288 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



long pedigree, there is but little risk that they will not almost 

 invariably develop true to their name, and with sure and satis- 

 factory results. Too many persons are willing to take a pig 

 from droves of chance selection, and of, it may be, unknown 

 breeds, diseased possibly when sent to market, or from herding 

 together in large numbers, or from exposure, or fatigue from 

 driving, or irregular feeding, and so meet with disappointment, 

 if not entire loss. We think it is manifestly for the interest of 

 those who wish to raise their own pork to purchase pigs bred in 

 their vicinity, and so encourage farmers who have truly desirable 

 kinds to produce numbers sufficient to supply the home demand, 

 and at reasonable prices. 



Whether pigs shall be kept through the winter and so to more 

 age, that they may attain to greater size and fatness, is a ques- 

 tion of choice and circumstance, — the extra care and trouble in 

 the cold weather may be compensated by the larger quantity of 

 fertilizing material which can be made, though the cost per 

 pound, estimated on the cost of the food, will not generally vary 

 essentially, whether the hog is nine or sixteen months at the 

 time of slaughtering in the autumn. Unquestionably a bushel 

 of meal will produce more pounds of pork in warm than in cold 

 weather ; and so, for those who may require not more than 

 three hundred pounds for their family use, what is termed a 

 spring pig may be the most profitable. 



The subject of feeding is of great importance, that the best 

 results may be obtained from the material expended. Pigs have 

 been kept through the winter, in Hingham, entirely upon rawman- 

 gold-wurzels with very good results. Some feed coarse matter, 

 as bran or shorts, with potatoes and much swill, while others use 

 Indian corn and meal, believing that the best meat can be made 

 from the best of food. Some cook the victuals either by steam- 

 ing or boiling, and where a large number are kept, this may be 

 profitable ; but for one or two, very nearly the same result may 

 be obtained by thoroughly wetting the meal with boiling water, 

 and feeding when nearly cold. In cold weather, and perhaps 

 all the year round, it would be advantageous to feed food of 

 about the temperature of the animal's body, that no loss may 

 occur to the animal economy in the process of digestion. Some 

 feed but twice in twenty-four hours, dividing the time as nearly 

 as convenient, giving as much at each time as will satisfy the 



