32 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Scpt.^ 



feeding the people, but it is profitable. The present needs of 

 the nation should make every one think more about the swine 

 'industry. The hog is an economical producer of food ; it 

 develops, grows and multiplies very rapidly. 



Fifteen years ago there was an over production of pork 

 products in the United States. I can remember very dis- 

 tinctly of selling pork, "Round Hog" as we speak of it, for 

 $3.25 a hundred. At that time the amount of pork raised and 

 the number of consumers was unbalanced, but since then 

 there has been a gradual change. While the population of 

 the country has greatly increased, the number of hogs has not 

 increased proportionately. In the past few months pork has 

 sold as high as 2-ic in the round hog, and ISc, 19c or 20c live 

 weight. 



One of your county agents gave me the number of live 

 stock in his county and if the number for the entire state is 

 :n proportion, it averages one and one-half hogs to each farm. 

 One of the mistakes that the grower or farmer makes, is that 

 he does not consider the raising of swine a business. It 

 should be a business the same as the raising of cows, market 

 gardening, or any other line, w^hether you are handling one 

 hog, five or five hundred. If we consider it from that stand- 

 point we will do better than when we make it a side issue. 



One advantage in growing hogs is that there is not neces- 

 sarily a large outlay of capital either for buildings or breeding 

 stock. You can probably get along with less expensive build- 

 ings in Connecticut than we can in northern New Hampshire. 

 Probably with the exception of a sn^all farrowing house, the 

 colony system of housing is satisfactory. A\> use this sys- 

 tem until the weather gets cold, then the small colony houses 

 are hauled together so the attendant can feed the hogs easier 

 and quicker. 



It is not the number of pigs that are farrowed that counts, 

 ]?ut rather the number that are raised. A few years ago in 

 one of the western states where I spent considerable time, 

 there were one hundred litters farrowed in one brood house 

 with what seemed like very satisfactory results. I asked the 

 attendant the average number raised to the litter and he said 

 ''Between five and six," which seemed a small average. 

 Later experience has proven the average was good. 



