TWELFTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART X 471 



ears of corn with two or three good-sized pumpkins per head and plenty 

 of range is an ideal ration for sows. In the fall, pile and cover your 

 pumpkins to keep them as long as possible for brood sows. When the 

 pumpkins give out you must beg'n to slop. Thin slops, about two to 

 Jour gallons per day, with an ear or two of corn, will be plenty, and if 

 they commence to get too fat, cut out the corn; and if you slop with white 

 shorts, low grade flour, or rye or corn chop, cut dry corn out altogether. 

 I think red shorts or germ middlings and clean, fresh well water make 

 the very best feed for brood sows and pigs. Of course, use all the dish- 

 water, skimmed milk and buttermilk. 



Let your hogs have all the range possible. Clean every field after 

 harvest. Fence every field hog tight. Nearly every field of small grain 

 last year had loose and scattered grain enough to pay for fencing; the 

 grain was too short for the binder to gather and bind it properly. 



Have your pigs come all as near the same time as possible. If you 

 have good shelter, good houses the last of Febniary or any time in March 

 is the right time, but they will require close attention. If you have 

 not every convenience, better wait and not have the pigs arrive until 

 warm weather, in May and June. But whenever they do come, be right 

 there or clcse about all the time. Stay up nights and up early next morn- 

 ing. In this way you can frequently save from one pig to sometimes 

 the whole litter. 



Another thing, average up your litters by taking pigs from the big 

 litters and putting them with the smaller litters. I have tried this often 

 and nearly always with success, but not after the pigs are more than 

 four or five days old. At this time better leave the corn out of the feed 

 for a few days. Feed nothing but clean water for two or three feeds, 

 then a little thin slop or bran, red shorts or germ middlings, and gradu- 

 ally increase the feed and in a week or ten days have sow back on the 

 same kind and amount of feed as before fan-owing. An individual trough 

 is handy, if weather is not too cold, and keeps water by her for first 

 week. As soon as the weather gets settled get the sow and pigs out on 

 grass. Feed careful and never give sow over three ears of corn twice per 

 day. Increase the slops until the sows get nearly a pailful of s'ops twice 

 each day. Don't try to slop with rye or corn. Use any other grain, and 

 if you have your own grain ground see that it is ground fine. Feed each 

 sow and pigs separately as long as possible. This must.be done to pre- 

 vent robbing. It is unhandy and takes time to feed each sow and litter 

 separately, but it pays. 



By this time your sows and pigs are all out on pasture and coming 

 up to one central feeding place. Arrange two slopping places: one so that 

 the little pigs can creep under a board or through a hole and get to a 

 feeding trough away from the mothers. A little shelled corn and slop 

 will soon teach them where to go. Then feed both at the same time, pigs 

 first. Keep this up all summer. Give pigs a little bit of dry corn every 

 day. I say dry, because it is better than soaked corn. Cracking and 

 chewing that little handful of dry corn is the very best thing for the 

 hog's teeth and digestion that he will be so much in need of later on. As 

 your pigs increase in weight, increase the slop feed to about all they 



