THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



Agricultural Society of England four prizes and 

 twenty-two commendations ; from 1853 to '59 at 

 the Yorkshire, twenty-one prizes and eleven com- 

 mendations ; in 1859 and '60, at the Highland 

 Society of Scotland, eight prizes ; at the Northum- 

 berland county shows, eight prizes and five com- 

 mendations ; at the Birmingham fat shows five 

 prizes and eleven commendations j at the Dur- 

 ham county shows, in 1859 and 'GO, four first 

 prizes ; at the Cleveland shows, in 1859 and 'GO, 

 three prizes and one commendation ; at the 

 Keighley Agricultural Show, in I860, the first prize 

 and silver cup, for the best pig in the yard ; and 

 at the Ripley Agricultural Meeting, in 1859 and 

 '60, eleven prizes ; besides several prizes at the 

 Wetherby, the Halifax, and Calder Vale Meetings. 

 We have much pleasure in adding the following 

 practical paper from the pea of Mr. Mangles, on 



THE BREEDING AND FEEDING 

 OF PIGS. 



Pigs, like all the other breeds of our domestic 

 animals, have shared a little in the improvements 

 that have taken place. The various railways have 

 opened up a communication with all parts of Eng- 

 land; and the different agricultural meetings in 

 nearly every town have assisted to encourage this 

 branch of our domestic animals by offering prizes 

 for the several breeds. If any one looks at these 

 breeds now, and compared them with the pigs of 

 twenty years back, the improvement that has taken 

 place will be found to be very striking: of all the 

 breeds of animals the improved breeds of swine 

 make the greatest amount of meat for the food 

 consumed. The character of a pig is very soon 

 altered by crossing, either for better or worse. I 

 do not believe any other animal is so soon altered, 

 and it is very diflUcult to keep a breed right — so 

 that it is no wonder there are so many mongrel 

 bred ones in the country, when there are so very 

 few pure breeds kept distinct. One breeder, who 

 wants his stock a little larger, uses a large-bred 

 boar to his smaller sows : another tries black with 

 white ; and perhaps a third a cross of the Berk- 

 shire; and so on — intending, if the cross does not 

 suit, to put the sow to a boar of her own breed 

 the next time. He does not consider that the first 

 boar a sow breeds to influences the succeeding 

 litters for a long time. The proper way is to keep 

 to one breed, and try to improve that sort by 

 saving the largest and finest animals — though, if a 

 good boar be kept in the neighbourhood of a bad- 

 bred one, a shilling or two less will drive all the 

 custom to the bad-bred one. The breeders little 

 know the losses the feeders sustain when they come 

 to fatten the animals ; nor is it understood how 

 many thousands of pounds are annually wasted in 

 making bacon or pork from bad-bred pigs. A 

 great outcry is raised that more and cheaper food 

 is wanted for the increasing population ; the land 

 is forced to grow the most it can ; and, until lately, 

 the pig, together with the other domestic animals, 

 had been but little looked after. I have heard 

 some say, " My bacon stands me at 9s, the stone of 

 14 lbs. ;" another, " Mine cost me one shilling the 

 pound;" and so on. Whereas I maintain that 



bacon should be fed for less than sixpence the 

 pound : if all that extra corn can be saved, or more 

 bacon made, it must be a great advantage to the 

 community at large. I know of several cases 

 where a smaller grazing sort of pig has taken the 

 place of the larger sort ; but a very little meal has 

 been required, with the wash from the houce, to 

 make those pigs weigh twenty stones each of 14ll3s,, 

 where formerly sacks of corn were used. The 

 feeders of such old-fashioned pigs have been as- 

 tonished at the saving by the change of sorts. 



About ten years ago I commenced pig-keeping on 

 a larger scale than the generality of farmers. What 

 I wanted, and what my farm required, was a quan- 

 tity of good manure. I did not like the idea, after 

 having spent a great sum of money in corn or cake, 

 to be obliged to look to the muck-midden for pay 

 for that food, as I am afraid a good many have to do. 

 What I wanted was the manure free of all expenses, 

 and what I have been able to get is manure free. 

 With beasts I always had a heavy charge against 

 the manure heap, but pigs I can get to pay for all 

 they consume without taxing the manure. I first 

 tried buying stores in the neighbourhood, but soon 

 gave that up, as they were chiefly of the large 

 breed, and required too much food and liberty. I 

 had no alternative but to breed ray own stores. 

 With a view to find a profitable sort, I purchased 

 a few of the best from different breeders of note, 

 and kept them separate, and also a few stores of 

 each sort together, living on the same kind of food. 

 I also tried the different crosses ; but, to get the 

 cross, I must have pure stock at first; so I consi- 

 dered it best to keep to a pure breed. I tried the 

 Essex, the black Leicesters, the Berkshire, the 

 large Yorkshire, the small Yorkshire, and lastly 

 the Cumberland small breed. I must confess at 

 the outset I had but little experience to guide me : 

 not understanding the principles of breeding, I 

 committed many foolish mistakes, which I paid 

 dearly enough for ; and if these few lines should 

 meet the eye of any one wishful to form and keep 

 a breed of pigs, I shall be glad for such a man to 

 profit by the experience of another. I never ex- 

 pected pigs to live on nothing ; because the manure 

 made from pigs living on nothing would be worth 

 nothing, and it was good manure I was aiming at. 

 I found any breed pay, except the large breed. All 

 the crosses having the small breed for the sire 

 always paid : whichever breed is intended to be 

 kept, the best-bred ones should be obtained. I do 

 not advocate breeding in-and-in ; but I do advo- 

 cate, if you want to maintain the same style of 

 animal generation after generation, to cross with 

 the same blood, but as far distant as you can get 

 it. I do not know a better sign of pure breeding 

 than a litter of pigs all alike, or three or four sisters 

 breeding alike to the same boar. When the breed 

 is obtained, one thing must always be kept in 

 mind — the first boar a sow is put to influences the 

 succeeding litters for three or four times. 



After the breeding comes feeding and attention. 

 Milk and fat must go in at the mouth before it can 

 make its appearance in the animal. I do not believe 

 those who say their pigs get fat on nothing. I 

 know from experience that one pig will live where 

 another would stare, and what would take to make 



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