4-CA 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



of the country. The animals before them must be taken aa 

 evidence of the most extrEordiuary industry and perseverance 

 iu stuftiDg that any man could possibly conceive. It ap- 

 peared that from the very earliest moment, at the sixth day 

 after they were born, they were taken from the care of the 

 mother, and fed with a little milk and sharps, and perhaps 

 with a little sugar. Was there any sugar ? 



Mr. Ste.\rn: Certainly. 



Mr. Bloomfield said he received that candid statement 

 with a great deal of satisfaction and delight, and he hoped 

 that any observation that he might make would not be ai:p- 

 posed to arise from impertinence (Hear, hear). Any more im- 

 portant subject he conceived they could hardly entertain and, 

 therefore, it was meat important to know the kind and breed 

 of animals that would produce the largest quantity of fat on 

 the smallest possible quantity of corn, and he thought cer- 

 tainly very little fault could be found with the breed of 

 the animals before them. But he believed a challei;ge had 

 baen offered by Mr. Steam, and he offered this as a proof that 

 there was so much in the management, that he would sell 

 some of his best animal?, and then that he would beat the best 

 auimal he had parted with. It was not too much to say that 

 Mr. Steam had surpassed every breeder and fattener in this 

 county, and he hoped he would be prepared to tell them the 

 kind of feed the animals consumed, for instance, in the first 

 six, seven, or eight months. When he had done that, he 

 (Mr. Bloomfield) should have no hesitation in pronouncing 

 Mr. Steam to be a very prince of pig breeders and fatteners. 

 lie hoped Mr. Steam would give them some information on 

 that point. ' 



Mr. Stearn : I will tell you what I will do; I will allow 

 any one to take that pig, aud ihe club shall employ a com- 

 petent person to feed and take care of him for a week, or two 

 mouths, or what period you like ; and I will engage to say 

 that that very pig will consume less food than any pig of half 

 the weight in the country, and you shall feed him on any- 

 thing you think proper. 



Mr. George Ling, of Bedfield, neat Wickham Market, 

 said Mr. Bloomfield appeared to discredit what Mr. Stearn 

 had stated. He was not going to tell the meeting what Mr. 

 Steam's pigs ate : he only knew that when Mr. Stearn de- 

 cided to lay the floors of Lis piggeries with asphalte he em- 

 ployed him (Mr. Liag) to do the work. When the men 

 came home he asked them how the pigs got on ; and the men 

 said the pigs got on they did not know how, for they did cot 

 seem to eat anything. The men were there all day long, and 

 were surprised at how little the pigs ate. He was glad to 

 find Mr. Steam was satisfied with the asphalte. He hoped 

 Mr. Stearn would advise everybody to let him lay their pig- 

 geries with asphalte (laughter). 



Mr, Stearn : I should very much like to have some com- 

 petent person feed one of those young breeding sows for two 

 or three weeks. I think he would feed her so that she could 

 not rise at all, and think he was going to starve her too. We 

 can't give her little enough. I have not kept her up to bring 

 her here. 



The Chairman : May I venture to ask a kind friend who 

 has come a long journey from Essex (Mr. H. Sexton, of Cock- 

 field Hall), whether he has heard any argument to induce him 

 to change his blacks for whites ? I know Mr. Sexton and 

 Mr. Stearn are good friends, and are glad to meet each other; 

 but I know Mr. Steam is more afraid to meet him in compe- 

 tition than to meet any other man in England. 



Mr. Sexton said he had not been in the black-pig line 

 long, but he was still of opinion that they were hardier than 

 white. Mr. Stearn said his pigs could not stand young 

 clover ; now the black ones would, and their coats did not 

 crack. The blacks did not want so much scrubbing ; not 

 more than once in three mouths. He did not feed them with 

 coals ; they did not require it. He could not afford coals. 

 He thought the blacks were hardier, quite as good breeders, 

 and would fat quite as quick. They were certainly first-rate 

 pigs Mr. Stearn had shown them ; but he hoped he should 

 meet Mr. Stearn iu competition again some day, and he would 

 endeavour to lick him. 



Mr. Stearn : Mr. Sexton speaks of my scrubbing, and 

 does not agree with using so much soap. I don't think it 

 costs so much as rose oil, such as I saw him use (loud laugh- 

 ter). We don't wash them more than ouce a week. 



Mr, Sexton said he was glad to learn that Mr. Stearn had 

 begun to do a little in the black pig line. 



Mr. Stearn : Mr. Sexton seems to beat everybody in 

 black ; I can beat him in white, and I am determined to beat 

 him in black. Mr. Sexton's are certainly the best black pigs 

 I ever saw in my life. 



The Chairman said if no gentleman had any other prac- 

 tical question to ask. he thought it his duty to return, in Mr. 

 Steam's name, aud in the name of the club, their thanks to 

 Mr. Sexton for coming so far to visit them this evening. It 

 was no little honour that they had in their club-room at that 

 discussion the two most celebrated pig breeders in England. 

 They might go into the discussion-room of a hundred Farmers' 

 Clubs, and they could not say what they could say this even- 

 ing. These two gentlemen went to the Eoyal Agricultural 

 Society's meetings anywhere in England, and stood at the 

 head of the list. They returned their thanks to Mr. Sexton, 

 and if ever they had another agricultural show in Framling- 

 ham, they would guarantee him the very beet accommodation 

 to show bis pigs, aud a well-aired bed for himself. They also 

 thanked Mr. Stearn for a sound practical lecture in a short 

 compass. 



Some further conversation arose, in the course of which 

 The Chairman asked Mr. Sexton what he gave his pigs, 

 and whether he gave the food warm or cold ? 



Mr. Sexton said as soon as the pigs would eat, he gave 

 them a little meal or oats : the oats whole. He never gave 

 them any peas till they got twelve or fourteen weeks old ; he 

 found it cramped them. 



Mr. Stearn said he never gave peas at all, 

 Mr. Sexton said lentils and oats were the principal food. 

 He ground the lentils, and after a time he ground the oats, 

 and gave them wet with a few sharps and middlings. When 

 the pigs were over three months old he gave them barley, and 

 a little before that time, but not much. He also gave a small 

 proportion of maize. He gave everything cold, in winter and 

 summer. He found if he gave warm victuals when the pigs 

 got eight or ten weeks old, their lungs were gone. He sold 

 his pigs for London, at between four and five months old, at 

 about 5 stone. He generally killed them at from 40 to 701b3. 

 weight. He got the young pigs to eat as soon as they would. 

 He could get them to eat a little at six or seven days old. He 

 did not agree with keeping the sows over well. 



The Chairman said the secret seemed to be, oats, instead 

 of barley ; and making the pigs eat early. 



