THE SOW : SELECTION AND MANAGEMENT 1 23 



'juantity of grain as yoii see is needful to keep the stock 

 thriving. Steam the whole, if you have the apparatus, 

 until it is soft; but if you have no steaming fixtures and 

 are on good terms with your wife, as you ought to l)e, 

 she will let you boil water on the kitchen stove. Pour 

 enough boiling water on the cut hay and grain to 

 thoroughly wet it. Cover and let it stand from morn- 

 ing to night, and it will be ready for use. I would have 

 the sows get a large part of their nutriment out of the 

 hay, just as I would out of grass if they were on pasture 

 in the summer." 



Plenty of exercise is important for the pregnant sow; 

 it should l)e insisted upon, and provided in the way the 

 l)reeder finds Ijest adapted to his situation. A large 

 jjasture is not always available, but the Ijreeder may 

 secure results by arranging the house at one end of the 

 hog lot and the feeding floor at the other end, or by 

 giving the sows water in such a way that to procure it 

 ihey will be compelled to walk some distance a number 

 of times each day. 



THE SOWS HOI STXG 



The results wliicli may be achieved through the brood 

 sows certainly entitle them to as good sleeping quarters 

 as are given the horses or cows. These quarters should 

 be warm, comfortable, ventilated, protected from damp- 

 ness, and so arranged that they may have plenty of sun- 

 light, the best of disinfectants. It need not be expensive 

 to furnish these. A floor other than earth is not a 

 necessity where the earth can be kept dry and hard and 



