THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



463 



half-an-hour. The first animal produced was a breeding sow 

 belonging to a neighbour of Mr. Steam, which was pro- 

 duced as a contrast to his own. When this animal was placed 

 side by side with one of Mr. Steam's, the contrast produced a 

 great deal of merriment ; but we were informed by those 

 competent to speak on the subject, that the unhappy pig 

 which was produced as a foil on this occasion was not an un- 

 fair sample of the run of young breeding sows. Its age was 

 about nine months, as was also that of one of Mr. Steam's, 

 placed beside it : the former weighed four stone, the latter 

 about 16 or 17 stone. Mr. Steam also showed three white 

 Suffolk sows in-pig, of remarkable weight and proportions. 

 The last specimen shown was a young boar from the Fram- 

 lingham and Canterbury prize sow. Mr. Steam also showed 

 one of the light Norfolk troughs he uses, along the top of 

 which he had added a bar to prevent the pigs from attempt- 

 ing to leap over, in doing which he said they would often 

 break their I6g3. He also produced a specimen of the 

 wedge-shaped lattice he uses, which has the effect of fending 

 the sow from the wall when she lies down, and so leaves room 

 for the young to escape uncrushed. These contrivances were 

 simple and excellent, and served, no less than the wonderful 

 specimens of the pig tribe which he exhibited, to convey an 

 idea of his great care, perseverance, and skill in the work in 

 which he takes so much delight. 



The Chairman said that whatever opinion the meeting 

 might entertain of the merits of these pigs, there could be but 

 one opinion as to the thanks that were due to Mr. Steam for 

 the able paper he had read. It appeared to him there were 

 but few objections to be raised. The matters were mainly 

 such as they all believed to be necessary for the proper 

 management of pigs, but they often flinched at the trouble. 

 Cleanliness, warmth, and feeding — they all agreed that those 

 were requisite things ; but Mr. Stearn carried into practice 

 what many agreed to only in theory, and did not take the 

 trouble to carry out. Mr. Stearn had alluded to the early 

 maturity of the white pig. Now he knew there were many 

 black pig-men in the room ; and if they still stuck to their 

 black pigs after what Mr. Steam had said, he hoped they 

 would get up and state their reasons. The specimens which 

 had been brought into the room were certainly such as they 

 seldom saw. And then the crates Mr. Stearn used were worth 

 their attention : he (the Chairman) had been told there were 

 not better crates in England. He was well aware that there 

 were many in that room who had tried some of the things 

 Mr, Stearn recommended, and would testify to their efficacy. 

 He did not know what some of them would say to the scrub- 

 bing brush (laughter). He had no doubt the cleanliness, 

 the washing, and the scrubbing, made the feed go much 

 further. He should be glad to hear something on the ques- 

 tion of black pigs. 



Mr. W. Jeaffkeson acknowledged the obligations of the 

 meeting to Mr. Steam, and said he wished to ask one quea- 

 tion, as he was a little bit of a pig-man himself. One 

 of Mr. Steam's observatious was that coal was advan- 

 tageous to a certain extent, but not too much. What 

 was the quantity of coal that ought to be given to a pig ? 



Mr. Stearn said, that not being situated as Mr. Jeaffre- 

 son, not being acquainted with the properties of coal, he had 

 had to be guided by experience, and in gaining that experi- 

 ence he had been very near losing many , of his pigs. He 

 used coal as an astringent, and it acted almost immediately ; 

 but in two or three cases he had given too much, and had 

 been near losing the pigs. They must be guided by the age 

 of the pig in using the coal : he never allowed anybody to give 

 it but himself. To a pig from seven to nine mouths old he 



should give, if the animal required anything of the sort> 

 about as much coal as would lie in the palm of his hand, twice 

 a-day. 



Mr, J. Mann offered some remarks from his experience of 

 the breeding and rearing of pigs. He said he scrubbed his 

 pigs, but not every day ; he rubbed them very frequently with 

 a dry horse-brush. For lung disease he gave linseed meal, 

 and he found they recovered upon it. He had examined the 

 lungs of pigs after they were killed, that had been affected 

 with lung disease, and he could mark how the oily matter of 

 the linseed had arrested the disease. He believed cleanliness 

 to be one of the greatest points in reference to the growth of 

 pigs ; his sties were always washed down clean, and the 

 manure taken away every day. If he had the means he 

 would carry out Mr. Steam's plans : he was convinced it 

 would pay. To put the growth of well-managed pigs 

 down in figures, the heaviest pig would average a growth 

 of one pound per day, and one stone over, in seven 

 months. 



Mr. Stearn said that one of his stock, not of his own 

 breeding, at twenty-eight weeks old, weighed 16 stone 81bs. 

 dead weight. 



The Chairman : Mr, Mann, were yours black or white 

 pigs? 



Mr, Mann said his were not pure stock ; some were 

 white, some blue and white, and some black and white ; but 

 he cordially agreed with Mr. Steam that the better the breed 

 the better the growth. 



The Chairman asked Mr. Stearn whether he put his pigs 

 on young clover ? 



Mr, Stearn said the hide of any white pig would crack 

 upon young clover. 



Mr. W, Jeaffreson asked Mr, Stearn whether it was his 

 custom to endeavour to reduce the fattening qualities of the 

 sow while breeding ? 



Mr, Stearn : I assure you that these very pigs are fed 

 as common as we can feed them to keep them alive (laughter.) 

 I am perfectly aware none of you will believe me, but 

 these two animals have been kept as low as possible, for breed- 

 ing purposes. 



The Chairman said he bought a pig of Mr. Stearn, one 

 of his prize litter ; he put it in the yard, and asked his man 

 to reduce her for breeding ; but it was of no use : they kept her 

 as low as it was possible to keep her alive, and she was almost 

 as fat as ever. But if Mr. Stearn said they bred just as well, 

 there was no occasion to bring them down. 



Mr. Stearn said his sows, notwithstanding their fatness, 

 would bring up twelve or fourteen pigs, and after the first 

 litter they would average ten at every time. 



Mr. H. Bloomfield said he had been waiting to hear 

 some practical farmer ask some questions which he should like 

 to have answered. The observations of Mr. Stearn reminded 

 him of an anecdote of a favmer who had made himself re- 

 markable for his fine team of horses, and was questioned as 

 to what he fed them on, when his reply was that they had 

 nothing but a little chaff and beau-straw, but the bean-straw 

 was only half thrashed (laughter). Now, it seemed to him to 

 be quite impossible to imagine that auy auimal could be in 

 that uncomfortable state of obesity in which these pigs were, 

 unless they consumed a large quantity of food of some kind. 

 There was an immense quantity of adipose substance in them, 

 they were enormously fat, and to suppose they could be 

 brought almost to suffering, as they were, without an immense 

 portion of food of some kind, was absurd. It could not be 

 done with those doses of coal. He believed Mr. Stearn had 

 accomplished, perhaps, more than any man now in this part 



