THE CARE OF SWINE 431 



where he may be kept under restraint and properly fed. 

 Hogs being fattened for the market naturally receive different 

 feed from the breeding stock, and so must be kept by them- 

 selves. On many farms the careful separation of the animals 

 into groups as indicated may not be possible in all details, 

 but the more carefully this separation is observed, the more 

 success will attend the herd development. 



The sanitation of the swine quarters is of first importance. 

 The pens should be kept free from filth and an unnecessary 

 amount of manure, and the floors should be kept reasonably 

 dry. One may keep swine in almost any kind of building, 

 but a dry floor and clean conditions are equally important 

 whatever the kind of house occupied. The drainage about 

 the swine quarters should be away from the buildings and 

 yards, to promote sanitation. Unfortunately there are too 

 many farms where the hogs are obliged to live and wallow in 

 mud and manure, where disease germs abound. Sanitary 

 conditions in the swine building may be improved by the 

 free use of slacked lime sprinkled on the floors of the pens, 

 and by freely whitewashing the walls. 



The bedding of swine is customary in the northern sec- 

 tions of the country, especially in winter. The house or 

 shelter should itself be comfortable, so that too much bed- 

 ding will not be used. Wheat straw makes the best bedding; 

 but, if so much is used that the pigs bury themselves in it in 

 cold weather, when they come out to be fed, they are liable 

 to catch cold due to sudden change of temperature. Only 

 a moderate amount of straw, therefore, should be used. In 

 the South very little bedding is needed in winter, while in 

 the warm season no bedding is required in the North. 



Exercise for swine is regarded as a necessity. The tend- 

 ency in cold weather is for the pigs to huddle close together 

 under the straw and move about in the air as little as possible. 

 In the latter stages of fattening, exercise is not so important, 

 but with the breeding herd it is quite different. If the sows 



