462 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



manure is made very regular and good. A tank should be 

 made just outside, to receive the drainage from the pounds ; 

 the building to be troughed to take off the rain-water, to 

 prevent the manure being washed. The pens ought to be so 

 constructed as to be closed up, in cold weather, and well ven- 

 tilated in warm. At the time of farrowing I allow a very 

 small quantity of litter cut short, and have a hamper placed 

 in the pen, with a little straw at the bottom, and also an old 

 blanket. I put a slip or partition about two feet and a-half 

 high, across the pen, to prevent the sow getting to the 

 hamper ; as the pigs come forth, put them into it, and cover 

 them up, until the sow has done farrowing, after which, put 

 them to her and let them suck. When done, put them back 

 in the hamper, give the sow a little warm milk and bran ; and 

 whilst she is eating this, have the bed attended to, by re- 

 moving all the wet straw, &c. Add a little fresh litter cut 

 short ; then when the sow lies down, let the pigs go to her 

 again ; by pursuing this plan, there is very little danger of 

 losing them, for I believe one-third are lost for the want of 

 proper attention. I always give the man sixpence per head, 

 for all the pigs he can bring up to a fortnight old. I find this 

 much the cheapest plan, for then there is no fear but he will 

 see to them properly, aud attend to them in the first instance, 

 aa well in the night as the day. How often do we hear people 

 complain of the sow eating her own young ! Therefore steps 

 ought to be taken to prevent her doing so ; for when once a 

 BOW does that, she is of very little use for breeding purposes. 

 If you will allow me, I will explain what I have found to be 

 the cause. In some litters the side teeth are much longer and 

 sharper than in others ; when this is the case, and the pigs 

 begin to suck, they bite and scratch the paps, and punish and 

 irritate the sow to such a degree, that it brings on inflamma- 

 tion, and the sow becomes mad with rage, she throws some 

 one way, and some another. At last she bites them, and if 

 she once draws blood, she will begin to eat them. Now the 

 way to prevent this : when the pigs are a few hours old, I 

 have them taken away in the hamper, so the sow cannot hear 

 them, and nip those teeth out, with a pair of pincers. I 

 should have lost a lot of thirteen some time since, if I had 

 not pursued this plan, for the sow was as near mad as possible ; 

 she threw the pigs all over the place, and I had great difficulty 

 iu taking them away, for she would not allow any one to ap- 

 proach her. As soon as I had drawn the teeth, and put tbs 

 pigs back, she was as kind to them as possible, and perfectly 

 docile. I think about eight weeks old is a good time for 

 weaning the pigs, and I like to have them operated upon a 

 short time previous. As far as the feeding of my pigs is con- 

 cerned, it appears the public know more about it than I do 

 myself. Some say I give them sugared milk ; some when they 

 think my back is turned, put their hand into the troughs and 

 taste the fooJ, and say they are sure it is physic ; others have 

 stolen some of the food to have it analyzed. Now I will try and 

 explain how I feed. I begin to feed the young pigs at five or six 

 days old, with warm milk mixed with a little very fine sharps, 

 and a small quantity of whole maize, out of troughs like some 

 I will show you presently. For the first few weeks after being 

 weaned, I have the boy feed them very often, but give them a 

 very little food at a time, so they will clear the troughs out. 

 In the winter I feed all with warm food, but not in the 

 summer. I give them a great variety of meal, such as wheat, 

 maize, barley, oats, and whatever is most convenient to mix 

 together. I just wet it with cold-water, and then scald it with 

 boiling- water, and sprinkle it with salt ; between meals, I give 

 them whole maize and mangel wurzel or swedes cut small • 

 and once or twice a-day a little coal, but not too much, as it 

 will be likely to do them harm. I allow them plenty of clean- 



water, and there is one thing I am very particular about, not 

 to give them any more food than they will clear up at a time. 

 When pigs are pui up fatting, it will be found very beneficial 

 to wash them, at least once a week ; this is quickly done by 

 experienced hands, and will amply repay any one for the 

 trouble. I also like to have them very often brushed. If 

 you will only try the experiment between this and the common 

 mode of treatment, you will be surprised at the difference. I 

 have no doubt that many will say, " What a trouble !" But 

 how can we succeed in any thing without trouble? I am certain 

 the cottagers would find their pigs fatten a good deal faster, if 

 they would wash and brush them, and feed them with warm 

 food, instead of giving it to them like all ice. This would be 

 a very easy thing, as most can keep a kettle by the side of the 

 fire all day ; they would find themselves well paid for the little 

 extra trouble it might be. Store pigs ought to have their 

 liberty as far as convenient, such as to range in large yards in 

 winter, and the run of a piece of pasture in the summer. 

 They should also be fed two or three times a-day. Good bred 

 and well fed store pigs will always consume the refuse from 

 the farm and dairy, when a bad bred one will refuse. I have 

 never known mine refuse any thing, in the way of pig food 

 yet, that was offered them, not even the prize animals. In 

 my opinion the generality of pig-troughs are very badly con- 

 structed, so as to waste a great deal of the food, and soil it, 

 by allowing the piga to get their fore-feet in. I have tried a 

 great many different sorts, and find those I have brought here 

 to-night to be the best kind I have seen, to prevent both 

 spoiling and soiling ; they are called the light iron Norfolk 

 troughs. They cannot be too fleet according to the size of 

 the pigs to prevent their getting deformed, Their shape is 

 very often injured through not using a suitable trough, I have 

 a great many different sizes, aud use them to suit the animal. 

 And now, gentlemen, if any of you would like to see my 

 places and animals at any time, I shall be very happy to show 

 them to you; but I can't say I wish to see you all atone time, 

 I have had as many as sixty and seventy in a day, and that is 

 rather too much of a good thing. (Prolonged applause). 



The Secretary, at the request of Mr. Steam, then read 

 several letters from gentlemen to whom Mr. Steam had sold 

 pigs, in proof of the statements he had made. Earl St, Vin- 

 cent, of Godmersham Park, Canterbury, said the pig he had 

 purchased of Mr. Steam had grown into a very handsome 

 sow, and had now a litter of pigs, and every body who saw 

 her admired her. Taking her as a specimen of Mr. Steam's 

 breed of pigs, it would be difficult to find any to surpass 

 them. Mr. Gladding, of Hoath Court, Cbislett, near Can- 

 terbury, said with respect to the pigs he bought of Mr. 

 Steam, at Canterbury, at the Koyal Agricultural Show, last 

 July, he had been much afraid the good condition they were 

 iu would, in taking them to his common feeding, soon give 

 proof of their having been kept on better food ; but to his 

 surprise they not only kept their own, but improved on very 

 low diet. They had given him the utmost satisfaction. A 

 letter from Mr. Baker, of Beverley St. Stephen's, Canterbury, 

 said the pigs he had of Mr. Steam were unquestionably 

 superior to any he had bred before. His bailiff, a mau of 

 seventy years' experience, was fearful, as they fatted so fast 

 on common food, they would be fit only for fatting ; but he 

 had been agreeably surprised by the young sow producing 

 eight fine pigs on her first farrow. A letter from Mr. 

 George Turner, of Ipswich, was to the aame satisfactory 

 effect. 



Some extraordinary specimens of Mr. Steam's success in 

 the breeding and rearing of pigs were then brought into the 

 room, and engaged the attention of the meeting for more than 



