?" True,
he cannot breed from these perfect pigs. He cannot hope
to make them " more perfect ;" but, by continuing to use
thorough-bred boars, he is always sure of obtaining good
pigs. What more is needed ? We think it would be a
mistake if the Chester White breeders should refine their
pigs too much. The chief value of the breed consists in
its size and vigor, and in furnishing strong, healthy sows,
to be crossed with thorough-bred boars of a refined breed.
There is no object to be gained by refining, or, in other
words, reducing the size and vigor, of the Chester Whites.

BREEDS OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. Ill

, *

THE " CHESHIRE," OR JEFFERSON COUNTY PIGS. (Fig. 28.)

This is a breed of pigs originating in Jefferson County,
N". Y. For a dozen years or more they have been exhibit-
ed at the Fairs of the 1ST. Y. State Agricultural Society,
and for the last six or seven years have carried off nearly
all the prizes offered for pigs of the large breed. They
were first exhibited, to the best of our recollection, under
the names of " Cheshire and Yorkshire," and afterwards
as " Improved Cheshires," and in 1868, one of the largest
breeders exhibited them as "Improved Yorkshires."

Fig. 28. — JEFFERSON COUNTY PIG.

These different names, in different years, indicate the nature
of the breed. They have been very extensively distrib-
uted throughout the country, and especially in the West,
under the name of " Cheshires." It would be better, we
think, to call them the " Jefferson County " pigs, as in-
dicating the place rather than the nature of their origin.
The latter is uncertain, while there can be no doubt that
Jefferson County is entitled to the credit of establishing a
very popular and valuable breed of pigs.

The old Cheshire pig was one of the largest and coarsest
breeds in England, but Sidney says " these unprofitable

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

giants are now almost extinct." A Cheshire (England)
correspondent of this author writes, under date March 17,
1860, as follows : " The old gigantic, long-legged, long-
eared pig, of a large patched black and white color, is all
but extinct. My son met with a fine specimen last year
in a sow which he brought to breed with our boar of the
Berkshire small breed, but changed his mind and fed her.
She showed no propensity for fattening at two years old.
She weighed, when killed, 42 score, 12 Ibs. — 852 Ibs;
but as 3'| 4 d. per pound was the best we could get for
her, we took her for the family, and the meat was surpris-
ingly good. She was lean fleshed. The hams weighed
77 Ibs each."

It is said that a large sow of the old Cheshire breed
was taken from Albany to Jefferson County, and about
the same time some thorough-bred Yorkshires were intro-
duced into the same neighborhood from England. We
have not been able to definitely establish the fact, but it
is highly probable that the pigs which were first exhibited
at the N. Y. State Fair as " Cheshire and Yorkshire "
were from Yorkshire boars, crossed with the descendants
of this sow. The pigs, as we recollect them when first
exhibited, were very large, rather coarse, but well shaped.
Since then, they have, from year to year, approximated
more closely to the Yorkshires. They are still large, but
have finer bones and ears. The best specimens, as shown
by the leading breeders, are as handsome pigs as can be
desired. Color, white ; small, fine ears, short snout, with
a well-developed cheek ; long and square bodied ; good
shoulders and hams, and very small bones for such large
hogs.

As compared with the Chester County breed, they are
nearly or quite as large, have finer bones, ears, and snout,
and are altogether superior in form, beauty, and refine-
ment to any Chester Whites we have ever happened to
see. They have doubtless obtained this refinement from

BREEDS OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 113

the Yorkshires. The leading breeders in Jefferson County
admit very freely that the breed is of mixed origin, but
it is claimed that they have been kept pure sufficiently
long to thoroughly establish the breed. We believe that
this, at any rate, has been the aim of some of the breed-
ers. When thoroughly established, the breed will occupy
a similar position to pure-bred large Yorkshires. The
boars will be useful to cross with coarse Chester White
sows, where larger hogs are desired than can be obtained
by using Berkshire, Essex, or Suffolk boars.

THE MAGIE (OHIO) PIGS.

The Hon. John M. Millikin, in his Prize Essay on the
Agriculture of Butler County, Ohio, gives an account of
a large breed of pigs which have obtained considerable
celebrity in some parts of the West. He says :

" No county in the United States, of equal area, has
produced so many hogs of a superior quality as the county
of Butler. The breed which is so highly esteemed by our
farmers is the result of careful and judicious breeding,
conducted by our best breeders in this county, and the
adjoining county of Warren, for the last forty years.

"The precise history of the method adopted to produce
this popular breed of hogs cannot be given as fully and
as reliably as its present value and importance demand.
The best information, of a reliable character, which can
be obtained, gives us to understand that as early as about
1820, some hogs of an improved breed were obtained and
crossed upon the then prevailing stock of the county.
Among the supposed improved breeds of hogs, there were
the Poland and Byefield. They are represented as being
exceedingly large hogs, of great length, coarse bone, and
deficient in fattening qualities. Subsequently more de-
sirable qualities were sought for, and the stock produced
by the crosses with Poland, Byefield, and other breeds,

114 HAKRIS ON THE PIG.

underwent very valuable modifications by being bred
with an esteemed breed of hogs then becoming known,
and which were called the Big China. They possessed
important qualities in which the other breeds were sadly
deficient. At a later period, Mr. Wm. Neff, of Cincin-
nati, an extensive pork packer, and fond of fine cattle and
hogs, made some importations of fine stock from England.
Among them were some Irish Graziers. They were white
in color, of fair size, fine in the bone, and possessing ad-
mirable fattening qualities. Berkshires, about the same
time, were attracting much attention, and both breeds
were freely crossed with the then existing stock of the
county. The result of these crosses was highly advanta-
geous in the formation of a hog of the most desirable quali-
ties. The Berkshires had obtained, with many breeders,
great favor, while others objected to them, because they
thought them too short, and too thick in the shoulder.
Nevertheless the Berkshire blood was liberally infused
into our stock of hogs, but in such a judicious manner, as
to obviate the objections urged against them, and to se-
cure their conceded good qualities.

" Since the formation period of our breed of hogs, as
above stated, there have been no material or decided in-
novation upon the breed thus obtained. Our breeders
have carefully selected and judiciously bred from the best
animals thus produced among us. Where defective points
have been apparent, they have been changed by careful
breeding. There has been, for many years, no admixture
of any other breed of hogs. Our own breed is now, and
has been for nearly thirty years, the stock predominant in
this county. Our breeders believe that they have a well
established breed of hogs, which is unsurpassed in the
most desirable qualities of a good hog. This breed of
hogs, although of recent origin, may be regarded as thor-
oughly and permanently established. They have been
bred so long, and with such judgment and uniform sue-

BREEDS OF PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES.

115

cess, that they may be confidently relied upon as possess-
ing such an identity and fixity of character as a distinct
breed, as to give assurance that they will certainly and
unmistakably propagate and extend their good qualities.

" They can scarcely be said to have a well-established,
distinctive name. They are extensively known as the
4 Magie stock.' They are sometimes called the ' Gregory
Creek hogs,' but more generally they are known as the
' Butler County stock.' It will be doing no one injustice
to say that D. M. Magie has bred these hogs as extensive-
ly and judiciously as any other man in the county. He
has not only bred them for his own use, but also to sup-
ply the extensive demand that has been made upon him
from all parts of the West and North-west.

" While we claim that Butler County has more good
hogs than any other county in the State, we do not desire
to do our neighbors any injustice by appropriating all the
credit for this breed of hogs to ourselves. Warren County
assisted in the formation and establishment of this breed
of hogs. They continue to raise them in their purity and
full perfection, and take into the market as fine lots of
hogs as have ever been raised and sold.

"In verification of what we claim, we propose to show
the averages of hogs sold and delivered to packers — not
isolated cases, nor single specimen hogs, but the lots of
hogs raised by our farmers, and sold in the market. These
hogs are usually wintered over one winter, and are sold
at ages ranging from eighteen to twenty-one months.
Mr. David M. Magie has made the following sales :
One lot of 63 Hogs Average weight 444 Ibs.

40
80
60
72

103
43
35

130

,.417
,.433
.400
.413
..408
..467
,.451
,.458

116 HABKIS OX THE PIG.

Thomas L. Reeves sold 39 head, 17)^ months old, averaging 459 Ibs.
Jeremiah Beaty " 35 "
L. Miltenberger " 35 "
Abraham Moore " 40 "
William Gallager " 71 "

" " the first 22 of same,

449
4G6
473
528

"These are individual lots, among many which have
been noticed as remarkable for their high average. Al-
though they have never been equaled, so far as the pub-
lic know, yet some may regard another kind of evidence
as more conclusive. To such we submit the following
facts, kindly furnished by Mr. Chenoweth, who, for many
years, has weighed the hogs packed by Jones & Co., at
Middletown, in this county. The hogs there packed are
mainly furnished by citizens of this county, and Warren
County.

In the season of 1862-3, there were packed 4,956 hogs, averaging 305 Ibs.
1863-4, " " 5,538 " " 276 "

" " 1864-5, " " 5,370 " " 282 "

" " 1865-6, " " 6,003 " " 345 "

" " 1866-7, " " 5,013 " " 335 "

In 1867-8, a dozen of the best lots averaged 459 Ibs.

" These figures," says Mr. Millikin, " must decide the
superiority of our breed of hogs over all others. To pro-
duce such averages, the stock must be of the best quality,
and then care and judgment in breeding must be prac-
ticed, and good attention given in raising and fattening."

It is evident that the Butler County farmers know how
to raise and fatten hogs. But it does not follow, from the
figures given above, that there is necessarily any special
merit in the Magie breed. We know farmers who take
great pride in having heavy hogs, who make them weigh
from 450 to 500 Ibs. at 18 or 20 months old. And yet
these very hogs are of such a kind, that no intelligent
man, who is acquainted with the merits of the improved
breeds and their grades, would tolerate on his farm for
any other purpose except to cross with some highly re-
fined thorough-bred boar. We are not acquainted with

BREEDS OP PIGS IN THE UNITED STATES. 117

the Magie hogs, and would not be understood as saying
that they are of this kind. They may be the best breed
in the world, but the fact that the credit of the breed is
awarded to the county, and not to individuals, does not
indicate any special and decided characteristics. Breeds
do not originate in this way. It is not to the farmers of
Leicestershire that we owe the Leicester sheep, but to
Robert Bakewell ; it is not to the farmers of Durham, but
to the Messrs. Collins, that we owe the Durham or
Shorthorn cattle. The farmers of Sussex are entitled to
no credit for the Sussex or Southdown sheep. Ellman
did more to improve these sheep than all the other Sussex
farmers had accomplished in a thousand years. We owe
the Essex hogs to Lord Western and Fisher Hobbs, and
not to the farmers of the county — and so it always is.
The old Essex pig was one of the worst in England ;
Fisher Hobbs made it one of the very best in the world.

118 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

CHAPTER XII.

EXPERIMENTS IN PIG FEEDING.

Boussingault weighed a litter of five pigs at the mo-
ment of their birth. The smallest weighed 21 15 Ibs., and
the largest 31 13 Ibs., the average of the whole litter being
23|4 Ibs. each. At the end of 36 days he weighed them
again, and they then averaged 17.3 Ibs., showing a gain
of nearly 3 Ibs. each per week. During the next five
weeks they gained 31 12 Ibs. each per week.

The quantity of food consumed was not ascertained.

Dr. M. Miles, Professor of Agriculture in the Michigan
Agricultural College, has made some valuable experiments
in feeding young pigs, in which the amount of food con-
sumed and the gain each week were accurately ascertained.

Six grade Essex pigs, two weeks old, were selected for
the experiment. They weighed 25 Ibs., or a little over 4t
Ibs. each. At the end of the first week they weighed 461 1,
Ibs., showing a gain of a little over 31 |a Ibs. each, — a gain
of about 90 per cent in one week. At the end of the
second week they weighed 84 Ibs. They were then di-
vided into two separate pens, three in a pen. The pigs
in pen A weighed 431 12 Ibs., and those in pen B 401 12 Ibs.
At the end of the third week the three pigs in pen A
weighed 521 12 Ibs. ; those in pen B, 54 Ibs. At the end
of the fourth week pen A weighed GG1!, Ibs.; pen B, 691].,
Ibs. At the end of the fifth week pen A weighed 79 Ibs. ;
pen B, 851 12 Ibs. Sixth week, pen A, 891 14 Ibs ; pen B,
931 14 Ibs.

At this time one of the pigs in pen B met with an ac-
cident and was killed. It weighed, alive, 30 Ibs., and
dressed, 23 Ibs.

To the end of the eighth week the pigs were allowed
all the new milk they would drink, and what corn they

EXPERIMENTS IN PIG FEEDING. 119

would eat in addition. After the eighth week the milk was
discontinued, and they were allowed all the corn-meal
they would eat, mixed fresh with a little water.

During the first week the pigs consumed about 231 13
Ibs. each of milk, and gained 3' |2 Ibs. each.

Second week, they consumed 48 ibs. each of milk, and
gained a little over 6 Ibs. each.

Third week, consumed 47 Ibs. milk, and gained 33 14 Ibs.
each.

Fourth week, consumed 52 Ibs. milk, and gained 5 Ibs.
each.

The amount of food consumed for each pound of live
weight of the pigs was —

1st week. 2d week. 3d week. 4th week.

3.93 Ibs. 4.43 Ibs. 2.95 Ibs. 2.57 Ibs.

The gain for each hundred pounds of live weight was —

1st week. 2d week. 3d week. 4Jh week.

86.00 Ibs. 80.64 Ibs. 26.78 Ibs. 37.69 Ibs.

The amount of food consumed to produce one pound
of increase was —

1st week. 2d week. 3d week. 4t?i week.

6.53 Ibs. 7. 70 Ibs. 12.52 Ibs. 10.56 Ibs.

These experiments, confirmed as they are by others giv-
ing similar results, show conclusively that a young animal
eats much more, in proportion to live weight, than an
older one. Thus, for each pound of live weight, the pigs
ate nearly 4 Ibs. of milk the first week, and only 21 |a Ibs.
the fourth week. It would also seem that the younger the
animal, the more rapidly it gains in proportion to the food
consumed. Thus, it required about 7 Ibs. of milk the first
fortnight to produce a pound of increase, and ir|a Ibs.
the second fortnight, or about 65 per cent more.

So far, therefore, these results strikingly confirm the
conclusion we should arrive at from theoretical considera-
tions, that the more food an animal can eat, digest, and

120

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

assimilate in proportion to its size, the more it will gain
in proportion to the food consumed.

During the second month, each pig ate, in pen A, 37
Ibs. of milk per week, and 1 Ib. each of oats and corn,
and gained 2.83 Ibs. each per week. This also shows a
great falling off in the consumption of food in proportion
to live weight, and a still greater falling off in the rapidi-
ty of increase in proportion to the food consumed.

During the eighth week it required nearly double the
amount of food to produce a pound of increase as during
the fourth week.

After the eighth week, as we have said, the pigs were
fed exclusively on corn-meal. The following table shows
the amount of food consumed by each pig per week, and
the increased growth obtained from it.

Food consumed by each pig
per week.

Increase in live
weight of each
pig per week.

Food required to pro-
duce 1 Ib. of increase.

Pen A.

PenB.

Pen A.

Pen B.

Pen A.

PenB.

3d month.
4th "
5th "
6th "

7th "

8.00 Ibs.
13.75
10.00
10.66
Meal. ( 14.16
Roots. \ 5.00

24.50 Ibs.
18.25 "
25.00 "
25.87 "
23.18 "

1.70 Ibs.
3.50 "
4.25 "
0.75 "
2.04 "

6.56 Ibs.
4.50 "
5.93 "
4.62 "
3.75 "

4.68 Ibs.
3.92
3.82
8.88
J7.00
J2.42

3.81 Ibs.
4.06 "
4.22 "
5.24 "
5.98 "

Average of
5 months.

Meal.... 14.23
Roots... 1.00

23.39 "

2.67 "

5.14 Ibs.

Meal.. 5.32
Roots. 0.37

4.55 "

It should be remembered that these pigs were all of
one litter, and that in both pens they had the same food,
(except that during the seventh month of the experiment
the pigs in Pen A were allowed roots in addition to the
corn meal) were fed at the same time, and in the same
conditions, and both were allowed all they would eat, and
yet the pigs in pen B ate 61 per cent more food than
those in pen A, and gained over 92 per cent more.

We cannot tell why one pig differs from another pig of
the same litter. But, aside from this, it is not difficult to
understand why pigs, that eat more food, should gain
more in proportion to the food consumed. It is owing to

EXPERIMENTS IN PIG FEEDING.

121

the fact that, in the case of the small eaters, nearly all the
food is used merely to support the vital functions. In a
previous chapter (page 21) we have endeavored to ex-
plain this matter in detail.

One of the pigs in pen A gained nearly as much as
those in pen B ; and had the pigs been fed separately, the
result would doubtless have been even more strikingly in
favor of the large eaters.

The following table shows the weight of the pigs -when
six weeks old (the fourth week of the experiment), and
for each month afterwards.

Pen A.

'I,

21

« .

f

86
88

47

42

49i/2
71 1/2

58

GO
101

%•

I

52
64

1201/2

8*

46

Pen BJ „

5

1231/2 48i/2 1 so 1100141131
|23 44 I 64 | 79i/2| 964

142il29

At ten weeks old, the pigs were not allowed any more
milk, but were allowed all the corn-meal they would eat.
From this time, until they were 30 weeks old, a period of
five months, pig 1 gained 27l\9 Ibs., pig 2, 353|4 Ibs., and
pig 3, 971 14 Ibs., all in the same pen. Taking the pens to-
gether, we have shown that the pigs in pen A ate about
5'lj Ibs. of food to produce 1 Ib. of increase, while the
pigs in pen B required only 41 12 Ibs. to produce the same
result. But it is undoubtedly true that these figures do
not show the whole advantage to be gained by having
pigs that can eat and assimilate a large amount of food.
Pig 3 probably ate much more than his proportion of the
food, and gained even still more in proportion to the food
consumed. Thanks to Professor Miles, we are not left
wholly to conjecture on this important point. Finding
6

122 HAKKIS ON THE PIG.

that pigs No. 1, and No. 2 had no tendency to lay on fat,
and that they were increasing only in bone and muscle,
he thought it desirable to ascertain the amount of food
which each pig consumed; so, at the beginning of the 21st
week of the experiment, the pigs were put in separate
pens, and allowed, as before, all the food they would eat.
During the first week afterwards,

Pig 1 ate 11 Ibs. meal.
" 2 " 12^ " "
" 3 " 25)£ " "
During the month the pigs ate and gained as follows :

Pig 1 ate 48>£ Ibs. meal, and lost 1 Ib.
" 2 " 51K " " " gained 4 Ibs.
" 3" 100 " " " gained 19}£ Ibs.

Pigs 1 and 2, together, ate precisely the same amount
of food as pig 3 alone. But in the one case, the 100 Ibs.
of corn gave 19'| 9 Ibs. of increase, and in the other only
3 Ibs. So much for a good appetite.

CHAPTER

LAWES AND GILBERT'S EXPERIMENTS IN PIG FEEDING.

The most extensive experiments on fattening pigs are
those made by J. B. Lawes, Esq., and Dr. J. H. Gilbert,
at Rothamstead, near St. Albans, in England. These
gentlemen have, for many years, devoted themselves to
such investigations ; their experiments Avere conducted
with the greatest care, and in the most thorough manner,
and the results are worthy of entire confidence. Unfortu-
nately, as it seems to us, the experiments were confined
exclusively to pigs shut up to fatten ; and no particular
attention was given to the breed, or the previous history
of the pigs. The principal object of the experiments was
to ascertain the best kinds of food for fattening pigs, and
the best proportion of nitrogenous to non-nitrogenous food.

ULWES' AND GILBERT'S EXPERIMENTS.

123

" In the selection of the animals," say Messrs. Lawes
& Gilbert, " it was only sought to get such as resembled
each other in character, age, and weight, in the several
pens ; and, with this view, a competent person was em-
ployed to go to the various sties and markets in the
neighborhood to purchase animals suited to our object.

" Forty pigs were purchased, as nearly as possible of
the same character, and all supposed to be about nine or
ten months old. The pigs were weighed and marked, and
thirty-six of them selected out, and divided into twelve
lots, of three each, in such a manner as to give equal
weights in each lot, but it was found that, in selecting
them by weight alone, ' they did not secure animals of
sufficiently equal feeding quality in the several pens.' On
the following day, therefore, they were changed from pen
to pen, so as to provide, as much as possible, a similarity
in this respect betwe"en pen and pen, and, at the same
time, to retain a near equality in weight also. This being
done, the weights stood as follows :

TABLE I.— SHOWING THE WEIGHTS OP THE PIGS WHEN ALLOTTED
TO THE PENS, FEB. 3, 1856.

J

&

§

|

£

3

|

J

£

3

2

OB

Nos. of the Pigs.

J^
1

I

a

£

ci
1

I
I

I

1

1

1

I
t-

1

ci

1

1

a

£

Pen 10—

Pen 11—

a

1

146

146

140

149

140

133

133

132

130

199

131

130

2

100

115

1°S

133

3

112

112

113

113

115

122

121

117

119

120

120

129

Total weight of 3 Pigs.

379

380

370

378

378

378

378

382

373

377

379

374

"The allotment thus completed, all the pigs were fed on
a mixture of one part bean meal, one part lentil meal,
two parts Indian corn-meal, and four parts bran — these
being the foods fixed upon for the subsequent experiment.
The pigs were allowed as much of this food as they
would eat." " Upon this mixture," say the experimenters,
" all were kept for twelve days, prior to commencing the

124

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

exact experiment, in order that they might become accus-
tomed to their new situation, and reconciled to their new
companions, for, in the allotment, the various purchases
had necessarily "been intermixed — in some cases, greatly
to the disapprobation and discomfort of the individuals
of those purchases. For a time, constant quarrels en-
sued, and the molested animals frequently jumped from
pen to pen, until they fell in with former associates. In-
deed, at first, it was no uncommon occurrence, after they
had been left for some time, to find some pens almost de-
serted, and others crowded. The use of the whip was
found to be very efficacious in settling these disputes, and
at length, all seeming to live amicably together, the exact
experiment was commenced on Feb. 14, twelve days after
the first allotment."

This account will prove interesting, and furnish valua-
ble hints to such of our agricultural colleges as may
contemplate making experiments on animals. It shows,
furthermore, taken in connection with the weight of the
pigs, that little attention had been paid to their breeding
or management. They were, evidently, common store
hogs, active, and quarrelsome, and the fact that, at from
nine to ten months old, they only weighed 112 to 146 Ibs.,
indicates that the farmers of England do not treat their
pigs much better than the farmers of America.

During this preliminary period of twelve days, the pigs
gained as follows :

TABLE II.— SHOWING THE GAIN OF EACH PIG DURING THE TWELVE
DAYS OF THE PRELIMINARY PERIOD.

Nos. of the Pigs.

j§

S

i

5

£

*

J

J

i

S 5

1

2

1

4

i

•I
1

Jl

1

2

1

cl

a

i

2

1

iU

II

1...

SOlll
14 '20
17,11

21
16
15

31

8
10

28
5
20

24
•21
22

15

»9

13 '26
11118
2611

20 e!

1022
916

2

3

Total gain in each Pen J6li42 52

49

:>.'}

67137

5055

39144

LAWES' AND GILBERT'S EXPERIMENTS.

125

During this period, of twelve days, tlie pigs were all
fed on the same food, and were allowed all they chose
to eat, and yet it will be seen that the gain is far from
uniform. " Those pigs," say the experimenters, " having
flourished most, which had fallen in for the lion's share,
whilst the weaker ones, which had been obliged to sulk
in the rear until their more powerful companions had in-
dulged to the full, clearly indicated their misfortunes by
their weights. After that time, however, very little ir-
regularity occurred from this cause — vigilant care being
taken that each animal should have his full share of food —
and it soon happened that the mere approach of the
whip, was sufficient to awe the pugnacious delinquent
into humble retreat, while his weaker neighbor, in his
turn, took precedence at the trough. These ill-tempers,
though at first very troublesome, gave way surprisingly
by a little perseverance, and the evil of them, in the
course of comparative experiments is, after all, much less
than in submitting to a faulty allotment."

The experiment proper, commenced Feb. 14, and con-
tinued eight weeks. The following table shows the weight
of each pig at the commencement of the experiment :

TABLE III.— SHOWING THE WEIGHT OF EACH PIG AT THE COM-
MENCEMENT OP THE EXPERIMENT, FEB. 14.

i

g

g

»

g

OB

OB

OJ

|

i

i

JJ

Nos. of the Pigs.

±

i

1

=1
1

1

1

I

iO

d

£

J,

1

J-

1

1

1

cl

Pen 10—1

I

Pen 12—1

1

176

157

168

178

168

157

148

145

15fi

149

137

149

2

135

14°

181

181

1<>8

144

1%

144

14<>

138

150

130

3

1**)

1<>?

T>8

1°8

185

144

141

148

180

•joq

186

150

Total weight of 3 Pigs.

440

422

422

427

431

445

415

432

428

416

423

429

The following table shows the weight of the pigs at the
end of the experiment, after being fed eight weeks :

12G

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

TABLE TV.— SHOWING THE WEIGHT OP EACH PIG AT THE END OF
THE EXPERIMENT.

.0

n

,Q

B

.0

,0

s

.8

,8

|

i

i

J

t

Nos. of the Pigs.

J

I

=1

1

2

1

4

d

£

I

1

i

ft
I

z

cl

1

J>

1

Pen 10—

Pen 11—

Pen 12-

1

279

293

239

298

264

263

249

287

205

176

197

263

2..

9<X)

0^7

183

198

182

230

191

243

148

182

198

175

3

235

228

200

183

206

250

284

249

175

172

206

245

Total weight of 3 Pigs.

743

758

622

679

652

743

724

779

528

530

601

683

The food selected for the experiment was a mixture —
1st, bean and lentil meal ; 2d, Indian corn-meal, and 3d,
bran.

As beans and lentils are, at present, little used as food
for pigs in the United States, we shall not be far wrong
in considering them as equivalent to peas. The object of
the experiment was not merely to ascertain which of these
foods was most nutritious, but what is the best proportion
of feeding them. Accordingly, each of the pens had an
unlimited allowance of some one of these three classes of
foods, some of them having no other food, except in the
case of bran, while others were allowed a restricted
quantity. Thus :

Pen 1 — was allowed a mixture of equal parts of bean
and lentil meal ad libitum.

Pen 2 — 2 Ibs. per pig, per day, of Indian corn-meal, and
bean and lentil mixture ad libitum,.

Pen 3 — 2 Ibs. of bran per pig, per day, and bean and
lentil mixture ad libitum.

Pen 4 — 2 Ibs. of Indian meal, 2 Ibs. of bran per pig, per
day, and bean and lentil mixture ad libitum.

Pen 5 — Indian corn-meal ad libitum.

Pen 6 — 2 Ibs. of bean and lentil mixture, and Indian
meal ad libitum.

Pen 7 — 2 Ibs. bran, and Indian meal ad libitum.

Pen 8 — 2 Ibs. of bean and lentil mixture, 2 Ibs. bran,
and Indian meal ad libitum.

LA WES' AND GILBERT'S EXPERIMENTS.

127

Pen 0 — 2 Ibs. of bean and lentil mixture per pig, per
day, and bran ad libitum.

Pen 10 — 2 Ibs. of Indian meal per pig, per day, and
bran ad libitum.

Pen 11 — 2 Ibs. of bean and lentil, 2 Ibs. of Indian meal
per pig, per day, and bran ad libitum.

Pen 12 — Bean and lentil mixture, Indian corn-meal, and
bran, each separately, and ad libitum.

The results ought to afford answers to the following
questions :

Are peas (bean and lentil) as good, or better, than In-
dian corn, for fattening pigs ?

Is it better to feed them alone, or mixed together, and
in what proportions ?

What is the value of bran as a food for fattening pigs,
in conjunction with peas or Indian corn, or both ?

When pigs are allowed all they will eat of peas, Indian
corn, and bran, how much of each will they eat, and in
what proportions ?

The following table shows the gain of each pig during
the experimental period of eight weeks :

TABLE V.— SHOWING THE GAIN OF EACH PIG DURING THE EXPERI-
MENTAL PERIOD OF EIGHT WEEKS.

5

JS

5

|

J

1

J

00

1C

«

J

«

ri

I

I

I

I

<i

I
t-

I

I

d

J,

i

Nos. of the Pigs.

a
£

a

1

1

1

fl
£

(3
£

«

1

£

1

ft

£

1...

103

136

76

125

96

106

101

14-?

49

97

60

114

2

94

95

591

67

54

86

65

99

6

44

48

45

3

106

105

7?

60

71

106

143

106

70

95

Total gain of 3 Pigs

303

ase

200

252

221

298

309

347

100

114

178

254

The pigs making the greatest gain are those in pen 8,
which had 2 ft>s. of peas (beans and lentils), and 2 Ibs. of
bran each, per day, and all the Indian corn-meal they
would eat in addition. These pigs gained 14:|2 Ibs. each,
per week, or over 2 Ibs. per day. The next best gain is

128

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

in pen 2, with 2 Ibs. of Indian meal each, per day, and
all the pea meal they would eat. They gained exactly
2 Ibs. per day.

With Indian meal alone, the pigs gained not quite O1^
Ibs. each, per week. With Indian meal, and a small al-
lowance (2 Ibs. each, per day,) of peas, the gain is not
quite IS1^ Ibs. per week; while with Indian meal, and 2
Ibs. each, per day, of bran, the gain is over 123| 4 Ibs. per
week. The most curious result, however, is in pen 12,
where the pigs had all they would eat of each of the three
kinds of food. The gain is but a fraction over 101 12 Ibs.
each, per week.

The following table shows the amount of food consumed
by each pig, per week, and the average increase in live
weight, per head, per week, during the experimental
period of eight weeks :

TABLE VI.-SHOWING THE AVERAGE WEEKLY CONSUMPTION OF

FOOD, AND THE INCREASE, PER HEAD, DURING THE

TOTAL PERIOD OF THE EXPERIMENT.

1

DESCRIPTION AND AVERAGE QUANTITIES OF POOD CONSUMED PER
PIG, PER WEEK, IN LBS.

y

Limited food.

Ad libitum food.

§ 1 Total food consumed
\ per iveek, per pig. Ibs.

1....

2....
3....

4....

None.
14 Ibs. Indian meal.
14 Ibs. bran.
14 Ibs. Indian meal, & 14 Ibs. bran.

63 Ibs. bean and lentil meal,

12.62
14.00
8.33
10.50

52 " " " " "

30

40J£ " " " " "

wit

81*4" " " "

5....
6....

7...

8....

None.
14 Ibs. bean and lentil meal.
14 Ibs. bran.
14 Ibs. bean and lentil meal, and )
14 Ibs. bran. f

45% Ibs. Indian meal.

4514

64%

9.21
12.42

12.87

14.46

9...
10....

11....
12....

t9^ Ibs. bean and lentil meal.
19^ Ibs. Indian meal.
14 Ibs. bean and lentil meal, and )
14 Ibs. Indian meal. }

None.

18 Ibs. bran.

18 " "

28*4 Ibs. bean &len til meal. )
25*4 ft>s. Indian meal. V
3 Ibs. bran. }

46
57

4.16

4.75

7.42
10.58

L AWES' AND GILBERT'S EXPERIMENTS. 129

It is very evident that bran, fed in a large quantity, or
with a small proportion of other food, is a very indiffer-
ent food for pigs. It is too bulky, in proportion to the
nutriment it contains. The pigs were weighed every two
weeks, and it was so obvious after the first weighing, that
the pigs in pens 9 and 10 were not getting food enough
(though having all the bran they would eat), that the
limited food was increased to 3 Ibs. per pig, per day, in-
stead of 2 Ibs. But, even with this addition, it is clear
that the pigs did not get sufficient nutriment. Their
stomachs were not capable of holding enough of this
bulky, and probably rather indigestible, food.

The pigs in pens 9 and 11, ate precisely the same amount
of bran per week, but the pigs in pen 11 were allowed 83 14
Ibs. of meal more than pen 9 ; and it will be seen that this
83|4 Ibs. of extra meal produced over 3*|4 Ibs. of extra
increase.

Comparing pen 1 with pen 5, it will be seen that the
pigs having pea meal alone, gain over 3 Ibs. a week more
than those having Indian meal alone ; but the pigs in pen
1 ate more pea meal than the pigs in pen 5 did of Indian
meal, and the actual increase from the food consumed is,
if anything, rather in favor of the Indian meal. It will
be found that 100 Ibs. of pea meal produce 20 Ibs. of in-
crease, while 100 Ibs. of Indian meal produced 20.3 Ibs.
increase. It would seem from this that 100 Ibs. of peas
will not produce any more pork than 100 Ibs of corn. At
the same time, it would seem that pigs will grow or fatten
faster on peas than on corn. They are capable of eating
more peas than corn.

By comparing pens 2 and 6, we have the same general
indications. In pen 2, the pigs had pea meal ad libitum,
and 2 Ibs. of corn meal each, per day; while in pen 6,
they had Indian meal ad libitum, and 2 Ibs. of pea meal
each, per day. Pen 2 ate the most food, and gained the
most rapidly. But still the amount of food required to
6*

130 HARRIS ON THE PIG. •

produce a given increase is almost identical. In pen 2,
100 Ibs. of meal produced 21.2 Ibs. of increase ; in pen 6,
21.3 Ibs.

The more we study these results, the more are we im-
pressed with the importance of the study of physiology
and breeding, in connection with the chemistry of food.
Thus, in the same pen, on the same food, one pig gains
45 Ibs., and another 114. In another pen, one gains 65,
and another, on the same food, 143 Ibs. And so it is in
all our experiments on animals. There is a cause for this,
and we cannot but hope that the subject will receive more
attention from scientific investigators than they have
hitherto bestowed upon it.

We should remark that, in pen 5, with Indian meal
alone, one of the Pigs, No. 1, during the first fortnight,
gained over 2 Ibs. per day, while the other two only
gained about half as much. Before the end of the first
fortnight, however, " it was observed that this fast gain-
ing pig, and one of the others, namely, No. 3, had largo
swellings on the side of their necks, and that, at the same
time, their breathing had become labored.

"It was obvious," say Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert, " that
the Indian corn-meal alone was, in some way, a defective
diet ; and it occurred to us that it was comparatively poor,
both in nitrogen, and in mineral matter, though we were
inclined to suspect that it was a deficiency of the latter,
rather than of the former, that was the cause of the ill
effects produced. We were, at any rate, unwilling, so
far to disturb the plan of the experiments, as to increase
the supply of nitrogenous constituents in the food, and
accordingly determined to continue the food as before,
but at least to try the effect of putting within reach of
the pigs a trough of some mineral substances, of which
they could take if they were disposed. The mixture
which was prepared was as follows :

131

20 Ibs. finely sifted coal ashes,
4 Ibs, common salt,
1 Ib. superphosphate of lime.

" A trough containing this mineral mixture was put
into the pen at the commencement of the second fort-
night, and the pigs soon began to lick it with evident
relish. From this time the swellings, or tumors, as well
as the difficulty in breathing, which probably arose from
pressure of the former, began to diminish rapidly. In-
deed, at the end of this second fortnight, the swellings
were very much reduceid, and at the end of the third fort-
night, they had disappeared entirely.

The three pigs consumed of the mineral mixture, de-
scribed above, 9 Ibs. during the first fortnight, 6 Ibs. during
the second, and 9 Ibs. during the third.

It may be also well to state that ' a butcher, with a
practised eye, selected and purchased the carcass of one
of these [Indian corn fed] pigs, which had been diseased,
from among the whole thirty-six, after they had been
killed and hung up.' "

Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert also made a second series of
experiments on 36 pigs, divided as before, into 12 pens.
The foods used were the same as in the first series, except
that barley-meal was substituted for Indian corn, and the
pigs were allowed 3 Ibs. each, per day, instead of 2 Ibs.

The pigs were about nine months old, and ranged from
105 Ibs. to 138 Ibs. each. They were shut up in the pens
April 26, and allowed all they would eat of a mixture of
equal parts of bean and lentil meal, barley-meal, and
bran. They were kept on this food until May 9, when
they were again weighed, and the exact experiment com-
menced. All the pigs seem to have done remarkably
well on this food, many of them gaining over 2 Ibs. a day.

During the subsequent experimental period, however,
no less than five of the pigs died, and for this reason we
will not enter into a detailed account of the experiment.

132 HARRIS ON THE PIG

The five pigs that died were in five different pens, feeding
on different food. But it appears that they all belonged
to one of the purchased lots of eight, and possibly to one
litter, and, as Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert remark, "the
loss was probably due to the bad constitution of the ani-
mals." The weather, however, was very hot, and unfa-
vorable to the health of pigs kept closely confined and
fed on rich food.

The gain of some of the pigs in this series was quite
remarkable. Thus, in pen 2, which was allowed 3 Ibs. of
barley-meal per pig, per day, and bean and lentil meal
ad libitum, one of the pigs gained 120 Ibs. in eight
weeks, or 15 Ibs. a week. Lj the same pen, the other two
pigs gained, one 65 Ibs., and the other 99 Ibs., during the
same period, and on the same food. In pen 5, with bar-
ley-meal alone, ad libitum^ one of the pigs gained 142
Ibs. in the eight weeks, or 173 1 4 Ibs. a week. One of the
other pigs in this pen gained 87 Ibs., and the other pig
died.

It is very evident from these experiments that the suc-
cess of a pig-feeder will depend much more on good judg-
ment in selecting, or on care in breeding, the pigs he in-
tends to fatten, than on the particular kind of grain given
to them.

The best result of any pen in this series was where the
pigs were allowed a mixture of 1 part bran, 2 parts bean
and lentil meal (say pea-meal), and 3 parts barley-meal.
The three pigs on this food gained 310 Ibs. in eight weeks,
or within two pounds of 13 Ibs. each per week. Another
pen, having precisely the same food, gave almost exactly
the same gain, or 307 Ibs. in eight weeks. An adjoining
pen, having the same food, but a greater proportion of
bean and lentil meal, and less barley-meal, gained 283 Ibs.
in the eight weeks, or about 11s |4 Ibs. each per week. One
hundred pounds of the former mixture gave 20 Ibs. of in-
crease j of the latter, 181 14 Ibs.

LAWES' AND GILBERT'S EXPERIMENTS.

133

Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert also made a third series of
experiments, the pigs being fed on dried codfish, in con-
junction with bran, Indian meal, bean and lentil meal, and
barley-meal, in different proportions. The codfish was
boiled in water, and the meal mixed with it before being
fed to the pigs.

The following table shows the composition of this dried
codfish, together with the composition of the other foods
used in this and the preceding experiments :

TABLE SHOWING THE COMPOSITION OP THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF

FOOD USED IN MESSRS. LAWES' AND GILBERT'S

EXPERIMENTS ON PIGS.

PER CENTAGE RESULTS.

Description of Food.

Dry
Matter.

Ash.

Nitrogen.

Fatty
Matter.

4^ «O

1 Organic
Matter only.

II

llj

^

In Fresh
Substance.

s

In Fresh
Substance.

a

Egyptian Beans

88.3083.57
S7.30i82.43
86.62J81.64
89.7088.33
89.8988.62
84. 79178.77
82.38I80.19
80.95i7S.77
82.5380.48
59.26^40.60

4.73

4.87
4.98
1.37
1.28
6.02
2.19
2.18
2.05
18.66

5!584!52
5.754.56
1.5311.72
1.4211.95

7.10i2.61
2.66:1.82
2.6911.83
2.481.55
31.49:6.60

4.80
5.18
5.26
1.92
2.17
3.08
2.21
2.26
1.88
11.13

2.292.60
2.232.55
2.21:2.55
5.105.68
5.596.22
4.925.80
2.342.84
2.33:2.88
1.41|1.71
0.90:1.52

Lentils— Lot 1

" Lot 2

Indian Meal — Lot 1

" " Lot 2

Bran •

Barley— Lot 1
" Lot 2

" Lot 3

Dried New Foundland Codfish

In pen 1 the pigs were given, and compelled to eat, 14
Ibs. each of codfish, per week, mixed with equal parts
bran and Indian meal. Of this mixture they had all they
could eat, and consumed 47 Ibs. each, per week, and
gained 10.09 Ibs. each.

In pen 2, each pig had, as above, 14 Ibs. codfish, and
ate with it 451 14 Ibs. Indian meal alone, per week, and
gained 12.15 Ibs.

In pen 3 the pigs had a mixture of equal parts Indian
meal and bran, and as much codfish as they chose to eat.
They ate 47 Ibs. of the mixture of bran and meal, and

134 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

only T\t Ibs. of codfish each, per week, and gained
8.94 Ibs.

It will be seen that, when left to their own choice, the
pigs in pen 3 ate only about half as much codfish as those
in pens 1 and 2, where their other food was kept back
until they had eaten their allowance of 2 Ibs. of codfish
per day.

The above pigs were about nine or ten months old, and
were similar in character, weight, etc., to the pigs in the
first two Series of experiments.

In another series of experiments with eight pigs, seven
months old, and " more finely framed " than the preced-
ing pigs, 1 Ib. of codfish was given to each pig, per day,
with, in one pen, barley-meal alone, and in the other, with
a mixture of 2 parts barley-meal, and 1 part bran.

In pen 4, the pigs ate 7 Ibs. of codfish, and 49 Ibs. of
bran and barley meal each, per week, and gained 9.40 Ibs.

In pen 5, the pigs ate 7 Ibs. of codfish, and 571 12 Ibs.
of barley-meal each, per week, and gained 11.75 Ibs.

These facts will prove interesting and useful to farmers
living near the sea-shore, in localities where fish are used
for expressing oil, and where the refuse is sold for manure,
or for food for pigs. An analysis of this refuse, taken in
connection with the above experiments, should indicate
its value as food for pigs, and it is an easy matter to cal-
culate the value of the manure made by the pigs.

SUGAR AS FOOD FOB PIGS. 135

CHAPTER XIV.

SUGAR AS FOOD FOR PIGS.

Messrs. Lawes & Gilbert also made some experiments
on pigs to ascertain the nutritive value of sugar as com-
pared with starch.

Twelve pigs weighing from 72 Ibs. to 98 Ibs. each were
placed in four pens, 3 pigs in a pen. Lentils and bran
were selected as the nitrogenous food, and in pens 1,2 and
3 the pigs were allowed 3 Ibs. of lentil meal, and 1 Ib. of
bran each per day, and in addition, the pigs in pen one
were allowed all the sugar they would eat, and those in
pen 2, all the starch they would eat, and in pen 3 a mixture
of equal parts starch and sugar. The pigs in pen 4 were
furnished, in separate troughs, all the lentil meal, bran,
starch and sugar they would eat. The experiment was con-
tinued 10 weeks. In pen 1, the pigs ate nearly 2 Ibs. of
sugar each per day, and in pen 2, a nearly identical quan-
tity of starch ; the other food being the same in kind and
quality in both pens. The increase obtained from 100 Ibs.
of food was in pen 1, 20.8 Ibs., and in pen 2, 19.9 Ibs.

The pigs in pen 3, having a mixture of equal parts
starch and sugar, and the same quantity of lentil meal and
bran as in pens I and 2, ate 2f Ibs. each per day of the
starch and sugar. The increase from 100 Ibs. of total food
was 19.8 Ibs.

In pen 4, where the pigs were allowed all they chose
to eat of the different foods, each pig ate per day on the
average, lentil meal 4 Ibs. 6 oz., bran 3£ oz., starch 3f oz.
and sugar 2 Ibs. 2 oz. They ate more food and gained
more rapidly than in any other pen. The increase from
100 Ibs. of food was 21.3 Ibs.

130 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

Without going into further details, it is evident that the
pigs show a great preference for sugar as compared with
starch, but it does not appear that sugar produces any
materially greater increase than starch. Certainly there
is no benefit approximating in the slightest degree to the
increased cost of sugar ; and it is very doubtful whether
we should gain any marked advantage by converting our
barley into malt or of growing sugar beets instead of
ordinary beets or mangel wurzel.

We should add that a mixture of 20 Ibs. of coal and
wood-ashes, 2^ Ibs. of superphosphate of lime and 2% Ibs.
of common salt was placed in troughs in the pens. This
quantity being distributed to the 12 pigs during each period
of two weeks.

Messrs. Lawes & Gilbert say : This mineral mixture
was always taken with the greatest avidity and relish ; so
much so, that the animals would leave their other troughs
the moment the fresh supply of this was put within their
reach. They were, moreover, upon the whole, very healthy
throughout the experiment, and yielded good rates of
increase.

In Messrs. Lawes' & Gilbert's account of these experi-
ments, the actual gain of each pig is not given. But since
writing the above, we have found the weights of the pigs
at the commencement and at the end of the experiment,
from which it appears that

the pigs in pen 1 gained 8.2 Ibs. each per week.
" " " 2 " 8.2 Ibs. " « "
" " " 3 « 9.1 Ibs. " " "
« " " 4 " 10.4 Ibs. " " "

To a practical farmer these actual figures are more in-
teresting than mere percentage results. From this it
would appear that, leaving the question of cost and profit
out of the question, there may be cases where, with an
unlimited supply of other food, a little sugar may be given
to a pig with advantage. A pig with a delicate appetite

THE VALUE OF PIG MAXUKE. 137

might be given ordinary food, and then when he had eaten
all he would of it, by mixing a little sugar with the food,
he might be induced to eat more.

CHAPTER XV.

THE VALUE OF PIG MANURE.

There is much misconception in regard to the relative
value of manure from different animals. It is often said
that the manure of pigs is richer than that from cattle,
horses, or sheep. This is sometimes the case, and some-
times not. It depends entirely on the food. An animal
does not " make manure " any more than a stove makes
ashes, or a thrashing machine makes grain, chaff, and
straw. We feed a thrashing machine with a certain num-
ber of bundles of wheat, and get from it a certain amount
of grain, straw, and chaff— but the machine does not
make them. It was all in the bundles, and the machine
merely separates them. And so it is in the case of an
animal. A pig has no more to do in making rich or poor
manure than a thrashing machine has in making white
or red wheat. It depends entirely on the food.

There is little or no difference in the composition or
value between the manure of a pig fed on clover, and that
of a sheep, or a cow, or a horse, fed on clover. But if a
pig is fed on clover, and the sheep is fed on straw, the
manure of the pig will be by far the most valuable, sim-
ply because the clover contains a greater proportion of
the more important elements of plant-food.

A ton of corn, fed to a pig, will not give manure worth
as much as a ton of clover hay fed to a sheep, for the

138 HARRIS ON THE TIG.

simple reason that a ton of clover hay contains more of
the valuable constituents of plant-food than a ton of corn.
But a ton of pig manure from a corn-fed pig may be, and
often is, worth more than a ton of sheep manure from
sheep fed on clover hay. The explanation of these appa-
rently contradictory statements is this : A ton of corn
contains more nutritious matter than a ton of clover. It
contains more starch and oil, and these are digested and
assimilated by the pig, and consequently there is a less
quantity of matter to be voided as excrements. On the
other hand, although a ton of clover contains a greater
proportion of the more valuable elements of plant-food
than a ton of corn, yet the clover does not contain nearly
as much nutritious food as the corn. There is a large
proportion of crude material that cannot be digested, and
this is voided in the excrements ; consequently, we get
more manure from the ton of clover hay than from a ton
of corn. It is not worth as much, weight for weight, but
it is worth more as a whole, because there is more of it.
In other words, a ton of pig manure from corn may be
worth as much again, as a ton of sheep manure from clo-
ver hay ; and, in point of fact, pig manure is ordinarily
worth much more per ton than the manure from cows,
horses, or sheep. But, at the same time, it is equally true
that, if the same food was fed to a sheep that we feed to
the pig, the manure of the sheep would be equally valua-
ble. Pig manure is usually more valuable, in proportion
to its weight or bulk, than ordinary farm-yard manure,
because the pigs are fed on more nutritious food, or, in
other words, on food containing a less proportion of crude,
indigestible matter, and consequently we get less bulk of
manure from the pig, but it is more valuable. But it is a
grave error to suppose that a pig will make better manure
than a sheep, a cow, or a horse.

The following table, prepared by Mr. Lawes, shows the
average composition of different articles of food, together

THE VALUE OF PIG MANUilE*

139

with the relative value of the manure made from the con-
sumption of one ton of each food.

PER CENT.

Valve of manure in $ <fe cts .
from 1 ton (2,000 Ibs) of food.

f
1

1

"3

i^

it

>i

4b

^-S
*• «

P!3'S

'si1

«*

II ,

1

1

1. Linseed cake

83.07.00
89.08.00
89.08.00
90.04.00
84.03.00
84.52.40
84.02.00
88 0 3 00

4.92
7.00
5.75
3.38
2.20
1.84
1.63
1.89
5.23

1.65
3.12
1.76
1.37
1.27
0.96
0.66
0.96
2.12

4.75
6.50
5.00
3.80
4.00
3.40
4.20
4.30
4.20
1.25
1.80
1.80
1.65
1.70
2.00
2.60
2.58
2.55
2.50
1.50
0.90

0.60
0.50
0 60
0.25
0.22
0.18
0.35
0.20
0.22

19.72
27.86
21.01
15.65
15.75
13.38
16.75
16.51
18.21
4.81
6.65
7.08
6.32
6.65
7.70
13.53
14.36
14.59
9.64
6.43
3.87
3.74
2.68
2.25
2.90
1.07
91
86
1.50
80
1.14

2. Cotton-seed cake*

3. Rape cake . . .

4. Linseed. . .

5. Beans

6. Peas

7. Tares

8. Lentils

9. Malt dust

94.08.50
85. OH 75

11. Indian meal

88.0
85.0
84.0
95.0
86.0
86.0
86.0
86.0
84.0
84.0
82.5
82.0
81.0
85.0
83.0
12.5
11.0
8.0
•24.0
13.5
15.0

1.80

1.70
2.20
2.60
2.85
5.60
6.20
6.60
7.50
6.00
5.55
5.95
5.00
4.50
5.50
1.00
.68
.68
1.00
.70
1.00

1.13

1.87
1.35
1.60
1.17
6.44
7.52
7.95
1.25
0.88
0.90
0.85
0.55
0.37
0.48
0.09
0.13
0.11
0.32
0.13
0.42

0.35
0.50
0.55
0.65
0.50
.46
.49
.45
.30
.50
.11
0.89
0.65
0.63
0.93
0.25
0.18
0 29
0.43
0.23
0.36

12. Wheat

13. Barley

14 Malt

15. Oats. ..

16. Fine pollardt

17. Coarse pollard^:

18. Wheat bran . .

19. Clover hav

20. Meadow hay

21. Bean straw

22. Pea straw

23. Wheat straw . .

24. Barley straw

25. Oat straw

26 Mangel wurzel

27. Swedish turnips

28 Common turnips

29. Potatoes

30. Carrots

31. Parsnips

* The manure from a ton of undocorticated cotton-seed cake is worth $15.74 ;
that from a ton of cotton-seed, after being ground and sifted, is worth $13.25.
The grinding and sifting, in Mr. Lawes experiments, removed about 8 per cent
of husk and cotton. Cotton-seed, so treated, proved to be a very rich and
economical food.

t Middlings, Canielle. * Shipstuff.

This table is of great value to the farmer. Hitherto,
we have worked pretty much in the dark in regard to the
profit or loss of fattening pigs. Many farmers contend
that there is no profit in feeding hogs, while others claim

140 HARRIS ON^ THE PIG.

that, when the manure is taken into consideration, there
is no farm stock that pays so well. But it must be con-
fessed that the wildest estimates are often made in regard
to the value of the manure. By the aid of the above ta-
ble it will not be difficult to form a pretty correct estimate
of the value of the manure from any given lot of pigs,
provided the kind and amount of food consumed is known.

Thus, if a pig was fed exclusively on corn from the
time it was weaned until it had gained 350 Ibs., it would
eat about 1,500 Ibs. of corn. Now, as the manure from a
ton of corn is worth 86.65, the manure from 1,500 Ibs. is
worth $4.99. We may assume, therefore, that when pigs
are fed on corn, in the production of every hundred
pounds of pork, live weight, we get $1.42 worth of ma-
nure. Or, assuming that a fat pig will dress 80 per cent
of its live weight, we may conclude that, in the produc-
tion of every hundred pounds of pork, we get manure
worth $1.78. In other wrords, in calculating the profit or
loss of feeding pigs on corn, we may add I3 14 cents per
pound (in gold), to the price of the pork for the value of
the manure obtained.

On the other hand, if the pigs are fed on peas, we
get manure worth more than twice as much, and may add
31 |a cents a pound to the price of the pork for the value
of the manure made in its production. In this case, if
pork sells for 7 cents per pound, we may calculate that
for every dollar's worth of pork sold, we have 50 cents'
worth of manure ; or, if the pork sells for 101), cents per
pound, for every dollar's worth of pork sold we have 33
cents' worth of manure in the pig pen.

Boussingault states that pigs from 5 to 6 months old
will eat 19 Ibs. of green clover per day — equal to about
5 Ibs. of clover hay each. On such food we may safely
calculate that a good pig will gain half a pound of pork
a day ; and if so, a pig that would dress 200 Ibs. would
have eaten green clover equal to one ton of clover hay;;

THE VALUE OP PIG MANURE. 141

and as the manure from a ton of clover hay is worth
$9.04, we may calculate that every hundred pounds of
pork so produced, leaves us $4.82 worth of manure.

When pigs are fed skimmed milk, we shall probably
not be far wrong in estimating that the manure made in
producing 100 Ibs. of pork is worth $5.00.

Taking these four estimates together, and striking a
mean, we have the following result :

Value of manure in producing 100 Ibs. of pork from Indian corn $1.78

" " ' " " " " Peas 3.56

" «• » " " " Clover ; 4.82

" " " " " " Skimmed Milk 5.00

Average of the whole $3.79

In other words, where pigs are fed on clover and
skimmed milk during the summer, and are afterwards fat-
tened on half peas and half corn, we may calculate that
every pound of pork sold, leaves on the farm 33 14 cents'
worth of manure.

It must be borne in mind that these are gold prices, and
also that this is merely the value of the manure made by
the pigs from the food consumed. The litter and other
materials thrown into the pen have not been taken into
the account. The pig cannot be credited with the manure
so obtained. If we throw into the pen 100 Ibs. of pea or
bean straw, we add about 19 cents to the value of the
manure heap ; but this is not derived from the pig, but
from the straw ; and so it is with anything else thrown
into the pen. The pig converts it into manure, but adds
nothing to its value. The pig creates nothing. Whatever
of value there is in the manure heap is derived from the
food consumed, and from the materials used as litter.
And yet it is nevertheless true, that we can obtain from
the pig pen a large amount of valuable manure that other-
wise would be wasted.

On farms, we have seldom time to attend to such mat-
ters, and there is not as great a necessity for it ; but per-

4 HAREIS ON THE PIG.

sons who have only a garden or small place, should have
a pig pen, with a small yard attached, into which all the
refuse material of the garden can be conveniently thrown
— such as the clippings of the lawn, weeds, potato tops,
pea and bean haulm, leaves, coal ashes, the loose dirt that
is raked up in the garden beds, alleys, and walks, and the
thousand and one things that we denominate rubbish.
The whole of it should go into the yard attached to the
pig pen. This is a much better way of disposing of it,
than endeavoring to make a " compost heap." With such
a yard, there never need be any trouble in determining
where the materials in the wheel-barrow should be emptied.
You have always a place for all rubbish that is lying
around loose, and it will be an easy matter to keep the
premises neat and clean.

" But oh, the smell !" exclaims a gentleman who let his
Irish coachman keep a pig, "I cannot endure it." True;
but this is the fault of the man, and not of the pig. A"
respectable, well brought up pig is the cleanest of all our
domestic animals. Let him be washed once a week, and
let plenty of dry earth, or soil of any kind, be scattered
freely and frequently about the pen and yard, and all
trouble from this source will cease, and the pig, if well
bred, and well fed, will become one of the most popular
features of the establishment, and he will be profitable
also. He will pay in using up the refuse from the house
and from the garden ; pay in delicious hams, spare-ribs,
and tenderloin ; pay in firm, white, sweet lard ; and, above
all, he will pay in furnishing a large, rich compost for the
garden, which, with the addition of a little superphos-
phate and guano, will pay double and treble in the
abundance of crisp vegetables and well developed fruit.

The main point in managing a pig pen in such a case is,
to furnish an abundance of earth to keep it clean. The
pigs will root it over and mix it with the manure. The
earth, especially if of a sandy nature, will at once favor

THE VALUE OF PIG MANURE. 143

decomposition and absorb the gases, and they in their
turn will develop the plant-food in the soil, and we get a
large quantity of manure that is free from smell, and not
unpleasant to work over or use in the garden.

Where horses are kept, the refuse litter from the stables
should be thrown into the pig pen. Horse manure is apt
to ferment too rapidly, while pig manure is very sluggish.
Mixing the two together improves both ; and besides, the
horse manure, when dry, makes a good bed for the pigs,
and saves litter.

For garden vegetables, rich manure is especially valu-
able. It is desirable to concentrate the manure as much
as possible. We do this by fermentation, which reduces
the bulk, and at the same time renders the plant-food in
the manure more immediately available. The plan here
suggested, of throwing the dry manure from the horse
stables into the pig pen, will tend still more to concentrate
the manure. Pigs void large quantities of liquid, which
contains nearly all the nitrogen of the food. The horse
manure will absorb this, and, of course, we get a much
more concentrated manure from the pig pen than when
straw alone is used for bedding. We may not get any
more plant-food from the two combined than we should
if the droppings from the stable and from the pig pen
were used separately, but we get it in a more concentrated
form and in a more available condition ; and this is a point
of far greater importance than is usually supposed. We
are inclined to believe that- many of the diseases which
affect vegetables in our old gardens are caused, or at least
increased, by the excessive accumulation of carbonaceous
matter in the soil, caused by the frequent use of manure
deficient in phosphoric acid, potash and ammonia. The
manure from a pig pen littered with horse droppings,
thoroughly decomposed and mixed with earth, would
furnish garden vegetables with all the plant-food they re-
quired in an available condition, and there would be less

144 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

danger from fungi than where a large quantity of poor
manure was frequently used.

On many farms half the value of the manure made by
pigs is wasted. There is no part of the establishment so
miserably managed as the pig pen. It is often nothing
more than a pen of rails, with a little hovel in one corner,
covered with corn-stalks, or straw, and the pigs are left
to eat the corn on the ground, and wallow in mud and
filth. If pork can be made at a profit in this way, it must
be a good business when conducted properly.

CHAPTER XVI.

PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS.

In selecting a site for a pig pen, the first requisite is
dry ness. A side hill, sloping towards the barn-yard, is a
desirable location ; and if this cannot be found in a con-
venient place, it is not a difficult or expensive matter, with
a dirt scraper and a span of horses, to form a basin in the
barn-yard, using the dirt to make a high and dry founda-
tion for the pig pens, and forming a slope towards the
basin, so that the liquid from the pens will rapidly drain
away to the manure heap. If the soil is not dry, it must
be drained with tile, or stone underdrains, at least two
feet deep ; and if there is sufficient fall, four feet would
be far better. These underdrains are not designed to
carry off the water from the surface, but to make the soil
underneath dry. Surface drainage must be attended to
also ; for, as the liquid from well-fed pigs is the most valu-
able portion of the manure, it is especially important that
the whole of it should either be absorbed by the straw or
other bedding in the pen, or drain away to the manure heap.

The next important consideration in locating the pig

PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS. 145

pen is, convenience of feeding. Where there is much milk
or whey, the pen should be located with reference to con-
veying it to pigs with the least labor. The only objection
to having a pig pen near the house is, the smell ; but the
labor required to carry the slops of the house, etc., through
a dirty barn-yard, would provide muck and other absorb-
ent materials for rendering the pig pens free from all un-
pleasant odor, and furnish a large quantity of valuable
manure into the bargain.

Pigs should have access to fresh water at all times, and
the piggeries should be near a pump. If there is no well, a
large cistern should be provided, and the rain-water from
the buildings conveyed into it; and, in any case, the
buildings must be furnished with gutters, to prevent the
water running on to the manure, and washing out its
soluble and most valuable plant-food.

Where stone is abundant, this is the cheapest and best
material for the lower story of the pig pens. The floors
may be laid with flags, and the joints grouted with water-
lime and gravel, or the whole may be grouted with lime
and gravel, taking care to provide good drainage. We
should add, however, that a farmer of much experience,
who built an expensive piggery, and nagged and grouted
the bottom of the pens, says that his pigs did not thrive
in them, and he subsequently put in plank floors. He
thought the grouted floor was cold and damp. He is
satisfied, at any rate, that pigs do much better on plank,
than on stone, or grouted floors.

Some of our own pig pens have no other floor than
beaten earth ; and we are inclined to think that there is
no material superior to it, and certainly none so cheap.
The great point is, to have the ground high enough, so
that the pens shall be always dry. If not so high that
the liquid will not run rapidly away, draw on several
loads of clay, and pound it down hard with a beater.
Keep the pen well littered, and always clean ; let the pigs
7

140 HAKKIS OHf THE PIG.

have access to fresh earth, ashes, charcoal, etc., and they
will not root up the floor.

In arranging the pig pen, special attention should be
given to providing a ready means of cleaning out the
manure, and supplying it with fresh bedding. A pig
pen should be cleaned out every day, as regularly as we
clean out our staples. If the pens are conveniently ar-
ranged for the purpose, it is but a few minutes work, and
it will soon lead the pigs to form cleanly habits, and thus
save bedding.

In pens for breeding sows, we have found it very con-
venient, in cold weather, to have a partition between the
sleeping and feeding apartments, with a sliding door, that
can be easily closed. It is desirable, when pigs are to be
made ready for the butcher in eight or nine months, that
the sow should farrow early in March; and it often hap-
pens that this interesting event occurs during a severe
snow storm. With a warm sleeping apartment, and with
a door that can be closed at night, or at any time after
the sow has been fed, thousands of pigs that are now lost
might be saved. This plan is particularly essential where
the feeding apartment is partially or wholly uncovered.
But even where both apartments are covered, it is better
to have a partition that can be opened in warm weather,
and closed during cold storms.

The only objection to this plan is, that the sow has not
so much room, and there may be increased danger of her
crushing the pigs against the sides of the pen. This ob-
jection, however, is more apparent than real, from the
fact, that no matter how large the pen is, the sow is almost
certain to make her bed near one of the sides. She almost
invariably, in pigging, places her back against the rail or
side of the pen, the object probably being to prevent the
little pigs from getting on the wrong side of her, where
they would, in cold weather, be likely to perish before
they find the teats. Our breeding pens have a rail on the

PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS. 147

inside, about six inches from the sides of the pen and
about one foot high, but the sows before pigging take
special pains to fill the space with straw, and we are satis-
fied that if they did not, the little pigs, when born during
a cold night, would often get on the backside of the sow
and be chilled to death.

The accompanying plan of a piggery (fig. 29) is furnish-
ed us by Dr. M. Miles, Professor of Agriculture in the
Michigan Agricultural College, who writes :

" It needs but little explanation, except in regard to the
backside of the building. The lean-to is a shed, open above
the pen partition, that separates it from the yard. This

Fig. 29. — PIGGERY AT THE MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.
ELEVATION.

opening may be closed in winter, if desirable. The up-
right, or main building, is not boarded up below the roof
of the lean-to. Figure 30 gives the ground plan. The
curved, dotted lines, show the swing of the doors, and
the straight, dotted lines, mark the position of the low
partitions, enclosing the bed. The plan of arrangement
can be carried out with a single pen, or it can be indefinite-
ly extended for large establishments. The shed for pro-
tecting the manure can be readily cleaned out by a cart
or wheel-barrow, running through the open doors, between
the shed pens, while the swine are shut out in the yards,
or in the front pens. I have not attempted to show the
arrangement of the troughs, but simply mark their posi-

148

HAERTS ON THE PIG.

tion. Swine can be easily changed from, one pen to
another, by shutting out others in the yard, or front pen.
The upper story is for storing feed, or bedding, etc."

The writer's pig pens are of a very simple kind, put up
by an ordinary farm hand, as a temporary arrangement,

8X64

Fig. 30. — PIGGERY AT THE MICHIGAN AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.
GROUND PLAN.

but, as they are found to answer a very good purpose, in
the absence of anything better, we give a description of
them.

The old pig pen, which we found on the farm, was
placed on one corner of the barn-yard, selected, apparent-
ly, because it was the lowest and wettest hole about the
premises. The bottom was laid with plank, to keep the
pigs out of the water. This was very well ; but the mo-
ment the pigs stepped out of the pen, they plunged, into

PIGGEKIES AND PIG PENS. 149

a wet mass of manure and filth. They were obliged to
wallow through this mud and manure every time they
went to or from the pig pen. We have a weakness for
hyacinths and roses, but found that the largest beds of
them afforded no pleasure so long as there was such a pig
pen in one corner of the garden.

Thanks to the invention of India rubber boots, it was
possible to get about on the backside of the pig pen. We
endured this two years, being determined not to fall into
the common error of new-comers, of tearing down old
buildings before we had determined where to erect new
ones. At length, however, with axes, crowbars, a span
of horses, and a log chain, we made short work with the
old pig pen. Not a stick of it was left standing. The
ground being cleared, the first thing was to dig an under-
drain, 3 feet deep, underneath, and at the point where
the surface-water settled ; we covered the tiles with stones
to the top of the land, so that the water from a heavy
rain could pass off rapidly. We may add, that the soil
underneath the old pig pen, for two feet deep, was found
to be the blackest and richest of manure. With a plow
and a dirt scraper, this was all removed, and ultimately
drawn on to the land. This manure was certainly worth
three times as much as the old pig pen.

The barn-yard was on a side-hill, the pig pen, as we
have said, being on one of the lower corners. On the
north side of the barn-yard there is a barn, with cow sta-
bles underneath, and a horse barn at the north-west corner.
The pig pen was at the south-west corner. The
first thing done, was to build a stone wall on the
west side of the yard, 80 feet long, and 6 feet high,
laid in mortar. The next thing was, to plow out the cen-
ter of the barn-yard, and, with a dirt scraper, and a span
of horses, make a basin 5 or 6 feet deep, with sloping
sides. The dirt from this basin was emptied along the
side of the stone wall, 15 or 16 feet wide, with a

150

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

A3T7V

S PIG

een sle

I

K|
I

PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS. 151

gentle slope from the wall, and the old hole, where the
former pig pen stood, was raised in the same way. This
gave us a dry foundation. As we have said, the wall was
built 6 feet high, but, by the time we had scraped out the
basin, and put the dirt on the side of the wall, we had
raised the land 18 inches, or 2 feet. In other words, the
land on the east side, towards the barn-yard, was nearly
2 feet higher than on the opposite side of the wall. The
tmderdrain alluded to, runs along the side of the wall, on
the west side, outside the barn-yard, and now, instead of
needing India rubber boots, we can walk around in slippers.

On the top of the wall, a stick of timber was placed,
and we proceeded to put up a common shed, with roof
boards, 14 feet long, and battened in the ordinary way.
Of course the roof slopes towards the wall, so as to carry
the water outside of the barn-yard, where it soaks through
the soil to the underdrain. This shed is divided off into
pig pens, as shown in the diagram, figure 31,

The pens are 12 feet deep, and 16 feet wide. (It would
have been better to have had the roof boards 16 feet long
instead of 14 feet, as it would have added very little to
the expense, and would have given us pens 14 feet deep.)
Between each two pens is an alley, 3 feet wide, boarded
up on each side about 3 feet high. The pig trough is
placed along-side these partitions, and the food is poured
into it from the alley.

Each pen is divided off into two parts — one for sleeping,
and the other for feeding. The sleeping apartment is
boarded up tight, with a sliding door, against the wall.
One of the boards that forms the partition between the
feeding and sleeping apartment is hung on hinges, so that
it can be opened or shut, according to the weather. It is
fastened by a common wooden button. One of the boards
which form the outside of the pen is hung in the same
way. This is very important, as it enables us to give an
abundance of fresh air in warm weather, and we can close

152 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

up the pen tight during a storm. It is also convenient in
cleaning out the pen and putting in fresh bedding.

We do not recommend these pens to any one who can
afford to build better ones. Their chief merit consists in
their cheapness. They can be easily cleaned out, and sup-
plied with fresh litter. Our pigs, when old enough, are
allowed to run out every day, into the barn-yard, in win-
ter, and the pasture in summer ; and we find this arrange-
ment convenient for letting them in and out of the pens,
as each pen opens directly into the barn-yard. If well-
bred, and properly treated, the pigs will go to their own
pens as readily as cows or horses will go to their own
stalls. This may be doubted by those who ill-treat their
pigs — or, in other words, by those who treat their pigs in
the common way. But it is, nevertheless, a fact, that
there is no more docile or tractable animal on a farm than
a well-bred pig. There is a good deal of human nature
about him. He can be led where he cannot be driven.
A cross-grained man will soon spoil a lot of well-bred
pigs. They know the tones of his voice, and it is amus-
ing to see what tricks they will play him. We have seen
such a man trying to get the pigs into their respective
pens, and it would seem as though he had brought with
him a legion of imps, and that seven of them had entered
into each pig. No sow would go with her own pigs, and
no pigs would go with their own mother ; the store pigs
would go into the fattening pen, and the fattening pigs
would go where the stores were wanted. Should he get
mad, and use a stick, some active porker would lead him
in many a chase around the barn-yard ; and when one was
tired, another pig, with brotherly affection, would take
up the quarrel, and the old sows would stand by enjoying
the fun. Let no such man have charge of any domestic
animals. He is a born hewer of wood, and drawer of
water, and should be sent to dig canals, or do night-work
for the poudrette manufacturers.

PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS. 153

At their regular feeding time, we can take twenty or
thirty of our own pigs, and separate them into their re-
spective pens in a few minutes. They inherit a quiet dis-
position, and we would dismiss on the spot, any hired man
who should kick one of them, or strike him with a stick,
and we cannot bear to hear an angry word spoken near
the pens.

The alleys between the pens we find convenient for
storing away a small quantity of straw, a little of whicli
can be used every day, to replace that removed in clean-
ing the pens. By making a small hole in the side of the
pen, little sucking pigs can come through, and eat a little
milk or crushed oats out of a small trough, placed in the
alley where the sow cannot get at it.

We have some pens that have no partition between the
sleeping and feeding apartment. They are not as warm
as the others, but having abundance of straw, they answer
very well for store or fattening pigs or for a breeding sow
in mild weather. On the whole, however, it is better to
have the sleeping apartment separate, the pigs being
warm, and not so liable to be disturbed.

For a breeding sow, the sleeping apartment is 10 x 12 ft.,
and the feeding apartment 6 x 12 ft. Such a pen can be
used also for six or eight store pigs, or for three or four
fattening pigs.

We have smaller pens, 12x12 ft., either undivided or
divided into a sleeping apartment 7x 12 ft., and a feeding
apartment 5 x 12 ft. Such a pen, if divided, answers very
well for a litter of young pigs, after weaning, or for fat-
tening two or three pigs, and we have used them for a
small sow to farrow in.

The most serious objection to this shed-made pig pen
is, that the roof boards must be put on with great care,
and well battened, or it will leak. They should, also, be
well saturated with petroleum, to keep them from shrink-
ing and warping.
7*

154

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

Paschal Morris, of Philadelphia, an extensive breeder
of Chester Whites, describes his plan of ^a piggery as
follows :

" The plan of the piggery, delineated in the accompany-
ing engraving, (fig. 32) is susceptible of reduction or exten-
sion, for a larger or smaller number of pigs, and is intended
to supersede the not only useless, but objectionable, as well

Fig. 33. — PASCHAL MORRIS' PIGGERY. — ELEVATION.

as expensive, mode of constructing large buildings under
one roof, where confined and impure air, as well as the
difficulty of keeping clean, interfere greatly with both
health and thrift. Twenty-five or thirty breeding sows,
farrowing at different periods of the year, can be accom-
modated under this system of separate pens, by bringing
them successively within the enclosure, or an equal num-

PIGGEBIES AND PIG PENS.

155

ber of hogs can be fattened, without crowding or interfer-
ence with each other.

" The entrance, as seen in the engraving, is on the north
side of the building, which fronts the south, as does also
each separate pen. The main building is 32 feet long, by
12 feet wide, with an entrance gate, at each lower corner,
to the yard of two first divisions. The entry, or room,
in the center, is 8 feet wide, allowing space for slop bar-
rel, feed chest, charcoal barrel, (almost as indispensable as
feed chest,) hatchway, for access to root cellar, underneath
the whole building, and also passage-way to second story.
This latter is used for storing corn in winter, and curing

Fig. 33. — PASCHAL MORRIS' PIGGERY. — GROUND

some varieties of seeds in summer. A wooden spout,
with sliding valve, conveys feed to the chest below. The
grain is hoisted to the second floor by a pulley and tackle
on the outside, as observed in engraving.

"The perspective of main building allows a partial view
of platforms, surmounted by a board roof, and divisions
in the rear. The ground plan, fig. 33, allows six of these on
either side of the passage-way. The first two pens, to the
right and left of the door, are 12 x 12 feet each, and at-
tached to them are 25 feet in length of yard, by 15 feet
wide.

"All the yards are extended 3 feet wider than the
building, which admits of the two entrance gates at the
corners.

156 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

"Another division then commences, consisting of a
raised platform, 6 to 8 feet wide, and extending the same
width as the first pen, with a board roof over it, and also
boarded up on the back, which answers the purpose of a
division fence, to separate from the pen behind. Twenty-
five feet of yard are also attached to this, and the same
arrangement is continued to all the six divisions.

" We have found this board roof and wooden floor, on
the north side of each pen, and fronting the south, to
be ample protection in cold, wet, or stormy weather.
The floor is kept perfectly clean, and even the feeding
trough is not on it, on account of more or less of wet
and dirt, always contiguous to the trough, which freezes
in winter, and becomes slippery.

" Each yard is used for the deposit of refuse vegeta-
bles and weeds, litter, etc., thrown in from time to
time, to be consumed or converted into manure. This
is conveniently loaded into a cart, passing along on the
outside of each range of pens.

" The passage-way between each range of pens gives
convenient access to the feeder for all the divisions. A
door also communicates from one division to the other, to
make changes when necessary ; and also a door, or gate,
from each pen to the outside, so that one or more can be
removed, and others introduced, without any confusion
or interference from any of the other pens. The two
pens under the main roof of the building, being more
sheltered, are reserved for sows who may happen to far-
row very early in the season, or in extreme cold weather,
which is always avoided, if practicable.

" For several reasons, the boiler for cooking food is in a
rough shed, adjacent to the piggery, and entirely outside
of it. There is no reason why this should be necessarily
a part of the piggery.

" The above plan is not offered as embracing much that

PIGGERIES AND TIG PENS.

157

158 HARRIS ON THE TIG.

is novel in arrangement, but as one that combines many
advantages —

" 1st. Complete separation, as well as easy communica-
lion between each pen, as well as to outside from each.

" 2d. Avoiding close and confined air, and admitting of
extension or alteration for a large or small number of pigs.

" 3d. Facilities for keeping clean and receiving refuse
vegetables and weeds, etc., for conversion into manure,
and also for loading from each pen into a cart, passing
along outside.

" 4th. Cheapness. With the exception of the main
building, all the rest can easily be erected by an intelli-
gent farm hand."

The illustrations (figs. 84, 35 and 36) were engraved for
the American Agriculturist, from plans forwarded by Mr.
Roseburgh, of Amboy, 111. They were designed and con-
structed for use on his own premises, and have, there-
fore, the merit of being the production of a practical man.

Fig. 34 represents the elevation. The main building is
22 by 50 feet, and the wing 12 by 16 feet. It is supplied
with light and air by windows in front, ventilators on the
roof, and by hanging doors or shutters in the upper part
of the siding, at the rear of each stall or apartment — these
last are not shown in the engraving.

Fig. 35 shows the ground plan. The main building has
a hall, jET, 6 feet wide, running the entire length. This is
for convenience of feeding, and for hanging dressed hogs
at the time of slaughtering. The remainder of the space
is divided by partitions into apartments, A,B, for the feed-
ing and sleeping accommodation of the porkers ; these
are each 8x16 feet. The rear division of each apartment,
B, B^ is intended for the manure yard: Each apartment
has a door, D, D, to facilitate the removal of manure, and
also to allow ingress to the swine when introduced to the
pen. The floors of each two adjoining divisions are in-
clined toward each other, so that the liquid excrements

PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS.

159

and other filth may flow to the side where the opening to
the back apartment is situated. Two troughs, $, T, are
placed in each feeding room. That in the front, $, is for
food, and T, for clear water, a full supply of which is al-
ways allowed. This is an important item, generally over-
looked ; much of the food of swine induces thirst, and
the free use of water is favorable to the deposition of fat.
An excellent arrangement (shown in fig. 36,) is adopted

\

V

Fig. 35. — GROUND PLAN OP MR. ROSKBURGH'S PIGGERY.

to facilitate the cleaning of the troughs, and the transfer-
ring of the hogs to the main hall at slaughtering. The
front partition of each apartment, JF\ (fig. 36,) is made
separate, and contrived so as to be swung back, and fas-
tened over the inside of the trough, T9 at feeding time, or
when cleaning the trough. It may also be lifted as high
as the top of the side partition, If, when it is desired to

100 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

take the hogs to the dressing table. Triangular pieces,
E, E, are spiked to each front partition, and swing with
it, forming stalls to prevent their crowding while feeding.
These are supported, when the apartment is closed, by
notches in the inner edge of the trough, made to receive
them.

The wing, W, (fig. 35) is 12 by 16 feet. This answers for
a slaughtering room. In one corner, adjoining the main
hall, is a well and pump, P, from which, by means of a

Fig. 36. — VIEW OF FRONT PARTITION.

hose, water is conveyed to the troughs. At the opposite
corner, JT, is a large iron kettle, set in an arch, for cook-
ing food, and for scalding the slaughtered swine. We
would suggest that, in many localities, it would be a de-
sirable addition to have this wing built two stories high,
the upper part to be used for storing grain for the hogs,
and also that a cellar be made underneath for receiving
roots.

We give from the American Agriculturist illustrations
taken from the working drawings of a pig-house which
has recently been built at Ogden Farm (Newport, R. L).
It is submitted to those of our readers who may con-
template improvements of this sort. The building is
14 x 32 feet, and cost (built of rough pine battened, with
cedar shingles on the roof) only $425, including the exca-

PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS.

161

vation of the manure pits, and the boarding up of their
sides.

" Fig. 37, is the ground plan. There are four pens 8 x 10,
two 6 x 10, and two 6x12. The troughs all open into the
center area, and are opened by swing posts, which expose
them to the attendant for cleansing or filling, or to the
swine for feeding, as may be desired. The two large bins
at the sides of the entrance door are filled with dry earth,
with which the pigs are treated to the luxury of the earth-

.f

Fig. 37. — GROUND FLAN OP OGDEN FARM PIGGERY.

closet — to the great improvement of the air of the build-
ing, and of the manure. The floors of the pens are made
of 2-inch planks, 6 inches wide, laid with 1-inch openings
between them, which secures the immediate passage of
the urine to the pits below, and the gradual working
through of the dry manure, mixed with earth. In the
center of the open floor stands a Prindle steamer, whose
7-inch smoke-pipe discharges into the middle of a 12-inch
galvanized iron ventilator, whereby efficient ventilation is
secured. The food is cooked in pork-barrels, which may

162

HARRIS OX THE PIG.

be moved about at pleasure ; the flexible steam hose, with
an iron nozzle, conveying the steam to the bottom of the
barrel. Figure 38 is a cross section, showing the manure

38. — CROSS-SECTION OP OGDEN FAIiM PIGGEUY.

pits, pens, etc. More than fifteen cords of manure can be
stored in the pits, which are to be emptied through shut-
tered windows. Figure 39 is the front elevation of the

Fig. 39.— FRONT ELEVATION OP OGDEN FARM PIGGERY.

building, which is to have small yards at the sides, com-
municating with the pens by slopes from the outer doors.
This house will accommodate from thirty to forty shoals,
or a corresponding number of breeding animals."

PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS.

1G3

Mr. Geo. Mangles, a very extensive breeder and feeder
of pigs in Yorkshire, England, has constructed a cheap
and simple shed for fattening pigs, engravings of which,
taken from Mr. Sidney's edition of Youatt on the Pig, we
annex. Mr. Mangles' description is as follows :

" For feeding pigs the best arrangement is a covered
shed (shown in figure 40), kept dark, with partitions
to hold three pigs in each division, as feeding-pigs do
not require much exercise. If the pigs be fed regu-

Fig. 40. — MR. MANGLES' COVERED SHED FOR FATTENING PIGS.

larly, and a little fresh bedding spread every day, the
animals sleep and thrive very fast. The improvement
they make in a warm, covered shed, with plenty of fresh
air, is astonishing. A feeding-pig cannot be too warm, if
he has plenty of fresh air.

" I have had pigs fatten very fast upon latticed boards,
with pits underneath for the droppings. The boards
should be swept occasionally, and sawdust sprinkled over

Fig. 41. — MR. MANGLES' SHED. — GROUND PLAN.

them and swept through. This plan will only do for
feeding-pigs (not for pigs for sale, breeding, or exhibition),
as their houghs swell very much; but young pigs always
do better on boards than on stone floors.

" The covered pig-shed (fig. 41), of which a plan ac-
companies this description, will hold about sixty pigs ; the

164 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

roof is of light spars, covered with felt, but thin boards
would be better and cheaper in the end. The pigs thrive
in an extraordinary manner in this shed, which is divided
into nineteen pens, of different sizes, some of which I find
useful at lambing time to put ewes and lambs in at night."

DESCRIPTION OF ISOMETRICAL PLAN OF PIG-SHEDS, (Fig.
42,) SHOWING THE INTERNAL ARRANGEMENTS.

" Length of shed, 60 feet ; breadth, 18 feet, inside ;
height of walls (of brick], 6 feet ; height of pens inside,
3 feet, 6 inches ; thirty-three posts, 9 feet long, and 3
inches square out of ground ; five posts, 5 feet long, by
3 inches ; two strong posts for doors, 6 inches square.

Pens.
4 rails, 13 feet long, 3 inches by 1£ inches.

Q ti 0 " " "

14 " 8 feet, 4 in., " "

8 " 7 feet " "

4 rails 6 " "

4 <' 5 " " «

600 poles, 3 feet 6 in. long, 3 in. by 1 inch.
90 feet boards, 11 in. by 1 inch.
150 boards for doors, 11 in. by 1 inch.

" Wood-work for Hoof. — Three boards for the center,
to nail rafters to, 20 feet long, 9 inches deep, and 1 inch
thick ; sixteen rafters, 13 feet long, 3 inches by 2 ; 58
rafters, 13 feet long, 3 inches by 1£ ; 120 feet of rails, 3
inches by 1|-, to lie on wall, to nail rafters to ; eight rails,
20 feet long, 3 inches by 1|- ; ten lengths of felting,
60 feet long; 1,660 feet boarding, required 11 inches
broad.

" There are air-holes in the brick walls to every pen, on
one side ; on the side where the folding doors are set,
there are four air-holes, and two holes for throwing the
manure out. One end of the shed is boarded half way

PIGCEEIES AND PIG PENS.

1C5

166 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

up, the rest of it up to the point of the gables of open
palings ; the other end is boarded, and a large space is
filled with Venetian blinds, or louvres.

" The floor of the pens is of beaten soil ; a drain, 3 feet
deep, filled with stones, leads to the liquid manure pit.
The passage is laid with bricks, and the entrance is
flagged, and a cart can be backed up to take the manure
when the pig pens, or pits are cleaned out. I generally
let the pits get full of manure, and contrive to empty

Fig. 43.— SECTION OF COVERED POOD HOUSE OF TA.TTENHALL PIGGERY.

them against the turnip season. They are soon emptied;
it takes one hand more than the ordinary force for filling
manure.

" I whitewash the walls and partitions every year, and
the man keeps the passage swept and covered with saw-
dust. My troughs are iron, with many divisions, and
filled by hand from the passage. Each pit will hold five
or six porkers, or three bacon pigs."

One of the most elaborate piggeries in England is that
at Tattenhall Hall, in Cheshire, forming a part of the
model farm buildings on a dairy farm of 330 acres, in the
occupation of Mr. George Jackson. The pig sheds are
each six feet high, and the feeding troughs, and the pas-
sage alongside them, are under cover.

Figure 43 gives a section through the food-house, and
figure 44 a ground plan of the arrangement.

w The floors of the pig-yards and the pig-sheds are of

PIGGERIES AND PIG PENS.

167

strong sandstone flags. The two near sheds are provided
with doors, to keep them warm in cold weather, and with
iron doors, fifteen inches square, set in the outer wall, for
ventilation in hot weather. A joist is set on three sides,
one foot from the wall, and one foot from the floor, to

Fig. 44.— GROUND PLAN OP TATTENHALL PIGGERY.

prevent mothers from overlaying their young. The c out-
lets,' or yards, are too small ; but we were cramped for
space. The drains to all the liquid manure-tanks are
trapped.

" ' Whey,' says Mr. Jackson, c forms the staple food of
my pigs, the fatting ones getting a portion of Indian

168 ' HARRIS ON THE PIG.

corn-meal and barley-meal, with, occasionally, in winter,
roots.'

" It will be seen that the food-house is the receptacle of
these kinds of food. The Windsor troughs, with swing
doors, push back, and shut out the pigs while the solid
food is put into the troughs, and one key locks up the
whole. The whey is laid on to all the troughs from four
large whey-cisterns in the buttery, and one hundred pigs
are, all summer, daily fed with as many gallons of whey
per meal, in one minute, by simply lifting a valve. By
this plan is pig-feeding made easy, and they get properly,
instead of laboriously and irregularly, fed. The iron
gates are provided for enabling to cleanse and straw the
sties. The rain-water goes off by a drain, and the liquid
manure passes to the ' tank,' from which it is drawn by
drain, at pleasure, into a liquid manure cart, in the middle
of a ten-acre meadow. The fowls are over the food-house,
the floors of which are flags, but are equally adapted for
boards."

These plans are given merely for the purpose of fur-
nishing useful hints. Each farmer must determine for him-
self what kind of pig pens are best suited to his wants
— to his location, system of feeding, etc. But whatever
plan he may adopt, he should recollect that dryness,
warmth, and good ventilation, are absolutely essential to
the best success in pig feeding.

There is one point in Mr. Mangles' plan that is worthy
of consideration, and that is, the " beaten soil " for the
floors of the pens, and the stone drain, three feet deep,
under the pens, to carry the drainage to the liquid manure
pit. Where such thorough drainage is provided, there
can be no doubt that earth floors, beaten hard, answer a
good purpose, and save much expense. When the floors
are made of plank, they soon get worn in holes, and the
liquid soaks through the joints; and if not ultimately
lost, we loose the use of it for several years, or until the

1G9

pen needs a new floor, and the soil underneath is thrown
out and replaced with fresh earth. With beaten clay
floors, very little liquid will soak into the earth, and if it
does, the plant-food which it contains would be" absorbed
near the surface, and, by scraping the floors, it would all
find its way to the manure heap.

CHAPTER XVII.

SWILL BARRELS, PIG TROUGHS, ETC.

In some convenient place, near the pig pens, there
should be a receptacle for the wash from the house, milk,
whey, waste vegetables, and other refuse. This is often
nothing more than an old pork or cider barrel. It is dif-
ficult to conceive of anything more inconvenient. It is
too high, and too circumscribed. A far more convenient
and inexpensive arrangement is to make a tub out of two-
inch pine planks — say six feet long, two feet and a half
wide, and two feet, or two and a half or three feet high —
according to the number of pigs kept. Or, what is better
still, make such a tub out of plank twelve feet long, and
have a partition in the middle. In this way you have
two tubs in one. The food for the store pigs can be
kept in one, and that for the fattening pigs in the other.
In our own case, we find it desirable to have two such
tubs, each twelve feet long, and divided in the middle.
Such tubs are often made flaring, being wider at the top *
than at the bottom. "We do not think there is any ma-
terial advantage in this, and it requires more skill to make
the grooves fit true, and it is not so easy to furnish them
with a tight-fitting cover. The latter is very desirable.
It should be put on with hinges, and made of planed and
8

170

HARRIS ON THE TIG.

matched inch boards, and divided in the center of the
tub, so that one part may be closed while the other is
open, if desired. ,

At the house, a barrel should be placed in some con-
venient place, for the reception of all dish-water and re-
fuse. If this barrel is
set on wheels, as shown
in the engraving, fig. 45,
copied from the Ameri-
can Agriculturist, it can
be easily conveyed to the
pig pens, and emptied
into one of the tubs
above described. It

Fig. 45.— PORTABLE SWILL BARREL. , , , ,, , -,

should then be mixed

with a little meal, and allowed to remain until the
particles of meal become quite soft. It is then much
more easily digested. If a slight fermentation takes
place, by which the starch of the meal is converted into
sugar, and a little of it into alcohol, the pigs appear to
relish it all the better. A small amount of meal fed to
store pigs in this manner, in summer, enables us to obtain

46.— HEWN-OUT PIG- TROUGH.

much more benefit from the milk, whey, and house wash
than when fed alone.

Every pig pen should be provided with two troughs — •
one for food, and the other for water.

When wood is abundant, the commonest, and perhaps

SWILL BARRELS, PIG TROUGHS, ETC.

171

the cheapest pig trough, is made by taking a log about
fifteen inches in diameter, and, with an axe and adze,
hewing out the inside. For out-door feeding, they are
the most convenient troughs we are acquainted with, as
they are not easily upset.

When used for pigs confined to pens, the log should be
hewn out in two divisions, one for food, and the other for
water, as shown in fig. 46. A twelve-foot log will give
about six feet of trough for food, and two and a half to
three feet for water.

A better and equally simple pig trough is made ffom
two-inch pine or hemlock planks. The planks should be
from nine to fifteen inches wide, according to the size of
if/,

Fig. 47.— PLANK PIG TROUGH.

the pigs, and the number in a pen. The planks are
nailed firmly together at right angles, with twenty-
penny nails, put nine inches apart. There should be
either two troughs for each pen, or the one trougli should
be divided into two compartments, one for water, and the
other for food. The ends of the plank must be sawed off
square and true, and a piece of plank nailed at each end,
sufficiently tight to hold water. Such a trough is much
more likely to leak at the ends than at the bottom, and
great care should be taken to saw them off square, and
nail them on tight. When both planks are the same
width, the plank that is to be against the side of the pen,
and farthest from the pigs should, in nailing, be placed on
the other. This will make that side of the trough two
inches higher than the one next the pigs, and they will

1T2

HAEBIS ON THE PIG.

be less likely to waste the food. The end pieces should
project about four inches beyond the edge of the trough,
as shown in fig. 47. This allows it to stand so firmly
that the pigs will not be likely to upset it.

Before being used, the troughs and the swill tub should
be thoroughly saturated with petroleum. This will not
only preserve the wood, but do much to prevent it from
warping, and the pigs will not be so likely to gnaw holes
in the troughs. %

The American Agriculturist gives the following plans
of pig troughs which allow the food to be distributed
along the trough from the outside:

" The pens (fig. 48), being made of horizontal boards,

Fig. 48. — A CONVENIENT PIG THOUGH.

nailed to posts about 6 feet apart, the troughs are accu-
rately fitted between two posts, so as to project a little
outside the boarding, and the board above the trough is
nailed on a little above it ; so that, when the edge is
chamfered off a little, any thing may be easily poured
into it throughout its whole length. This arrangement
admits of putting partitions, nailed to the pen above the
trough, and to the floor, dividing the trough into narrow

SWILL BARRELS, PIG TROUGHS, ETC.

173

sections, so that each pig shall get only his share. The
only objection to this form of trough is, that it must be
cleaned out from inside the pen.

" A modification of this arrangement may be made, the
trough coming flush with the outside boarding, and the
board above it being simply taken off and nailed on the
inside of the posts, and stayed by a piece nailed perpen-
dicularly, so as to stiffen and prevent its springing.

" In figure 49 we show an old plan which, after all, is one
of the very best contrivances for hog troughs. The

Fig. 49. — SWINGING DOOR PIG TROUGH.

trough is set projecting somewhat outside the pen, and
placed as in the other pen, filling all the space between
two posts. Over the trough is hung a swinging door or
lid, some 3 feet wide, and as long as the trough. A
wooden bolt is placed upon this lid, so that when it is
swung back and bolteci, the hogs are shut out completely
from the trough ; and when it is swung out or forward
and bolted, they have access to it again. This style of
trough is very easily cleaned out. The lid may have iron
rods, beat into a Y-shape, and having flattened ends,

174

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

turned in opposite directions, screwed upon it, and so
placed that they will entirely separate the hogs — when
feeding. This contrivance is shown in fig. 50. Some ar-
rangement of this kind will he found as great a eonven-

i£. 50. — SWING DOOU WITH FENDERS.

ience as it is an economy. The patented hog troughs
are usually expensive, and no "better, if so good. For our
own use, we greatly prefer these simple fixtures, which
may be easily made, renewed, or repaired, as occasion
may require, with the common tools which every farmer

Fig. 51. — CAST-IRON PIG TROUGH.

should have and know how to use. Cast-iron pig troughs,
of different patterns, are sold at the agricultural imple-
ment stores. One of them is shown in fig. 51 ; the weight
of the one figured is one hundred and ten pounds.

MANAGEMENT OF PIGS. 175

CHAPTER XVIIL

MANAGEMENT OF PIGS.

The object of keeping pigs differs in different places
and circumstances. The dairy farmer keeps pigs princi-
pally for the purpose of turning his whey and skimmed
milk to good account. The grain-growing farmers, in the
older settled parts of the country, keep pigs to consume
the slops of the house, and to pick up scattered grain
around the barns and on the stubbles, and to consume,
and turn into pork, small potatoes, and many other arti-
cles that would otherwise be wasted. At the West, where
corn is cheap, and the expense of sending it to market
very great, pigs are kept for the purpose of " packing
fourteen bushels of corn into a three-bushel barrel." In
the vicinity of the Atlantic cities, pigs are kept, or might
be kept, for the purpose of manufacturing out of pur-
chased food, nice, fresh pork, and rich, valuable manure.
And, indeed, in all sections where pigs are kept, the value
of the manure should be taken into consideration.

PIGS ON DAIRY FARMS.

There is no other food on which young pigs thrive so
well as on skimmed milk and Indian meal. Pigs are also
very fond of whey, and do well on it provided they have
a liberal allowance of pea-meal and Indian meal fed with
it. To keep pigs on whey alone is a great waste of food
and time. On skimmed milk, and the run of a clover
pasture, n, well-bred, young pig, will grow rapidly ; but
even in this case a little corn-meal could be fed with very
decided economy and advantage. The oil and starch of
the corn restore to the skimmed milk the fat-forming
material which has been removed in the butter, and, in
effect, convert it into new milk again. But it is very de-

176 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

sirable that the meal should be cooked by pouring upon
it boiling water, and stirring it carefully until it is made
into " pudding." In the dairy there is usually much hot
water thrown away, which might be used for this purpose,
without cost, and with little labor.

Since the introduction of cheese factories, dairy farmers
cannot keep as many pigs through the summer as former-
ly, but early in the spring, before the factories commence
operations, the milk is used at home ; and it is well to
have some litters of young pigs, which can be sold to
good advantage soon after weaning. The sows can be
summered on grass and on the slops of the house, and an-
other litter would be obtained in the fall. When cows
are well wintered, and fed on more or less grain or oil-
cake, then fall pigs can be kept through the winter in
good condition at very slight expense, and they will be
valuable to sell to the factories or other feeders the next
summer. Usually, this system will pay better than at-
tempting to fatten them at home.

PIGS ON GRAIN FARMS.

On farms where much grain is grown, and only a few
cows are kept, it is usually not profitable to keep a large
stock of pigs. The common mistake made, however, is
not in keeping too many, but in not feeding them liberal-
ly. As a rule, the pigs are kept on short allowance until
they are shut up to fatten, after the corn is ripe, although
there can be no doubt that a bushel of corn, fed to pigs
while on clover during the summer, will produce double
or treble as much pork as a bushel of new corn fed in
cool weather, in the autumn, when the pigs have nothing
but corn. A few fall pigs can be kept in the yards dur-
ing the winter to good advantage, especially if the cattle
are fed grain. But it is a great mistake to stint young
pigs through the winter, although it must be confessed

MANAGEMENT OF PIGS. 177

that it is a very common one. The sows, and any spring
pigs that may be wintered over, will pick up the lion's
share of the scattered grain and other food in the yards ;
and while it is often inconvenient to separate the young
pigs from the older ones, yet it is not a difficult matter to
make a hole in one of the sides of the pens that will ad-
mit the young pigs through, and exclude the large ones,
and in this way the young pigs can be fed more and bet-
ter food This is a very important point. The young
pigs should be kept growing rapidly through the winter
and spring months. They should be in a condition that
most farmers would pronounce " too fat." Young, well-
bred pigs, so wintered, can be summered in a clover pas-
ture at comparatively little cost, and it is astonishing how
fast they will grow. We have kept a lot of grade Essex
fall pigs during the summer on a rich clover pasture near
the barn-yard, and the slop from the house, without any
grain, that were sold at an extra price on the first of Oc-
tober, to "top-off" a car load of fat pigs sent to the New
York market. And the whole secret of the matter, if se-
cret it is, was in feeding the young pigs liberally through
the winter.

Few things would pay a grain growing farmer better
than to raise peas for his pigs. No matter how " buggy"
the peas may be, the bugs or beetles remain in the peas
until about the first of November ; and when the peas are
fed out before this time, the pigs will eat peas and bugs
together, and there will be little loss. Nothing makes
firmer or better pork and lard than peas, an 1 the manure
from pea-fed pigs is exceedingly rich. A heavy crop of
peas, too, is a capital crop to precede winter wheat. They
will smother the weeds, and, if sown early, are off the
land in good season to allow thorough working of the
land before wheat sowing. If other food is scarce, a few
of the peas may be cut in June, as soon as the pods are
formed, and fed green to the pigs, and a daily allowance
8*

178 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

may be fed until the peas are fully ripe. In fact, many
farmers feed all their peas to the pigs without thrashing.
But this is a wasteful plan. When the peas are ripe,
pigs will do much better on them cooked, or at least
soaked in water for twenty-four hours before feeding.
And in addition to this advantage, pea straw, when well
cured and carefully harvested, is nearly as good for sheep
as clover hay, and certainly will much more than pay the
expense of thrashing. A large farmer in Michigan, who
has made himself and his farm rich, attributes his success
principally to growing a large quantity of peas every
year, and feeding them to pigs. He thrashes the peas,
and cooks them, but does not grind them, as he thinks
cooking is better and cheaper than grinding. The manure
from his pea-fed pigs has made his farm one of the most
productive in the State.

FATTENING PIGS NEAR LARGE CITIES.

Nurserymen, seed growers, and market gardeners near
our large cities require great quantities of manure. Hith-
erto they have obtained it from the horse and cow stables
in the city, but the demand is greater than the supply,
and the price is so high that many are looking to other
sources for manure. In Rochester, the price of manure
from the stables is $1.25 per load, and by the time it is
well rotted, it requires three loads of fresh manure, as
drawn, to make one load of rotted manure, as applied to
the land. 1 his, added to the expense of drawing, brings
the cost of the manure up to about $100 per acre. In
Geneva, N. Y., where the nursery business is carried on
very extensively, the price of manure is even higher still,
or $1.50 per load at the stables. And there, as well as at
Rochester, some of the nurserymen are turning their at-
tention to fattening sheep in winter for the purpose of
obtaining cheaper and better manure. The result, so far,

MANAGEMENT OF PIGS. 179

has beon eminently satisfactory where the nurserymen
have land enough to raise their own clover hay.

But where land is very high, and where, consequently,
it will not pay to raise clover hay, some other system
must be adopted. Pig feeding would seem to offer the
best prospects of producing the richest manure at the
least cost.

For this purpose, the first requisite is a good breed of
pigs, that will mature early, and fatten at any age, so that
they could be disposed of at any time when choice fresh
pork was in demand, at good prices. Unfortunately, such
pigs are difficult to find, and will continue very scarce
until formers learn the importance of using none but
thorough-bred boars, of a highly refined breed, with
properly selected common sows. With young pigs, so
bred, we have no doubt that the system of feeding pigs
on purchased food might be profitably adopted near our
large cities. Certainly, manure could be obtained in this
way at far less cost, in proportion to its value, than is now
generally paid for it. A study of the table on page 139,
showing the value of manure from different foods, and an
examination of the results of Lawes' and Gilbert's experi-
ments in feeding pigs with different foods, showing what
kinds produce the greatest increase, will enable any one
to select feeding stuffs with judgment and economy.
Three things have to be considered : the cost of the food ;
its feeding value, and the value of the manure obtained
from its consumption. We have given all the data nec-
essary to enable any intelligent man to engage in this
business with confidence and success. If there is any
error, it is on the safe side, for we are satisfied, from our
own experience, that well-bred pigs can be so fed as to
give a greater increase from the food consumed than was
obtained in Mr. Lawes' experiments, when no special at-
tention was paid to the breed. In this connection some
useful hints may be obtained from the following chapter.

180

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IN PIG FEEDING. 131

CHAPTER XIX.

ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IN PIG FEEDING.

In some respects, the farmers of England and the fann-
ers of the Middle and Eastern States are similarly situa-
ted. England does not raise scarcely half as much wheat
as is needed by her population, and the same is true of
our Middle States; while in New England, enough wheat
is not raised to support one-tenth of the population.
English farmers are thrown into direct competition with
the produce of all other countries, and the farmers of
New England and the Middle States have to compete
with the produce of the Western States. Prices depend
less on the home crop than on the yield in those countries
from which the principal supply is derived. A poor crop
at home is not necessarily compensated by higher prices.
And, therefore, it is particularly important to guard as
much as possible against poor crops from unpropitious
seasons. High farming is found to be the best safeguard.
But high farming not only requires thoroughly drained
and well tilled land, but abundance of manure. English
farmers must compete with the cheap land of our West-
ern States, and also with the cheap labor of Ireland and
the continent. But, in spite of all this, they continue
more prosperous, as a whole, than the farmers of any
other country.

We cannot adopt the English system of agriculture,
but the principles on which it rests are as applicable here
as there. What the farmers of New England and the
Middle States require, is more capital, more labor, and
more manure. And, in many places, manure can be ob-
tained cheaper and better from feeding well-bred pigs
than in any other way. This, at any rate, has been the
experience of many English farmers, and the prospects

182 HAKEIS ON THE PIG.

are still more favorable in the New England and other
Atlantic States, because food is cheaper than it is in Eng-
land, and the large cities are not as well supplied with
choice fresh pork as are those of England, and conse-
quently it brings, or would bring, if it could be obtained,
a relatively higher price, as compared with beef, mutton,
and barreled pork.

In 1862, Mr. Baldwin, of Breton House, near Birming-
ham, delivered a lecture before the Worcestershire Agri-
cultural Society on the breeding and feeding of pigs, in
which he said :

" In 1845, he entered upon a farm at Kingsnorton. In
1846, he purchased two gilts and a boar, of the Tarn worth
breed, and although he began breeding with only three
pigs in 1846, in 1851 he sold £1,000, say $5,000, worth
of store and fat pigs within one year ; and in the years
1852, 1853, 1854, and 1855, he sold about £1,000 worth
each year. The idea of feeding such numbers of pigs
was first conceived by him at a county meeting at Wor-
cester, in 1849, after free trade had come into full opera-
tion. One of the speakers produced many samples of
foreign produce at amazingly low prices. Among them
was a good sample of Egyptian beans, at 9s. and 9s. 6d.
per bag ; Indian corn at the same price, and Dantzic
wheat, also, very low. c Gentlemen,' exclaimed the speak-
er, ' can you grow them at these prices ?' He (Mr.
Baldwin) looked on the bright side of the question, and
began to ask himself how he might turn the low price of
grain to good account. It struck him that, us he had a
great many store pigs, he would feed them instead of
selling them as stores. He accordingly bought a large
quantity of Indian corn, at from 9s. to 9s. Qd. per bag,
[200 Ibs.], to begin with; and within two years and a
quarter from that time, he bred, fed, and sold £2,000 worth
of pigs, and cleared, after paying all expenses, £500, be-

ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IX PIG FEEDING. 183

sides making a vast amount of manure, which he consid-
ered far better than guano, because more durable.

" The plan which he adopted in breeding was, to put
the sows to the boar in November, and pick the breeders
principally from the earliest pigs, when he got his stock
up to about forty breeding sows. In picking the breed-
ers, he used to pick them several times over, as it fre-
quently happened that those which looked the best and
prettiest when young, altered considerably when they
got three, four, and five months old. The rule was to
pick long-growing pigs, and those that were straight and
thick through the shoulder and heart, and experience had
convinced him that his method of choosing was a correct
one. He always kept to the Tarn worth breeds, generally
purchasing the boars, but breeding the sows. If he found
the pigs getting too fine, he purchased a good strong
boar, and if the animals exhibited tendencies the other
way, he picked a boar of good, small bone, but was al-
ways particular to select a boar that was thick through
the shoulder and heart, and a straight-growing pig, of the
same color and breed. By carefully following this plan,
he got the breed so good, that it was a rare occurrence to
see even a middling pig in all the herd, though he bred
from 250 to 300 each year. His plan of keeping was as
follows : As soon as the sows littered, they were kept
on kibbled [crushed] oats, scalded, with raw Swedes or
cabbage; and when the pigs got to the age of three
weeks or a month, he turned the sows out from them for
a short time every day, and gave the pigs a few peas or
Indian corn while the sow was away. When the weather
was fine and warm, the pigs went out with the mother
into a grassy field for a short time. He found that young
pigs, from the age of three weeks, required dirt or grit ;
and, therefore, if the weather was bad, and they could
not be turned out, it was necessary to put some grit into
the sty. This was quite important, as he believed it was

131: HABKIG OX THE PIG.

necessary for the proper digestion of their food. He had
had young pigs looking very bad and drooping, but when
turned out, that they might get dirt, they soon became
nil right again. In fact, it was absolutely necessary, dur-
ing the whole life of a pig, to allow it an opportunity of
getting grit or dirt, or it would not thrive well.

" At seven or eight weeks old, all the pigs he did not
require for breeding he had cut, and began to wean them
a fortnight afterwards. He then turned them into a grass
field, with a hovel for them to run into, and allowed each
pig a quart per day of peas, Egyptian beans, or Indian
corn. lie gave them one pint of the corn in the morning,
and the other in the evening, with regularity as to time
and quantity, and found it better to give it them on the
grass, in a clean place, each time, than in a trough, as it
prevented quarreling, and each pig got his share. With
this quart of corn per day, and what grass they got dur-
ing the seven months of the year, with nothing but water
to drink, the pigs would, on the average, make 5 Ibs. of
pork, each, per week. After eight months, he allowed an
extra half pint of corn per day. At the present price of
corn (1862), the allowance would cost about Is. per week
[24 cents], for each pig ; grass, 4 cents ; attention of man,
2 cents ; total cost, Is. 3d. (30 cents), leaving a profit of
24 cents per week on each pig, when pork was 12 cents
per pound ; it was no\v 14 cents.

" One man attended — well, to from 200 to 300 pigs; he
was an Irishman, for few Englishmen liked the job suf-
ficiently well to take an interest in them, and carelessness
on the part of the man materially decreased the profits.

<; He kept the store sows, when with pig, the same as
the other stores. They ran about in a field until a fort-
night before pigging, when he placed them in a covered
shed, so constructed as to admit as much sun as possible.
Young pigs, kept in the manner described, were always
nearly fat enough for porkers, and did not require more

ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IN PIG FEEDING. 185

than two or three weeks feeding on meal. It was time
enough to begin to feed pigs for bacon at eight or ten
months old. Good breeding sows he allowed to have
two farrows, and sometimes three, but never more, and
then fed them for bacon, supplying their places with
young sows.

" In selling store pigs, he charged a certain price per
pound, and allowed the purchaser to pick the pigs from
the field, which plan always gave satisfaction, and secured
a return of custom. It was desirable, in breeding ani-
mals, to have as little bone as possible, in proportion to
flesh. He had tested a cut sow of his breed, which
weighed 640 Ibs., and the whole of the bones, after the
flesh had been boiled from them, weighed only 21 Ibs., so
that for every pound of bones there was 32 Ibs. of meat.
His pigs made 1 Ib. of flesh for every 4 Ibs. of good In-
dian corn, barley or pea-meal ; as a rule, he preferred the
Indian corn. He considered it always to be more profita-
ble to feed good food than upon that of inferior quality.
As a rule, pigs would thrive better for being turned out
once a day, except in wet weather, and would also be
healthier, more active, and have a cleaner appearance.
One of the greatest pleasures his breeding afforded him
was to see the number of laboring men who came to buy
from him, and he hoped to live to see the day when every
laboring man would have a good pig in his sty."

Mr. Baldwin's experience is the more valuable, as he
seems to keep pigs to sell to the butcher, or to those who
intended to fatten them. His success is not due to selling
thorough-bred pigs at high prices for breeding purposes.

A Yorkshire farmer, who occupies 280 acres of land,
half under plow, and half in grass, and who raises and
feeds a large number of the small Yorkshire and Cum-
berland breed of pigs, writes Mr. Sidney as follows:

" I am a farmer, and I keep pigs for profit, and I have
no stock that pays like them ; but I have found a surpris-

186 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

ing difference in the feeding qualities of the different
breeds, and I am not astonished at farmers saying pigs
will not pay. I think the medium size pay better than
the large bacon hogs. For eleven years I have kept an
account of all my pigs cost, and what I sell, and at the
year's end I know the truth. * * I spend $3,500 a
year for purchased food, but little on any manure, except
lime and salt. I make all the manure I can, and make it
good. I calculate I get my pig manure free, but not my
cattle manure. For the first fortnight the little pigs live
upon the sow's milk. Then they will begin to eat a little
dry wheat. As soon as they begin to eat freely, have a
place where they can creep to feed, where the sow 'cannot
get at their meat ; and feed them separately, twice a day,
with milk, meal, and bran, and once a day with dry wheat.
But beware of over-feeding them, or any young animals.
At six weeks old, the boar pigs are usually castrated, and
at eight weeks old, the litter may be weaned by taking
away the sow by degrees. But if the sow is not wanted
to breed again directly, and you want to forward your
pigs, it is a good plan to let them be with the sow, at
night only, until they are twelve weeks old, and then they
ought to be in very good condition.

" After twelve weeks, the treatment will depend upon
what they are wanted for. If to be made the best of,
feed them for the next twelve weeks on boiled meal, vege-
tables, and a little bran — two feeds a day — keeping about
six together in a sty, warm, and well bedded. Keep
them on cooked food, and a little meal every day, until
within six weeks of being killed, when they should have
as much barley-meal and water as they can eat. It is a
waste of money to give them raw meal all the time, but
they should always be gaining until the slaughtering day
— to go back is a loss."

It would seem that the plan this farmer adopts, or at
least that which he considers best, varying in practice

ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IN PIG FEEDING. 187

probably with the demand for fresh pork, is to push his
pigs forward as rapidly as possible, ^and sell them when
six months old. And this is the system which, in the
neighborhood of our large cities, we believe, will be found
the most profitable in the United States. For this pur-
pose we unquestionably require pigs of some of the small
breeds, that will mature early.

A dairy farmer, who keeps Berkshire pigs, says : " My
stores, farrowed in March, are fatted off by December,
making from ten to twelve score, although I have often
had them much heavier. Pigs of this weight are always
more salable in the London Newgate Market, at sixpence
or a shilling a score more than heavier ones. I have
grown a pig of the Berkshire breed over 40 score (800 Ibs).

" Second litters, coming in about December, at three
months old, will do for pork. The sow will then be in
again in March or April.

" The whey runs from my dairy into a vault near the
piggery, in which I have large bins to mix the whey and
meal together, allowing it to ferment for three days before
using it. If I am well off for roots, I have a good quan-
tity pressed, steamed, and minced with whey and barley-
meal. In the winter, a few beans or lentils, ground. If
convenient, give warm food. Have not more than six
pigs together. Warm sties, clean, and the pigs well
groomed with brush and linseed oil, which will cleanse
the skin, and kill the lice with which they are often an-
noyed."

Another pig feeder recommends pulping roots, leaving
them to ferment for thirty-six hours, and then mixing the
pulp, by alternate spadefuls, with meal. This he thinks
as good as cooking, and much cheaper.

He does not mention the kind of roots used, but man-
gel wurzel, beets, and parsnips, are best adapted to our
climate and circumstances. With rich land, and good
culture, a large amount of nutritious food can be obtained

188 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

per acre, and feeding them out to pigs, with meal, will
make very rich manure, and thus we obtain the means to
raise more food, and keep on increasing the productive-
ness of the land.

A Yorkshire pig breeder says : " I have had a great,
many York-Cumberland pigs that gained —

7 Ibs. each, per week, up to ten weeks old.
10 Ibs. per week for the next seven weeks.
14 Ibs. per week until they weighed 23 stone.

" I can put on 18 Ibs. a week until a certain time, and
then they begin to put on less and less every day, until
at last you feed at a loss. The pig should be killed when
the point of profit for daily food is turned. For this
reason the pig should be weighed weekly.

" After trying nearly all the different kinds of cereals,
and weighing my pigs once every fourteen days, I have
come to the conclusion, if you want to gain weight fast,
give plenty of barley-meal and milk ; if you want to
make the most of the food consumed, give boiled vegeta-
bles and boiled meal, and finish off with raw meal.

" On the first plan, time is saved at the expense of food
consumed. On the second plan, time is lost, and the
food saved."

If by "food " is meant meal, the statement is probably
correct ; but that we ever save food, absolutely, by feed-
ing slowly, is a proposition that has never been proved,
and is contrary to sound theory and the general experi-
ence of the best feeders. A fattening animal should cer-
tainly have all the food it can digest and assimilate. To
keep him on short allowance is to waste both time and
food.

Another correspondent of Mr. Sidney writes : u With
tolerably good land, and no lack of capital, a farmer can-
not do better than cultivate white crops alternately, and,
with a moderate dairy, confine his stock exclusively to
pigs. Let him consume his oats, sell off both wheat and

ENGLISH EXPERIENCE IN PIG FEEDING. 180

barley, and buy Indian com and bran. Indian corn is
about the same price as barley, but sixty, instead of fifty-
two pounds to the bushel. A bushel of barley-meal is
generally supposed to add 10 Ibs. to the weight of a pig.
I have found, in my latest experiments, that a bushel of
Indian corn produced an increased weight to a pig of
15 Ibs.

" Indian corn," says Dr. Yoelcker, " is richer in fat-
forming matters than almost any other description of
food. The ready-made fat in corn amounts to from five
and a half to six per cent. But animals should not be
fed exclusively on Indian corn, because the flesh-forming
matter in it is small. Bean-meal [or pea-meal] supplies
the deficiency. Five pounds of Indian corn, ground or
crushed, to one pound of bean-meal [or pea-meal], is a
mixture which contains the proportions of flesh-forming
and fattening matters nicely balanced."

Another Yorkshire farmer writes : "We are now (1860)
fattening pigs on wheat costing $1.20 per bushel [in gold,],
which, as large bacon pigs are selling at 12 cents per
pound, leaves a handsome profit for fattening, even at the
present high price of stores.

" But," he adds, " the farmer who is wise, will keep
both these profits in his own hands. He will rear his own
stores, and grind up his own grain for feeding them. If
he wants pigs to pay, he does not starve them for twelve
to eighteen months, leaving them to roam about the fields,
consuming as much food among twenty as would feed
thirty, rooting and turning over a fold-yard dung heap ;
but he finds, with the corn, that it will cost him in money
half its feeding value, and gets the manure into the
bargain.

u A well managed pig-feeding establishment, near any
great town, ought to pay in times of low-priced grain.
Unlike beef and mutton, every inch of a pig is in demand,
and the oiFals are sold at good prices as dainty bits."

190 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

We might quote much other evidence of a like charac-
ter, but the above is sufficient to show that the English
farmers can send to the United States for Indian corn, pay
freight, commission, and expenses, and then use it at a
profit in fattening pigs, which are sold at prices no higher
than the same quality of pork brings in ]STe\v York, Bos-
ton, or Philadelphia. Cannot we do the same thing here ?
Let those who undertake it, however, remember that the
demand is for choice, fine-boned, well-fatted pigs, of the
best quality. Such pigs would bring from three to five
cents per pound more than common hogs, and this, in
itself, is a large profit.

CHAPTER XX.

LIVE AND DEAD WEIGHT OF PIGS.

The three grade Essex pigs (Nos. 3, 4, and 5) in Dr.
Miles' experiments at the Michigan Agricultural College,
previously alluded to (see page 118), were killed when 31
weeks old. Their live and dressed weights were as follows :

Live. Dressed. Dressed to Live Weight.

Per cent.

No. 3 135J4 11214 83

4 156 132 tf 85 nearly.

5 14514 122 83=£

The live weight was taken before, feeding. For such
small pigs, this shows a very high proportion of dressed
to live weight.

An Essex pig, about fifteen months old, belonging to
the writer, weighed, after sticking, 445 Ibs., and dressed,
as weighed the next day by the butcher, 409 Ibs. — a
shrinkage of only a little over 8 per cent. Allowing 10
Ibs. for the blood, the pig would have weighed, alive, 455
Ibs., and dressed nearly 90 per cent.

LIVE AND DEAD WEIGHT OF PIGS.

191

We have no doubt that a highly refined pig of any of
the small breeds, well fed during its whole growth, and
thoroughly fattened, will shrink less than 10 per cent on
its fasted live weight.

Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert accurately ascertained the
live and dead weight of the fifty-nine pigs on which their
experiments, previously alluded to, were made. The ac-
tual, average live weight, after fasting, of the whole fifty-
nine pigs, was 2123 14 Ibs., and the average dressed weight,
176 Ibs., 5.3 oz., or a little over 821 12 per cent.

The following table shows the actual average weight of
the different parts of these fifty-nine pigs, and in the
right-hand column we give the per centage weights :

TABLE SHOWING THE WEIGHT OP DIFFERENT PARTS OF A PIG
WEIGHING, ALIVE, 212% Ibs. (AVERAGE OF 59 PIGS.)

Actual weight.

Stomach and contents 2 Ibs., 10.4 oz

Caulfat 1 " 2.3"

Small intestines and contents 4 " 8.4"

Large " " " 8 " 5.7"

Intestinal fat 2 " 5.6"

Heart and Aorta 0 9.6"

Lungs and Windpipe 1 9.1 "

Blood 7 ' 10.1 "

Liver 3 l 4.5

Gall-bladder and contents 0 ' 2.1

Pancreas (" sweetbread ") 0 ' G.6

Milt, or Spleen 0 ' 4.7

Bladder 0 " 2.5

Penis 0 " 7.1

Tongue 1 " 0.2

Toes 0 " 2.9

Miscellaneous trimmings 0 " 8.8

Total offal parts 35 " 4.6

Carcass... 176 " 5.3

Loss by evaporation, etc 1 " 2.1

Live weight after fasting 212 12

Per cent.
1.28
.54
2.20
4.04
1.06
0.29
0.76
3.63
1.57
0.06
0.19
0.14
0.08
0.21
0.48
0.08
0.26

16.87
82.57
0.56

100.00

For the sake of comparison, we may say that the
average, of 249 sheep, killed at Rothamstead, by Messrs.
Lawes and Gilbert, was, fasted live weight, 153 Ibs., 10.2
oz. ; Carcass, 91 Ibs., I2l\t oz. ; Per centage of carcass to

192 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

live weight, 593 14. The sheep were Cotswolds, Leicesters,
Hampshire and Sussex Downs.

The mean fasted live weight of 16 heifers and steers,
killed and slaughtered at Rothamstead, was 1,141 Ibs. ;
Carcass, 6803 14 Ibs. ; Per centage of carcass to live weight,
59.31. In other words —

A moderately fat heifer or steer will dress 59}^ per cent.

A moderately fat mutton sheep will dress 59% " "

A moderately fat pig will dress 82^ " "

The lightest of Mr. Lawes' lialf-fattened and fattened
pigs dressed a little less than 74 per cent, and the heavi-
est over 873|4 per cent.

CHAPTER XXI.

BREEDING AND REARING PIGS.

The point of first importance in breeding pigs is the
selection of the boar. In raising thorough-bred pigs, of
course we must have a boar of the same breed as the sow.
This remark may seem superfluous, but we have met with
ordinarily intelligent men who thought that a boar, de-
scended from a thorough-bred Cheshire sow, got by a
thorough-bred Chester White boar, was thorough-bred.
And we have known a farmer who put a Chester White
sow to an Essex boar, speak of all the white pigs in the
litter as Chester Whites, and all the black ones as Essex.
Thorough-breds must be descended from thorough-breds,
and both parents must be of the same breed.

But in raising pigs for the butcher, we are not confined
to any particular breed. Our selection of the boar must
be made in reference to whether the pigs are to be fatted
and sold at a few months old for fresh pork, or whether

BREEDING AND BEARING PIGS. 193

they are to be kept until they have nearly attained their
growth before being fattened. Reference must also be
had as to whether we wish large hogs, or smaller and
finer ones at a less age. Much, too, will depend upon
the sow we wish to breed from.

Defective as the majority of our pigs are, there are,
nevertheless, few sections where we cannot find some
strong, vigorous sows, of good size, suitable for crossing
with the improved breeds. This is especially true where
the Chester County pigs have been introduced. "We could
not ask for better sows to start with than a grade Chester
County sow. It is an easy matter to find strong, vigor-
ous sows, of good size, in any neighborhood where the
Chester County or similar large breeds have been intro-
duced.

If a farmer wishes to keep hogs until they are from
fourteen to eighteen months old, letting them run in the
barn-yard the first winter, and in a clover pasture and
stubbles the next summer, and to be fattened in the fall,
he cannot go wrong in selecting a large, vigorous, some-
what coarse sow, showing more or less Chester County
blood. Then put her to either an Essex, Berkshire, Suffolk,
or Small or Medium Yorkshire boar. We think it mat-
ters comparatively little which of these breeds is used,
provided, always, that they are good specimens of the
breed, and are thorough-bred. Better pay five dollars for
the use of a thorough-bred than accept the service of a
grade or common boar for nothing.

If the sow has had pigs, say the middle of March, they
may be weaned in six weeks ; and if the so\v has been
properly fed, she will take the boar in a few days after
the pigs are weaned. We should then get one litter of —
say grade Essex — about the first of September. The
sow, during the summer, should, if possible, have the
run of a clover pasture ; and, if she is not in good, thriving
condition, with this, and the wash or milk from the house,
9

104 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

throw her two or three ears of corn a day. She should
not be too fat, but there is not one farmer in a thousand
who ever falls into this error. Let her have plenty of
exercise, and if she is fully half fat by the time she comes
in, all the better. If she is a good mother, nearly all her
accumulated fat will find its way to the little ones in the
milk before they are six weeks old.

For two or three weeks before she is expected to far-
row, let the sow be put in a pen by herself at night, so
that she may become accustomed to it. She may be al-
lowed to run out during the day, but should always be
fed separately in the pen, and in this way she will soon
come to regard the pen as her own, and will go in as soon
as the door is open. Let no harsh word be spoken, or a
kick or a blow, on any provocation, be resorted to.

The pen should have a rail around the side, about
six inches from the floor, and eight or ten inches from the
sides of the pen, so that if she makes her bed near the
sides of the pen, as she almost invariably will, the rail
will afford a space for the little ones to slip under, and
thus prevent their being crushed against the sides of the
pen. As, at this season, the weather is warm, she will
need but little straw. The better plan is to put two or
three times as much straw as is needed into the pen a
week or ten days before she is expected to pig. By lying
on it she will make it soft, and this is very desirable. If
any of it becomes wet or dirty, remove it from time to
time when the sow is out. As the time approaches, she
will select a particular spot, and " make a bed." When
she is eating, or out of the pen, examine the bed, and see
that the sides are not too hard, or compacted together too
closely, and that they are not more than four or five
inches high ; if so, remove a little of the straw. It is
better to have too little than too much. After this, the
sow should be left to herself. With gentle thorough-
breds, that are accustomed to being petted, we keep a

BREEDING AND EEAEING PIGS. 195

close watch during such an interesting event, rendering
assistance if necessary; but, as a rule, and especially
with common pigs, it is far better to trust to nature,
and let things take their course. At this season of
the year, especially if the sow has had the run of a
pasture, and is in a thrifty condition, there will seldom
be any trouble. The little pigs will come strong, and
commence to suck in a minute or two after they are born.
On no account disturb the sow until all is over. This
may be two hours, and sometimes longer. Do not be in
any hurry to feed her. But when she gets up, let her
have all the milk or slop that she will drink. It is better
to watch her, and keep pouring it into the trough as long
as she will drink it up clean. Let her have all she can
drink, but leave none in the trough. We are aware that
these directions are not in accordance with the general
rules on this subject. There are those who think that the
sow should be kept on short allowance, so that she may
be wide-awake, and quick to hear the scream of any of
the little ones she may be lying on. This is all very well,
but the chief danger occurs from the sow getting up and
lying down again ; and if she has a good meal, and eats
it all up clean, she will be more likely to lie still during
the night than if she is hungry. After she has eaten, and
when she goes back to her bed, you will be there to hear
if she lies on any of the pigs, and can go to the rescue.
When she has once lain down, there is little danger until
she gets up again. If all goes well for the first two
nights, there will rarely be any loss or trouble afterwards.
Give the sow all the milk or slops she will drink, but little
or no grain for the first week or ten days. If the little pigs
scour, change the food of the sow. There is nothing bet-
ter for her than skimmed milk, not too sour, and the next
best thing is two quarts of fine middlings, scalded with two
or three quarts of boiling water, and the pail afterwards
filled up with water sufficient to cool it to the temperature

19G HARRIS ON THE PIG.

of new milk. And here we may say that some men do not
seem to know how to scald bran or meal properly. We have
seen them put the meal in the pail and pour on the water,
and then fill up with cold water at once, and without pre-
vious stirring. The proper way is to put — say two quarts of
the bran or meal into the pail, pour on the boiling water,
and stir it up until every particle is wet or moistened ;
and the longer it remains before the cold water is added,
the better. The object is to soften and cook it, and make
it more easily digestible. When properly prepared, it
should look like fresh milk. Do not say that the pigs
will not pay for all this trouble. It is a great mistake. In
the first place, it is very little trouble, and in the second,
the future growth of the pigs depends very much on their
being well cared for while young.

When the pigs are two weeks old, a little shallow
trough should be made for them. Nothing is better for
this purpose than three or four feet of a tin eaves trough,
turned up at the ends. Nail it to the floor, so that the
pigs will not upset it ; and, if possible, put it where the
sow cannot get at it. Then put in half a pint or so of
sweet milk. Let them drink and waste what they will
of it, but always clean it out before fresh food is added.
Try to teach them early to eat their meals promptly, and
then lie down to sleep. Give them a small handful of oats,
or, better still, three or four tablespoonfuls of oat-meal, in-
creasing the quantity daily, but never giving more than
they will eat up clean. If fed too much at one time, and
too little at others, it will produce scours, and retard the
growth of the pigs. At three weeks old, a litter of eight
or ten pigs will eat a quart of good oats four times a day.
They seem particularly fond of cracking the oats and eat-
ing out the kernels.

After the first week or ten days the sow should have
richer food — say two quarts of fine middlings, and a quart
of oat or corn-meal, three times a day. Let her have all

BREEDING AND REARING TIGS. 197

she will eat, and in a week or ten days later, give richer
food. Boiled barley is excellent, hut it is better to vary
the food, so as to induce the sow to eat more. We often
throw our sows an ear or two of corn after they have
eaten their regular meal. The more food the sow can be
induced to eat, the richer will be the milk, and the more
rapidly will the little pigs grow.

When about six weeks old, the pigs should be altered.
Do not be tempted to reserve one of them for a boar.
No matter how handsome and well formed he may be, it
is absolute folly to use him for breeding purposes. Select
out one or two of the best sows, but alter all the boars.
The sow pigs will grow and fatten more rapidly if spayed,
but it is not often, in this country, that we can find men
who are able to perform the operation with safety. Where
there are such, all the sow pigs not intended for breeders
should be spayed a week or ten days before weaning.
There is nothing better to apply to the wound than pe-
troleum— not kerosene — but the crude oil.

The time of weaning will depend on the time when it
is desired to have the next litter of pigs. If the sow is
in good condition, she will take the boar in a week or two
after the pigs are weaned. And if the sow and pigs are
well fed, the pigs may be allowed to remain with the sow
until ten weeks or three months old, if there is time
enough for the next litter, and the sow is strong enough
to stand the drain on her constitution. If she is not
strong, wean the pigs when six weeks or two months old.

It is better not to remove all the pigs at once ; or, if
this is done, let them return to the sow for a few minutes
at the expiration of twelve hours, and again at the expira-
tion of twenty-four hours. We prefer, however, to let
one or two of the weaker pigs remain with the sow for a
week or so after the others are removed.

At the time of weaning, the pigs should have extra at-
tention. Feed them five times a day — the first thing in

193 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

the morning, and the last at niglit. If they have all they
can eat, they will not pine for the mother. Nothing is so
good for them as milk. A little flax-seed tea, oat-meal
gruel, or corn-meal gruel, mixed with the milk, or given
separately, will be good, and acceptable. As the weather,
by this time, is getting cold, it will be well to give warm
food. But guard against giving it too hot. It should not
be warmer than new milk.

There is, perhaps, nothing better for the pigs than corn
pudding and milk. Put two quarts of corn-meal into a
pail, and pour on two or three quarts of boiling water,
and stir it until all the meal is wet, then fill up the pail
with milk. But be very careful that the scalded meal is
all mixed with the milk. It often happens that there will
be lumps of meal hot enough to scald, although the milk
surrounding it is only warm. Such lumps should be
broken up and mixed with the milk before feeding to the
little pigs.

We need hardly add that all pigs should be allowed a
constant supply of fresh water. There are few things of
more importance in the management of pigs.

Let the pen be warm, clean, and well ventilated, but
with no cracks for the wind to blow through on to the
pigs. And, above all, let the pen and bedding be dry.
There should always be litter enough for the pigs to bury
themselves in. Warmth, to a certain extent, is equiva-
lent to food, and, what is of more importance than the
saving of the food, it saves digestion. Let the pigs have
all the exercise they wish, and then do not be afraid that
warm, dry, clean, and comfortable quarters, with abund-
ance of wholesome food, will make them tender. We are
aware that this is a common idea, but it is an erroneous
one. A cold wind or storm, that will send a half-starved
and neglected pig squealing around the barn-yard, with
hair on end, head down, and back up, will have no effect
on pigs treated as we have recommended. And there is

BREEDING AND BEARING PIGS. 190

nothing more important than to have young pigs in a
healthy,vigorous, almost fat condition, before winter sets in.

The pigs are now three months old, and should weigh
75 Ibs. to 80 Ibs. each. We have had grade Essex and
Berkshires (which are not as large as grade Essex and
Chester Whites) that weighed 88 Ibs, when three months
and four days old, — And it should be remembered that,
during two months of the time, the pigs get most of
their food from the sow ; and during the next month, they
eat far less food than older pigs.

During the winter, the pigs may be allowed the run of
the barn-yard, to pick up what they can find. If the cat-
tle are fed grain or oil-cake, a certain number of pigs will
keep in good condition on the droppings of the cattle, and
on food which would otherwise be wasted. Let the young
pigs, however, have a separate pen from the old ones, and
see to it that they have enough food to keep them in good
condition. By throwing them an ear or two of corn in
the pen, they will soon learn to be ready at the appoint-
ed time to enter the pen for the night, without trouble.
On no account let them go to bed hungry. Let their
stomachs be well filled — say at five o'clock in the evening
— and they will sleep quietly until eight o'clock the next
morning. In fact, a well-bred and well-fed pig will sleep
three-fourths of his time, during the winter. If not dis-
turbed, and tempted with fattening food, he will eat little
and gain little. And sometimes, like other hibernating
animals, he will live on his own fat.

As spring approaches, the young pigs will need more
food, and fortunate is that farmer who has a liberal
supply of parsnips, sugar-beets, or mangel wurzel for
them. These roots, pulped or rasped in a cider-mill, mixed
with a little corn-meal, are a cheap and excellent food for
pigs in the spring. But, whatever the feed, let the pigs
have all they need to keep them in a good, thriving con-
dition.

200 HAKKIS ON THE PIG.

As soon as the clover is fairly growing, the pigs should
have the run of the clover pasture. They will get three-
fourths of their food in the pasture, and we need hardly
say that, where clover grows as abundantly as it does with
us, it is the cheapest food that can be fed to a pig. With
clover, and the slops from the house and dairy, the pigs
will keep in a thriving condition, but it is a waste of time
and food to depend on this alone, with pigs intended for
the butcher. If fed from a pint to a quart of corn, or
corn-meal, a day, they will eat just as much clover, and
will grow nearly as fast again. After harvest, they will
pick up considerable food on the grain stubbles ; but if
as fat as they should be by this time, stubble gleaning
can be more profitably left to the breeding stock and
spring pigs.

By the first of November, such pigs as we have de-
scribed, fed as here recommended, should be in prime
order for the butcher, and can be sold at any time when
the price is satisfactory.

They should average 400 Ibs., dressed weight. The
pork is of the highest quality, and the lard keeps firm
and hard during the hottest weather in summer, and
makes excellent pastry.

BEARING AND MANAGEMENT OF SPRING PIGS.

Spring pigs, intended to be fattened and sold when
about nine months old, should come early in the spring,
and should have the best of care and feed. A warm, dry
pen, is absolutely essential. Thousands of pigs are lost
every spring for want of a little forethought in making
the pen ready for the sow to litter in. In a properly con-
structed pen there is little to be done, except to clean it
out a week or ten days before the time the sow is expect-
ed to pig, and provide a liberal allowance of dry straw.
It is not well to have too much straw in the pen at the

BREEDING AND REARING PIGS. 201

time of pigging; but, as already explained, straw which
has been in the pen for a week or so is softer and better
than fresh straw. We would place straw in the sleeping
apartment to the deptli of afoot, and then remove the wet
or soiled portions daily until, by the time the sow pigged,
there would not be more than is needed to keep the
mother and little ones warm. Two or three inches of
soft straw on the bottom of the pen, under the sow, will
be trod firm, and act as a non-conductor of heat, and will
not increase the danger of the sow lying on the pigs. The
danger arises from having too much loose straw in the
pen, and from having the sides of the bed too high and
firm.

It often happens that the pen in which the sow is placed
is ill-adapted for the purpose. In this case, some tem-
porary expedient for keeping out the cold winds must be
resorted to. If nothing better can be done, every hole
and crevice can at least be stopped with straw. The
principal danger is during the first few hours after the
pigs are born. If they can be kept warm and safe for
two or three days, there is little danger of losing them.
But for health and thrift, it is very desirable that they
never be exposed to cold storms ; and what is of even
still greater importance, the pen must always be dry.

We would again endeavor to impress on our readers
the importance of attending to these matters in advance.
Few things are more vexatious than to lose a nice litter
of pigs for want of half an hour's time in making the
pen dry, warm, and comfortable. If we lose a calf, we
have still the milk of the cow, but if we lose a litter of
pigs, there is no compensation. It is a dead loss of what
the pigs would have been worth when a month old.

We have said that for fall pigs, to be kept fourteen or

fifteen months before killing, there are no better pigs

than those obtained from a Chester White sow, put to a

thorough-bred Essex, Berkshire, or Small Yorkshire (Suf-

9*

202 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

folk) boar. But for spring pigs we need a little more re-
finement. They should be three-quarters Essex, Berkshire,
or some other fine breed — that is to say, a sow from the
first cross of Essex and Chester White should be put to
an Essex or Berkshire boar. This would give a highly
refined, small-boned pig, that would mature early, and
fatten rapidly. During the summer, however, they will
require better food than the older and stronger pigs.
They should have the run of a clover pasture, but
should be favored in the distribution of the milk, and
should have, in addition, sufficient grain of some kind to
keep them fat enough for fresh pork at all times.

It often happens that the most profitable way of dis-
posing of such spring pigs as here described, is to sell
them when three, four, five, or six months old for fresh
pork. We have sometimes thought that butchers do not
make sufficient difference in the price of such pigs as
compared with common pigs. In fact, butchers have
said to us : " All that you say is true. These pigs make
splendid pork, but our customers will pay no more for it
than for common pork, with half as much again bone in
it." The truth of the matter seems to be this : There is
not enough of such pork sent to market to establish the
grade. Few people know that there is as much difference
between the pork from a four-months-old, well-bred, and
well-fed pig, as compared with an ^ight-months-old, ill-
bred, and ill-fed pig, as there is between a sirloin and a
round steak. In Boston, a sirloin steak is now (March,
1870) quoted at 36 cents and 38 cents per pound, and a
round steak at 20 cents and 25 cents ; chuck rib at 12
cents and 15 cents, and soup pieces at 5 cents and 8 cents
per pound. Here is certainly difference enough to stimu-
late us to improve the form of our animals. Let farmers
furnish good fresh pork, and there will be found those wlio
are willing to pay a liberal price for it. At any rate, if the
pigs are kept in high condition, they will be ready at all

MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BRED PIGS. £03

times for the butcher; and if the price is suitable, they
can be disposed of, and if not, they can be kept until nine
or ten months old, and sold for fat pork. Spring pigs
should never be kept on short allowance. It is almost
impossible to keep them too fat. To keep them in a half-
starved condition until the corn crop is ripe, and then shut
them up to fatten, is a very expensive way of making
pork. We have known a lot of spring pigs kept in this
way, by a farmer who seemed to fear that, if he fed a lit-
tle corn during the summer, his pigs would not " grow,"
that were shut up to fatten in October, and fed soft corn
at first, and afterwards sound corn in the ear, all they
would eat, that did not, when killed in December, average
100 Ibs. each, dressed weight. A well-bred pig of the
same age, well-fed from the day he was born, (and before,)
would have dressed 300 Ibs.

CHAPTER XXII.

MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BRED PIGS.

The first object in the management of thorough-bred
pigs is to secure perfect health. If any animal manifests
the slightest tendency to disease of any kind, it must be
rigorously rejected. Moreover, if in a litter of pigs there
are any defective animals, we would fatten the sow and
dispose of her. It is not safe to breed from her. And if
the same defect manifests itself in the litters of other
sows, bred to the same boar, it is pretty conclusive evi-
dence that the boar is not perfectly sound, and he should
be at once rejected. No matter how apparently healthy
the parents may be, if there is any tendency to disease, or
defects in form in the offspring, the probabilities are, that

204 HARRIS OX THE PIG.

there is some latent disease in the parents ; and even
though we breed from none of their offspring but those
apparently sound, yet we are never sure that the disease
will not manifest itself in the next generation.

Next to health, the digestive and assimilating power
of a thorough-bred pig is of the greatest importance.
Without good digestion, rapid growth is impossible. The
pig must have a stomach capable of extracting the nutri-
ment from a large amount of food, and the process of as-
similation must proceed with equal rapidity. These
qualities are, in a good degree, under our control. In a
thoroughly established breed, " like begets like," not only
in form and color, but also in those qualities which deter-
mine rapid growth, early maturity, and a disposition to
fatten easily. Check the growth of a young boar and
sow by keeping them in cold, wet pens, on short allow-
ance, and, though they themselves may afterwards appar-
ently recover from feuch treatment, the evil effects will be
seen in their offspring. They may be perfect in form,
but they will not possess the maximum capacity of growth
and fattening qualities. In the management of thorough-
bred pigs, this idea must never be absent from the breed-
er's mind. So far as is consistent with health, the young
pigs must be daily kept in such a way as to secure a rapid
growth. All thoughts of " hardening" them by exposure
to cold storms must be abandoned. All attempts at starv-
ing them, in hopes of making them more healthy and
vigorous, must be given up— first, because it will not ac-
complish the object, and secondly, because if it would, we
should lose one of the first objects we have in getting
an improved breed of pigs — the capacity of converting a
large amount of food into flesh and fat.

It has been supposed that the success of a breeder de-
pends almost entirely on his judgment in selecting a male
adapted to correct any deficiencies in the form or quali-
ties of the females. But while this is sometimes very im-

MANAGEMENT OF TIIOnOUGH-BRED PIGS. 205

portant, yet the real skill of the breeder of thorough-bre<l
pigs consists, in great part, in his ability to keep his
young pigs growing to their utmost capacity, and, at the
same time, keep them in perfect health, and in good con-
dition for breeding at the proper age. Let no farmer ex-
pect to succeed as a breeder of thorough-bred pigs if he
leaves them to the care of an ordinary hired man. He
must give them his own personal attention. If he objects
to this, if he has no liking for a refined, well-bred, well-
behaved, well-formed pig, let him turn his attention to
some other business. It is, of course, not necessary that
the owner should clean out the sties, or cook the food, or
wash the pigs, and feed them. But he will find it of
great advantage to know how to perform all these opera-
tions. Ordinary farm men have been so accustomed to
let pigs wallow in the mire, and take care of themselves,
that it is very difficult to get them to realize the import-
ance of cleanliness, regularity in feeding, general kind-
ness, and constant attention. It is not an easy matter to
induce a common farm man to groom a horse thoroughly,
and it is still more difficult to get such a man to clean a
pig. And yet a breeder of thorough-bred pigs will find
few things more important for health and for rapid
growth, and for the development of the best points, than
washing in summer, and cleaning them with a brush in
winter.

An extensive range is almost as important for thorough-
bred pigs as it is for poultry, and we think it a mistake
for a breeder to keep more than one breed on the same
farm. It is not only convenient and economical to let the
pigs run out in a pasture during the spring, summer, and
autumn, and in the barn-yard during the winter, but it
is desirable for their health and vigor. It is not always
easy to accomplish this object, even when one breed only
is kept, and it must be still more difficult when two or
three breeds are kept.

206 HAREIS OX THE PIG.

To keep up and improve the quality of the stock, it is
absolutely essential to " weed out " all that show any ten-
dency to deterioration ; and on this account it is desirable
to have a good-sized herd to select the breeding stock
from. We must have at least two boars of each breed ;
and where two or three different breeds are kept, this is
no slight expense. We would, therefore, earnestly recom-
mend breeders to confine themselves to one breed.

THE BOAB.

A young boar must never be stinted in food. Until he
is a year old, he should be kept growing as rapidly as
possible, consistent with health and vigor. But at the
same time, he must not be allowed to get too fat. We
would let him have all the food he will eat. If he gets
too fat, reduce the quality, but not the quantity, of the
food. It is here that judgment and experience are par-
ticularly important. A person who has kept none but
common pigs is very apt to think that his thorough-bred
boar is getting too fat. The roundness and symmetry of
the body, with the comparatively small growth of bone
and oifal parts, leads him to suppose that the pig is not
growing fast enough.* This is particularly the case with
the small breeds. He thinks they are fattening inside,
but are not growing ; and, in order to make him grow, or,
at all events, to prevent him from getting too fat, he turns
him to a straw stack, or shuts him up in a pen, and feeds
him nothing but dish-water and a few potato parings.
Nothing can be more unwise. If the pig is getting too
fat, which, in the case assumed, is not probable, the bet-
ter plan is to turn, him into a clover lot, or into a stubble
field. What he needs is exercise and abundance of plain
food. If it is winter, let him have less concentrated food,
but give him all of it that he will eat up clean, twice a
day. A few boiled potatoes and coarse bran, or bran

MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BKED PIGS. 207

alone, fed moist, makes a good winter diet in such a case.
But so far as our observation extends, where one pig is
injured from over-feeding, ten are stunted in growth from
want of a regular and abundant supply of appropriate
food.

At eight or nine months old, a boar of the small breeds,
if kept in the way we have recommended, will have nearly
completed his growth, and may be allowed to serve a few
sows. But be careful not to let him have so many as to
reduce himself materially in flesh, or check his growth.
One service is sufficient for a sow, and to allow more is a
mere waste of the strength and energies of the boar, and
is probably injurious to the sow. To let a young thorough-
bred boar serve a number of common sows, at a dollar a
head, is mere folly. The English breeders usually charge
a sovereign.

When the boar has attained his growth, he will not re-
quire as rich food. He should, however, have enough to
keep him in perfect health and vigor. He should always
have enough to fill his stomach. Bran and roots, or
green clover, will ordinarily keep him in good condition.
But when he is in active service, he must have richer food.
In regard to the number of sows a full grown boar should
be allowed to serve, it must be remembered that the
proper season for having the sows come in is comparatively
limited. From the middle of October until the first of
December the boar is most in demand, and at this time,
if full grown, may be allowed to serve twenty or twenty-
five sows, and the same number during the spring season.

If the boar is a very valuable one, and it is intended to
keep him for several years, he should be restricted to
fewer sows — say eight or ten in a season. On the other
hand, a boar that we intend to alter and fatten as soon as
the season is over, may be allowed to serve all the com-
mon or grade sows that his strength will permit — say
seventy-five or eighty during three months.

208 BARKIS ON THE PIG.

Usually, it is more profitable to alter and fatten a boar
when three years old than to keep him longer. But, of
course, much depends on his value and on our ability to
replace him. Fisher Hobbs' celebrated Essex boar,
" Emperor," of which we have given a portrait on
page 79, was eight years old when his picture was taken.
An animal of extraordinary merit may be kept as long as
he gets good pigs.

The boar's pen should have a yard attached not less
than ten or twelve feet square, and it is better, always, to
turn the sows to him, than to turn him out to the sows.
If he is sluggish, it is well to have a strong door between
this yard and the boar's sleeping pen, so arranged that he
can see the sow without being able to get at her until the
door is open. Shut the door between the pen and the
yard, and then turn the sow into the yard, and let her re-
main a short time before letting the boar out. The best
boar we ever had was exceedingly shy in this matter.
He apparently objected to have strangers looking on.
We kept him for some years, and by humoring his pecu-
liarities, he proved a very useful animal. He always
showed most energy early in the morning, before he had
had his breakfast. Some of our neighbors, who had been
accustomed to drive their sows to common boars, that
would tear down a pen, or push over a fence to get at a
sow, were disgusted with the dignified movements of tbis
thorough-bred boar. After waiting and watching a few
minutes, they would drive away their sows to some long-
nosed, slab-sided brute, while those who exercised a little
more patience, were almost invariably rewarded with
splendid litters of pigs. The truth of this matter is,
that good breeders increase the development of the choice
parts of a pig at the expense of the offal ; and the ham
of a well-bred and well-formed boar has been enlarged at
the expense of some portion of the contiguous parts. We
have known this carried to such an extreme, that casual

MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BRED PIGS. 209

observers would suppose they were looking at a barrow-
pig. Any one who will contrast a coarse Chester County
boar with a refined Essex will understand our meaning.

THE sow.

The treatment of a sow until she is eight or nine
months old does not differ from that of the boar. She
should be well fed, and have plenty of exercise. If she
is born in March, and is kept growing rapidly, and is of
an early maturing breed, she may be allowed to take the
boar in November, when about eight months old. She
would then have pigs in March, when a year old. This
is breeding earlier than is usually recommended, but it
must be remembered that wre are treating of pigs that
have been bred almost exclusively for the purpose of rapid
growth while young, and for early maturity. If she is
strong and healthy, with good digestive powers, it will
not hurt her to have a litter of pigs at a year old, and to
have two litters a year afterwards, for two or three years.
The breeder, however, must exercise judgment in this
matter. It often improves a sow wonderfully to let her
get a year or fifteen months old before she takes the boar.
And in the case of late fall pigs, we should always be in-
clined to keep them until the following November before
they are served.

The sow, when in pig, should be allowed abundance
of food, and as extensive a range as possible until a week
or ten days before farrowing. She should then be placed
in her pen, and fed with food similar to that which it is in-
tended to give her after she has farrowed. Nothing can
be better than skimmed milk and scalded bran, with a
little oil-meal, to loosen the bowels, if necessary. Di-
rections for furnishing the pen with litter, etc., have
been already given, and need not be repeated here. As,
however, a litter of thorough-bred pigs are of considera-

210 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

ble valuo, we would particularly urge that every thin or be
provided in advance that can insure their safety. We have
lost a litter of ten pigs that, at ten weeks old, would
have brought us two hundred dollars, simply from neg-
lecting to have the pen properly protected beforehand
against a severe storm which occurred the night the sow
farrowed. Much is said about sows eating their young,
but where one pig is lost in this way, a hundred die from
damp pens and neglect.

When the sow is shut up by herself in the pen, if she
is uneasy, it is well to let her out for an hour or so during
the forenoon, letting her in again for her noon meal, and
in the course of an hour or so, let her out again, putting
her back at feeding time for the night. In this way she
will soon become accustomed to the pen. It not un fre-
quently happens that the sow, at this period, is constipa-
ted ; and if this is the case, she should be fed on more suc-
culent, and less concentrated, food. We know of nothing
better than bran mashes, either alone, or mixed up with
linseed tea. If this does not relieve the trouble, give an
injection of warm water, with a little soap in it. In ob-
stinate cases, put an ounce of Epsom, or two ounces of
Glauber's salt in the injection. This is generally better
than giving her medicine, even if she would eat it in her
food, which she will seldom do. It is not safe to attempt
to drench a sow at this period. A careful attention to the
diet, with sufficient exercise, will almost always prevent
this trouble.

Our own sows are so quiet that we can do anything
with them. And before they farrow, we are in the habit
of handling them, rubbing their teats, and getting them
thoroughly accustomed to our presence in the pen. If all
goes right, it is best to let the sow alone; and, in all
cases, it is better to err in giving too little attention or
assistance than too much. If the weather is very cold,
throw a blanket over the sow ; and as soon as a little pig

MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BRED PIGS. 21 1

arrives, rub him dry with a little soft straw, and put him
to the teats, under the blanket. Be careful, however, not
to break the cord too close to the navel, or it may cause
blood to flow, and thus weaken the pig. If the sow has
been well and properly fed, and is in vigorous condition,
the pigs will be strong, and will take hold of the teats in
a few minutes. When this is the case, little danger of
loss is to be apprehended. If any of the pigs are weak,
it often requires considerable care and attention to save
them. The great point is to prevent them from becoming
chilled and to get them to suck. It is here that the pre-
vious petting of the sow and handling of her teats prove
useful. You can hold the pig to the teat, and press out
some milk with the thumb and finger. It is said that
the teats, towards the forelegs, afford the richest milk,
and that, as each pig is believed to always keep the
teat he first takes possession of, it is well to put the
weaker pigs to the forward teats. We cannot speak
from experience as to the advantage of this method. In
the case of thorough-bred pigs, it will pay to have a man
watch the sow the first night, to see that she does not lie
on any of the little ones. If the pigs are strong, there
will be comparatively little danger after the first night ;
but we have known a sow to lie on a weak pig and crush
it to death when eight or ten days old, and when all
danger was supposed to be passed. We once had a sow
lie on a sick pig, that was large enough to wean, and hurt
it so much that it died in a few hours. If the pigs are
strong, it is an easy matter to raise them ; but if not,
great care will be required. It is, therefore, in all respects,
very desirable to have the pigs come strong and healthy,
and this is usually the case when the sow and boar are
healthy, and are descended from a healthy stock, and
when the sow herself is, and always has been, well and
properly fed, and has had plenty of fresh air and exer-
cise, with access to charcoal, ashes, and pure water.

212 HARRIS ON THE TIG.

When a litter of pigs gets chilled, there is nothing bet-
ter to revive them than hot chaff from the steam vat, re-
newed by degrees as often as it gets cool. We have
saved pigs in this way that were almost lifeless. Place
the chaff along the side of the sow, next to the teats, and
put the little pigs on it, and nearly cover them witli the
chaff, and then throw a blanket over the sow and the
pigs and hot chaff. Of course it will be necessary to re-
main with the sow and watch the pigs ; and we have
sometimes given them, with advantage, a little warm new
milk, or fresh cream, with a teaspoonful of gin or whiskey
to three or four tablespoonfuls of the milk or cream.
When they revive a little, place them to the teats, and
encourage them to suck a little.

In very cold weather, it is often desirable to hang some
blankets from the top of the pen around the sow, like the
curtains on a tent-bedstead ; and by placing several bags
of hot chaff inside the curtains, the temperature may be
raised several degrees. If more convenient, pails of hot
water may be used instead of the hot chaff.

We once had a litter of valuable pigs come one night
during a -severe cold storm. The kitchen fire was out,
and no hot water to be had, but in the steam-house was a
barrel of boiled barley. By taking a little from the top
it was found to be hot underneath, and we carried six or
eight pailfuls of hot barley into the pen, and in this way
managed to keep the pigs warm, and save the whole litter.

When the pigs are two weeks old, they will begin to
lap a little milk, and a week later, will eat a few oats.
The directions already given in a previous chapter are ap-
plicable here. When the pigs are a month old, we let
the sow out from the pigs in the morning, after breakfast,
and again after dinner, feeding the pigs while the sow is
away. At first, the sow is kept out only an hour or so at a
time, and as the pigs get older, she may be kept out longer.
In this way the little pigs will eat more food, and will not

MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BRED PIGS. 213

draw so much on the strength of the sow. In the case
of thorough-bred pigs, where it is desirable to have the
sows breed as long as they produce strong litters of
ten or a dozen, this is quite an important point. Great
care must be taken not to tax the strength of the sow
too much. Little pigs, of a good breed, grow so rapidly,
that they require much more food than ordinary pigs,
while the sow has been so refined by breeding, that she
is seldom strong enough to stand the drain, when the pigs
depend entirely on her for food.

The pigs will do better to remain with the sow until
they are two months old ; and if they are well fed, and
are gradually weaned in the way above recommended, the
sow will suffer no harm.

According to the experiments of Doctor Miles, previous-
ly alluded to, Essex pigs, about three weeks old, ate 31 13
Ibs. of new milk, each, per day. The next week they ate
nearly 7 Ibs. of milk, each, per day. From this, it ap-
pears that a litter of ten pigs, a month or five weeks old,
will eat over 30 quarts of new milk a day, or more than is
ordinarily given by the best cows. We present these facts
here to show what an immense drain a suckling sow is
called upon to sustain. We have often observed how
rapidly such a sow loses flesh after the third week.
No matter how fat she may have been, and how much of
the richest food she is allowed, she will soon get very thin
unless the pigs are induced to eat other food than that
which the mother supplies.

The milk of the sow is richer than that of any other
domestic animal. Milk is derived from the blood, and this
is derived either directly from the food, or from the flesh
and fat stored up in the animal. It is, therefore, easy to
understand that, when a sow is called upon to give as
much milk as one of the largest and best cows, it must
tax her digestive powers to the utmost, or rapidly convert
her flesh into blood and milk.

214 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

We are particularly anxious to call attention to this
matter, as we deem it one of the most important points
in the management of thorough-bred pigs. A litter of
ten pigs, at birth, weighs about 15 Ibs., and at six weeks
old, sometimes as much as 250 Ibs., or nearly or quite as
much as the mother herself weighs, in many cases. It is
evident that this enormous growth must require a large
amount of food from somewhere. From whence is it ob-
tained ? In thorough-bred pigs, we must have as rapid
growth as possible while young, or the breed deteriorates.
The offspring of pigs whose growth is checked while
young from want of food, will, in some degree, lose the
capacity of growth, even though abundance of food is
furnished. The sins of the owners of the parents are
visited on the owners of the children. The pigs have
been bred for the very purpose of growing rapidly, and
they cannot grow without food. To expect a thorough-
bred sow (refined down to the last degree,) to raise a lit-
ter of pigs (inheriting a tendency to rapid growth), with
no more food than a common sow with a litter of common
pigs, is unreasonable. The thorough-bred sow and pigs
require, and must have, better food, and more attention
than the common pigs.

A first-class thorough-bred sow, that produces eight
or ten pigs at the first litter, and proves a good mother
and nurse, is a very valuable animal, and it will pay well
to take care of her. For the first two weeks after far-
rowing, little change will apparently take place in her
condition. The scales would doubtless show that she has
lost weight, but it is from the inside fat, which finds its
way into the milk for the nourishment of the young.
All animals lay up fat for this purpose, and it is not nec-
essary to furnish a large quantity of rich food for the
sow for the first week after farrowing. She should have
all the cooling drinks she requires, and food that is easily
digested, such as milk and bran mashes, and later, oat-

MANAGEMENT OP THOKOUGH-BRED PIGS. 215

meal or barley-meal. After the second week, give richer
food, but be careful that it is not rich enough to derange
the stomach of the sow, and produce diarrhoea in the
little pigs. Boiled barley, given in connection with the
milk and bran, is excellent. Let it be thoroughly boiled.
Soak it in water for twelve hours, and afterwards boil it
in the same water until it bursts open. Three weeks after
farrowing is the critical time for the sow. The pigs be-
gin to require much more milk, and are constantly pulling
at her. She will begin to fall off in flesh, and this is not,
in itself, objectionable, provided it is not carried too far.
It is here that the breeder must exercise his best judg-
ment. The sow must have a liberal and regular supply
of nutritious food. But be very careful not to give her
a comparatively innutritions food one day, and a full sup-
ply of rich food the next. The true plan, as we have be-
fore said, but it cannot be too often repeated, is to feed
the little pigs, and thus lessen their demands on the
mother. Give them a little new milk from the cow, and
take pains to teach them to drink it. If you teach one
to drink, the others will be likely to follow his example.
A little sugar or molasses in the milk will prove accepta-
ble to the pigs. In a few days, mix a little scalded or
boiled oat-meal with the milk, and gradually increase the
quantity as their appetites increase. A little boiled barley
may also be given, and throw them a handful of whole
oats on the floor of their pen, for them to crack and exer-
cise their teeth on. In this way you can save the strength
of the sow, and we deem this one of the most important
points in breeding, especially with the first litter.

In the natural state, sows do not have more than half
as many pigs at a litter as the improved breeds, and they
do not grow half as fast, and consequently do not require
more than half as much milk. Those who talk so much
about following " Nature," seem to forget these facts.
Our object is to improve on nature, and to do this we

216 HAREIS ON THE PIG.

have to provide improved conditions. A thorough-bred
pig is a work of art, and its production calls for intelli-
. gence, thought, care, patience, and perseverance.

We once had two valuable thorough-bred sows that
farrowed their first litters in February. They had ten
pigs each. Through carelessness, one whole litter was
frozen to death. We took a couple of the pigs from the
other litter, and gave them to the sow that had lost
her litter, and these also died. The other sow raised
the eight pigs, and they did well. The sow was left in
charge of an ordinary man, and by the time the pigs were
five weeks old, she was as thin as a rail. The pigs were
not weaned until nine weeks old. She nourished them
at the expense of her own flesh, and, as it turned out, at
the expense of her strength also. She did not recover
from the effects of the drain on her constitution for six
months, and did not take the boar again until the follow-
ing October. In the meantime, the sow which lost all her
pigs took the boar in two weeks, and had a litter of ten
pigs in July, worth, at two months old, $20 each. We
mention this fact to show that it will pay to take particu-
lar care of young sows, and to guard against overtaxing
their strength and constitution. We must do this, not
only by giving the sow the best of care and proper food,
but also by feeding the little pigs, and doing all that we
can to prevent the sow from giving them too much milk
after they are three or four weeks old.

A sow will often take the boar in three or four days
after farrowing. In the case of large, coarse, common
sows, this is sometimes desirable, but rarely in the case
of thorough-breds. It is better to wait until the pigs are
weaned. If the little pigs have been fed as above recom-
mended, so that they have not taxed too much the
strength of the sow, she will often take the boar in a few
days, or, at farthest, in two or three weeks. She should
have plenty of nutritious food and moderate exercise for

MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BRED PIGS. 217

the first month after the pigs are weaned. After this, she
should have all the food she can eat, but should, if possi-
ble, be compelled to take some exercise in order to get it.

MANAGEMENT OF THE YOUNG PIGS.

The pigs, as before said, should be gradually weaned.
They do better to remain with the sow until eight or ten
weeks old, but we would commence weaning them when
three weeks old. Let out the sow from them — at first,
for an hour or so at a time, gradually extending the time
as they get older. When a month old, they may be al-
lowed to go out with the sow for an hour or two in mild
weather, but not while the sun is very hot, as, in some
breeds, our hot sun will blister the backs of young pigs.
When five weeks old, they may go out into the pasture
while the sow is kept in the pen. The little pigs need
more exercise at this time than the mother. The secretion
of milk, in her case, is equivalent to a considerable amount
of exercise, and she should not be obliged to take exer-
cise in order to get food.

The most common complaints of little pigs are diarrhoea
and colds. The former is caused by giving the sow im-
proper food, or a too sudden change of diet, or by irregular
feeding, or from want of pure water and fresh air. We once
had a few cooked beans that had been left in the steam-bar-
rel until they decomposed. They were thrown on to the
manure heap, and a sow, which was suckling pigs, ate
some of them. Two days afterwards, the whole litter
was seized with violent diarrhoea, and one of them died in
the course of two or three days. It was the worst case
of the kind we ever had, and the diarrhoea continued for
four or five days, and was not stopped until we gave the
pigs two or three drops of laudanum each, at night, in
some fresh cream, with a teaspoon, and repeated the dose
the next morning. This effected a cure, but the pigs did
10

218 HAREIS ON THE PIG.

not regain their thrifty growth for a week or ten days.
We should add that the sow continued perfectly well,
and manifested no symptoms of the complaint. As a
general rule, no medicine will be required. Change the
food of the mother, and let her go out into the air, hut
let the little pigs remain in the pen, and see that they are
warm and comfortable. The less they are disturbed, and
the more they sleep, the sooner will they recover. It is
also very important to keep the pen clean and well venti-
lated. Nothing can be worse than to leave the evacua-
tions in the pen. Scatter some dry earth about the pen
to absorb the offensive gases. Let the feeding apartment
also be dusted over with dry earth or soil of any kind
that can be obtained, and then scraped, and swept, and
washed, and a little dry straw, or chaff, or sawdust, be
spread on it, to prevent dampness. Scald the pig troughs
with boiling water, and make them sweet and clean. Let
this be done every day. The attendant should understand
that the scours are an evidence of negligence or carelessness.
The same may be said of coughs or colds. Damp pens,
exposure to a cold storm, too much litter at one time, and
too little at another, or suffering it to remain until it gets
damp, are the chief causes of colds, with all their attend-*
ant disorders. An ounce of Epsom salt, given to the
sow in her food, twice a day, will be beneficial to the lit-
tle pigs. But it is not often that pigs are affected with
colds until after they are weaned, and in this case a few
salts, either Epsom, Glauber's, or Rochelle, as most con-
venient, may be given in the food — say a teaspoonful of
Epsom or Rochelle salts, to a three-months-old pig, or a
tablespoonful of Glauber's salt, given in the food twice a
day, with a little gentian or ginger, or some other tonic.
Fresh air is very important, and in mild weather they
should be allowed to run in the pasture, but should be
permitted to return to their pen whenever they wish.
Let the pen be made as dry and comfortable as possible j

MANAGEMENT OF THOROUGH-BRED TIGS. 219

give succulent food, and guard against constipation, and
in a few days the pigs will be better. In our own experi-
ence, we have never happened to have any serious trouble
from this cause, but we once sent a pair of valuable pigs
to a gentleman in Illinois, and the boar, nine or ten weeks
old, and a very strong and apparently healthy one, caught
cold on the route, and though he received good care, died
in a week or so afterwards.

The great point in the management of young pigs is,
to keep them growing rapidly. If strong and vigorous,
they are seldom liable to any disease, and if attacked,
soon throw it off. We think it advantageous to pet them
and make them as tame as possible. They are fond of
being rubbed with a brush, and have not the slightest
objection to a good Irish scratching, especially in the
holes and corners about the head, where they cannot
scratch themselves without unusual exertion. We are in
the habit of taking hold of our young pigs back of the
ears, and when they get used to it, they regard it as indi-
cating a desire for a frolic. If well fed, well petted, and
in high health, they enjoy a frolic as much as a pair of
young dogs. At three months old, the boar pigs should
be separated from the sows.

220 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE PROFIT OF RAISING THOROUGH-BRED PIGS.

A farmer who reads the preceding chapter will be very
apt to ask — " Will it pay to be at all this trouble to raise
pigs ? Will it not be better to keep a kind that does not
require so much attention ?"

In the first place, it should be remarked that, we do not
advocate keeping thorough-bred pigs to be fatted and sold
to the butcher. They are raised for the purpose of im-
proving our ordinary stock ; and we have already at-
tempted to show what is the value of a thorough-bred
boar for this purpose. Suffice it to say here, that he is
worth much more than he is ordinarily sold for. We be-
lieve that reliable breeders of thorough-bred pigs are
often unable to supply the demand for boars ; and it is
certain that, as their value for improving our common
pigs becomes more generally recognized, the demand will
become far greater. At the present time, not one boar in
a thousand, kept for use in the country, is thorough-bred.
The American agricultural press, which is becoming a
mighty power for good in the land, is doing valuable ser-
vice in calling attention to the importance of using none
but thorough-bred males of all kinds of stock, and the pros-
pects of breeders never were more encouraging than now.
As general intelligence and civilization increase, so in-,
creases the demand for flesh meat of good quality ; and
the prices paid for it warrant us in using every means in
our power for increasing the supply. In the future, as in
the past, the price of pork will fluctuate ; but with our fa-
cilities for transportation, and the ease with which pork
can be cured and shipped to any part of the world, the
American farmer is pretty certain of getting a fair price

THE PROFIT OF RAISING THOKOUGH-BRED PIGS.

for liis pigs. The English farmers are enabled to compete
with the pork made from our cheap corn-growing sections
by paying more attention to the improved breeds, and by
furnishing a superior article. The American farmers of
the Eastern and Middle States must do the same thing
in order to successfully compete with raisers of pork in
the cheap corn-growing sections of the West ; and the first
step is to introduce thorough-bred boars of the best breeds.
As long as breeders can sell their pigs at $20 each when
two months old, it will pay to bestow a good deal of at-
tention on their management. An English breeder is said
to have made enough out of his pigs to " build a church."
Many American breeders of Chester County and the
Jefferson County pigs have made a great deal of money
by the business.

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

CHAPTER XXIV.

COOKING FOOD FOR PIGS.

Nearly all farmers cook more or less food for their pigs.
Comparatively few do it systematically and regularly
throughout the year. Potatoes, pumpkins, and food of
this class, is almost invariably cooked in this country, the
general plan being to boil or steam the potatoes or pump-
kins, and after they are cooked, mash them up with meal,
either in the vessel in which they are cooked, or in the
feed tub. If the meal is mixed with the cooked food
while it is boiling hot, and the mass is then covered care-
fully for a few hours, to retain the heat, the meal becomes
soft, and is, in fact, more or less cooked, according to the
skill and judgment with which the operation is performed.

In England, Swede turnips are often cooked in this
way, and mixed with barley or Indian corn-meal. But
they are considered far inferior to potatoes as food for
pigs. Of late years, the turnips, potatoes, etc., are ground,
or crushed, and the pulp, as it comes from the machine, is
mixed with meal. This mixture of meal and pulped roots
is sometimes steamed, but it is more generally fed without
cooking, being simply allowed to remain in a heap until
it becomes warm from fermentation. In this way the
particles of meal are softened and broken up, and are
supposed to be more readily digested by the animals. As
to whether it is more economical to feed raw potatoes
with raw meal or grain, or to cook them, there seems to
be no question. We have never known any one who has
tried steaming or boiling, with even ordinary conveniences,
that was not perfectly satisfied that it was more profita-
ble than to feed raw. We may assume that this fact is
established by common experience. But, on the other
hand, as between cooking and pulping, the question may

COOKING POOD FOR PIGS. 223

be considered an open one — that is to say, as to whether
it is more economical to steam roots and meal, or to pulp
the roots and mix meal with the pulp, and then allow the
mixture to ferment, has not been satisfactorily determined.
It depends, probably, a good deal on the conveniences for
doing the work.

If we might hazard an opinion, from a quite limited
experience, we should say that, for store pigs and breed-
ing stock, we should prefer, where there are good conven-
iences for steaming, to pulp the roots, mix them with suf-
ficient hay chaff to absorb the juice, and then add a little
meal, and steam the whole mixture together. The clover
hay imparts an agreeable flavor to the cooked mass, and
the pigs eat it with far more avidity than they will eat
the raw pulp and meal "mixture. If we can winter our
pigs on roots, and clover hay, with a little meal, one of the
chief objections to keeping a large stock of pigs is en-
tirely removed. They are then kept on food, the produc-
tion of which enriches, rather than impoverishes, the soil,
while the manure from it is of the richest and most valu-
able description.

Where pigs are kept for the purpose of supplying the
demand for choice fresh pork, cooking will probably be
found essential to success. The pigs should be ready for
market at from four to five months old. In proportion to
the food consumed, young pigs (and probably all other
animals) grow much more rapidly than older ones. But
if they are to grow rapidly, and fatten at the same time,
they must have the richest and most easily digestible food.
Of course they must be fed with judgment, varying the
food as occasion requires, and sometimes giving raw
grain, but our main dependence must be steamed roots
and meal ; or, in the absence of roots, we must have
cooked meal, with sufficient steamed hay or grass to fill
the stomach, and keep the bowels regular. The richer the
food, provided the pigs can eat enough of it to fill their

224 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

stomachs three times a day, without producing constipa-
tion or scours, the more rapidly will they fatten.

There is a sense in which it may truly be said, that
cooking adds nothing to the amount of nutriment in food.
All that can be claimed for it is that it increases the di-
gestibility of the food. To what extent this takes place
has not been determined. In fact, the whole subject is
surrounded with difficulty.

In Chapter III. we have endeavored to show how im-
portant it is to obtain animals that will eat and digest a
large amount of food. And it may be recollected that,
in Dr. Miles' experiments (see page 122), 100 Ibs. of meal,
eaten by one pig, gave an increase of lO1)., Ibs., while the
same quantity, eaten by two pigs, gave only an increase
of 3 Ibs. The food was of the same character, and the
difference in the results is due to the better appetite and
digestive powers of the pig that ate double the amount
of food. But the fact shows how important it is to pro-
vide food that pigs will eat and digest.

Those who advocate cooking food for animals, fre-
quently assert that it " saves one-quarter of the food."
We know of no satisfactory experiments which establish
the fact. And, at any rate, it may safely be asserted thnt
the saving of food is only a very small part of the advant-
age to be gained from cooking. What we should aim
at in breeding and feeding, is to get pigs to eat 25 per
cent more, rather than 25 per cent less, food. We have
assumed (see page 22) that 75 per cent of the food a pig
eats is ordinarily required to support the vital functions.
If a pig eats 100 Ibs. of corn in a month, and gains 20
Ibs., we assume that 75 Ibs. are used to support the vital
functions, and 25 Ibs. are left available for growth. On
this supposition, take three pigs, and put them in separate
pens. Feed one whole raw corn, another raw corn-meal,
and another cooked corn-meal, and assume that one eats

COOKIXG FOOD FOB PIGS.

225

871 13 Ibs. during the month, the other 100 Ibs., and the
other 125 Ibs., and we may then get the following results:

Food con-
sumed.

Food requir-
ed to sustain
the vital
functions.

Food availa-
ble for in-
crease of
growth.

Growth of
Pigs.

No.
No.
No.

1, Whole Corn, Raw
2 Raw Meal

87i/2 Ibs.
100 "
125

75 Ibs.
75 "
75 "

12H Iba.
25
50

10 Ibs.
20 "
40 "

3, Cooked Meal

This is assuming that the grinding and cooking do not
add anything to the intrinsic nutriment of the food, but
merely render it more digestible. We assume that when
whole raw corn is fed, the pig can only digest 871 |a Ibs.
per month, but when ground and cooked, it can digest
125 Ibs., and gains four times as fast. Of course these
figures are only hypothetical. They may, or may not, be
true. We give them merely to illustrate our meaning,
and to show how important it is to have pigs that can eat
and digest a large amount of food — and consequently how
important it is to provide food readily digestible.

It may be true that cooking enables the pigs to fatten
on less food, but if so, it must be owing to the inability
of the pigs to digest the raw food. They must void a
portion of it in an undigested state. To a certain extent
this can be avoided by feeding less grain, and furnishing
the necessary bulk to fill the stomach by supplying a por-
tion of less concentrated food. When pigs are allowed
the run of a clover pasture, they may be fed whole grain
without much loss from passing it in an undigested state.
The feeder, by examining the feces, can tell how much
grain he can feed without loss. If he feeds more than the
pigs can digest, he suffers a loss of grain ; but if he feeds
less, he suffers a certain amount of digestive power to
run to waste. His profits will depend very much on his
ability to guard against loss from either source.

We cannot too often call attention to the great mistake
which many farmers make in not- feeding any grain to

226 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

their pigs during the summer and autumn, while at pas-
ture. It is not uncommon to furnish the pigs nothing but
grass and the slops from the house until the time the corn
crop is ready to husk. They are then shut up in a pen,
and thrown whole corn on the ear. The pigs have been
accustomed to a bulky food, from which they can extract
little more than sufficient nutriment to keep them alive,
when, suddenly, they are shut up, and allowed nothing
but food containing, in a given bulk, three or four times
as much nutriment. What wonder if a portion of it is
voided in an undigested state ? If the pig fills his
stomach, what else can he do with it ? His powers of
digestion and assimilation are not three times as great
to-day as they were yesterday, when he had. nothing but
grass. How much more reasonable it would be to feed
him a little corn when at grass, and a little grass, or other
succulent food, when shut up to fatten !

The corn fed to a pig while at grass increases his pow-
ers of digestion and assimilation, and as he approaches
maturity, he will be able to digest and assimilate more
concentrated food. The aim must be to furnish him all
he can possibly eat, digest, and assimilate. It is here that
cooking comes to our aid. It enables us to " crowd " the
fattening pigs forward rapidly to maturity. It is a costly
process, feeding pigs wholly on grain, and we must shorten
the time as much as possible. The pigs should be kept
growing rapidly during the summer, increasing the sup-
ply of grain as the pigs get older, and when shut up to
fatten, four or five weeks feeding on rich, cooked food,
should fill them up with lard.

By looking at our market reports, it will be seen that
there is a difference of two or three cents per pound in
the price of pigs, according to their condition and quality.
And, in point of fact, there is even a still greater differ-
ence in the intrinsic value of the pork and lard to the
consumers.

COOKING POOD FOR PIGS, 227

This is a j>oint that should not be overlooked in esti-
mating the advantages of liberal feeding. Take two lit-
ters of ten pigs, each born, say, the first of September. -
Let both litters have the run of a barn-yard, with the slops
from the house, dairy, etc. Let one litter have nothing
but what they can pick up. Let the other have what
they can pick up, and be supplied with a feed of grain,
in addition, that shall send them to bed every night with
a full stomach. By the first of May, the one litter should
weigh 200 Ibs. each ; the other would be better than the
average if they weigh 100 Ibs. each. Then let both litters
have the run of a pasture, with the slops from the house,
etc. Let the one have nothing else, and the other be al-
lowed a little grain every day — enough to fill their stom-
achs every night, and make them sleep comfortably. By
the first of October, the one litter will weigh — say 350
Ibs., the other 150 Ibs. each. Then shut them both up to
fatten. Let both litters have all the corn they can eat.
Give one cooked corn-meal, and the other corn in the ear.
In a month, the one should weigh 400 Ibs. each, the other
175 Ibs. each. Last year the one litter would have sold,
say for 10 cents per lb., live weight, the other for 7'|9
cents, and we have the following results:

10 pigs, 400 Ibs. each, at 10 cents $400.00

10 pigs, 175 Ibs. each, at 754 cents 131.25

To pay for extra feed $268.75

We may estimate the extra feed as equal to an average
of half a pint of corn per day, each, from the first of Oc-
tober (when the pigs are a month old) to the first of
December, say half a bushel of corn for each pig. From
the first of December to the first of May, say one pint
per day, or less than 2'| 2 bushels for each pig. From May
until October, allow one quart per day, or, say 5 bushels
to each pig. This would be 8 bushels of corn to each
pig. And we have no sort of doubt that, in the circum-
stances assumed, this 8 bushels of extra corn on each pig,
10*

228

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

or 80 bushels in all, would make the difference shown by
the figures just given.

To cook grain for pigs merely for the sake of u making
it go further," will seldom pay on ordinary farms. This
is particularly the case where grain is^ comparatively
cheap, and fuel dear. It is profitable only when adopted
for the purpose of enabling the pigs to eat and digest a
greater quantity of food, and bring them rapidly forward
for market.

And it is still an open question whether we cannot
adopt some cheaper method of increasing the digestibility
of grain than grinding or cooking it. Where grain can
be ground cheaply on the farm, we would grind or crush
it for all kinds of stock. But when it has to be sent
some distance to a mill, it is worth while to see if we can-
not prepare it at .home.

In Mr. Lawes' experiments on sheep, eight Hampshire
Down sheep were put in two pens, four in each pen, and
allowed all the mangel wurzel they would eat. Pen 1 was
allowed 1 Ib. of barley for each sheep, per day, the barley
being coarsely ground. Pen 2 was allowed the same
quantity of barley, also coarsely ground, but before being
fed, it was soaked in cold water for 24 or 36 hours. The
experiment lasted ten weeks. The following are the
results :

POOD CONSUMED BY EACH
SHEEP PER WEEK.

Increase of
each sheep per
week.

Barley.

Mangels.

Pen 1 — Barley-meal,
Pen 2- " "

fed dry
" soaked

7 Ibs.

1171/1 "'

2 Ibs., y2 oz.

2 " &YZ "

Soaking the barley enabled the sheep to eat more food,
and grow 25 per cent faster than those having dry barley.
Had the sheep been allowed more of the soaked barley,
the result would probably have been still more in favor of
the practice. One of the sheep in pen 2 gained 4 Ibs. per
week. He probably got more than his just proportion

COOKING FOOD FOR PIGS. 239

of barley, and the other three were obliged to make up
the deficiency in eating more mangels. And so the total
gain, in proportion to total food consumed, is not as great
as it otherwise would have been. The amount, of actual
dry matter in the food, required to produce 1 Ib. of in-
crease, is nearly identical in both pens — 81 |a Ibs.

With pigs, when they are allowed all the grain they
will eat, we have no doubt that soaking the grain would
show still better results. In this country, where we feed
so few roots, the experience of farmers indicates that they
have a greater nutritive value than the mere amount of
nutriment they contain would indicate. This is attribu-
table, to a certain extent, to the fact that the food in the
roots is intimately mixed with a large amount of water.
Now, by soaking grain, it absorbs a considerable amount
of water. Barley will absorb nearly half its weight of
cold water. When cooked until it bursts open, it doubt-
less absorbs a still greater quantity. In the absence of
roots, therefore, we may obtain food somewhat resembling
them by soaking or cooking grain. With the requisite
number of tubs, it is an easy matter to have a constant
supply of soaked grain for pigs or other stock. In fact,
it would not be a difficult matter to soak the grain until
it had absorbed all the water it would take up, and then
keep it in a mass, from twelve to sixteen inches deep,
until it begins to sprout, whereby a portion of the starch
is converted into sugar: As the grain grows, it must be
spread out in a thinner layer. But it is probably better
to feed it out soon after it commences to sprout, as the
process of germination is attended with more or less loss
of carbon.

Where whole grain is steamed, there is a great saving
of time and fuel by soaking the grain for 24 or 36 hours,
before letting on the steam. We are inclined to think
that it can be cooked in this way to fully as much advan-
tage as when it is ground into meal. Grain, whether

230 , HARRIS ON THE PIG.

whole, or ground into meal, cannot be steamed without
water, and if it could be, it is doubtful if it would be as
good for the animals. The absorption of the water, and
having it intimately mixed with the meal, is one of the
advantages of cooking. Boussingault well says : " The
absolute necessity of a sufficient degree of moistness in
the food, in order to secure its due and easy digestion,
greatly countenances the practice which is beginning to
be introduced in some places of steeping hay for some
time in water before giving it to cattle." We think there
can be no question that soaking or cooking food renders
it much more easily digestible, and if so, the advantages
of the practice, where liberal feeding is adopted, cannot
be doubted.

We may add that whole grain, thoroughly soaked or
boiled, swells to about double its bulk, and consequently,
in feeding, we should allow, at least, twice the quantity
that the pigs eat when dry. To attain the best results,
we should watch the pigs eating, and when they have
eaten up all clean, give a little more, and encourage them
to eat as much as possible. There is an amusing story in
the American Agriculturist that illustrates the impor-
tance of inducing pigs to eat as much as possible.

" A good story was lately told us of several neighbors
who, year after year, vied with one another in trying to
produce the fattest hog, each taking a pig from the same
litter, or in some way starting fair, and square with pigs
of the same age and size, and doing his best to make it
as fat as possible before Christmas. One of the farmers
invariably beat the others out and out so thoroughly, that
his good luck could never be accounted for as accidental.
The secret he kept to himself, but being watched by some
one determined to find it out, the discovery was made
that jealousy is a grand appetizer for hogs. First the pet
monster was allowed to fill himself to his heart's content,
and when his appetite was satiated, a half-starved shoat

COOKING FOOD FOR PIGS. 231

was let in to the pen by a side door. The fat one would
at once begin to fight it off, and meanwhile, to gorge him-
self, simply to prevent the poor, squealing victim of un-
satisfied cravings getting any food. This was a daily

Fig. 53. — JEALOUSY AN AID IN FATTENING.

programme, and the result was as stated. The fact is
worth bearing in mind for, in preparing hogs for exhibi-
tion, or for some reason, we are often desirous of expedit-
ing the fattening process."

232 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

CHAPTER XXV.

SUMMARY.

It may be well, in conclusion, to state a few facts that
may have been given in previous chapters, but which it
may be convenient to place here in a concise form for
reference.

The leading breeds of English pigs are Berkshire,
Essex, and Yorkshire. The Essex are entirely black, the
Berkshire are also dark colored pigs, but not so black as
the Essex, and have also white spots on the head and feet.
There are large and small Berkshires. The Yorkshires
are white, but occasionally dark spots show themselves
on the skin, and these are not considered decisive evidence
that the pigs are not thorough-bred. There are small,
medium, and large, or mammoth, Yorkshires.

The Essex will, at maturity, dress from 400 to 450 Ibs.
They are the largest of the small breeds. Berkshires
often exceed this weight, but when such is the case, they
would be classed as Large Berkshires. The Prince Albert
Suffolks are small Yorkshires.

The leading breeds, originating in the United States,
are the Cheshires, or Jefferson County, the Chester
Whites, or Chester County, and the Magie, or Butler
County pigs. The China-Polands, or China, and Big
Polands, are said to be the same breed as the Magie, or
Butler County. The Illinois Swine Breeders' Association,
at its meeting in 1870, resolved to call them the "Magie"
breed. - They are a large, coarse breed, with black and
white, and occasionally sandy, spots. Like the Chester
Whites, they will doubtless afford splendid sows for
crossing with Essex, Berkshire, or other refined thorough-

SUMMARY. 233

bred boars. The Jefferson County are a very handsome
white breed, essentially Yorkshires.

Pigs should always have access to fresh water. No
matter how " sloppy " the food is, or how much dish-water
is furnished, they should be furnished with pure water.
We are satisfied that pigs often suffer for want of it.

Salt, sulphur, charcoal, ashes, bone-dust, or superphos-
phate, should occasionally be placed where the pigs can
eat what they wish of them.

If thoroughly boiled, pigs will eat beans, though they
are not fond of them. Peas they eat witli avidity, and
when as cheap as corn, should be fed in preference, as
they afford much the richest manure. Half peas and
half corn is probably better than either alone. Peas
make very firm pork.

Oil-cake, when fed in large quantities, injures the flavor
and quality of the pork, but we have fed small quantities
of it, with decided advantage to the health and rapid
growth of the pigs, without any apparent injury to the
lard or pork. It is quite useful for breeding sows. It
keeps the bowels loose, and increases the quantity and
quality of the milk.

Bran, except in small quantities, is not a valuable food
for fattening pigs. It is too bulky. But when rich, con-
centrated food is given, such as corn, barley, peas, or oil-
cake, pigs should be allowed all the bran they will eat,
placed in a separate trough. In this way it becomes a
very useful and almost indispensable article to the pig
feeder. It is also very useful for breeding sows.

The best roots to raise for pigs are parsnips and mangel
wurzel.

The period of gestation in a sow is almost invariably
sixteen weeks. In three or four days after pigging, a sow
in good condition will generally take the boar. But, as a
rule, it is not well to allow it. If she passes this period,
she will not take the boar until after the pigs are weaned.

234 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

If she fails the first time, she will " come round again "
in from two to three weeks.

For mild cases of diarrhoea, nothing is better than
fresh, skimmed milk thickened with wheat flour.

Pigs should be castrated a week or so before they are
weaned.

Nothing in the management of pigs is more important
than to provide a trough for the sucking pigs, separate
from the sow, and to commence feeding them when two
or three weeks old.

Many of the diseases of pigs are contagious, and the
instant a pig is observed to be sick, it should be removed
to a separate pen. And it would be well to regard this
single case of sickness as an indication that something is
wrong in the general management of the pigs. Clean
out the pens, scald the troughs, scraj>e out all decaying
matter from under and around them, sprinkle chloride of
lime about the pen, or, what is probably better, carbolic
acid. Dry earth is a cheap and excellent disinfectant.
Use it liberally at all times. Whitewash the walls of the
pens. Wash all the inside and outside wood-work,
troughs, plank floors, etc., with crude petroleum. It is
the cheapest and best antiseptic yet discovered.

To destroy lice, wash the pig all over with crude pe-
troleum, and the next day give him a thorough washing
with warm soft water and soap, with the free use of a
scrubbing brush.

In the absence of anything better, we use petroleum
for all diseases of the skin in pigs, flesh wounds, etc.

For a mild blister, in cases of cold, or threatened inflam-
mation of the lungs, foment the body, under the forelegs,
for an hour or so with cloths wrung out of hot water,
and rub on a little saleratus or soda occasionally during
the operation, to soften the skin, then apply petroleum.
This will then act as a mild irritant, and heal at the same
time.

SUMMARY. 235

Mange, or itch, is caused by a minute insect, which is
probably hatched from, eggs adhering to the skin. There
is no way of curing it, or of preventing its spread, except
by killing the insects and their eggs — not only on the
pigs themselves, but also on the sides of the pens, posts,
or anything that the diseased pig rubs against. To de-
stroy them on the wood-work, nothing is probably so
good as petroleum, and though we have not tried it, we
have little doubt that it would also cure the pigs, espe-
cially if applied before the disease has made much head-
way.

The disease usually manifests itself on the thin skin
under the armpits and thighs, and inside the forelegs.
At first, small red blotches or pimples appear, and these
gradually spread as the insects multiply and burrow under
the skin. It is well to give sulphur and other cooling
medicine in the food, but the real aim must be to kill the
insects by the prompt and continued use of carbolic acid,
petroleum, or a strong decoction of tobacco. Solutions
of arsenic and corrosive sublimate are used in severe
cases, but are dangerous articles to place in the hands of
inexperienced persons. " Unguentum," or mercurial oint-
ment, is efficacious, but is not easily applied.

Measles should be regarded as an evidence of bad treat-
ment. In-and-in breeding, dirty pens, impure food, and
especially allowing them to eat the droppings of other
animals, are probably some of the causes of this disease.
Where fattening pigs are fed on whole corn, and the
store pigs or breeding sows are allowed to eat their drop-
pings, which they frequently do, it should surprise no one
if these pigs, or, still more likely, their offspring, are at-
tacked with measles. From the investigations of Dr.
Thudicum and others, it is now clearly proved that mea-
sles in pigs is caused by small entozoa, or internal para-
sites, which are embryo forms of the common tapeworm.
Measly pork is a fruitful source of tapeworms, and is unfit

216 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

for human food. We cannot too earnestly caution our
readers against breeding from pigs that have ever been
affected with measles, or allowing their breeding sows
to eat the droppings of other animals, and especially of
their own. Raw flesh meat, too, should never be fed to
pigs. It contains the embryo tapeworms, and will be
quite likely to produce measles either in the pigs eating it
or in their offspring. Dogs are notoriously subject to
tapeworms (probably from eating raw flesh), and where
the dog tax is not enforced, we may expect measly pork.

The seat of measles is the cellular matter immediately
under the skin. On the skin itself, in pigs affected with
this disease, will be found a number of small watery pus-
tules, of a reddish color, and it is attended with cough,
fever, pustules under the tongue, discharge from the nose,
running from the eyes, weakness of the hind legs, and
other indications of general debility. Unless neglected,
the disease seldom proves fatal. Sulphur, saltpeter, Epsom
salts, or other cooling medicines should be given, with
a liberal supply of wholesome, nutritious, and easily di-
gested food.

Rheumatism is not an uncommon disease, especially in
thorough-bred pigs, when kept in damp sties, or furnished
with rich food one week and poor food the next, or kept
in a warm, ill-ventilated sty, and then exposed to storms,
and otherwise badly treated. The remedy is Rochelle
salts, good treatment, and liberal feeding. Give the salt
for two or three days, say one ounce a day for a 100-lb.
pig, and less, or more, according to size, and then omit
them for a few days.

Protrusion of the rectum, especially with young pigs
suffering from a severe attack of diarrhoea, is not uncom-
mon. Wash the gut with warm water, rub on a little
laudanum, and then gently press the part back into its
place, pushing up the finger for a short distance. A little
sucking pig may have five drops of laudanum.

SUMMARY. 237

Pigs should be provided with scratching posts, having
auger-holes for pegs at different heights, to accommodate
pigs of different sizes.

Stephens, in his " Book of the Farm," gives the follow-
ing description of what may be considered the perfection
of form in a fat pig : " The back should be nearly straight,
and though arched a little from head to tail, that is no
fault. The back should be uniformly broad, and rounded
across along the whole body. The touch all along the
back should be firm, but springy, the thinnest skin spring-
ing most. The shoulders, sides, and hams, should be
deep perpendicularly, and in a straight line from shoulder
to ham. The closing behind should be filled up ; the legs
short and bone small ; the neck short, thick, and deep ;
the cheeks round, and filled out ; the face straight, nose
fine, eyes bright, ears pricked, and the head small in pro-
portion to the body. A curled tail is indicative of a
strong back. All these characteristics," he adds, " may
be seen in the figure of the brood sow (fig. 52, page 180),
though, of course, the sow is not in the fattened state."

233 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

CHAPTER XXVL

APPENDIX.

J. Mackelcan, Esq., one of the editors of the Canada
Farmer, and an intelligent and careful observer, favors us
with the following notes in regard to his management of
pigs.

" My plan of keeping store bogs over winter was to give them a good
warm sty, with abundance of room and well littered with straw. They
were fed on a mess made of boiled Swede turnips, mixed with pea chaff
and finely cut clover hay; the turnips, after being boiled soft, were
placed in a barrel, and the chaff and cut hay mashed into them. In ad-
dition, they got all the refuse of the kitchen ; what milk that could be
spared from the dairy being given to the late dropped fall pigs, which
had a separate sty to themselves. As soon as the clover was well up in
spring, they had the run of a clover field, on which they seemed to
thrive, so that, when put up to fatten, at 12 to 16 months old they were
about 300 Ibs. weight each. Being in good condition, the process of
fatting did not take more than three or four weeks ; they were al-
lowed all they could eat of peas that had been soaked in water until they
were soft and had begun to ferment. Generally speaking, hogs are fat-
ted here by simply giving them hard, whole peas as much as they can
eat for about a month, sometimes in the field where they grew, the hogs
being put up in a corner and fed from the stack ; but it is a wasteful
process. The best farmers prefer to either grind the peas and then mix
with a little water, enough to make into dough, or, if there is no mill
near enough to grind them, to soak the whole peas in water until soft,
and then feed to the hogs. The Berkshires (the breed I kept) seem to
have an aptitude for eating and thriving on clover; my plan with the
young spring pigs was to take them from the sow at eight weeks old, shut
them up for a few days, and feed on sour milk or buttermilk in which a
little shorts or meal had been stirred. As soon as the clover was pretty
well grown, say about the beginning of May, put them in a small pad-
dock by themselves. The paddock must be well seeded with a succulent
growth of young clover, and can be made of rails or boards in a corner
of a clover field, but must be close enough near the bottom to keep the
pigs from getting out. To prevent rooting, they had better be ringed.
The young pigs will live and thrive on the clover all summer as long as
there is plenty of it. In addition, they should have all the spare milk or
whey from the dairy, with some meal occasionally, or, if there is no

APPENDIX. 239

milk, allow each half a pound of meal per day in water. They must have
enough to drink, a little salt once in a while, a shed with a tight roof to
shelter them from rain storms or hot suus, and a few shovelfuls of dry
ashes in which to wallow and keep off lice. This last may be omitted
of only given once in a while. For young pigs, meal should always be
cooked or scalded, as raw meal is apt to give them the scours. They
should also have free access to charcoal. It is not good for them
to eat ashes, nor will they, if they have charcoal ; but an ash heap to
wallow in will keep them free from lice and fleas. I should also add
that my store hogs readily eat fresh cut, green clover, so that, if they have
but a small paddock and eat it all down, they can be fed cut clover thrown
over the fence to them."

F. W. Stone, Esq., Moreton Lodge, Guelph, Ontario,
writes :

" I consider the improved Berkshire the most useful breed for far-
mers. With pigs, as with every other kind of improved stock, farmers
should use nothing but pure-bred male animals. Many farmers send
their sows to a pure-bred boar, and are so well pleased with the young
pigs, that they select one of them for a boar, and in this way the im-
provement is soon lost. * * There are many unprincipled men who
sell grades for pure breeds, and those who purchase them are disappoint-
ed in trying to improve their stock. The breeders of pure-bred stock
Buffer more from the false representations of such persons than in any
other way. Parties, when commencing to breed, or wishing to improve
their common stock, should purchase only from reliable breeders, and
not from jobbers or traders, who sell anything they can make money
by. The young breeder should select the most perfect animals he can
find. It is better, in commencing, to invest money in quality rather
than in numbers.

u I believe it is better for young sows not to have pigs until they are
14 or 16 months old, though, if the pigs have been well fed, and proper-
ly cared for since they were' farrowed, good litters may often be obtained
at 12 months. A sow, not well fed, is generally pulled down too much
to gain the size she otherwise would, by having her first litter before
she is 12 mouths old.

"In Canada, pigs are generally fed with pea-meal, or peas and oats,
chopped and mixed with potatoes or boiled turnips. It is my opinion
that regularity in feeding is an exceedingly important point. Those,
who throw down, at one time, double the amount of food the pigs can
eat, and then let the proper time go by without feeding anything, find
that their pork costs them double what it costs a careful and regular
feeder who takes pleasure in watching his pigs eat."

James Howard, M. P., of Bedford, England, a very
successful breeder of Large or Medium Yorkshires, writes :
" Mr. Fisher, of Carhead, Yorkshire, has published a capi-

240 HARKIS ON THE PIG.

tal lecture he delivered on the management of pigs, which
I will send you. I enclose also a letter from Mr. Sidney.

" The White Leicesters have disappeared. They had little or no hair.
The large Yorks (not the Mammoth) are the most profitable as thjey
grow so fast, and are turned into money quickly.

" There are no such animals as pure Suffolks. They are the Fisher
Hobbs Essex variety.

"If you want sows to breed well, do not keep them too fat, nor yet
in a weakly condition. Let them have a field to run about in. We used
to fat a great many ' porkers ' with pulped roots, straw, chaff, and Indian
corn, but we have now such a large demand for breeding pigs, that we
have none loft for fatting. With respect to feeding, the food should be
given warm, not hot."

From this last remark I conclude that the pulped roots,
chaff, and Indian meal were cooked.

The following is an extract from Mr. Sidney's letter
to Mr. Howard :

" I do not think our pigs have improved during the last ten years
[since Mr. Sidney's book was written]. On the contrary, our Shows
are likely to cultivate fat at the expense of constitution. I think Mr.
Harris mistakes my advice. [I thought he condemned the use of an
Essex or Berkshire boar with a white sow.] A cross of black and white
answers well for feeding, as most first crosses do. I observe that black
pigs have made their way in Yorkshire."

The following extracts are from Mr. John Fisher's lec-
ture on the breeding and management of pigs, alluded to
by Mr. Howard. Mr. Fisher is the manager of Carhead
Farm, near Crosshills, Yorkshire, and an experienced and
successful breeder. We should remark that Carhead is a
grass farm, and all the food for the pigs is purchased. Mr.
F. says:

" I am a decided advocate for early breeding and early feeding, and
consider October or November the best time for putting sows to the
boar for the general crop. They will then bring their litter in March,
and get them weaned, and take the boar again early in May, so that their
second litter may get strong enough to stand the winter ; and if the
young sows, bred in March, have been liberally fed, and allowed plenty of
exercise during the summer, they will be quite ready to take the boar in
November, and bring their first litter at twelve months old. And we
consider this the best way either to commence or increase a stock of
breeding pigs, and should not endorse the claim to early maturity in any
breed of pigs, if they were not unfit to rear a litter of young at twelve

APPENDIX. 241

months old. If young sows are allowed to run until they are twelve or
fifteen months old before they are put to breeding, they are very apt to
miss their way altogether ; and we find that the most successful breed-
ers are those which are put to, when young, and are kept regularly
breeding; consequently we do not disappoint them, but allow them to
bring two litters a year. After their first litter we keep them sparingly,
except when suckling. When they have weaned their spring litter, and
have taken the boar again, they are turned into a grass field, in which
there is a large shed, with rails across the doorway to prevent cattle en-
tering. In this shed they sleep at night, or retire in rainy weather. If
the grass is not very plentiful, we give about a pint each of Indian corn
per day, scattering it on the grass, and they can drink water from a stone
trough which is fed by a spring, and placed near the ground that they
may reach it conveniently. But they mostly gain so much flesh from
being well fed while suckling, that they require little more than grass ;
and some which have had nothing else, have done as well as we could
wish them.

" When the sows are brought into the breeding house, they are at
once put on the same kind of food as will be continued to them while
they are suckling. They are turned out for a few minutes twice a day,
before feeding, which keeps the bowels in proper order, and the house
dry and sweet, for it is very important that the bowels are open at this
time, for, if constipated, the milk will not come freely, and the young
seldom do well ; besides which, it interferes with the free passage of the
urine, causing great uneasiness, and, if not removed, it would lead to
serious consequences, for which purpose we give frequent injections of
warm water, and walk the patient carefully out, for a few minutes at a
time, until we see that the obstruction has passed. Sometimes we mix
a little common soap in the warm water, and have never experienced
much difficulty when these means have been used.

"We give a moderate bed of short straw three or four days before
they are expected to farrow, that it may become soft by the time they
are due, which, as the time approaches, they will collect on a heap, and
place themselves upon it in such a manner that by raising the body it
assists them in their efforts during parturition, and this, as well as most
other matters at this time, we leave entirely to themselves, believing
that they can mostly manage their own business best without our inter-
ference. And except with very fat sows, or during very cold weather,
we do not remain with them while farrowing, but give an occasional eye
to them to see that there is no unusual delay. If the presentations are
proper, they will often pass three or four in as many minutes, but when
the hind feet are presented foremost, they get on slowly, and sometimes
half the litter will come in this way, but assistance in such cases will mostly
do more harm than good, for in drawing the birth by the hind legs, the
viscera is forced into the chest, and the life is thereby endangered to no
purpose, for if ever they get so far on their way as to be within the reach
of ordinary aid, they will be passed safer without it.
11

242 HAEEIS ON THE PIG.

" The pigs usually begin to eat along with the mother when about
three weeks old, but may be learnt much younger if a little warm milk
be given to them two or three times a day, while the sow is removed
from them for a few minutes. About the time they begin to eat, they
frequently suffer from diarrhoea, which, if it continue for any length of
time, will weaken them very much. The disorder will sometimes be
caused by allowing the mother to eat grass or other green food when
turned out, or even by a change from one kind of meat to another, for
which reason we avoid as far as we can any change of food during the
time they are suckling, and continue the same to the young after they
are weaned. And as it is very difficult as well as dangerous to administer
medicine to them by force, we do not attempt to relieve them by that
means, neither can they be induced to take it if mixed with their food,
for they will not eat at such times, but depend entirely on the teat, for
which reasons we diet the mother carefully, and allow as much small
coal as she will eat, throwing a shovelful upon the bed, that the young
ones may eat a little if they like ; we also strew the floor with sawdust
to prevent bad smells, keeping them warm, and giving as much fresh air
as possible. If the purging continues, we change them to a fresh sty,
taking care that it is dry and warm, and well aired. If young pigs can
be allowed a run out with the mother for half an hour in the morning
and evening, they will grow all the faster for it ; but the middle of the
day, when the sun is hot, should be avoided, for if their backs get much
scorched it will retard their growth for a while.

"All such as are not required for breeding purposes, should be cas-
trated at from four to five weeks old, that they may recover before they
are weaned. There are two ways of doing most things, and the best
way is generally the easier, and always to be preferred, and in catching
young pigs for castration, or any other purpose, great care should be
used, as they are easily lamed, and having covered the window and closed
the door to exclude the light, the operator should allow them to settle
quietly in a corner, and taking the right hind leg with his right hand,
then with his left hand he should lay firmly hold of the same leg, above
the hough joint, and quickly passing his right hand forward, and under
the chest, lay firmly hold of the left fore leg, and raise the pig with his
right hand, using as little force as possible on the hind legs, and never
hold them up by the heels, as the intestines are liable to get twisted if
held in that position.

" We usually wean at from seven to ten weeks old, and separate the
boars from the sows soon after. We seldom keep more than five or six
together in the same sty, and as they grow larger, we reduce the num-
ber, in proportion to the size of the sty.

"The feeder commences in the morning about seven o'clock, begin-
ning at one end, and regulating the food according to circumstances,
and as he goes on, he rouses every pig up, and sees that all come to take
their breakfast ; should any refuse he reports the case ; and having fin-
ished feeding he takes his barrow, fork, shovel, and besom, and proceeds

APPENDIX. 243

in the same order to clean the sties ; for, on being roused up, after lay-
ing still all night, they empty themselves while eating, and this becomes
habitual and keeps their beds clean and dry, which is a matter of great
importance to us, as we have all our straw to buy at a dear rate, and
have to economise it accordingly, for which reason most of our sties are
provided with wooden sleeping benches similar to that given in the de-
scription of the breeding house. So proceeding to No. 1, he turns the
occupants out, shakes up the bed, sweeps all clean, and taking up with
the shovel what had to be removed, he places it in the barrow, returns
them to their sty again, and passing on to No. 2, treating them in the
same way, and so on to the end. By this means the sties are kept clean
during the greater part of the day ; while out, they have free access to
a heap of small coal, which is kept in a corner of the yard entirely for
their use, of which they seldom fail to avail themselves, whenever they
have an opportunity ; there is also a trough with water, of which they
sometimes drink a little.

" To enable pigs to thrive properly, they must be kept in a state of
robust health, for which purpose, proper shelter and a certain amount
of exercise, is quite as necessary as good feeding, and all dark, damp,
crampy sties should be avoided. There is no place in which young
growing stores do better than a good straw-yard during the winter
months.

"Pigs will occasionally catch cold, especially when in low condition;
but, if taken in time, and placed in a warm sty by themselves, with a
little extra nursing, such as warm milk and water, with a little bran or
pollard, not forgetting the warm water injections if the bowels get out
of order, they will mostly be right again in a few days. If the case be a
bad one, and accompanied by much fever, and the patient will lie still,
we cover up with a wet rag, leaving only the nose out, pouring cold wa-
ter on to saturate it thoroughly, and then cover up with two or three
sacks to keep the steam in, and have found this bath give very great re-
lief. Pigs have a very great objection to any kind of restraint, as well
as a strong dislike to physic, and if held for the purpose of administer-
ing it, they struggle and scream so much, that they do themselves more
harm by it, than the medicine is likely to do them good ; besides, if not
done in a careful manner, there is great danger in forcing any liquid
into their mouths, for if introduced while they are screaming, they are
almost certain to be choked by it, so that the operator must wait until
they have done screaming, which will mostly be when they are out of
breath and cannot go on any longer, for which reason we have not used
medicine for several years past. They have also a very decided objec-
tion to strangers being admitted into their society, even if one of their
fellows leave them for a few days, on their return they are beset and
worried in a most unfriendly manner ; and if the intruder cannot find
means of retreat, they will often get cut and gored a good deal; where
the teeth penetrate beyond the skin, swellings will arise, which if they
become very large, they may be carefully opened with a lance, or sharp

244 HABKIS ON THE PIG.

pointed knife, on the lower side, directing the point upwards, that the
matter may escape, when they will soon heal without further trouble.

" Fat heavy pigs are easily lamed in the hind-quarters or hind legs,
and should be very carefully driven over slippery or uneven ground.
When so lamed, the butcher is the best remedy and the sooner the bet-
ter, as they lose flesh fast, when they come to lie and cannot rise easily.
They are also subject to rheumatic attacks, especially in the hind legs,
which may easily be mistaken for accidental lameness ; sometimes they
will suddenly become lame in one leg, and then the lameness will as
suddenly change to the other, or perhaps leave them altogether. I con-
sulted Professor Simonds, of the Royal Veterinary College, on this dis-
ease, and he recommended a strong stimulating liniment, or liquid
blister to be applied to the hough joint, and well rubbed in, and I have
used it with very beneficial results ; also, if confined for any length of
time where the wet litter is allowed to accumulate under them, their
hoofs grow to a great length, and the feet become unsound and full of
Clefts, when the hoofs should be shortened, for which purpose we use a
pair of strong, wire-clipping pinchers, taking care not to injure the sensi-
tive part of the foot, and trim with a shepherd's knife ; and for diseased
feet we have found nothing so good as a bran poultice, with two or three
spoonfuls of fresh brewer's yeast mixed with it, and put in a strong bag
or boot, into which the foot is introduced, and secured with a string
when the animal is laid down. It may fye kept wet by pouring water on
it two or three times a day, and changed daily."

T. L. Harison, Esq., Morley, St. Lawrence Co., 1ST. Y.,
writes :

" I do not think I can give you any ideas of value as to the breeds and
breeding of pigs, for my experience has been with Suffolks only, and
the breeding them has been with me a matter of great simplicity, and in
which I have found no difficulties to contend with. I have found the
Suffolks hardy, prolific, good nurses, and good feeders. Those who
have had barren sows have, I think, allowed them to get too fat before
breeding. This is the only risk that I know of, and it is to be guarded
against. My plan was to keep over such young sows as I selected for
breeders generally from fall litters, hut seldom from spring litters.
These were usually kept in a yard or in a small grass field, so that they
were on the ground and had plenty of exercise, and when served about
December 1st would be from 14 to 16 months old and in fair (extra, per-
haps) store condition. After they were with pig, they would of course
during the winter get fat, but in my breeding that never did any harm.
My only trouble was in the loss of young pigs, in consequence of the
milk of their mothers being too rich. This makes it necessary to be
careful how you feed the sows while suckling, and I found that bran
with the refuse of the house made a better food than grain at such times.

" I do not know about plans of pig pens. I have never seen any that
I thought had much merit. In fact, I would never use pens, except for

APPENDIX. 245

fattening hogs, for the boars in use, and occasionally for breeding sows
before farrowing ; but, except in the first case, there should be small
yards attached. The best place for pigs is a yard with a well-made shed
attached,the shed having doors that can be closed in very severe weather."

Hon. John M. Milliken, of Maplewood, Hamilton,
Ohio, in addition to the facts already quoted in regard to
the Butler County or Magie pigs, writes as follows : " I
wish to add the following statement furnished me by one
of our breeders, whose truthfulness is unquestioned. He
bred a sow which came on the 10th of June, 1866. On
the 18th of April, 1867, she had 11 pigs, which weighed,
gross, in October following, 2,735 Ibs.

" He fattened the sow the winter following, and her net
weight was 535 Ibs. The sow pigs he left for breeders,
and sold 5 barrows, aged 8 months and 20 days, which av-
eraged 282 Ibs. net. The history of this sow and her 11
pigs proves that they possessed early fattening properties,
large size, and fecundity, — three very desirable qualities."

246

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

INDEX

Allen's, B. A., importation of Berk-
shire 99

Appendix 237

Bakewell's, Robert, breed of pigs. . 18

Barley, Composition of 133

'* Value in feeding 131

Bean meal, Value In feeding 126

Beans as food for pigs 233

44 Composition of 133

Bedfordsmre breed 93

Berkshire breed 50, 74

" A. B. Allen's importation. 99
** and Tarn worth cross..... 83

•' Crossesof 82

" Improved 76

" in the U. S 98

Black and Red pigs 86

Black breeds 73

Blister for pigs.. 284

Boar, Selection of 192

1 ' Treatment of thorough-bred . 206
Bouasinganlt's experiments in feed-
ing 118

Bran, Composition of. 133

" for pigs 239

" Value in feeding 126

Breeding and management of pigs

192, 239

Breeding, Objects in 15

" Principles of 16

Breeding-pens 200

Breeds of pigs 14

Breeds. Definition of large, small,

and medium 25

Breeds, Large vs. small 22

" Leading English 232

" Leading in the U. S 232

" Modern English 56

" intheU. S 98

" Sidney on large and small.. 32

Buckinghamshire breed 97

Bushey breed 97

Butler Co., Ohio, pigs 113

Cattle, Gain from feeding 13

" Weight, Live and dead 192

Castration, Time for 233

Chase's, A. L., Essex pigs 84

" Cheshire " breed 57, 94, 111

Chester Co. White breed 105

" " " " Hog-breed-
ers' Manual on.110
" " " " Paschal

Morrison 106

Chinese breed 51

Codfish, Composition of 133

" Value in feeding 133

Coleshill breed 96

Colds in young pigs 217

Compost, Pig making. 142

Constipation 210

Cooking food for pigs 222

Craonnaire Boar 45

Crosses of thorough-breds 35

Culley on Cheshire pigs 57

Cumberland small breed 63

Davis', Hewitt, experience in pig

feeding 30

Desirable qualities in a pig 20

Devons 33, 87

Diarrhoea in young pigs 217

Diseases of pigs 234

Disinfectants 234

Dorsets 32, 88

Dry earth for pigs 234

" Emperor." 53

English breeds, Improvement of. . . 47
English experiences in pig feeding.181
Essex, Fisher Hobbs' improve-
ments in 53, 82

Essex, Improved... 80

" " Crossesof. 82

" " Historyof. 52

" Imported 100

44 Lord Western's '82

44 Old 52

Experiments in pig feeding. .. .118, 122

Fancy breeds 95

Fattening pigs near large cities — 178

Feeding, A dairy farmer on 187

44 A Yorkshire breeder on.. 188
«4 A Yorkshire farmer on. . .186
" Dr. M. Miles' experiments 118
** English experience in — 181
•* Experiments in 118

INDEX.

247

Feeding Grain 225

" Lawes and Gilbert's ex-
periments in 122

" Mineral substances neces-
sary In 130

" Mr. Baldwin on 182

" Use of sugar in 135

Feet, Unsound 244

Fisher Hobbs' improvements in

Essex 53

Fisher, John, Lecture on breeding

and management 239

Food, Cooking 222

Form of a fat pig 236

" of agoodpig 17

French pigs 45

"General." 68

German pigs 45

Gestation, Period of 233

" Gloucester." 67

Good pigs need good care 37

Grade pigs, Value of. 100

Greyhound hog 44

Hampshire pig 49, 91

Herefordshire breed 50, 94

Howard, James, M. P., on pigs 239

Improvement of the English breeds

of pigs 47

In-and-in breeding 35

Indian meal, Composition of 133

" " Value in feeding 126

Intestines, Proportion to weight of

body 11

Itch 234

Jealousy an aid to fattening 230

Jefferson County breed Ill

Large vs. small breeds and crosses. 22
Lawes and Gilbert's experiments

in pig feeding 122

Lecture by John Fisher 239

Lentil meal, Value in feeding .126

Lentils, Composition of 133

"Liberator." 67

Lice, To destroy 234

Lincolnshire breed 57, 92

Liquid manure 143

Live and dead weight of pigs 191

Lord Western's Essex 52

Mackelcan, J., on management — 237

Magie (Ohio) breed 113, 245

Management of pigs 175, 237

" of thorough-bred pigs.203
Man^e 234

Mangles', George, experience in

feeding 25

Mangles', George, piggery 163

Manure, Table of value of 139

Manure, The pig as a manufacturer

of 141

" Value of liquid .143

" Value to each 100 Ibs. of

pork 141

" Value of pig 137

Measles 235

Michigan Agricultural College, Pig-
gery, etc 147

Middlesex breed 95

Miles' Dr. M. experiments in feedingllS
Milliken, Hon. J. M., on Magie

pigs 113, 245

Mineral food for pigs 130

"Miss Emily." 70

Modern breeds of English pigs 56

Morris', Paschal, piggery 154

Neapolitan breed 52

Norfolk breed.... 93

Nottinghamshire breed 95

Ogden Farm piggery 160

Oil-cake for pigs 233

Old Irish pig 44

OldYorkshire breed 57

Original Old English pig 43

Origin and improvement of our do-
mestic pigs 41

Oxfordshire, Improved 85

Ox, Stomachof 9

Peas for pigs 233

" Raising, for pigs 177

Pen-breeding 200

Petroleum on pigs 234

Pig, Desirable Qualities in 20

Form of a good 17

Quietness in 21

Stomachof 9

Pig feeding 11

" Hewitt Davis on 30

" Why they gain more
rapidly than oxen or sheep. ... 12

Pigs on dairy farms 175

" on grain farms 176

" Origin and improvement of. . 41

" Peasfor 177

** Profit of raising thorough-
bred 220

" require gentle treatment 42

' ' Breeding and rearing. 193

248

HARRIS ON THE PIG.

Pigs, Breeds of. 14

" Cooking food for 222

*' Fattening near large cities. . .178

" Lame 244

" Management of. 175

" Management of thorough-
bred , ...203

u Young, Care of 196, 242

" " Catching 242

" " Colds in 217

** " Diarrhoea in 217, 243

" " Feeding 212

" " Management of. 217

" •* Taming 219

" " Time to wean... 197, 242
" " Treatment of chilled. 212

Piggery, The author's 148

" George Mangles' 163

" Michigan Agricultural Col-

lege 147

" Mr. Roseburgh's 158

" Ogden Farm 160

" Paschal Morris' 154

" Tattenhall (Eng.) 166

Piggeries and pig pens 144

Pig pens 144

" Location of. 144

Pig troughs... 169

•* " Cast-iron 174

" " Convenient 172

•» •* hewn out of a log 170

" " Plank 171

" " Swinging door 173

Pork, Food required to produce 100

Ibs 11

Prince Albert's pigs 96

Profit of raising thorough-bred

pigs ..222

Protrusion of rectum 236

Pulping roots 228

Rectum, Protrusion of 236

Rheumatism 236,244

Rosebnrgh's, Mr., piggery 158

Sheep, Lawes' experiments in feed-
ing 22

" Stomach of 9

" Live and dead weight of. ... .192

Shi'opshire breed 94

Sidney on large and small breeds.. 32

Soaking grain for pigs .228

Sow at farrowing time 194, 241

" Breeding, Management of. 241

" Feeding a suckling 214

Sow lying on pigs 211

" Selection of 193

" taking the boar 233

" Treatment of thorough-bred.. 209
Spring pigs, Rearing and manage-
ment of 200

Stickney's, Isaac and Josiah, impor-
tation of Suffolk 100

Stomach, Importance of a good — 20

of ox, Weight of 9

" of pig, Weight of. 9

44 Proportion to weight of

body 11

44 of sheep, Weight of 9

Stone, F. W., on pigs 238

Suffolk and other white breeds 72

Suffolk breed 92

44 grades 103

44 introduced into Boston... 100

Sugar as food for pigs 135

Summary 232

Sus Indica 41

Sus scrofa 41

Swellings, Treatment of 243

Swill barrels 169

Swill barrel, Portable 170

Swill tub 170

Tamworth breed 86, 87

Tarn worth and Berkshire cross .... 33

Tapeworm 235

Tattenhall piggery 166

Thorough-bred pig, Value of... .. .35

Value of a thorough-bred pig 35

44 of pig manure 137

Warwickshire breed 86

Weight of pigs, Live and dead. . . .191
44 of different parts of a pig. .191

Weaning young pigs 197

Welsh pigs 94

White Leicesters 59, 72

Wild boar 41

Wild hogs 41

Windsor breed 96

41 Windsor Castle" 99

Woburn breed 33, 94

Yelt . 66

York-Cumberland breed 65

Yorkshire grades .103

44 introduced into the U. S.100

" large breed 69

44 middle or medium breed. 69
" smallbreed 63

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Diagram of, Testing the Form of a Good Pig Page 18

Wild Boars 42

WRd Boar 43

Original Old English Pig 43

Old Irish Pig 44

French Prize Boar — Craonnaire White f. . . 46

Chinese Sow— Imported 48

Berkshire Pig— (Loudon) 49

Hampshire Pig " 49

Herefordshire Pig " 50

SuffolkPig " 51

Berkshire Sow 51

Yorkshire Large Breed, " Sir Roger de Coverly." 58

Yorkshire Large Breed, " Parian Duchess." 60

Yorkshire Large Breed, " Golden Days." 62

Cumberland- York Boar— Small Breed 64

York-Cumberland Pig— Small Breed 66

Yorkshire Middle Breed-" Miss Emily." 68

White Leicester Boar and Sow— Small Breed 76

Berkshire, Improved— Smithfleld Club Fat Prize Sow 75

Berkshire, Improved, Middle Breed, Boar 77

Essex, Improved—" Emperor." 79

Essex, Lord Western's 87

Essex Boar, L. A. Chase's 83

Essex Sows " " 83, 84

Chester County White Pig 105

Jefferson County Pig Ill

Piggery, Michigan Agricultural College .147

Piggery, Ground Plan of Michigan Agricultural College 148

Piggery, Plan of the Author's 151

Piggery, Paschal Morris' 154

Piggery, Ground Plan of Paschal Morris' 155

Piggery, Mr. Rosebnrgh's 157

Piggery, Ground Plan of Mr. Roseburgh's 159

Piggery, Partition in " ...160

Piggery, Ground Plan of Ogden Farm 161

Piggery, Cross Section of Ogden Farm 163

249

250 HARRIS ON THE PIG.

Piggery, Elevation of Ogden Farm 162

Shed for Fattening Pigs, Mr. Mangles' 163

Shed, Ground Plan of " " 163

Shed, Isometrical viewof " " 165

Piggery, Covered Food House at Tattenhall 166

Piggery, Ground Plan of Covered Food House at Tattenhall — , 167

Portable Swill Barrel 170

Pig Trough— Hewn Out of a Log 170

Pig Trough, Plank 171

Pig Trough, Convenient 172

Pig Trough, Swinging Door 173

Pig Trough, Swing Door to 174

Pig Trough, Cast-iron 174

Brood Sow— Property of the Duke of BuccJeuch 180

Jealousy as an Aid to Fattening..- ; 281

AMERICAN CATTLE:

Their History, Breeding, and Management.

By LEWIS P. ALLEN,

Late President New-York State Agricultural Society, Editor "American
Short-Hern Herd Book," Author " Rural Architecture," etc., etc.

Notices by the Press.

WK consider this the most valuable work that has recently been issued
from the American press. It embraces all branches of the important subject,
and fills a vacancy in our agricultural literature for which work the author, by
his many years' experience and observation, was eminently fitted. ... It
ought to be in the hands of every owner of cattle, and the country, as well as
individuals, would, soon be much richer for its teachings.— Journal of Agri-
culture, (St. Louis.)

The large experience of the author in improving the character of Ameri-
can herds adds to the weight of his observations, and has enabled him to pro-
duce a work which will at once make good its claims as a standard authority
on the subject. An excellent feature of this volume is its orderly, methodical
arrangement, condensing a great variety of information into a comparatively
small compass, and enabling the reader to find the point on which he is seek-
ing light, without wasting his time in turning over the leaves.— N. Y. Tribune.

This will rank among the standard works of the country, and will be con-
sidered indispensable by every breeder of live-stock.— Practical Farmer, (PhUa.)

We think it is the most complete work upon neat stock that we have
seen, embodying as it does a vast amount of research and careful study and
observation.— Wisconsin Farmer.

His history of cattle in general, and of the individual breeds in particular
which occupies the first one hundred and eighty pages of the volume, is writ-
ten with much of the grace and charm of an Allison or a Macaulay. His de-
scription of the leading breeds is illustrated by cuts of a bull, a cow, and a
fat ox, of each race. The next one hundred pages are devoted to the sub-
ject of Breeding. This is followed by chapters on Beef Cattle, Working Oxen,
Milch Cows, Cattle Food, Diseases, etc. The arrangement, illustrations, an-
alytical index, etc., of the work are in the best style of modern book-mak-
ing.—New-England Farmer.

The work is one that has been long needed, as it takes the place of the
foreign books of like nature to which our farmers have been obliged to refer,
and furnishes in a compact and well-arranged volume all they desire upon this
important subject.— Maine Farmer.

Whatever works the stock-farmer may already have, he can not afford to
do without this.— Ohio Farmer.

It is one of the best treatises within our knowledge, and contains infor-
mation sound and sensible on every page.— Tlie People, (Concord, N. H.)

The object of the work, as stated by the author in his preface, " is not only
to give a historical acccount of the Bovine race, to suggest to our farmers and
cattle-breeders the best methods of their production and management, but to
exalt and ennoble its pursuit to the dignity to which it is entitled in the vari-
ous departments of American agriculture." From the little examination we
have been able to give it, we can not recommend it too highly.— Canada
Farmer.

Considering that there are some ten million milch cows in the United
States, and nearly a thousand million of dollars invested in cattle, the magni
tude of this interest demands that the best skilled talent be devoted to the
improvement of the various breeds and the investigation of the best method
of so caring for the animals as to gain the greatest profit from them. This
volume will give the farmer just the instruction which he wants.— N. T. Inde-
pendent.

Price, post-paid, $2.50.

ORANGE JUDD & CO.,

245 Broadway, New- York.

NEW AMERICAN FARM BOOK.

ORIGINALLY BY

AUTHOR OF "DISEASES OP. DOMESTIC ANIMALS," AND FORMERLY SDITOB or
THE "AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST."

REVISED AND ENLARGED BY
LEWIS F. A.LLE3V,

AUTHOB OF "AMERICAN CATTLE," EDITOR Or THE "AMERICAN SHORT-HORN

BOOK," ETC.

INTRODUCTION.— Tillage Husbandry
—Grazing — Feeding — Breeding —
Planting, etc.

CHAPTER I.— Soils — Classification-
Description — Management — Pro-
perties.

CHAPTER II.— Inorganic Manures-
Mineral — Stone — Earth — Phos-
phatic.

CHAPTER III. — Organic Manures —
Their Composition — Animal— Ve-
getable.

CHAPTER IV.— Irrigation and Drain-
ing.

CHAPTER V.— Mechanical Divisions
of Soils — Spading— Plowing— Im-
plements.

CHAPTER VI.— The Grasses— Clovers
— Meadows — Pastures — Compara-
tive Values of Grasses— Implements
for their Cultivation.

CHAPTER VII.— Grain, and its Culti-
vation — Varieties — Growth— Har-
vesting.

CHAPTER VIII.— Leguminous Plants
—The Pea— Bean — English Field
Bean— Tare or Vetch— Cultivation
—Harvesting.

CHAPTER IX.— Roots and Esculents-
Varieties— Growth — Cultivation —
Securing the Crops — Uses — Nutri-
tive Equivalents of Different Kinds
of Forage.

CHAPTER X.— Fruits— Apples— Cider
—Vinegar— Pears— Quinces— Plums
Peaches — Apricots — Nectarines —
Smaller Fruits — Planting — Cultiva-
tion—Gathering— Preserving.

CHAPTER XI.— Miscellaneous Objects
of Cultivation, aside from the Or-
dinary Farm Crops— Broom-corn—
Flax— Cotton— Hemp— Sugar Cane
Sorghum— Maple Sugar— Tobacco —
'• Indigo— Madder— Wood— Sumach-
Teasel — Mustard — Hops — Castor
Bean.

CHAPTER XII.— Aids and Objects of
Agriculture — Rotation of Crops,
and their Effects— Weeds— Restora-

tion of Worn-out Soils— Fertilizing
Barren Lands— Utility of Birds-
Fences— Hedges— Farm Roads-
Shade Trees— Wood Lands— Time
of Cutting Timber— Tools— Agri-
cultural Education of the Farmer.

CHAPTER XIII. — Farm Buildings-
House — Barn— Sheds — Cisterns —
Various other Outbuildings— Steam-
ing Apparatus.

CHAPTER XIV.— Domestic Animals
— Breeding — Anatomy— Respiration
— Consumption of Food.

CHAPTER XV.— Neat or Horned Cattle
Devons — Herefords— Ayreshires —
Galloways — Short - horns — Alder-
neys or Jerseys— Dutch or Holstein
—Management from Birth to Milk-
ing, Labor, or Slaughter.

CHAPTER XVI.— The Dairy- Milk-
Butter— Cheese— Different Kinds-
Manner of Working.

CHAPTER XVII. — Sheep — Merino —
Saxon — South Down — The Long-
wooled Breeds— Cotswold— Lincoln
— Breeding — Management — Shep-
herd Dogs.

CHAPTER XVIII. — The Horse— De-
scrip tion of Different Breeds — Their
Various Uses— Breeding— Manage-
ment.

CHAPTER XIX. —The Ass— Mule —
Comparative Labor of Working
Animals.

CHAPTER XX. — Swine — Different
Breeds — Breeding — Rearing — Fat-
tening— Curing Pork and Hams.

CHAPTER XXI. — Poultry— Hens, or
Barn-door Fowls — Turkey — Pea-
cock— Guinea Hen — Goose — Duck
—Honey Bees.

CHAPTER XXII. — Diseases of Ani-
mals—What Authority Shall We
Adopt ? — Sheep — Swine — Treat-
ment and Breeding of Horses.

CHAPTER XXIII.— Conclusion— Gene-
ral Remarks — The Farmer who
Lives by his Occupation— The Ama-
teur Farmer— Sundry Useful Tables.

SENT POST-PAID, PRICE $2.50.

ORANGE JUDD & CO.,

245 Broadway, New-York,

THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
STAMPED BELOW

AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS

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THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY
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NOV 23 1946

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