326 THE FAT OF THE LAND 



not caring for young litters in the brood-house. 

 Comfortable shelters and a cemented basin twelve 

 feet by twelve, and one foot deep, had been built 

 in each lot. The water-pipe that ran through 

 the chicken lot (No. 4) connected with these 

 basins, as did also a drain-pipe to the drain in 

 the north lane, so that it was easy to turn on 

 fresh water and to draw off that which was soiled. 

 Through this device my brood sows had access 

 to a water bath eight inches deep, whenever 

 they were in the fields. My hogs, young or old, 

 have never been permitted to wallow in mud. 

 We have no mud-holes at Four Oaks to grow 

 stale and breed disease. The breeding hogs have 

 exercise lots and baths, but the young growing 

 and fattening stock have neither. They are kept 

 in runs twenty feet by one hundred, in bunches 

 of from twenty to forty, according to age, from 

 the time they are weaned until they leave the 

 place for good. This plan, which I did not in- 

 tend to change, opened a question in my mind 

 that gave me pause. It was this : Can I hope, 

 even with the utmost care, to keep the house for 

 growing and fattening swine free from disease if 

 I keep it constantly full of swine ? 



The more I thought about it the less probable 

 it appeared. The pig-house had cost me $4320. 

 Another would cost as much, if not more, and I 

 did not like to go to the expense unless it were 

 necessary. I worked over this problem for sev- 

 eral days, and finally came to the conclusion that 



