SECRETARY'S REPORT. 153 



though the SAviue may seem to fatten on the exercise. They have 

 some advantages over most other breeds, which will go far to their 

 eventual success. They are little plump hogs, fully ripe for killing at 

 any age, and when killed make pork worth at least one qi'.artcr more 

 than any other breed. The proportion of meat to the bone would 

 give very nearly this advantage over most other breeds. Then the 

 propcTrtion of fut to lean far excels most other hogs, the quality of both 

 is fine, sweet and tender, while some of our large breeds furnish coarse, 

 tough, wooly meat, filled with two streaks of lean to one of fat, to 

 say nothing about the beefy character of this lean, the size of the 

 bone or the thickness of the rind. The Suffolk hog will thrive on 

 grass or weeds, or winter on green stuff, such as apples, carrots, or 

 even turnips, better than any other breed. I usually keep from 

 ten to twenty, and have wintered them on ruta bagas, so as to be full 

 fat enough to raise pigs, even when fed with the turnips raw, with no 

 other feed. I have never had a breed that would do this before. On 

 the other hand they are not naturally large, three hundred being good 

 size for twelve months hog, fattened, though they often go beyond that 

 figure. They will not breed so young as many other breeders, nor are 

 the pigs so hardy or of so even size, some being small, some large. As 

 to the growth of pork at a profit, it must depend not only on the breed, 

 but a variety of other circumstances. The price of pork per pound 

 compared with the price of grain, is always material to the answer of 

 this question. When corn is worth seventy-five cents, and pork ten 

 cents, it is easy to see that pork would pay better than when corn is 

 a dollar and twenty-five cents, and pork six cents. 



In one position, the manure may be of more value to the farmer 

 than in another, and the materials for hogs to work over, easier of 

 access, or one or two hogs may be made profitable to use material 

 nearly worthless for other stock, and also to work over manure under 

 the stable, when a large number would not be equally valuable. A 

 man to keep swine to advantage, must know how, have good accom- 

 modations for them, and understand how to use to advantage, vegeta- 

 bles of one kind or another, according to the season of the year, and 

 to make them available for a large increase of valuable manure for the 

 farm. Then I should say, that with a good breed, he may make pork 

 at a profit when he can sell it for ten cents per pound, and not have 

 corn worth more than a dollar per bushel. I would not risk it with 

 much variation of these figures, to an extent of more than one or two 

 to a family. Others may." 



