56 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Oct. 



Water. 



Clean water as pure as possible should be provided. Springs 

 are excellent. Springs and brooks are also good, providing there 

 is not a hog lot higher up on the same stream ; if there is, the 

 stream may be a source of contamination by cholera. Hogs 

 should not drink from wallows filled with stagnant water, for 

 parasites, and more especially disease germs, harbor in such 

 places. 



Exercise. 



Exercise is very essential. It is well that the boar be given a 

 fair sized lot in which to roam about. Brood sows while pregnant 

 are enclined to lie in the nest, more especiallv during the winter 

 months. They thus becoma too fat, and consequently give birth 

 to small pigs. Do not pamper the brood sow ; oblige her to 

 rough it to a certain extent. 



Growing hogs should be put on pasture and given the oppor- 

 tunity to forage for part of their feed. Exercise sharpens the 

 appetite, keeps the body in condition, and causes the hog to eat 

 more. The last few weeks of the fattening period, however, 

 should be spent in restricted areas. 



Cleanliness. 



Cleanliness about the hog houses and lots is of great impor- 

 tance, for diseases and parasites harbor and breed in filthy 

 quarters. The pens should be cleaned often and the manure 

 hauled away as soon as possible. Keep the swill barrels and 

 troughs clean and provide good drainasre for the water which may 

 be needed for cleaning purposes. Unine should not be allowed 

 to run through cracks and soak up the ground beneath the floors. 

 The small houses should be moved at least once each year, so 

 that any one spot will not become polluted with germs. Give the 

 sunlight a chance at the spot and it will soon dispose of the germs. 

 Allow plenty of room ; do not have the yards all in one place. 

 Separate them ; diseases are thus easier controlled. Allow plenty 

 of window space, so that sunlight will flood the pens. Air-slaked 

 lime scattered twice a week on the floors, in the troughs and 

 about the yards will do wonders in preventing diseases. Spray 

 with a 5 per cent, solution of carbolic acid from time to time. 



