SWINE. 417 



as little carried into the first two as possible. They must 

 be regularly fed three times a day, and if there is a surplus, 

 it must be removed at once. If they are closely confined in 

 pens, give them as much charcoal twice a week as they will 

 eat. This corrects any tendency to disorders of the stomach. 

 Rotten wood is an imperfect substitute for charcoal. Graves, 

 scraps or cracklings, as they are variously calle;!, the residuum 

 of rough lard or tallow after expressing the fat, are a good 

 change and an economical food. Some animal food, although 

 not essential, is always acceptable to swine. When about 

 to finish them off, many feed for a few weeks on hard corn. 

 This is proper when slops or indifferent food has been 

 given, and meal cannot be conveniently procured; but when 

 fattened on sound roots and meal, it is a wasteful practice, ;is 

 the animal thus falls behind his accustomed growth. It is 

 better to give him an occasional feed of the raw grain, for a 

 change, and to sharpen his appetite. 



The products furnished by the carcass of swine are numer- 

 ous. Every part of the animal is used for food, and it admits 

 of a far greater variety of preparation for the table, than any 

 other flesh. From the remotest antiquity to the present 

 time, and in every grade of barbarous and civilized life, it 

 has been esteemed as one of the choicest delicacies of the 

 epicure. Lard oil has within a few years, given to pork M 

 new and profitable use, by which the value of the carcass is 

 greatly increased. At some of the large pork-packing 

 depots of the west, one-third of the whole quantity has been 

 thus disposed of. This has withdrawn a large amount of 

 pork from the market, and prevented the depression which 

 must otherwise have occurred. Where the oil is required, 

 the whole carcass, after taking out the hams and shoulders, 

 is placed in a tub having two bottoms, the upper one perfo- 

 rated with holes, on which the pork is laid, and then tightly 

 covered. Steam at a high temperature is then admitted into 

 the tub, and in a short time, all the fat is extracted and falls 

 upon the lower bottom. The remaining mass, is bones and 

 scraps. The last is fed to pigs, poultry or dogs, or affords 

 the best kind of manure. The bones are either used for 

 manure, or are converted into animal charcoal, worth about 

 three cents per lb., which is valuable for various purposes in 

 the arts. When the object is to obtain lard of a fine qua- 

 lity, the animal is first skinned, and the adhering fat care- 

 fully scraped off. The oily, viscid matter of the skin is thus 

 avoided. When tanned, the skin makes a valuable leather, 

 R* 



