324 THE FAT OF THE LAND 



She would starve on the buffalo grass which 

 supports her half-wild sister, " northers " would 

 freeze her, and the snow would bury her. She 

 is a product of high cow-civilization, and as such 

 she must have the intelligent care of man or she 

 cannot do her best. With this care she is a mar- 

 vellous machine for the making of the only article 

 of food which in itself is competent to support 

 life in man. If my Holsteins are not machines, 

 they resemble them so closely that I will not 

 quarrel with the name. 



What is true of the cow, is true also of the 

 pork-making machine that we call the hog. His 

 wild and savage progenitor is lost, and we have 

 in his place a sluggish animal that is a very 

 model as a food producer. His three pleasures 

 are eating, sleeping, and growing fat. He fol- 

 lows these pleasures with such persistence that 

 250 days are enough to perfect him. It can cer- 

 tainly be no hardship to a pig to encourage him 

 in a life of sloth and gluttony which appeals to 

 his taste and to my profit. 



Custom and interest make his life ephemeral ; 

 I make it comfortable. From the day of his 

 birth until we separate, I take watchful care of 

 him. During infancy he is protected from cold 

 and wet, and his mother is coddled by the most 

 nourishing foods, that she may not fail in her 

 duty to him. During childhood he is provided 

 with a warm house, a clean bed, and a yard in 

 which to disport himself, and is fed for growth 



