V.] KEEPING PIGS. 85 



her down directly ; and, by the time they are three 

 weeks old, they are starving for want ; and then they 

 never come to good. 



141. Now, a cottager's sow cannot, without great 

 expense, be kept in a way to enable her to meet the 

 demands of her farrow. She may look pretty well ; 

 but the flesh she has upon her is not of the same na- 

 ture as that which the farm-yard sow carries about 

 her. It is the result of grass, and of poor grass, too, 

 or other weak food ; and not made partly out of corn 

 and whey and strong wash, as in the case of the far- 

 mer's sow. No food short of that of a fatting hog 

 will enable her to keep her pigs alive ; and this she 

 must have for ten weeks, and that at a great expense. 

 Then comes the operation, upon the principle of 

 Parson Malihus, in order to check population; and 

 there is some risk here, though not very great. But 

 there is the weaning; and who, that knows any thing 

 about the matter, will think lightly of the weaning 

 of a farrow of pigs ! By having nice food given them, 

 they seem, for a few days, not to miss their mother. 

 But their appearance soon shows the want of her. 

 Nothing but the very best food, and that given in the 

 most judicious manner, will keep them up to any 

 thing like good condition ; and, indeed, there is 

 nothing short of milk that will effect the thing well. 

 How should it be otherwise ? The very richest cow's 

 milk is poor, compared with that of the sow; and, to 

 be taken from this and put upon food, one ingredient 

 of which is water, is quite sufficient to reduce the 

 poor little things to bare bones and staring hair, a 

 state to which cottagers' pigs very soon come in 

 general ; and, at last, he frequently drives them to 

 market, and sells them for less than the cost of the 

 food which they and the sow have devoured since they 

 were farrowed. It was, doubtless, pigs of this descrip- 

 tion that were sold the other day at Newbury market, 

 for fifteen pence a piece, and which were, I dare 

 sayj dear even as a gift. To get such a pig to begin 

 to grow will require three months, and with good 

 feeding too in winter time. To be sure it does come 

 8 



