THIRD ANNUAL YEAR BOOK — PART VI. 361 



I. SWINE. 



WOW TO GET THE HOG ON THE MARKET TO THE BEST 



ADVANTAGE. 



M. F. Hoffman, Washta, Iowa, before the Cherokee County Farmer's In- 

 stitute. 



This is a question that has been much discussed and belongs to that 

 class of old ones that are ever new. As it is many sided, we only aim to 

 give our opinion. It is presumed in this case, like most others, the first 

 thing necessary is to get the hog to start with. This is much more com- 

 plex problem and requires a far greater amount of judgment, care and 

 skill than to fatten and market him. But as this may be considered for- 

 eign to the subject and could not possibly be presented and discussed in 

 the space alloted for this paper, we will have to leave such matters as 

 the selecting of sire and dam, etc., out of the question, but will simply 

 say use the best at command. If we raise them, retain only the best as 

 breeders; if we buy them, buy as good as we can afford; if we have onlv 

 the price of one good one, better invest in the one than squander the 

 amount on half a dozen inferior ones. 



The process of producing the pig to start with, like fattening and 

 marketing, is also many sided, only much more so. If anyone is at all 

 skeptical about this last statement, they have only to read a part of the 

 agricultural and swine journals, where they will find a vast number of 

 articles on the subject where in many cases the methods advised are very 

 conflicting and oftentimes misleading. So we do not wonder that the be- 

 ginner after racking his brain over them becomes disgusted and asks 

 himself where he is at. We do not want to be understood as saying there 

 is not good advice in many of them, as we believe no stock raiser can 

 afford to be without at least one good agricultural and live stock journal, 

 for they are certainly great helps and indispensable; but no amount of 

 study of theorizing will do the whole of it. We must get in the harness 

 ourselves and use both brain and muscle to attain any degree of success. 



We have tried to take the pig at birth and put him on the market 

 to the best advantage but confess we cannot do it, and don't believe any- 

 one else can. We cannot start with him later than 112 days farther back, 

 when we would have the prospective dam in fair flesh and the pink of 

 condition. We would aim to have her increase in flesh as maturity ap- 

 proaches and to do this would teed her liberally on a not too fattening 

 food, with plenty of chance for exercise, with comfortable and well ventil- 

 ated quarters and not too many together. 



Having booked each service, we know when the critical time will ar- 

 rive (there is no room for guess work here). Provide warm, dry quarters 

 and make it a point to be with her, as there is nothing like getting started 

 right. If she has teen fed and handled as before indicated, her 'system 

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