No. 7. DEiPARTMjENT OF AQRICULTURE, B81 



iu relation to the feed and pasture lots so that they could be easily 

 reached with a car running on an overhead track. While such a 

 plan will slightly increase the initial cost of a pig raising plant, it 

 does away with the necessity of carrying the feed by hand, which is 

 out of the question where as many as fifty hogs are kept; and not 

 only does away with the expense of a horse and wagon, but the feed 

 ways are not cut up in wet weather thus eliminating a disagreeable 

 feature of most piggeries. With a little thought in arranging the 

 overhead track most of the lifting, and much of the unpleasant slop- 

 piness so prevalent aroun\i hog houses can be avoided. With an ar- 

 rangement of this kind one good man will be able to feed and care 

 for from three to four hundred pigs. In regard to pig houses, ex- 

 perience has demonstrated that the Lovejoy house, eight feet square, 

 made of rough hemlock boards well battened, is very satisfactory in 

 most climates. These houses will accommodate about eight two 

 hundred and fifty pound hogs, will answer as farrowing pens in mod- 

 erate weather, are cheap, and in case of an outbreak of disease can 

 be thoroughly disinfected or even burned without much expense. 

 Too much care cannot be given to the fences on a pig farm. As a 

 breachy pig is as bad as any other farm animal that acquires the 

 habit of breaking out. The best fence is of boards, but on account 

 of the high price of lumber, such a fence cannot be considered, if 

 one wishes to practice economy. The most practical pig fence per- 

 haps is one of fairly heavy woven wire from 26 to 30 inches high, 

 with a strand or two of barbed wire stretched above it. 



If a fence of this kind is put up carefully so that it will be tight, 

 the posts braced firmly, and the bottom of the fence stapled to stakes 

 or small posts firmly set in the ground between the posts it will be 

 pig proof and should last a long time. 



From an economic point of view one will find upon studying the 

 results of breed tests at a number of Experiment Stations that cer- 

 tain breeds do not produce pork uniformly so cheaply as do other 

 breeds. On the other hand I do not think this difference great 

 enough to offset ones own personal likes and dislikes in the matter 

 of breeds. I think it true that as yet few, if any, of our markets 

 distinguished enough in price between the so-called lard and bacon 

 type of pigs to justify a preference for either type from a market 

 standpoint. On account of the reasonable price for which pure-bred 

 sow pigs can be bought, and as a pure-bred male is essential to suc- 

 cess in any case, it seems reasonable to advise the use of pure-bred 

 pigs rather than grades in general pork production. It costs no 

 more to grow the pure-bred animal, and with but little care one may 

 easily dispose of a pure-bred pig at two months of age for as much 

 as he can get for a fat grade pig at eight or ten months of age. 

 The more popular the breed selected the more easy will it be to 

 make satisfactory sales of breeding stock. Go slowly on new or un- 

 familiar breeds. Few breeders are able to popularize new breeds so 

 as to make many or good sales. 



In feeding brood sows there are three points that should be con- 

 stantly borne in mind: First, to supply the nutrients necessarry 

 for the proper nourishment of the sow, and the litter she is carrying j 

 second, to make the ration bulky enough to keep the system open 

 and in good condition, and third, to make it as cheap as possiljle. 



