FARMERS' INSTITUTES. 127 



Passing from the subject of type, in profitable pork production, we 

 must give suitable consideration to certain important features in the 

 II. Metlwd of being cared for. — Sanitary conditions are most import- 

 ant in the care of our live stock. Every year, in the west, large numbers 

 of pigs die of cholera, which is often caused by filth and improper con- 

 ditions. The old-fashioned pig pen, small and filthy, is not fit for keep- 

 ing pigs in. Pigs require space and room to go about in as well as 

 cattle and sheep. Wet feet, cold and general dampness, let alone filth, 

 promote disease. So the quarters for swine should be dry and roomy, 

 with the sanitation good. 



Some years ago I constructed a pig house and runs which in my 

 opinion, are far superior to the ordinary accommodations furnished for 

 swine. A building was constructed, in which were a number of pens, 

 separated by a feeding alley. Each pen contained a feed trough, and 

 each pen was connected directly with a long, yet good-sized lot out- 

 side the feed barn. In each lot was a small pig house in which the 

 animals slept. For feeding, all the pigs had to go to the feeding barn. 

 Here the grain was convenient, and labor was reduced to a minimum. 

 The pigs came to be fed rather than having the feed carried to them. 

 The sleeping houses were large enough to shelter four medium-sized pigs, 

 and the houses were easily moved from one part of the lot to an- 

 other, thus keeping the conditions clean about each house. The lots 

 were kept in rye, alone, or other green stuff in summer, as circum- 

 stances made desirable. A more convenient and desirable method of 

 caring for pigs I do not know of. The cost is not large. One may make 

 a feeding building out of as cheap or as good material as he wishes. 

 Such an arangement as this provides for healthy surroundings. The 

 old-fashioned combined pig pen, where the animals eat and sleep is 

 unhealthy. Therefore, it should be discarded for something more 

 healthful as well as convenient. This, in fact, has a large bearing on 

 the relative profits, for good health is a necessity if pork is to be profit- 

 ably produced. 



III. The food used. — Without much question, the average man thinks 

 that the profit in feeding largely comes from the use of food. This, of 

 course, is of very great importance, yet we all know full well, that we 

 cannot make money on feeding sick pigs^ nor those that are very dis- 

 tinctly poor feeders. 



The question of food, however, is very important. Some foods give 

 better results than others both in growth and profit, and some are 

 much more available to the farmer or stockman, than others. The 

 agricultural experiment stations of this country have conducted exten- 

 sive feeding experiments on swine, to learn the influence on develop- 

 ment, and many valuable facts have been secured, that should be made 

 use of by feeders. Corn is largely used in the Mississippi valley, and is 

 a cheap food in cost of production, while it is universally relished by 

 swine. But it is not in some respects the best food, when used alone, 

 that we can feed pigs, especially those of immaturity, and breeding 

 animals. 



Prof. Henry conducted some interesting experiments at the Wis- 

 consin Station, showing very clearly the deficiency of corn as a food, 

 for summer, when fed alone. He had three lots of pigs, of two in a 

 lot. Each lot was fed corn meal as the only grain food, and salt and 

 water. That was all lot one received. Lot two received in addition 



